曼彻斯特 University mourns Professor Emeritus Jim Adams
Jim Adams, the 2002 U.S. Professor of the Year, died Monday, 8月. 5. He was a northeast Indiana resident, living in 北部曼彻斯特 and teaching at 曼彻斯特 University until his retirement in 2008.
Arrangements are in care of 麦基停尸房. The celebration of life is 3 p.m. 星期日,8月. 11 in the upper level of the Jo Young Switzer Center. Visitation begins at 2 p.m. and continues following the celebration.
The following is an email sent to members of the University community late Monday by 总统 戴夫·麦克费登.
亲爱的朋友们,
It is with great sadness that I share the news that Professor Emeritus James R.C. Adams died earlier today, Monday, 8月. 5. He was 90 years old.
For those of you who don’t know, Jim was married to our friend and colleague Thelma Rohrer, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. I know that we will support Thelma and hold her in our prayers in the days ahead.
On the 曼彻斯特 faculty from 1957 to 2008, Jim had a remarkable life and career. Our community celebrated with pride in 2002 when the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement for Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education named Jim U.S. Professor of the Year, the nation’s premier honor for extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching. Then-总统 Parker Marden called the award “a marvelous honor for a great teacher, 优秀的艺术家, an excellent campus citizen and a remarkable exemplar of service learning.”
在曼彻斯特, Jim taught in the art, 英语, music and Spanish departments, integrating service and interdisciplinary approaches to learning. His courses included painting, 画, 艺术历史, 摄影, and a course called Exploring the Arts, 等. Jim also was instrumental in developing what 曼彻斯特 then called First-Year Colloquium courses, designed to help first-year students apply writing, research and communication skills to an interesting topic.
Jim was passionate about global travel and leading students in study abroad experiences, and he loved to apply what he learned to his teaching. One of many newspaper stories written about Jim reported that he had traveled to around 50 countries, spoke five languages and read seven others in addition to 英语.
Throughout his adult life, Jim was a practicing artist and won numerous awards for his painting and 摄影.
Many of Jim’s students considered him a mentor, someone who was kind and believed in them and their abilities. “I want my students to become inquisitive,吉姆曾经写道, “to gain self-confidence, and to believe that they can meet any challenge if they try hard enough.” He also expected them to learn enough about the civilization to which they belonged to join in what Robert M. Hutchins called “the great conversation.”
A longtime resident of 北部曼彻斯特, Jim did much to strengthen and enrich the community, working on community development, town planning and researching funding opportunities for town development projects. He directed important restoration projects of historic buildings in nearby communities.
He was a frequent lecturer at the 韦恩堡 Museum of Art and broadcast a yearlong radio series about classical music on a popular 韦恩堡 radio station. For many years, he wrote the program notes for the 曼彻斯特 Symphony Orchestra concerts.
A native of West Virginia, Jim earned undergraduate degrees at George Washington University and the Corcoran School of Art. He also earned a Master of Fine Arts at the Instituto Allende, affiliated with the University of Guanajuato, 墨西哥, and spent three years at the Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University.
There is so much more I could say about Jim. He used his many interests and talents to benefit others. He lived fully and deeply and with kindness and gratitude. 曼彻斯特 is richer for his time on Earth and we will miss him.
戴夫
戴夫·麦克费登
总统
曼彻斯特 University
8月. 6, 2019