Merited praise The Ohio University Emeriti Association inducted 51 members in 2011, including professors alumni of all eras would recognize. There are now 700 active emeriti — and while we’ve all heard the term, what exactly does the honor entail?
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he title of “professor emeritus” is conferred on a faculty member on his or her retirement or posthumously. Selections are made based on recommendations from supervisors and colleagues, and criteria include length of service (typically a minimum of 10 years), quality of teaching and research, overall contribution to Ohio University and service beyond the university community. Over the course of their time at Ohio, outstanding faculty members have impacted countless students; no doubt they deserve accolades upon retirement. However, we at Ohio Today were curious: How have students impacted them? We asked three of our newest emeriti to comment. “Students have influenced my desire to stay in an academic role in the area of nursing because I realize that it is through affiliating with them that nursing practice has the greatest potential to meet societal needs. … Because I have primarily worked with nursing students from the Appalachian region, they have taught me about the distinct culture linked with residence in this region where generations have faced employment, economic and educational challenges. These students have taught me that mentoring and empowerment are essential for working most effectively with them.” — SHARON DENHAM, professor of nursing
“When I first started teaching Shakespeare here back in the early 1970s I soon realized that most of my students had never seen him performed. To try to remedy that problem I began to include films of his plays (long before videotape and DVDs) in my courses. I quickly discovered that students were more sophisticated readers of visual images than they were of verbal ones. As a result, while I taught them Shakespeare, they taught me film. This turned out to be a great bargain for me as I have subsequently written five books on various aspects of Shakespeare on film, and I dedicated the last one to my Shakespeare students at Ohio University.” — SAM CROWL,
“I quickly discovered that students were more sophisticated readers of visual images than they were of verbal ones. As a result, while I taught them Shakespeare, they taught me film.”— SAM CROWL
Trustee Professor of English Emeritus
If you do a good job of teaching both in the classroom and through your research, sometimes it reaches unexpected places. In 2000, I was invited to the Kremlin along with a few others to advise the Russian government, culminating in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Among other things, we urged the adopting of broad-based taxes with low marginal rates. Within two months of returning to the U.S., Russia did precisely what I advised, adopting a 13-percent flat rate income tax. American politicians often ignore my teaching, but I found a fan in Russia. — RICHARD VEDDER, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics
spring 2012
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