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OriginaLly from the area around suburban Pittsburgh, Dr. McCombe has been a parl of the U niversity of Dayton community for five yea rs.
He
chose to travel west to Dayton beca use it was in a central location bet\veen his wiie's family in Indiana and his in Pennsylvania. R emembe ring his fint visit to campus, McCombe recaUs that the faculty members all seemed to be intelligent, kind people who did not feel the need to remind him all the time of how scholarly each person tended to be. A.lso, "the students in my classes," he comments, "said 'thank you ' to me the first d ay of class," a prime example of how people on campus feel connected al UD. After accepting his position at the University, Dr. McCombe began his teaching career as an English professor. He now teaches many diHerent subjects, such as British Literature, which is required for all English majors, film courses, and first yea r writing
cours ~ s.
lVIcCombe remarks, "Teaching one course
helps you teach another course in general. You begin to see simi.larities in film and in drama as the years prog ress ." This way of thinking has helped him become one of the most talked about teachers on campus. vVhen asked what he thinks stu dents should tak away from his classes, McCombc responds that he hopes they will " become better writers than when they started the course. Every student can improve on that. "
Once someone is finished with Dr.
McCombe's class, the y wiLl surely understand this and have a much better grasp on the many English subjects taught at the Universily in general. Spending many hours in the classroom , Dr. McCombe some times is able to see a student's perspecti ve on life differently than others. He explains, "UD students are a part of the city of D ay ton. UD is full of good students, but the facl that th ey care about the world is very impressive to me." He a lso thinks about the diO'erences betwee n th e students and himself in another way. McCombe comm ents, ",,yhenever I drive through the stud ent neighborhood o n Friday nights, I realiz ' thal my students in class and I have a \vhole diOerent Life." With that being said, however, he is glad that he is able to see the diff' rence and und ersta nd how his students migh l act in a setting othe r tha n the classroom. In between all of' Dr. McCombe's schoolwork , he does find some free time to relax. H e loves lO play with his two young d a uO'hters whenever he gelS a
chance al hom e. H is a lso interested in music and prefe rs the rock, jau. and some classi a l O'enres on his mixed CDs. Finally, belween th e schoolwork, his childre n and his music, .McCombe d oes find Lim to read and enjoy the a
relaxation thal it brings. Dr. John McCombe is a Dayton.
o n e-()r~a-kind
individu al here at the Uni versity of
''''hether he is g rading English pape rs, talking with his students
after class, or listening to the many music a lbums h 路 owns, there is no one quite like lhis professor.
Try lakin cr one of his
cl a~ses
and
YOll
will agree
that Dr. McCom bt路 i not only a n intelligent tC'Khe r, but a lso n all around great man.
Dr. McCombe reads song lyrics along with listening to a recording in class. Dr. McCombe brought music into the classroom to enhance the course material. Photo by: Luciana lolli
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