Philip Cartwright became the first ever first man at the University when his wife Carol Cartwright became the University’s first female president in January. Along with the title of first man, he also has another title: “The Original Dr. Phil.”
Cartwright’s longtime friend and bandmate Bill Parthe came up with the nickname “The Original Dr. Phil” because he has the same name and discipline as television’s famous Dr. Phil McGraw, but he believed Cartwright to be older.
“He’s well-respected by everyone and he’s quite intelligent,” Parthe said. “He’s just the kind of person everyone would really like to know.”
Cartwright, now retired, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois, then went to graduate school to receive his master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology and education from the University of Pittsburgh, where he met his wife Carol.
“I admire her energy and enthusiasm,” Cartwright said about his wife. “It’s hard to keep up with her.”
Over the years, the two of them have moved to several different states to pursue different academic opportunities. Carol’s recent decision to accept the position as president of the University has caused them to reside in Bowling Green, placing their retirement plans on hold.
“We’re delighted with Bowling Green,” Cartwright said. “[Carol] decided to stay because she felt she could make a contribution. Especially when the provost resigned, she felt she had the necessary experience and contacts.”
While Cartwright has lived in many different places, he said it’s never about the place, it’s about the people. Both of the Cartwrights had an interest in going into the administration part of higher education institutions.
The research, data and statistics, Cartwright said, are rewarding because the focus is not on the individual, but on the people whom they interact with.
“It was easier back then to obtain a position in higher education because it was in expansion mode and enrollment was strong,” he said. “It wasn’t nearly as difficult to change positions as it is today.”
After graduate school, Cartwright took a position as a tenured professor at Penn State University, where he established the Office of Microcomputing Applications. The office was responsible for implementing academic software throughout the entire university.
While Carol came along with him to PSU and took a last minute position as dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost, Cartwright also performed his other passion: playing the banjo in jazz bands.
“My dad was a musician but I didn’t play until my senior year of high school,” he said. “I taught myself how to play the banjo and the guitar.”
Cartwright, who was inspired by the west-coast style jazz of Melvin “Turk” Murphy and Lucius “Lu” Watters, has played in over 60 jazz festivals around the world.
Bob Romans, leader of the jazz band Cell Block Seven, has played with Cartwright off and on for over 25 years. Romans met him back in the ’80s when Cartwright held a position as professor emeritus at University of California-Davis.
“He’s played at some of the biggest jazz festivals in the world,” Romans said. “We traveled with both our wives to Hungary to play there. Couples just don’t come any better [than the Cartwrights].”
While Cartwright held his position at UC-Davis, Carol took the position as president at Kent State University in Ohio. She made the decision to become Ohio’s first woman president at a state university, after leaving a position as vice chancellor for academic affairs at UC-Davis, while the rest of the family stayed behind in California.
“I decided not to leave California right away because of nepotism concerns there might be at Kent State,” Cartwright said. “I stayed in California for a couple of years to get our kids through high school.”
After Cartwright’s children were done with high school, he made the decision to move to Ohio to take a position at Northeast Ohio University’s College of Medicine as associate dean and chief information officer.
But through the years and all the academic positions, Cartwright managed to find time to play his music.
“When you’ve been in the business for as long as I have, people know you,” Cartwright said. “I received calls from people I didn’t know asking if I wanted to play jazz with them. I often front bands but I never wanted to be the band leader – too many headaches.”
Some of the bands he has been involved with over the years are the Night Owls, Minstrels of Earlville and Cell Block Seven. He has even had an encounter with a “Freddy” throughout his musical escapades – although he would rather not re-live the experience.
“While playing in Chicago, a guy with a beret named Freddy tipped us $50 to play another song,” Cartwright said. “We soon found out he was a professional thief who had a gun. He started shooting up the place. I was the first one out of there!”