Over the past several years, the professors on Northwestern’s campus have worked extremely hard to not only give the students what they need, but also make a name for themselves. Though their classes may be hard at times, there are several things we can appreciate about them and all that they have done. One of these many things we can always appreciate is the number of staff publications our campus hosts.
While doing research on the campus website, one can see that there are more than twelve staff members who have either written a part of a book or article that has been published or has written a published work themselves. Keep in mind, most of them did this all while teaching students or even attending school still, which can be a lot on its own. Some professors published things that were not a book or article. For example, Dr. Holm, the head of the music department for NWChas published several works of vocal music, too. When talking to him about which one was his favorite, he expressed that he loved them all. “That is like asking me to pick a favorite child!” he exclaimed hysterically.
Though Dr. Holm’s works are truly a masterpiece to listen to, there are other staff members that seem to have blown it out of the water with their publications. Dr. Grace, associate professor of physics, has an impressive list of research studies, magazine articles and personal writings that have been published. One of her favorites was an article she wrote for the magazine company, Firebrand, which described just how powerful God is in our everyday lives. “God used me in my younger years even though I was broken,” she explained. “He simply put something in my heart that needed to be said, and I put it to writing.” Dr. Grace has also done amazing academic research on dark matter. “I wrote an article that proved what another article was saying, and it was published! It’s a great feeling.”
Another talented writer that works on campus is Dr. Jongerius, the head of the math department. She a has a long list of writings that took her years to write and publish. Though many other professors with published works wrote about the subject they teach to students on campus, Jongerius wrote a number of works that were not involved with math. “It’s hard to say what my favorite work was—I enjoyed all of it!” she said. “The CS Lewis work was particularly cool because it brought together math and literature, both of which I love.” She then went on to explain how her writings have brought her closer to other people such as her co-author ,Rob Meyers. She described how well they worked together, even when it was hard.
Though only a few professors may have been mentioned, it is still amazing to see all of what our professors can do. Sometimes, it can be hard to see a professor as more than a teacher, but when looking into something as simple as pieces they have written in their past, we can find a whole story of excellence and strength within them.
