TCNJ

2 The College of New Jersey Magazine TALK UP JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED Dr. Dan Egan ("Awesomeness," Fall 2020) is my nephew and god- son. I have watched him grow up to be this amazing, car- ing doctor. I took Dan and my daughter to TCNJ when they were looking at colleges. He saw a big tree on a hill there and said to me, "This is where I want to go to college. I can envision myself studying under that tree." Then he went and bought a sweat- shirt. TCNJ can take pride in knowing it educated this amazing doctor. CLAIRE PANICCI MAKING THE GRADE I read with interest "The influencers" (Fall 2020). I, too, am in debt to Hugh Ford and the training I received from him. His guidance has shaped my think- ing many years since. ANNE DUNN HERNDON '62 I was happy to see Gladys Word included among those professors who were thought to be influencers. I was lucky to have had her. She was bright, innovative, caring, and exceptionally gifted at teach- ing. I was sad that she was portrayed in the article as "intimidating." She was none of that. I remember with admira- tion my days with her as our classroom and clinical instructor; she was someone who was the epitome of nursing. She pushed me to become the nurse that I am today. JACQUELINE WALSCH DELORENZO '73 We'd like to mention world languages professor Joe Goebel as an influencer. The three of us have a combined 60 years of teaching experience. Teaching students to acquire a second language requires not only knowledge of the language but also of the brain and how humans acquire language. Goebel taught us how to teach a second language by teaching us in Danish. That way we could really feel what it's like to be a student in a language class. He made us the teachers we are today, and our experiences with him have helped literally thousands of students learn Spanish. JENNIFER MANIACI '03, STEPHEN '99 AND TRACY ZARODNANSKY '03 EXTRA CREDIT I noticed there was an error in "The influencers." It said the late actor John Gielgud was in The Paper Chase, but he was not in the movie or the TV series. It was the late actor John Houseman. WAYNE WIESER '76 ITEMS NOT INCLUDED In the interview of James Felton ("All in," Fall 2020), there are a few shortfalls in his diversity and inclusion program. I agree with him that diver- sity is more than just race. For example, there must be diversity of thought and opinion. If many professors and those in leadership at the college identify as liberal, then conservative views may not find their way into the classroom, the curricula, or strategic university discus- sions. If this is true, shouldn't there be diversity initiatives in place to correct this? Also, Mr. Felton acknowledges that his work will not be complete until the TCNJ employee workforce and student population mirror the demographics of New Jersey. New Jersey's population is 48.5% male and 51.5% female. Should the nursing and elementary education programs reflect this? It's refreshing to see that Mr. Felton is included as a member of the president's cabinet, giv- ing him visibility and authority. I believe he can be more successful if he takes actions to identify other demographic and social disparities beyond race. EDWARD THOMAS '74

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