After quite an absence from blogging, I’ve decided to write a bit more. I am now retired from active teaching and living in a new city. I’m pursuing other interests but I do reflect on my experiences as a professor. So, I’ll share a bit more in the next few weeks.
My last quarter was a difficult one with a full teaching schedule and a series of personal events that turned out OK in the end. We had previously decided to move to Cincinnati to be closer to our adult children and their growing families. We had already purchased a new smaller house and used it for week-ends and vacations for two years. But a permanent move involved selling the house where we had lived for 32 years. Fortunately a number of things worked smoothly for us and we completed the relocation three weeks before school was out. So I found a temporary place to stay and returned for the final events of the year.
Leaving a job that I loved and dear colleagues was difficult indeed. On the last day of class, I feared that I would not be able to handle it emotionally, so I wrote a note to my students and posted it on our course website. See below.
The topic for the last class was a review for the upcoming final. Some students may have heard that I was retiring, but most did not know. I thought the last weeks would be more productive for everyone if I didn’t address the topic. It was certainly easier to go ahead with business as usual.
With about 15 minutes left in the class session I had covered all that I had planned but was going over a few extra things. Suddenly, the doors opened to the lecture hall and three of my faculty friends barged in. They brought candies for the students and took over the class. It was all very touching for me. Yes, there were a few tears.
To My Students:
I’d like to thank you (and about 27,000 others) for your cooperation and attention in General Chemistry for many years. I will be retiring from OU this quarter and moving onward to other things. I have enjoyed my work tremendously and found it challenging and rewarding. As a student (years ago) I never intended to become a professor. But when the opportunity to teach at OU appeared, I decided to give it a try and here we are many many years later!! Hard-working students (like you) make all this a lot of fun.
As you select your career path, identify the things that energize you in areas where you can make a solid contribution. Work hard with passion, but do smile from time to time. Develop worthwhile professional colleagues and brainstorm with them. Make the best of any situation and grow from it. Exciting days do lie ahead for you.
Chem 152 is a rigorous course and my favorite to teach. Many concepts are linked together so that “we” really feel like chemists in the end! Well, I hope so!!
KEE
