Our mission

The mission of Griffin Academy for Gifted Youth is to provide the finest possible supplemental education for those particularly motivated high schoolers who wish to make the most of their unique gifts in a small-scale, collegial setting. In addition to our advanced academic offerings, we aim to instill in our students an inherent sense of pride in their abilities, citizenship in their community, confidence in themselves, and awareness of their potential. We teach our students that they have the power to do or be anything - but also that with great power must come great responsibility.

Our faculty

Professor Donald E. Griffin, D.Ed., Ph.D. - Chancellor
Prof. Griffin holds an educational doctorate from New Avalon University and a Ph.D in Physics from the New Avalon Institute of Science. In addition to his duties as Chancellor of Griffin Academy, he holds a full-time science instructor position on the faculty of neighboring Beiwiru District High School, where the Academy's students will attend regular classes. He serves as the science curriculum coordinator for Beiwiru School District, which enables him to ensure that the Academy's offerings mesh perfectly with the program at BDHS.

Katherine Griffin, M.Sc., D.Sc. - Rectrix Magnifica
Our other, but by no means lesser, Prof. Griffin did her pre-doctoral work at the University of Chicago and NAIS, holds a doctorate in computer and information sciences from the Nekomi Institute of Techology, and knows more about the Chicago Cubs than any mortal human being should know. As Griffin Academy's rectrix, she is responsible for setting the Academy's educational goals and curriculum, as well as overseeing the professional development of the staff and the academic wellbeing of the student body. As if that weren't enough for one person to do, she also teaches the Academy's information sciences class!

Professor Rose Tyler, MB. ChB., Ph.D.
With a doctorate in Hyperscience and a medical degree from NAIS, and a degree in literature from NAU, Prof. Tyler rightly describes herself as a "Swiss Army scientist". In addition to her wide-ranging teaching duties, she provides expertise as the Academy's medical officer and still finds the time to star in the popular BBC drama Professor Enigma. As a card-carrying Tesladyne Certified Action Scientist, she also leads student field trips to some of the most exotic and fascinating corners of the cosmos.

John J. Smith, Ph.D.
With more degrees than even he can keep track of and areas of expertise that often surprise him as much as anyone else, Doctor Smith is uniquely qualified to instruct in practically any field required. In particular, there are few finer teachers of advanced mathematics or the history (and prehistory) of galactic civilization. He also plays a mean electric guitar.

Drake Lockheed, LL.D.
In addition to his duties as the Academy's legal counsel, Dr. Lockheed is our chief of campus security and attendance monitor. He also teaches one of our most popular elective courses, "CUI 102: Cooking With Fire".

Visiting Faculty
In addition to its regular roster of instructors, Griffin Academy is pleased to host a vibrant schedule of guest lecturers and visiting faculty from the far corners of the academic and scientific galaxy, including Prof. Peter B. Parker of the University of Aldera, NIT's Prof. Henry McCoy, Dr. Mordin Solus of the Halo Research Center, NAIS's Prof. Andrew Petrarca, and Prof. Charles Xavier of the Xavier Institute.

Whoever came up with the "Swiss Army scientist" is brilliant. And we've also found another scholastic institution that it is not in one's best interest to mess with.

…You made the dragon the legal counsel?

LAST EDITED ON Jan-30-12 AT 02:56 PM (EST)
 
>…You made the dragon the legal counsel?

He's the only one with a law degree.

--G.
"Hrgnfrxt!" [subtitle: OBJECTION!]
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>…You made the dragon the legal counsel?
>
>He's the only one with a law degree.

Please tell me this will be a Mini subject at some point.

>>>…You made the dragon the legal counsel?
>>
>>He's the only one with a law degree.
>
>Please tell me this will be a Mini subject at some point.

I so very much hope he'll have time for that. <mad grin>

“They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on.”
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

>>…You made the dragon the legal counsel?
>
>He's the only one with a law degree.
>
>--G.
>"Hrgnfrxt!" [subtitle: OBJECTION!]
>

I just imagined Lockheed as a junior partner at Naruhodo & Odoroki, or perhaps Wright and Justice, depending on how obscure you want to be.

Peter Eng
--
Just a throwaway gag, of course. The UF universe has no more room for courtroom drama than the WL universe does.

>>"Hrgnfrxt!" [subtitle: OBJECTION!]
>I just imagined Lockheed as a junior partner at Naruhodo & Odoroki, or
>perhaps Wright and Justice, depending on how obscure you want to be.

I was just envisioning Lockheed in a classic Phoenix Wright pose, actually...

>Just a throwaway gag, of course. The UF universe has no more room for
>courtroom drama than the WL universe does.

Blasphemy! There is room for everything in the UF universe!

-- Bob
-------------------
My race is pacifist and does not believe in war. We kill only out of personal spite.

Just give me a moment to dig out my notes on incorporating The Edge of Night and My Little Pony into Warriors of the Outer Rim and I'll prove it!

>Just give me a moment to dig out my notes on
>incorporating The Edge of Night and My Little Pony into
>Warriors of the Outer Rim and I'll prove it!

With a little archive-fu, y'all might be able to dig up the forum information Gryphon provided on noted children's programme My Little Destroid: Friendship is Tactical. Because the very thought of it is pure, triple-distilled lovely.

---
"Yeah, I'm definitely going to hell/But I'll have all the best stories to tell" -- Frank Turner, The Ballad of Me and My Friends

>
>With a little archive-fu, y'all might be able to dig up the forum
>information Gryphon provided on noted children's programme My
>Little Destroid: Friendship is Tactical. Because the very thought
>of it is pure, triple-distilled lovely.
>

Actually, that was Mr. Moyer's contribution.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

HAHAHA! This looks awesome. Sounds like Doc and Kitty decided to formalize their social life hanging out with their students.

this world created by the hands of the gods
everything is false
everything is a LIE
the final days have come
now
let everything be destroyed

--mu

Out of curiosity, what's the date of this document?

>Out of curiosity, what's the date of this document?

Don't know exactly. Sometime after Project Phoenix (probably at least a year after, assuming they aren't stretching the point a bit by mentioning Kitty's doctorate).

--G.
Some places in real life are actually giving out postnominal letters for being doctoral candidates now. That has kind of an "everybody gets prizes" flavor to it.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>Some places in real life are actually giving out postnominal
>letters for being doctoral candidates now. That has kind of an
>"everybody gets prizes" flavor to it.
>-><-

And colleges wonder why noone cares about their degrees or opinions anymore. Respect is earned--and so was their disrespect.

this world created by the hands of the gods
everything is false
everything is a LIE
the final days have come
now
let everything be destroyed

--mu

>and knows more about the Chicago Cubs than any mortal human being should know.

Being a Cubs fan must have well prepared Kitty's soul for the suffering that is being an X-Man.

------
(Says the Mariners fan!)
Jon Helscher

Oh God, it was me. I was the grognard all along.

>Being a Cubs fan must have well prepared Kitty's soul for the
>suffering that is being an X-Man.

There's a story from some years back, I forget the precise details at the moment, but it involves a bit in which a Bad Guy Type has captured Kitty and is endeavoring, without a ton of initial success, to brainwash her. At one point Bad Guy Type and his chief minion are observing the lack of progress by remote, and the minion, seeing that she's basically just not having any, remarks, "She's stubborn."

"She's a Cubs fan," Bad Guy Type replies. "They're not like other people."

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

No, indeed we are not.

�They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on.�
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

>
>Being a Cubs fan must have well prepared Kitty's soul for the
>suffering that is being an X-Man.
>
>------
>(Says the Mariners fan!)
>Jon Helscher
>

I hadn't considered that, but it makes sense.

And, as a person who sort of likes the Mariners (I never really got into sports) I think we might yet understand what Cubs fans feel; all we need is a century or so of not quite making it.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>(Says the Mariners fan!)
>Jon Helscher

You may want to try to track down one of the older Shadowrun books, "Wolf and Raven" by Mike Stackpole, set in Seattle (the default Shadowrun setting) where there's a number of references to the Mariners.

Or as they get referred to, the Seadogs.

(There's even a story involving baseball in an age of cybernetics and magic which is actually kinda fun.)

--
Geoff Depew - Darth Mephron
Haberdasher to Androids, Dark Lord of Sith Tech Support.
"And Remember! Google is your Friend!!"

>John J. Smith, Ph.D.
>Doctor Smith is uniquely qualified to instruct in practically any field required.

Doctor Smith? Oh, the pain...

<grin>

-- Bob
-------------------
My race is pacifist and does not believe in war. We kill only out of personal spite.

>>John J. Smith, Ph.D.
>>Doctor Smith is uniquely qualified to instruct in practically any field required.
>
>Doctor Smith? Oh, the pain...
>
><grin>
>
Should I be glad I don't get it?

LAST EDITED ON Feb-04-12 AT 12:12 PM (EST)
 
>>>John J. Smith, Ph.D.
>>>Doctor Smith is uniquely qualified to instruct in practically any field required.
>>
>>Doctor Smith? Oh, the pain...
>>
>><grin>
>>
>Should I be glad I don't get it?

Perhaps this will help.

(edit: meant to say I love this mini story)

Trigger Argee
Manon, Maccadon, Orado, etc.
Denton, never leave home without it.

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - HST

>Should I be glad I don't get it?

It's relatively trivial. The Doctor was confined to Earth for a few seasons, and UNIT created the identity of "Dr. John Smith" for him.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>
>>Should I be glad I don't get it?
>
>It's relatively trivial. The Doctor was confined to Earth for a few
>seasons, and UNIT created the identity of "Dr. John Smith" for him.

That's not actually what Bob was referring to - he was making a reference to Doctor Zachary Smith, the cowardly, sniveling villain of the piece in Lost in Space (whose catchphrase was "oh, the pain") - but it's true that "Dr. John Smith" is a long-standing alias of the Doctor's. (It's also the name he used when he was hiding out as a 20th-century human schoolteacher in the 2007 two-parter "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood".)

The middle initial used here, of course, is because "J" is the tenth letter of the modern Basic Latin alphabet.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Y'know, that's been bugging me for a while - where exactly does Eleventh fit into UF? Or have I missed something glaringly obvious to people with functional memories and/or brains?

---
"Yeah, I'm definitely going to hell/But I'll have all the best stories to tell" -- Frank Turner, The Ballad of Me and My Friends

>Y'know, that's been bugging me for a while - where exactly does
>Eleventh fit into UF? Or have I missed something glaringly obvious to
>people with functional memories and/or brains?

As yet, he doesn't, apart from a cameo appearance in Part 3 of Project Phoenix that was then caused never to have happened by the scene immediately following it.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>
>>>Should I be glad I don't get it?
>>
>>It's relatively trivial. The Doctor was confined to Earth for a few
>>seasons, and UNIT created the identity of "Dr. John Smith" for him.
>
>
>That's not actually what Bob was referring to - he was making a
>reference to Doctor Zachary Smith, the cowardly, sniveling
>villain of the piece in Lost in Space (whose catchphrase was
>"oh, the pain") - but it's true that "Dr. John Smith" is a
>long-standing alias of the Doctor's. (It's also the name he used when
>he was hiding out as a 20th-century human schoolteacher in the 2007
>two-parter "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood".)
>
>The middle initial used here, of course, is because "J" is the tenth
>letter of the modern Basic Latin alphabet.
>
Okay. Familiar as I was with the Doctor, I'd not made that connection, and never realised they'd given him an ID as John Smith. I'd THOUGHT maybe Bob was referring to Lost in Space, but was also sure that wasn't quite right either.

Thanx all.

>>>
>>>>Should I be glad I don't get it?
>>>
>>>It's relatively trivial. The Doctor was confined to Earth for a few
>>>seasons, and UNIT created the identity of "Dr. John Smith" for him.
>>
>>
>>That's not actually what Bob was referring to - he was making a
>>reference to Doctor Zachary Smith, the cowardly, sniveling
>>villain of the piece in Lost in Space (whose catchphrase was
>>"oh, the pain") - but it's true that "Dr. John Smith" is a
>>long-standing alias of the Doctor's. (It's also the name he used when
>>he was hiding out as a 20th-century human schoolteacher in the 2007
>>two-parter "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood".)
>>
>>The middle initial used here, of course, is because "J" is the tenth
>>letter of the modern Basic Latin alphabet.
>>
>Okay. Familiar as I was with the Doctor, I'd not made that
>connection, and never realised they'd given him an ID as John Smith.
>I'd THOUGHT maybe Bob was referring to Lost in Space, but was also
>sure that wasn't quite right either.
>
>Thanx all.

I was actually wondering if it was a reference to E. E. 'Doc' Smith...

dstar

>Okay. Familiar as I was with the Doctor, I'd not made that
>connection, and never realised they'd given him an ID as John Smith.
>I'd THOUGHT maybe Bob was referring to Lost in Space, but was also
>sure that wasn't quite right either.

They even lampshade it in "School Reunion":

Sarah Jane: And you are? The Doctor: Hm? Ah, Smith. John Smith. Sarah Jane: John Smith. I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name. The Doctor: Well it's a very common name. Sarah Jane: He was a very uncommon man. Nice to me you. The Doctor: Nice to meet you. Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant.

bodging heck, that episode still makes me sniffly just thinking about it.

--
Geoff Depew - Darth Mephron
Haberdasher to Androids, Dark Lord of Sith Tech Support.
"And Remember! Google is your Friend!!"

---