My
Story: Jim Carter
After graduating from Monroe
High School, Jim went to Cornell University, majoring in Chemistry.
After graduation, he immediately went to the University of Michigan from
which he received his Master's and Doctoral degrees in Organic
Chemistry.
For almost ten years he worked
in industrial research. He then taught chemistry in several colleges in
the New York City area. In 1981, he began his long association with
Barnard College, the Women's Division of Columbia University. He was an
active Barnard faculty member until 1997 when it was necessary for him
to be placed on a disability leave of absence. He was in fact still a
Barnard faculty member at his death on February 29,2000.
Jim and Liz were married in 1962
in Ann Arbor, Michigan as he completed his doctoral work. They moved to
the Upper Westside of Manhattan and lived very happily there until Liz's
retirement in 1998. They then moved to Florida for the winters and
continued to go to their little piece of paradise on Raccoon Island in
Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey for the summers. Jim loved the water -
swimming, canoeing and sailing - all sports he learned in Rochester.
From the Barnard College
Newsletter: Jim Carter, former director of the organic chemistry
laboratory, died in February after a long struggle against cancer. He is
survived by his wife, Elizabeth. Jim came to Barnard as a part-time
instructor and was a member of the faculty until 1997. He was a man of
wit and wisdom but few words, and always attempted to inculcate
self-confidence in students, to get them to develop what we call good
hands and physical intuition in the laboratory, to make them aware they
had to learn to work things out for themselves, and to realize that they
could do that. He always paid strict attention to the minutest details,
so large numbers of students were served in our courses but each student
felt she had individual attention. He was always quietly proud of our
very best students, and supportive and helpful to all. He set a standard
we hope to continue to meet. - Leslie Lessinger, Professor of Chemistry