James Stewart, '73, performed a piano recital in the Faculty Select
Series during his latest visit to DePauw.
TYLER MURPHY / THE DEPAUW
James B. Stewart, ’73, is a jack of many trades.
Stewart works as a journalist and has for decades. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 when he worked at The Wall Street Journal, has written for The New Yorker since 1992 and currently writes the “Common Sense” business column for The New York Times.
But he also serves as an advising member of DePauw University’s Board of Trustees, teaches economic and business journalism at Columbia University in New York and plays the piano.
Stewart returns to DePauw frequently and added another visit to his list earlier this week when he returned for the fall Board of Trustees meeting.
For him, remaining involved in his alma mater has been an “enriching experience.” He believes that the small, liberal arts school experience should be treasured.
“It’s been a key dimension of my life,” Stewart said.
After graduating from DePauw in 1973, he attended Harvard Law School. Although he is a member of the Bar in New York, law isn’t his passion. He chose to leave it behind for his true passion: journalism. That’s the story he told when he spoke to Samuel Autman’s news writing and editing class this week.
“It was cool to hear him talk about how you can be successful doing something that you love,” sophomore Kristin Martin said.
Stewart traces his passion for print back to his term as editor-in-chief of The DePauw in the fall semester of his senior year, 1972.
“It was still a tumultuous time on American campuses,” Stewart said.
Nationally, the country faced the Vietnam War and Watergate. During Stewart’s time at DePauw, students firebombed the campus ROTC building, which stood where Bowman Park is now before it burned down. During Stewart’s semester as editor of The DePauw, the newspaper published an editorial backing George McGovern, the 1972 democratic candidate, in the presidential election, a bold move in the red state of Indiana.
“I went to get my haircut and the barber refused to cut my hair because I was editor of the paper that supported McGovern,” Steward said.
The late 60s and early 70s were a tumultuous time for DePauw as well. Students began challenging archaic social norms such as women returning to the dorms by 11 p.m. on weeknights and students wearing formal attire to dinner.
“People were wearing t-shirts with peace signs and a noose around their necks,” Stewart said. “I didn’t, but people were.”
The face the university put on 40 years ago looked very different as well. Stewart remembers DePauw administrators propagating an image of DePauw as alcohol free, sexual assault free and homosexuality free. Stewart remembers fewer non-white students on campus as well.
“There was a lot that went on," Stewart said. "You were just supposed to keep quiet about it."
The administrators kept up the façade by refusing to talk to student journalists.
“I don’t think the president at the time gave me a single interview as editor,” Stewart said.
Despite a reluctant administration, Stewart’s generation moved the student media into a louder role. He recalled working on an investigative piece into the firing of the then-head of facilities management. The rumor was the man lost his job because the university president’s wife wanted it. Stewart was so deep into the investigation that he hadn’t been doing the reading for his New Testament class. When the professor gave a surprise essay quiz, Stewart said he wrote a straight-forward essay explaining he hadn’t done the reading because of the newspaper’s investigation.
“The professor called me in and said, ‘I have to give you an F, but keep what you’re doing,'” Stewart said. “There were faculty members behind the scene egging us on.”
If journalism is Stewart’s major passion, music is his minor one. Stewart began playing the piano when he was in fifth grade and has taken lessons intermittently since. Stewart practices the piano for an hour each day, using it to push everything from his mind and focus.
“I think it’s a little bit like meditation for some people,” Stewart said.
During his visit this week, Stewart performed a recital for the Faculty Select Series, accompanied by baritone Benjamin Weil. The two performed Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Minor and a full-length performance of Robert Schumann’s song cycle “Dichterliebe.”
“He had a nice choice song wise,” said Crystal Lau, a junior music student. “It kept my brain busy.”
Although he didn’t study music while at DePauw, the School of Music factored into his decision to attend school in Greencastle. For Stewart, playing the piano isn’t all that different from journalism.
“It’s similar in that it’s another form of storytelling,” Stewart said.
Stewart has spent over half of his life storytelling, but he isn’t bored.
“It’s still a thrill,” he said. “I hope it always is.”