While the Mount Saint Mary College community prepared for the start of the Spring 2023 semester, Michael L. Fox, assistant professor of Business Law and Pre-Law Advisor, was adventuring through the unforgiving terrain of the Antarctic.
One question immediately springs to mind: of all the places to visit, why Antarctica? Fox’s goal is simple, he explained: travel to all seven continents, five oceans, and 50 states. With Antarctica in the books, Fox currently sits at a total of 34 countries and territories across six continents, all five oceans, and 35 states in the U.S.
“Seeing new places and trying new things is one of my passions, instilled in me from an early age after traveling with my parents,” he said.
But the continent was far from just another checkmark on his enormous travel list, Fox noted. While it can be treacherous, with the ground and surrounding mountains composed largely of volcanic rock and almost entirely covered by ice and snow in most places, the Antarctic landscape is also full of wonder.
“Antarctica is truly amazing,” he explained. “When away from other hikers, sometimes the only sounds you hear are the winds and maybe the snow under your feet, the crunching of a penguin trying to cross the snow, or the caws of a penguin colony. It’s both desolate and deeply beautiful. The waters are clear blue/green, almost crystal near land. And from one minute to the next, the sunlight – which is almost 24 hours in summer – or wind, clouds, snow, or floating icebergs can change the entire panoramic.”
He added, “Some penguins come up to you with curiosity when you’re on land, and when on the water you never know when a whale is going to pop up for air next to the ship.”
Temperatures in the area can hit the single digits or below, but Fox had the fortune of visiting Antarctica during the height of its summer season. Though still cold and windy, at times it’s not much worse than an average winter day in New York, he said.
That, however, did not mean traversing the continent was akin to trudging to the local grocery store on a snowy day. With weather that could change for the worst in just minutes, preparedness was the name of the game, he explained.
“Every landing we did required multiple layers of clothing and heavy parkas and boots, and we were accompanied by naturalists and expedition leaders with survival cannisters – containing food and pop-up shelter – should we get stuck in inclement weather and have a delay getting back to the ship,” Fox said.
It’s a good thing, too. On one of his group’s landings, it had become extremely windy by the time they made it back to shore. That meant suspending pick-ups from the ship, since the water had become choppy and dangerous. Thankfully for Fox, the delay was short.
Arriving back in the United States just two days before the start of the Spring 2023 semester, Fox, a Hudson Valley native, resumed teaching courses in the Mount’s undergraduate Business program and Masters of Business Administration program without missing a beat.
Fox earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, from Bucknell University, with a major in Economics and minor in Biology. He also earned a Doctor of Law degree from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an articles editor on Columbia Business Law Review. He is the author of several books, including his latest, A Guide to Diversity & Inclusion in the 21st Century Workplace, second edition.