An Awesome Task

Phyllis “Penny” Braudy Harris, professor and chair in the Department of Sociology and Criminology, is the 2009 recipient of John Carroll’s Distinguished Faculty Award, the University’s highest faculty honor. Below is an edited version of the remarks she made at a faculty reception in April when accepting the award. In the photo, Academic Vice President John T. Day makes the presentation. In the fall, Prof. Harris adapted her talk for incoming students and delivered it at the First Year Student Convocation.

As I look out on this gathering and think about the tumultuous times our University is now experiencing, I can’t help but think about those classic lines of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.” And as our community tries to work out our needs and our differences, I think what helps me keep some perspective is to remember: 1) why I came to John Carroll, 2) what I have learned from my 20 years of teaching and research here, and 3) why I stay.

Why Did I Come to John Carroll?

When I informed a former professor of mine that I had accepted a job at John Carroll and turned down invitations to interview for jobs at Research I universities, she said in disbelief, “Well, I guess it is OK, as long as you stay up with the reading in the field; however, you know this might stifle your career.” What this professor failed to realize is, at a university like John Carroll – dedicated to undergraduate teaching and not solely to research – one has the opportunity to work closely with young adults to help develop and change minds, and perhaps ultimately lives. For as George Bernard Shaw once said, “Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

For, you see, we are given students, most often at 18 years of age, with their thoughts, ideas, and values still in the process of development, still somewhat in turmoil, and we have the possibility to help shape them. If you stop to think about this, it is quite an awesome task, and one that can sometimes leave you filled with feelings of trepidation.

For as I have come to learn, one of the most important roles an undergraduate professor plays is that of a change agent. And, as a social scientist, I would dare say I may also have the possibility of being an agent of social change. For one of the main goals of an undergraduate sociology professor through one’s research and teaching, I believe, is to challenge the stereotypes and ideas that most students hold about various groups of people, about societal structures, and how society works. This is a daunting but exciting challenge that can have long-lasting effects.

What Have I Learned from Being Here?

Over the years of teaching undergraduate sociology courses and conducting research with students in the areas of aging and poverty studies (my specialty areas), I have learned much from my students and research. And I have changed. That old adage, that your students are often your teachers, is very true. So what have I learned? Here are just five of the many lessons I have learned from my years of classroom teaching, and these are in no particular order:

• Some seeds of ideas may take root, but they may take a long time to
  bloom . . . be patient;
• It is always those quietest students who surprise you the most with their
  insights;
• Never waver from setting high expectations of students;
• Every time you step into a classroom, you learn more about yourself –
  the good and the bad;
• Passion about any field of study can be contagious.

In addition, my students have also taught me to become more human, more forgiving, more accepting, more patient, more tolerant, more questioning, and to laugh at myself, which I still find somewhat difficult. In essence, they have taught me to be a better human being, and I am grateful to them. And from my research with older adults, be it those with Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, or HIV/AIDS, I have come to understand the absolute resilience of the human spirit, even when faced with devastating challenges.

Why Do I Stay at JCU?

For a number of reasons. John Carroll has been a wonderful balance of teaching and research in a supportive community of colleagues whom I respect and, for the most part, enjoy. This is done in an environment that sometimes parallels my concerns about social justice issues, an area on which I think it is imperative we work. I also stay because of the high academic potential of this University, which is attainable, and needs once again to be made a top priority. For there are such talented faculty members and such dedicated support staff here. However, most of all, I stay because of the students, and my belief in the importance of an undergraduate liberal arts education.

For ultimately, to me, undergraduate teaching is about changing lives, once you have planted those seeds of knowledge and encouraged critical questioning. As the great social scientist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” And undergraduate teaching at John Carroll University is one of the first steps in that process.