Fleming prepares for yet another role: Emeritus

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John Fleming, whose Princeton career spans nearly 40 years, "combines as impressively as anyone the special qualities that we prize in this faculty: extraordinary scholarly distinction, excellence in teaching, and deep commitment to education, broadly construed, both inside and outside the classroom," said Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel.

photo: Denise Applewhite

Fleming prepares for yet another role: Emeritus

by Jennifer Greenstein Altmann
Anyone who has attended Commencement at Princeton in the last 15 years could not help but notice Professor John Fleming. He is the towering figure at the head of the academic procession who calls the ceremony to order, his commanding voice and formidable presence perfectly setting the tone for an event with centuries of tradition behind it.

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But chief marshal is just one of the dozens of roles that Fleming, the Louis Fairchild '24 Professor of English and Comparative Literature, has embraced at Princeton in a career that has spanned almost 40 years. He has served as master of Wilson College, chair of the English department, faculty adviser to the Undergraduate Honor Committee, director of the Program of Freshman Seminars and columnist for The Daily Princetonian, to name just a handful of the many positions he has filled.

He has plunged thousands of students into Middle English in "Chaucer," a course considered a rite of passage for English majors during the 25 years that he has taught it. Throughout his career, he has produced scholarly work about medieval literature and other topics that has been marked by its originality and versatility.

And now, he's about to add another title behind his name: emeritus. He plans to go to a part-time schedule for the next two years before retiring in June 2006.

"John Fleming is such a complete Princeton citizen that it's hard to imagine the University without him," said Robert Fagles, the Arthur Marks '19 Professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus.

Read the full story in the Weekly Bulletin.

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