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The Daily OrangeThe Frontman: Professor's passion for music, teaching highlights him in the classroom and on stage
By Chase W. Wright
Posted: 1/24/08, 10:43 PM EST Section: News
Music is a huge part of his life. It's what introduced him to his wife. It's what enabled him to develop unbreakable friendships with people he never thought he would, and it has given him life lessons and experiences of which most aren't fit to print.
As a young man in the early 1980s, a period that saw rock music become harder, raunchier and more diverse, Stanton became serious about his music career, while attending Dartmouth College. He would split time between his contemporary rock band, Full Circle and his reggae-inspired group, Root System, playing at various venues and parties.
"It was a big distraction from doing any useful school work," Stanton said about his early music experiences. "I'm trying to think of a story that's fit for public consumption," he said.
After more than a minute of pondering, staring into space with a slight smile he said, "I don't know, they're all really bad." A few seconds later he added, "a lot of fun though."
After graduating from Dartmouth in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a minor in music, he moved out to Boston to pursue his dreams of making it big in the music industry- a decision he would later reveal as "misplaced optimism."
However, it was in Boston that Stanton met his soon-to-be wife Judy, a professional violinist with a love of music even greater than his own. The two started a band together, Big House, which lasted no more than three years.
They married in 1987, and in 1999 had their first and thus far only child, Abe.
As a professor Stanton may be tough, but his expertise of information technology and interpersonal skills keeps students engaged.
He said the undergraduate level is tougher. Last fall, Stanton taught the iSchool's introductory course IST195; approximately 200 students packed into Watson Auditorium in the early hours of the morning. If it wasn't his constant pacing up and down the alleyway that separates the two large rows of seats, it was his way of relating algorithms and binary code to everyday life that kept students from text messaging on their cell phones.
As a young man in the early 1980s, a period that saw rock music become harder, raunchier and more diverse, Stanton became serious about his music career, while attending Dartmouth College. He would split time between his contemporary rock band, Full Circle and his reggae-inspired group, Root System, playing at various venues and parties.
"It was a big distraction from doing any useful school work," Stanton said about his early music experiences. "I'm trying to think of a story that's fit for public consumption," he said.
After more than a minute of pondering, staring into space with a slight smile he said, "I don't know, they're all really bad." A few seconds later he added, "a lot of fun though."
After graduating from Dartmouth in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a minor in music, he moved out to Boston to pursue his dreams of making it big in the music industry- a decision he would later reveal as "misplaced optimism."
However, it was in Boston that Stanton met his soon-to-be wife Judy, a professional violinist with a love of music even greater than his own. The two started a band together, Big House, which lasted no more than three years.
They married in 1987, and in 1999 had their first and thus far only child, Abe.
As a professor Stanton may be tough, but his expertise of information technology and interpersonal skills keeps students engaged.
He said the undergraduate level is tougher. Last fall, Stanton taught the iSchool's introductory course IST195; approximately 200 students packed into Watson Auditorium in the early hours of the morning. If it wasn't his constant pacing up and down the alleyway that separates the two large rows of seats, it was his way of relating algorithms and binary code to everyday life that kept students from text messaging on their cell phones.
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