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2 THE PROFESShouseseeOR'S LAURENCE BROtADHURST Professor Richardson's students have noticed the good casting and the appropriate setting; his bushy beard, his large glasses framing those keen eyes, his ready smile, his warm voice, all accompanying a tall, trimly dressed man with a steadygait who roams the beauvtiful UniversityCollege and toils away in his charming office, One reason so mvany of his students consider him such a fine professor is simply this: he fits the bill so well As I polled as many of his current and former senior students as I could, however, I learned that they considered this package strictly preliminary. Recurring words appeared in conversations with these students, A simple list conveysthe tenon enthusiasm,knowledge, tolerance, humour,graciousness, honesty, charisma, humility, wisdom;down­to­earth, good­natured, organized, straightforward, open'minded, patient, insightful, co­operative, daring,prepared, supportive, approachable; teacher and friend. The particular combination of traits was consistently portrayed as both disarmingand contagious. Circles ofstudents, regardlessoftheir pursuitspost­Richardson, expressed a hope that they might one day be like him. For some, it wasa hope to engage the attention of an inquisitive group, or to teach, or to earn such respect.For others, it wasa hope to exhibit clear joy in one's vocation, (One student last year remarked to him that he must be awaiting his retirement eagerly. It was a comment, not a question, but he returned an earnest answer all the same: "No,") As a current student noted, it might also simply be a "hope to treat others kindly, with interest and with dignity." Honourable, equal treatment of students is his trademark. Just one example of this is his insistence on including senior undergraduates in his graduate seminars, encouraging the former while checking the egos of the graduate students. Hisclearpreferencefor topicsand approaches that mesh the 32 TEXT ANDARTIFACT literary with the architectural never pens in those who wish to take another path—one thinks of his beaming face on the opening day of seminars as students introduce themselves and he avidly jots down notes on particular language skills, artistic talents, computer expertise and travel experience. Remarkable too ishis obsessive deference to the primarysources. True, he begins each seminar with extensive bibliographies, but it is to the primary sources that he speaks, relentlessly.Not only does this program strongly direct hiswards,but his additional decree on balanced treatment ofthe canonical and the non­canonical further shapes their training. Diligently, he acquaints his students with the accoutrements of academic life: conferences, colloquia, work­study programs, fellowships, grants and particularly other scholars. Most of the senior students of antiquity at the Centre for the Study of Religion have shared a drink with real, breathing New Testament luminaries. As well, for several years Professor Richardson has convened the Colloquium on Religions of Classical Antiquity at the Centre, a series that treats allpresenters with equalrespect. How manygraduate students can say that they have presented in the same colloquium series as Jerome Murphy­O'Connor? Stimulating is his love of travel to the sites of the Roman Empire. How many excited students has he sent on their nervous wayto excavations in the Middle East?How many have walked out ofhis classroom with abiding images of ancient Corinth in their heads, images created by his guided tour of an eclectic collection ofslides? Because he showed them, how many now know the difference between a Greek and a Roman theatre; know whyhillside audience buildings are not amphitheatres; and can identify a Roman temple, a bouleuterion, an odeon, a Roman house and even a latrine? Naturally, it was Professor Richardson who initiated and facilitated my trip to Turkey. For several years I had been studyingthe synagogue of ancient Sardis with him. As I stepped off the bus in Sardis last summer, I made my way as ifby custom to a looming structure, found myself standing in the synagogue and was overwhelmed by familiarity. I realized with a sigh that the long trip was exhilarating but superfluous: myprofessorhad already taken me to ancient Sardis. ...

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