Alfred F. Conard and Allan F. Smith

I am delighted to be able to participate in honoring Al Conard and Allan Smith, but I confess that I am puzzled as to why I have been invited to speak. I have not had either as a teacher. Moreover, their scholarly contributions are sufficiently removed from my areas of interest that I cannot evaluate the importance of their work. Nor was I in a good position to observe Allan's service as Dean or as Vice President for Academic Affairs.