Gordon Fellman (SOC) has curly, frizzy hair. He speaks in hushed tones with a soft and pleasant voice. He is a middle-aged man of average stature and height, and he dresses casually. He has a humble and genuine appearance. But greatness is often disguised in the most unassuming characters.

This reporter went to meet the man who has been a professor of sociology at Brandeis for 40 years and counting. More than just a formal interview, the encounter was a learning experience all around. It was a revealing tale of a university that has come a long way, a thoughtful lesson on social movements and political change, and a glimpse of "Gordie."

Fellman has been at this University 10 times longer than most students will ever be, and he has gained an immense perspective on Brandeis, coupled with a deep understanding of the forces that drive us as a society. And he's not too shy to share his knowledge with others, either.

From the decoration of his office in Pearlman Hall, Fellman's activist identity is clear. The cozy room is full of posters and memorabilia of environmental groups, anti-Bush campaigns and the Dalai Lama.

Throughout his years here, Fellman has helped organize countless anti-war rallies, including the on-campus demonstration last year against the war in Iraq.

Fellman was there during the 60s, and he remembers well what he described as the "chaotic" years of 1968 and 1969. He recalled when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, when African-American students took over Ford and Sydeman Halls to rally for better minority representation at Brandeis and in more recent memory, when the Dalai Lama visited the school for a few days in 1998. This happened at Fellman's behest, no less, who remembers meeting the Dalai Lama as "the greatest event at Brandeis in my time."

"Whatever is going on in the larger culture has its manifestations here, and in the 60s there was so much going on," Fellman said. He helped organize a national campaign, headquartered here, against the Vietnam War during the early 70s. To this day, he has supported a large number of other initiatives to promote political activism here.

An event to honor Fellman took place on Sunday, March 21. Many who have worked with him throughout the years took a chance to express their appreciation of Fellman. The audience enjoyed these speeches, as well as performances by the Late Night Players comedy troupe and a documentary about Fellman created by Seth Bernstein '06.

During the open-mic session at the event, Alexander Liazos, a former student of Fellman's who is now a professor at Regis College, and many others associated with "Gordie" expressed their feelings. One alumnus said Fellman allowed him "to do what I want to do, and to do it better." A group of Tibetan students sang a song in his honor. Fellman called the event a "terrific success."

In the 40 years since Fellman came to Brandeis, "so many students have been so positively affected by him," Liazos said. As a graduate student of sociology, Liazos came to Brandeis the same year as Fellman, and the two soon became "very fond of each other," as they developed a strong (quasi-)academic relationship.

Fellman said he likes Brandeis. "This is not Michigan or BU," he explained. "I like the smaller size, I like the location a lot, and I like Boston and Cambridge." Liazos noted that that "Brandeis is now twice as crowded as when I was there," and that there was "much more open space" back in his heyday. Nonetheless, Liazos said that "that's just the way of things" for universities, and he is glad that Brandeis has grown so much in just a few decades.

"Brandeis is unique. It was then and it is now," Fellman said. He particularly enjoys the "tradition of social activism at the university," he said, stressing the word "tradition." "It waxes and wanes, you know," he added as an afterthought.

Fellman said that for him, the greatest advance made in the field of sociology during his lifetime was the "paradigm shift from more strictly quantitative methods to giving real thought to the issues at hand." Liazos confirmed this, saying that "sociology professors are often very harsh because they want to have it their way, but Gordie was different. He let me figure out my own way and then helped me do it like that."

Fellman also cited the advances in women's rights as a great achievement, and praised the Women's Studies Department and the Women's Studies Research Center as "a great example of progress ... together with the success of the TYP Program and the African-American Studies Department."

But the problems of race and gender inequality are far from over, Fellman said. "Racism permeates American society ... it's called structural violence, and there's some of that going on at Brandeis, too," he said, citing the Dusty Baker incident, a dispute between the Brandeis Black Students Organization and the Justice over the appropriate reaction to a racial slur printed in a sports column.

"I thought it wasn't handled too well, actually," he said, referring to the incident. "I think the Administration is learning slowly."

Fellman said that racism is everywhere, "so why not take it on? Why not ask what in the society generates this?"

"Not meaning to romanticize," Liazos went on to say, "both Gordie and I were shaped by the 60s." He said he admires Fellman's commitment to social justice, and that "Gordie's and also my own questioning and critical points of view are a product of the 60s."

Fellman is currently teaching a class on the influence of social class on individual fulfillment (SOC 112b), as well as a University Seminar (USEM 38b) on people's world views. He has written numerous books, including The Nuclear Seduction: Why the Arms Race Doesn't Matter and What Does (1990) and Rambo and the Dalai Lama: The Compulsion to Win and Its Threat to Human Survival (1998). Fellman also mentioned that he will be teaching a new class next semester that studies "Freud as a major social theorist."

Fellman has no plans for retirement as of yet, and plans to stay at the University "for as long as I am healthy."

Fellman celebrated his first marriage four-and-a-half-years ago. His wife is Pamela Blau, a musician and a therapist. The couple has adopted two children, Talia and Ezra Fellman-Blau, 1 and 3-years old, respectively.