Humanities Express

From the Dean

In my conversations with College alumni, I find remarkable the number of people who credit their professional choices and, at times, successes to the influence of a particular professor. The typical narrative recounts the alum's encounter with the professor while taking a class. The alum describes the material in the course or the professor's classroom style or a combination of both as inspiring. The experience leads perhaps to an additional course taught by the professor, followed by other academic contacts such as becoming an advisee on an honors thesis, an internship, or a research project. A few alumni found the relationship that they established with their professor while at Ohio State so rewarding that they remained in touch many years after graduation, frequently seeking out their former teacher/mentor for advice, counsel, or simply good conversation. Other alumni, however, admit that they never felt comfortable enough to establish an out-of-class relationship with the inspiring professor or, if they did, did not maintain it following graduation. For many alumni, the inspiration that they received from an exemplary educator continues to play an important role in their lives and serves as a powerful link to The Ohio State University.

Testimonials of this sort by alumni remind us of the important role that professors can play in directing students towards paths that lead to productive and fulfilling lives. They also remind us that one of the profound ironies of our profession is that we seldom know the real impact that we have on students since it is most often realized after they leave us. It is true that most of us remain in contact with former graduate advisees mainly because most become colleagues, thus making frequent encounters at conferences and other professional gatherings almost inevitable. With a few exceptions, however, we are seldom able to follow the careers of the many bright and energetic undergraduate students with whom we have the pleasure of interacting in our classes, during our office hours, or on special projects. This is especially true for students who graduate with degrees in the humanities. Once they graduate from the university, they often find professional success in areas such as business, law, medicine, public service, or in other fields of endeavor that, as humanities scholars, we rarely follow.

Although most of our alumni who recall so warmly their favorite professor would want it to be otherwise, the fact that we do not know the fate of the vast majority of the students that we teach each year is probably not a bad thing. It allows us to sustain a belief that what we teach remains forever a positive influence in the lives of our students, all of whom go on to become better human beings for having had access to our wisdom. Perhaps, more importantly, it frees us to focus on the present generation of students who are searching for the class or listening for the bit of professorial wisdom that will transform their thinking about themselves, others, and their place in the world. Fantasies of total success aside, we know that there is no more likely place to find answers to some of life's most enduring questions than in a humanities classroom where inspiring truths are revealed in every lecture.

---