William B.Messmer P O Box 382 Southport, ME 04576 207-633-4807 wmessmer@drew.edu
Spouse:
Catherine T. Messmer, retired,college administrator, married Aug. 5, 1971
Children:
Will, 34, works in Manhattan, digital advertising for Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Matthew, 29, works in Brooklyn, publishing for American Lawyer Media Both live in Brooklyn My life since Otterbein
After graduation in June, 1963, with my B.A. in History and Government, I packed and left Otterbein. It seems clear, in retrospect, that many things about Otterbein, however, did not leave me. I had no particular plan for my life, and the next decade saw me doing many different things. From my vantage point now, I believe, it was all useful and worked to help me later. In the fall and winter after leaving Otterbein I bummed (and that is the right word) around Europe for months, and then came home and joined the U.S. Army (according to my mother to reacquire discipline). After earning my Officer's Commission, I spent three interesting years with Uncle Sam. Subsequently, I spent 2 years getting an M.A. in Government at Ohio University (my friends said it was remedial education for a guy who had not been a serious undergraduate), and another three years at Wilmington College, a small Quaker school in Wilmington, Ohio. At Wilmington I was an Admissions Counselor and part-time professor. While at Wilmington I also met my wife, Cathy. We were married in 1971. In 1972 I started my Ph.D. at Ohio State University. By then I knew that I wanted to be a college professor. I finished my dissertation and graduated in 1976. My academic interests were international in focus, and included special fields like national development, security, and European affairs. I also knew, keeping in mind my experiences at Otterbein and at Wilmington, that I wanted a permanent teaching position at a small college. I then taught for Boston University (in Germany), and at Wright State University, in Ohio. In 1979 I started teaching at Drew University; a good, small, liberal arts school in Madison, New Jersey. It was also an excellent place for a family. We raised our sons, Will and Matt, while living there, and stayed for almost 30 years. Cathy also worked there as an administrator---for a long time as Director of Study Abroad Programs. During these years I often taught and directed Drew's programs that were off campus, scattered in many places in the world. These included directing and teaching in London, Mexico City, Brussels, Washington DC, and at the UN in Manhattan, and always with a group of Drew undergraduates along. As I suggested above, Otterbein never quite left me and while I can see the reflection in my life and decisions of many other experiences, I can certainly still see Otterbein, too.