departments

In Brief

Sugaring Time Again; Former President Writes Autobiography; Alum Signs with Baseball Team; News from the Nursing and Business Administration Departments and more.

Making Their Mark

Learn about how our community members engage in writing, presentations and exhibitions.

Past as Prologue

Explore Haystack, a portal to the history of Colby-Sawyer College.

Colby-Sawyer Courier

Keep up with campus news from students' perspectives through the Colby-Sawyer Courier.

Solidus

This new literary magazine features creative writing in many genres by current students and alumni, faculty and staff, and a few friends and partners.

Q&Alumni

Find out what Colby-Sawyer alumni have been up to since graduation.

The Path of Inquiry

Dear Friends,

Why do I still teach? Why do I take the time to prepare for class, answer questions, grade papers?

Well, the last part is the hardest to answer because, as any teacher will tell you, grading is not fun. The other questions have simple answers. I still teach because I love it. It is meaningful to me to meet with students, discuss the subjects that intellectually stimulate me, and watch a group of people become more expert on a topic.

When I entered higher education in 1985, I did not do it to become the president of a college but because I wanted to teach. I wanted to explore legal subjects and issues that fascinated me, and I wanted to do so in the context of sharing my knowledge and my own path of inquiry with students. I also wanted to be able to write about those issues, and I had confidence that teaching would help me learn and would clarify my thoughts. I was right. I have never taught a class where I did not learn from my students.

It is an uplifting experience to see a student's face light up with understanding. I still get goose bumps when someone has that “got it” moment. In a great class with lots of questions and participation, time stands still. There is a breakdown of the differences between people and a concentrated, shared focus on the topic. The total truly is greater than the sum of the parts.

As a college president, I tell people all the time that one of the purposes of college is to teach students to teach themselves for the rest of their lives. I teach because it is one of the ways I make that message genuine for myself. It is also how, as president, I show my dedication to lifelong learning.

Without teaching, how could I say that I understood the perspective of the student at Colby-Sawyer? As president, I meet all kinds of students who are working hard to succeed in college, in life and in a career while balancing leadership roles, athletics and interests, as well as some serious difficulties in their lives. Teaching helps me to understand our students' lives better, and to understand our college better.

The same is true concerning the faculty experience and perspective. When our faculty discusses our students, their strengths and their challenges, I have a greater appreciation because I teach. I also have a more sophisticated appreciation for the flow of the semester and the academic year. I know when it is a bad time to ask more of our students and when it is a bad time to ask more of our faculty.

I am convinced that teaching makes me a better college president. And I am honest enough to know that I teach because I love it.

Sincerely,
Thomas C. Galligan Jr.
President and Professor of Humanities