ISSUES
‘These
[students]
are people
that would be
competitive at
Harvard or
Stanford.
And I’m not
lecturing at all.
I just throw out
three or four
ideas during
the afternoon,
so it’s very
unpredictable,
which I like.’
Jürg Steiner
After Their Last Lectures,
Retired Faculty Offer Encores
On a late September afternoon, political science Professor Jürg Steiner discusses the results of the
recent German elections and their implications with his class, an honors seminar in
European politics. He uses the election as a
teachable moment for his 24 students,
comparing European politics to the American brand.
Steiner has become gifted at finding
these moments in his 40 years of teaching,
38 of which have been at Chapel Hill. He
finds it invigorating to put ideas on the
table for discussion.
“These [students] are people that would
be competitive at Harvard or Stanford,”
Steiner says. “And I’m not lecturing at all. I
just throw out three or four ideas during
the afternoon, so it’s very unpredictable,
which I like.”
This year, there is a difference in
Steiner’s teaching: He’s doing it for free.
Steiner retired from UNC in 2001, but
he stayed around to teach a graduate and
honors class every year.
In fall 2008, with the University facing
budget cuts, Steiner contacted department
Chair Evelyne Huber to say he could
help: He’d teach pro bono.
The budget cuts have slowed new
faculty hiring, and this year UNC is
considering an open offer from the UNC-Chapel Hill Retired Faculty Association
to find more retired faculty like Steiner.
DAN SEARS ’ 74
“We just thought pretty strongly if we
had these resources, we’d put them to
work,” says Andrew Dobelstein, the association’s president. “We didn’t want the students to bear the brunt of this. [The offer]
came out of real genuine concern that the
value of education could be weakened
under the conditions we’re facing.”
Dobelstein, who taught social welfare
policy and social work at Chapel Hill for
more than 35 years and retired in 2004,
passed the resolution on to Ron Strauss,
UNC’s executive associate provost.
“Everybody here is just so grateful for
what they are offering and how they
approached it,” Strauss said. “[We have] a true
desire for partnership and collaboration.”
The association passed a resolution last
spring to offer its services by way of teaching, grant development, student advising and
other academic requests. The group has 800
members, 600 of whom reside in the Chapel
Hill area. Of those 600, Dobelstein says, 125
to 150 members continue to be active in
their academic disciplines and desire to help.
Retirees don’t just drop their discipline,
says Bobbie Boyd Lubker ’ 83 (PhD), past
president of the association. “Just because
they don’t go into the office every day
doesn’t mean they’ve lost their passion for
their area of expertise,” said Lubker, who
retired in 2002 from her dual appointments
in education and allied health sciences.
Rather, Lubker said, many are still hungry to stay engaged. “I’m not a little old lady
Professor Jürg
Steiner retired from
UNC in 2001, but he
stayed around to
teach a graduate
and honors class
every year. A year
ago, with Carolina
facing budget cuts,
Steiner contacted
his department chair
to say he could help:
He’d teach for free.
