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"PROFESSOR GOTTSCHALK was a young man who was
fighting cancer and had lost his arm a few
months before I took his Shakespeare course.
He opened class the first day reading passionately
from Richard III. I will always remember this
brave man reading the words of the evil hunchback,
looking out at all of us, acknowledging and
at the same time utilizing and ultimately
overcoming his 'deformity.' Throughout the
entire course his love, enthusiasm, and vast
knowledge of the material was abundantly apparent
and made his course one I will always remember.
He encouraged members of the large class to
visit him during his office hours and talk
about Shakespeare, and he challenged us to
look at Shakespeare in new and unconventional
ways. Our final exam was at 8 a.m., and he
brought breakfast-coffee, juice, bagels- for
the entire class, and he served us while we
were taking the exam. He died soon after,
and my only regret is that I never wrote to
his family to tell them what a wonderful teacher
and man he was. I am now a professional actor
working in New York, but I am also a university
English teacher, and at the end of every semester
I bring my students breakfast and tell them
about the amazing Paul Gottschalk. He is one
of the reasons I became a teacher. I only
hope I can live up to his example in the classroom
and in life." — Catherine Russell '77 |
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| by Paul Miller |
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 ome
taught us lessons, some taught us intangibles
behind the lessons: how to reason, how to
craft, how to live. Faculty members are the
driving force of Cornell University, the intellectual
capital that attracts students and prepares
them to realize their dreams. Generations
of Cornellians have benefited from a faculty
rich in scholarly tradition. But it is also
for their role as mentors and advisors, for
the indelible impact professors made on their
students' lives, that many alumni remain grateful.
In February, Communiqué
magazine asked alumni volunteers and others
to comment on the influence a Cornell faculty
member has had on their lives. A few of their
responses appear throughout this article;
others can be found in our interactive
forum. Several anecdotes recount specific
academic lessons that continue to serve alumni
every day. Many more recall life lessons—poignant
testimony to the Cornell faculty's ability
to make a profound impact on a young life. |
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