George McNulty ’67

I am saddened to learn of the death of Joe Platt. He was president of the College when I arrived as an 18 year old freshman from San Jose (then known for its plum, apricots, and cherries) in 1963. I treasured seeing him riding his bicycle through the College, stopping in with his guitar at the North Dorm lounge in the evenings to sing physics songs about Isadore Isaac Rabi and his days at the Radiation Laboratory, and ensuring the future of our College through the hiring of a dedicated brilliant faculty who cared enough about us to work our tails off and through his fund raising efforts that in particular ensured that each student who could get into the place could be fully funded (as I was for 3 years–I was able to pay for the last year).

What a guy and what an act to follow!

Larry Hartwick

St. Mary's, MD

I knew Joe as a young staff member involved in the expansion of the campus during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. After my first project, I felt that we had made a mistake in ignoring the original design for the campus. I went back into the files and saw how intimately involved Joe was in the architectural development of the campus. I read the correspondence. I saw Joe’s incredible effort to raise the funds and build a campus that represented the marriage of the humanities and sciences. Some time later, I confided in Joe that I had made a mistake in not knowing more about the history of the campus and not being able to advocate for a better architectural design. He said simply not to worry about mistakes but believe in your ability to see what was right in the future. The advice had nothing to do with the campus. It had everything to do with me growing as a person.

Joe really loved the campus. But he never offered an opinion on how we were developing the campus except asking me when we were going to renovate the pool.

I remember how he loved to go to the dorms and sing for the students.

I don’t think I ever meet an individual with such goodness and wisdom as Joe (unless you count Jean). They are both inspirational to us all.

Steven Spielman ’86

Oakland, CA

The singing: ‘It ain’t the money … that makes the nucleus go round, it’s the-philosophical-ethical-principle-of … the thing!’, and other favorites.

Joe Stone ’63

It is very sad to hear of Dr. Platt’s passing. I felt additional attachment to Dr. Platt because of the Rochester connection as he went to the U of R and I worked at Kodak—at that time significant Rochester features. But also Dr. Platt attended the U of R with one of my very good friends at Kodak. Dr. Platt made HMC a very special place. I remember passing by the President’s house on the way to a meal at CMC and seeing his young daughters riding their tricycles in the driveway. His spirit will be missed by all who knew him.

Thomas & Joanne (Fisk) Shapard '65 ’67

Retired in Escondido California

I first met Joe as I came in as a freshman in 1961. Joanne met him two years later as she too became a student at HMC. We both remember well his warmth then, and over the many years since. We will miss him, and we will always remember him for his grace, wisdom, humor, and all around human good will.

Jean Strauss

Wife HMC president emeritus Jon Strauss

The moment I heard that Joe had passed away, my first thought was of Jean. I cannot think of him without her – they were that kind of couple, a partnership, lifelong mates, they belonged together.

Shortly before Jon and I left HMC in 2006, we talked Joe and Jean into putting their footprints and handprints in cement. They both gamely took off their shoes, smushed their hands and feet in, and then signed their names. I hope someday that block of cement is put out on campus, so that those who loved Joe can put their hands where he put his, and that future generations can be reminded of this remarkable couple who helped set in motion the Mobius strip that is HMC.

I also cannot think of Joe without thinking of the HMC family. The college and the campus that he helped build obviously meant a great deal to him, but he was most proud of the good works being done by Mudd graduates and faculty, not just in science and engineering, but in helping humankind. To him, that was his legacy.

As were Ann and Beth, his two extraordinary daughters with Jean (who had to share both of their parents with an entire campus full of people) and his four grandchildren.

It would be hard to pick a single word to define Joe, because he was fun and witty and musical and curious and so smart, so caring. But if I had to pick one word it would be integrity. The foundation of Harvey Mudd College was built with it.

I can hear Joe in my mind right now, playing his guitar and singing “It Ain’t the Money”, to the delight of a Saddlerock audience. I don’t know if I have the lyrics exactly right, but from what I remember, they sum up Joe Platt pretty well.

It ain’t the money
It’s the principle of the thing
It ain’t the money
There’s things that money just can’t buy
It ain’t the money
That makes the nucleus go round
It’s the philosophical ethical moral principle, of the thing.

Aki Nakamura ’66

Retired engineer, Osaka, Japan

I was enrolled into HMC campus at the beginning of the summer,’65. I was one of a few foreign students there, and we were invited to Joe’s house for a quiet evening then. It was a great experience for a guy with little experience or exposure to the American way of life in those days. I have to thank again for Mr. and Mrs. Platt’s kind attention to even a smallest member of the campus. I still clearly remember the night even after half a century.

Jeffrey Chu ’77

President and CEO, Glowlink, Los Altos, California

HMC under Joe’s leadership literally changed my life. I was an impoverished student finding my way in Hong Kong when HMC plugged me out of nowhere and gave me a great education, and now I am running a technology innovation company here in the fabled Silicon Valley. As exciting and rewarding a ride it has been, it all fades to the background whenever I think about the wonderful freshman orientation dinner at Joe and Jean’s house and Joe’s playing the guitar in East Dorm (where I resided 3 of 4 years). Here’s the President and founder of HMC, dressed up as Santa Claus and singing and playing with a guitar?! Never heard of! Totally amazing! Simply magical!

Brian Boyle ’67

Retired but busy, just across the border from Berkeley

It was late in the Summer of 1963, at Freshman orientation for the Class of ’67, that I first met Joe and Jean and The Guitar. HMC was still in its infancy and they were its parents — and ours in many ways.

We all had many better-known options for our undergrad educations, and a lot of us were quietly, secretly worried as to whether we had really made the right choice. The campus center and science building were incomplete, there were no Life Science courses, and every visible structure was covered in weird warts.

Then this quietly smiling, silver-haired guy –who just happened to have helped design one of the (then) world’s largest “atom-smashers” (the quarter-GeV synchrocylclotron)– picked up his guitar and dazzled us with the ever-so-clever tongue-twisting “Bluebeard,” and smoothly segued into “It Ain’t the Money” (…that makes the nucleus go round) and we all knew we’d picked the right place.

We all know Joe and Jean had a hand, a big part, in crafting HMS’s original Mission Statement and creating it complex logo, both stressing the need for bridging The Two Cultures in society, uniting the Sciences and Humanities in its alumni, of making the people of this planet responsible to the Earth and the universe. But for me, the most significant symbol of that ideal union was the one couple that lived with us on campus at the corner of Mills and Twelfth Street.

We’ll miss you mightily, Joe — all six thousand of your adopted children.

Bruce Worster ’64

Alum & former trustee, Los Altos Hills, CA

Every conversation I ever had with Joe was a mix of stimulating, interesting, and educational. As an alum from the early years, I am saddened by our loss and grateful for his life and for the school he built.