'World of Possibilities'

'World of Possibilities'

By Sean Roth

Real Estate Editor

On a white bookcase in Dr. Arland Christ-Janer's study is a picture that seems out of place. Among the diverse collection of art pieces, awards, retirement plaques and family photos, sits a gray photograph that shows a row of barbwire fencing, a dirty sidewalk and, in the background, a prostitute making her rounds.

Christ-Janer, Chris to his friends, took the photograph in early 1984 while walking the grounds at the Ringling School of Art and Design, where he had just been named president.

The photo is perched with his other achievements and mementos as a reminder of how things once were for downtown Sarasota and how they've changed. From various leadership roles with colleges and committees, Christ-Janer has played a big role in that progress. He has served as president at both New College and the Ringling School, and he founded the community group Gateway 2000.

He will be recognized for his community work Nov. 10 when the Argus Foundation presents him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The foundation is made up business leaders from the greater Sarasota area.

"Chris lives in the world of possibilities - whether as the catalyst to bringing the Ritz-Carlton to town or being a mentor to a local bank executive when she decided to change careers," says Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of the William G. Selby and Marie Selby Foundation.

Current New College president Gordon Michalson Jr., describes his predecessor as savvy, with a comedic side.

"He has an incredible natural charm," Michalson says. "All I know is that Chris is phenomenal at getting a yes answer without even asking a question. He is also a really funny guy, and I admittedly have spent years stealing jokes from him."

High waves

Christ-Janer almost didn't make it to Sarasota. As a bombardier in the U.S. Army in World War II, he was shot down in a B-29 bomber during a mission near the city of Yocohama, Japan. Christ-Janer and the surviving crewmembers had to endure the 35-foot high waves of a typhoon.

"It felt like I lived five years of my life out there, but it only lasted a day and a half," he says. "We only had the idea that we were pretty close to coast of Japan so our next plan was to try to float to Seattle."

That plan never had time to coalesce. A submarine rose to the surface to recharge its electrical batteries.

"We just gave up," Christ-Janer says, "Then we saw the American flag. It took a long time for them to get us aboard because the waves were so high, but the nicest thing of the whole deal was they ran out of beds so I ended up sleeping in the weapons room between two torpedoes."

After the war, Christ-Janer, who had a bachelor's degree in Greek from Carlton College in Minnesota, graduated from the Yale Divinity School and then earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

Those degrees translated into several administrative positions at St. John's College in Annapolis, Md., and eventually to the vice presidency. In 1961, Christ-Janer, then in his late 30s, was named president of Cornell College of Mount Vernon, Iowa.

In 1967, he became president of Boston University, and he served through much of the social upheaval of the '60s.

"It was an interesting time," Christ-Janer says. "The students realized they had to challenge a lot of old ideas."

Christ-Janer tried to take a non-confrontational approach to the anti-Vietnam War student movement, which led to some priceless moments, including a lunch date with the president of the Students for a Democratic Society. "The SDS announced they planned to destroy the presidents of Harvard, Yale and Boston University," Christ-Janer says. "So I figured if somebody wanted to destroy me I might as well find out why so I called up their president asked him to lunch. He agreed, and we had lunch at the University Club."

New college, new challenge

In 1973, Christ-Janer was hired as president of New College in Sarasota.

"It had great programs, great students and great teachers," Christ-Janer says 'There was only one thing they forget to tell me - the school was bankrupt. I was in the second board meeting when I announced I was changing the agenda to: 'Do we close the school today or wait until next week? We're broke and can't write the payroll.'"

The solution Christ-Janer arrived at was transferring the private school into the state system. With help from his assistant at New College, Brud Arthur, Christ-Janer was able to raise about $4.3 million from the Florida Legislature in three months. With the money in place, the state legislature was able to assume the college and merge it into the University of South Florida.

"I think Chris' ability to keep the school stable and intact during the terrible financial difficulties of the '70s was pretty incredible," Michalson says. "It really cost him dearly. There was a backlash from the faculty and others. But I think he made the right decision."

Christ-Janer left New College following the merger and became president of Stephens College, an all-women's school in mid-Missouri. He stayed there for eight years. After a short retirement, Christ-Janer became president of the Ringling School.

"I had been an exhibiting artist for a long time and Ringling was a very special art school where students came to discover art and refine the power of their intellect," Christ-Janer says. "But it wasn't just about gaining the skills to get a job; it was about teaching these students citizenship. Our program was about getting students involved in their community."

As president of the Ringling school, Christ-Janer presided over one of the biggest changes in the school's curriculum: the addition of computers. To pay for the added cost, Christ-Janer formulated a plan to bring in a big corporate sponsor: The Walt Disney Co.

"I had just read that Disney had opened up a studio over here for animation," Christ-Janer says. "So [vice president of Ringling] Frank Countryman and I went over there. When no one stopped us, we walked through their office writing down the heads of each department. I sent out five letters to people at Disney, and a week later, I got a call from the head of the animation department for Disney in California."

Loving Sarasota

Looking out for the Ringling school also propelled Christ-Janer to work to improve the downtown during a time when area real estate was languishing.

"I started going to all of the city commission meetings," Christ-Janer says. " At one of them I spoke at the end of the program. I told them I didn't want anything from them. I just wanted to tell them that I was organizing a group that was different from them, a group that would care about the north end of town. That got their attention."

That group was called Gateway 2000, and with addition of Rolland Heiser, Paul Wolf, Frank Folsom Smith, Glenda Mock and others, the group set about creating an identity for the area in Sarasota along U.S. 41 to 301 north of the water.

Among Gateway 2000's many successes was finding $800,000 in unspent funds to build a new median strip on Tamiami Trail, Bob Roskamp's development of Sarasota Bay Club on Tamiami Trail and the eventual development of the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. The attention paid by the group to the area also led city politicians to look more closely at the region.

"What Chris really did was bring all the business owners, the neighbors, the city and the colleges all together," Smith says. "Chris is as responsible as anyone for the success of the North Trail."

In 1996, Christ-Janer retired from Ringling school, but in 1998 he returned for a two-year term as the interim president after the unexpected departure of his successor. In 2000, Christ-Janer served as interim director for The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art for a year.

"I am of course terribly honored," he says. "No one ever does anything [of this scale] alone, especially the work at the Ringling school. I had so much help from the faculty; it was really a group effort. I have always loved Sarasota since the first time I laid eyes on it, and I always wanted to be a part of it."

Dr. Arland Christ-Janer

Born: Jan. 27, 1922, Garland, Neb.

Family: Married to Uta; five step-children; three grandchildren; three great-grand children.

Occupation: Past president of New College; past president of the Ringling School of Art and Design, founder of Gateway 2000, interim director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and director of the FSU-Ringling Center for the Cultural Arts.

Motto: First I never considered it work, I loved higher education. I always defined the institutions I worked for in terms of creating the best possible place for students to learn.