Teaching is extraordinarily meaningful work

What students have to say.

I started my university professor career in 1990 and built both a strong teaching ad research program. I became an academic senior administrator in 1997 and did so through 2020. For the first seven years, I worked a soft-money research institute (Desert Research Institute - great place) that did not have undergraduate teaching as a mission though we had joint graduate programs. I returned to universities in 2003 in positions as vice chancellor for research, dean of liberal arts and sciences, and Provots. I would usually co-teach a small course once a year or so to stay in touch with students.

In Fall 2021, I returned to the workload of a normal tenured professor. Being back in the classroom with students made me so happy. I am now entering phased retirement so my teaching load will be half what it has been. The last five years engaging with students in teaching and research has been truly a blessing.

This summer I entered a sort of retirement purgatory (phased retirment) given me lots of time to think what has really mattered to me. I have had a successful research and administrative career, but they have not come close to providing me with the extent of meaning that teaching has.

I have taught abou 1,000 students since Fall 2021. I have a simple philosophy. I just want every student to reach their full potential in the classroom. I also honestly feel like all of the students in my classes are members of my extended family. I am pathologically genuine and an austistic empath. Those are extraoridnarily good traits to have in the classroom, especially given the experience I have had with mental health challenges, the comfort I have in talking about those challenges, and commitment I have to connecting student to resources when they need it.

I collect student comments from course evlauations, assignments, emails, etc and treasure them, even the ones that weren’t all positive. I have over 1,000 of them now. Many make me tear up. I share some below (and you can see more on my teaching web page) partly for self-serving desire for recognition, and partly because I hope those engage in teaching might pay attention to the student comments. Paying attention to the comments reveals to me that why it is so important to engage and care about students and the rewards for doing so.

• Dr. Jim Coleman has been an incredible professor, and l've had the privilege of taking both Ecology and Principles of Biology I| with him. He is not only knowledgeable but also kind, compassionate, and truly invested in his students' success. At the beginning of each class, he would play music to help us relax, knowing that many of us had long, exhausting days. He genuinely cared about making sure we understood the material, always taking the time to connect with us on a personal level. When I was struggling mentally and falling behind, he noticed and reached out, offering his support without hesitation. He was a listening ear when I needed one most and even referred me to campus resources to ensure I had the help I needed. His empathy and dedication to his students go far beyond the classroom, and I am beyond grateful to have met someone like him. One specific example of how Dr. Jim Coleman went above and beyond to support me was when I was struggling mentally and falling behind in class. He didn’t just notice—he genuinely cared. He pulled me aside after class to check in and see if I was okay, offering a listening ear and heartfelt encouragement. When I opened up about my struggles, he shared that he had dealt with mental health challenges in the past, encasing real sympathy and understanding rather than just surface-level concern. He referred me to campus resources but also continued to check in on me, making sure I was still doing okay. If needed, during his office hours, he let me talk freely while he simply listened, creating a space where I felt heard and supported. When he noticed I was missing class, he even took the time to email me, not only encouraging me to come back but also sharing a little bit about himself to remind me that I wasn’t alone. Through it all, he still encouraged me academically and genuinely wanted to see my growth and success. He didn’t let me lose sight of my potential, always reminding me of what I was capable of. His belief in me pushed me to keep going, and his support made a lasting impact on both my academic journey and personal growth. I will always be grateful for his kindness, patience, and unwavering dedication to his students.

• With that being said, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the impact that you have made in my academic journey. I am excited to finally be graduating with my BS in Biology, but truth be told, the semester before I took your BIO 431 course I had planned for it to be my last semester and for me to drop out of college. I was not doing well academically in biology courses, and my GPA reflected that. I was also at risk of losing my financial aid, without which I could not attend school. I actually had been academically suspended before, and I was running out of time. A very close friend of mine, told me about your course and told me that I might be able to do well on it. I took your course that semester along with some other courses, and I told myself that if I did not do well that semester I would have to drop out as a UNCG student. While taking your course, I had never met a professor who cared so much about students' well being and mental health as much as you do, and you quickly became my favorite professor of all time. Environmental Biology was not my interest at the time, but because I enjoyed every lecture that you had, I was able to actually do well and I earned an A in the course, something that I was never able to do in my previous biology courses. That positive outlook also carried over in other courses that semester, which boosted my GPA pretty highly, and I felt reinstated as a student. The summer BIO 499 with you helped me immensely, and gave me research experience which I will be using in my career. This semester I retook the biology courses that I did not do well on the semesters before I took your course. Your impact was very noticeable, as I am finishing with all As and Bs in them, which allows me to graduate by the end of this semester. Overall it is safe to say that I could not have made it without you, so thank you so much for being a professor who cares not just for students' academic performance, but also for their mental health as well, which goes a long way in academic achievement.

For those of you that are educators, I hope you feel the same strong sense of meaning that I do. For those of you that think teaching is about standing up in classrooms and talking at studets, I hope these help you understand that is the easy part. The engagement with every student whne you are teaching 300 a semester and trying to meet each one where they are is rewarding but takes tremendous effort.