The office in the Humanities building is not what one would expect for an SFSU professor and well-known author. A desk and computer are nowhere to be found. Instead, the office has a framed Taoist painting, comfortable leather loveseat, matching leather chair, cherry wood armoire, filing cabinet, teapot, microwave and telephone.
Not so surprising, however, are the many photos of George Leonard's colleagues, friends and family. These photos stir fond thoughts for him, especially when he talks about his 10-year-old son Andrew [whom he's taking on a road trip to Universal Studios this summer, the father for business and the son for fun.]
Pictures of former students adorn the file cabinet. Student essays going back 15 years can be found inside the cabinet. He makes a point of memorizing each student's name, and many keep in touch long after graduation.
Leonard, an interdisciplinary humanities professor who began his teaching career at Yale in 1972, has a passion to help students realize their dreams, especially those who are struggling academically and those who are the first members of their families to attend college. He is always proud to share his vision of SFSU's mission with professors from Ivy League universities.
"We change blue collar to white collar, unemployed to employed, renter to homeowner, outside to insider, alienated to included," he tells them. "We build the basis for a civil society."
Leonard is an expert on Chinese culture and philosophy, the teacher of popular courses like The Humanities: Major Works and Humanism and Mysticism, and former editor of the College of Humanities Magazine -- but like many SFSU faculty, that's only a fraction of his vita.
He also speaks seven languages: Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Latin, Greek and Mandarin Chinese. He has written several novels, edited an award-winning reference book titled Asian Pacific Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts and wrote Into the Light of Things, a well-regarded U. of Chicago Press book of avant-garde art theory. He created the concepts and choreography of Sha Na Na, a popular 1950s-style band that played at Woodstock. Ron Howard, one of the hottest directors in Hollywood, purchased the screenplay and movie rights for The Ice Cathedral, Leonard's ultra-violent, lyric novel about a genius who kills hunters for sport.
"San Francisco State has a long history of colorful characters on the faculty, and George is one of them," said English Professor Jim Kohn, who has known him since 1986 when Leonard joined SFSU. "He is certainly one of the best assets of the campus."
Several years ago, Leonard was exclusively teaching graduate students and felt he had lost his inspiration for teaching. He was working on several screenplays, and the glamour and luxury of Hollywood were calling. He took a leave in 1996-97 and moved to China, his wife's homeland, where he hoped to rekindle his spirituality and determine the direction of his life.
Leonard's passion to teach was re-ignited during this time of thought and reflection. His father, a judge and a former lawyer for Robert Kennedy, had recently died and George felt a subconscious need to "pick up the torch." He thought about the time he yearned to teach in prisons after earning his doctorate in literature from Columbia University. Reminded of the wisdom of Confucius, he realized he could live a life that balances the financial security that Hollywood offers with his opportunities to change students' lives at SFSU.
"You need more than money in life; you need a meaningful life," he says. "Confucius said, 'Wealth and fame are what every man desires.' The moral question, for Confucius, isn't whether we want good things. Of course we do. But what are we willing to trade for them?"
Now Leonard is dedicated to teaching more than ever. In his computer-free office, students stop by not only to discuss coursework but also issues in their personal lives. He also cordially offers tea to all guests in his office.
When in the office alone, he enjoys gazing out the window, where he can see many trees and even a tiny portion of the Pacific Ocean. The loveseat folds out into a bed, where Leonard takes a 30-minute nap before his evening classes.
After class Leonard heads to his desk at home, where he often writes until 2:30 a.m.
He is in negotiations with his editor, Alan Thomas, now head of the University of Chicago Press, which published Into the Light of Things, to publish new books....
Although it is unclear when Ron Howard and Universal Pictures will make a movie based on The Ice Cathedral, Leonard has high hopes and is ecstatic that [Howard] won Best Director and Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind.
"It's like being on the Lakers with Kobe and Shaq, and dying to start in a game," says Leonard, who grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and now lives in Redwood City.
In the meantime, he will continue to do what he enjoys most: teach, write and spend time with his wife and son.