Excellent Educators – Who Was Your Favorite Professor

Excellent Educators – Who Was Your Favorite Professor

JUDE WILLIAM GROSSER ’76

I graduated in 1976 from TMC with a BA in biology. I was fortunate
to have incredibly wonderful teachers Sr. Mary Laurence, SND ’53, Dr. Bill Bryant and Dr. Wallace Humphries – who clearly helped build my science foundation. Through Sr. Laurence, I was able to work on the Ohio River project for two summers. I was fortunate enough to visit with Sr. Laurence just a few months before she passed away.

JEANIE BAKER ’86

Three Thomas More professors changed my life, with one common theme throughout their teaching. That theme was that the world is a much bigger place than TMC, Kentucky, and ultimately even the United States.

Joe Connelly introduced us to the fact that what we see is NEVER the whole truth. Dr. Beth Penn was an un agging advocate of women’s empowerment as educated women, whether they chose employment or full time motherhood. Lastly, Diane Fishbein regaled us with tales of her world travels and the respect she showed for other cultures was inspirational.

I owe these three a world of gratitude as they truly steered my life path.
I married a man from Saudi Arabia in 1987, and I have been living and teaching there ever since. Without their push to embrace diversity, I may never had made these choices.

OOPS! Will the real Linda Finke please stand up?

Hello Moreover Staff Members,

I really enjoy receiving this magazine and especially enjoyed the lengthy history and update about the Biological Station (spring 2017), for which I was one of the original student researchers in its first year of student involvement.

However, I want to correct an error in your article “Who Was Your Favorite Professor?” I was surprised to see my name as having contributed a note for this column, and you indicated the entry was from Dr. Linda (Callan) Finke ’71 so that led straight to me (my husband’s name is Callan but I did not take his name upon marriage). That comment was surely submitted by a classmate of mine from Notre Dame Academy who also attended TMC, Linda Luken (class of 1970), who married a man named Tom Finke a couple of years after graduation and DID take his name. She was a history major (and, I believe, a biology minor?) whereas I never had a class with Nancy Bruns, although I know her reputation as a teacher was stellar. I was a biology major and both of us certainly appreciated Sr. M. Laurence! So, apparently, Linda submitted this entry and you delved into your student enrollment records to add the additional touches that led off in the wrong direction! I actually was almost left off the guest list for my 50th NDA reunion last year through a similar mistake by the organizers. It is all Linda Luken’s fault!

Sincerely, Linda R. Finke ’71 “The Original”

Our apologies to Linda (Luken) Finke and Linda R. Finke for the error, thank you both for submitting to Excellent Educators!