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Gordon leaves Grinnell, stage: Theatre prof resigned abruptly

BY EMMA JERNDAL AND AMANDA BAYLISS

When Theatre majors began arriving back in Grinnell this August, many of them went straight to the office of Pip Gordon, a favorite professor, for words of advice. But instead of their professor, all they found was a whiteboard full of "Pip-isms."

"It's never too late to change your major," Gordon wrote to her "Grinnell family." "When theatre isn't fun any more-get out of it."

Gordon had taken her own advice, resigned abruptly and moved to Mississippi to devote her life to writing and a newly founded construction company. Her resignation was a surprise to her advisees, the first-years assigned to her tutorial and the members of her Introduction to Stagecraft class.

Her Stagecraft class was cancelled. Students in her tutorial were assigned to Laura Sinnett, Psychology, for a new tutorial. The Theatre department is searching for a professor to teach Gordon's spring classes.

Gordon, reached by e-mail, declined to comment about her departure, but explained her new focus in life. "My dream is to start a program in which I can teach at-risk women, young and old, how to build a bookshelf, a chair, a shed or a house so they are empowered to build or rebuild their lives," Gordon wrote. "Women with powertools-look out!!"

Associate Dean Jon Chenette, who served as acting chair of the Theatre department last year, said that no one had any warning about Gordon's departure.

Sarah Smith '07, a Theatre major, was surprised. "It was a shock [because] I found out a week before I came here."

Gordon spent last semester on sabbatical helping with the rebuilding of New Orleans. The semester before had been tumultuous for Gordon. She had been the chair of the Theatre department off and on for the previous five years, but was removed from that position after conflicts within the department and a recommendation from outside reviewers. Many students feared that she would be fired from her teaching position as well.

In light of these events, many students could understand why Gordon had left. "I wasn't shocked," said Theatre major Saul St. John '07. "You can't really expect someone to stick around at a school where they treat professors like that."

Theatre major Carolyn Voss '07 agreed. "She was in a tense situation," Voss said. "It was hard for her to deal with all the bureaucracy and red tape. At some point it becomes not worth fighting for."

Erik Sanning, Theatre, wasn't sure how much the controversy had affected Gordon's decision. "There have been some growing pains and some personal conflicts, but I don't know how much that factored into her departure," he said.

Smith said she thinks Gordon was simply losing interest in theatre. She was "starting to realize theatre wasn't what she wanted to be doing with her life," Smith said.

Though students and faculty alike expressed regret for Gordon's departure, many also said that it was a good move for her. Sanning said that Gordon's position, which required both teaching and work on production design, was a high-stress job from which both her predecessors had resigned.

Gordon, whose specialty was in stage and set design, recently founded "Kiwi Construction and Design Services" in Columbus, Mo. She plans to use her company to rebuild homes in New Orleans, where she will work with Grinnell students and alumni.

She has also begun writing about her experiences in academia and theatre and her Mormon upbringing. Gordon has a positive outlook on her future. "At 50, I am changing my major," Gordon wrote in an e-mail. "Like all of you, I too get to graduate."

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