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Show Page 2 The Thunderbird Monday, Octo6er 17, 1983 Dave Lee says hes here for the duration by Karen Golberg I He came to.SUSC intending to teach for one year that was 13 years ago. SUSC English Professor David Lee, at that time having just earned his doctorate from the University of Utah, figured hed come to SUSC to get some experience, but his ultimate goal was to be a Harvard professor. In his 13 years here, nine as department chairman, Lee has been instrumental in developing what Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Arvo Van Alstyne considers, one of the finest e English departments in the nation. As recently as a year ago, Lee was actively seeking a job elsewhere. Pleased with the new administration and the new direction SUSC is taking, he said, For the first time since Ive been here I can say 1 have no plans to go anywhere else. Lees concern for his students has made him one .'' j r i I t small-colleg- Education means teaching it : -i .- Education, said Lee, has nothing to do with job training. It means teaching (students) to think, live and be. In many ways, thats my philosophy of education. Lees education began in Post, Texas, a town notorious for its dangerous atmosphere. You had to be tough to grow up there, Lee remembers. The town was wide open and people were literally shot with pistols. Out of 14 teachers at his school, five were football coaches. I dont ever remember a day going by when at least one student wasnt beaten, said Lee. If Lee had had his choice, he may never have gone to college, but his father insisted. From sixth grade through several years of college I hated school. I wanted to join the Army or the Merchant Marine. Lee attended five colleges, three of them religious schools, before eventually earning his bachelors degree in speech and drama from Colorado State University. He planned a career as a stage actor. I loved the theatre, he said. He taught high school in Durango, Colorado before attending graduate school at Idaho State University. Lee completed the course work for his masters in nine months. It was at Idaho State that Lee met his future wife, Jan. They met in their "Romantic Literature class and, said Lee, We hated each other the moment we saw each other. The only reason we started dating is because she was dared and I was bet. They were married at dawn the morning after Lees last final at the University of Utah, where he earned his doctorate. According to Lee, We had to be married at dawn because Jan had to be to work at eight and at ' A'-8'- 1 - y '5 For SUSC English professor David Lee, after being a husband and father, comes his work with students. 3:30 we were leaving for Cedar City. A cross-eyeman named John Wain married them, and Lee claimed, I started giggling during the ceremony because I couldnt tell which one of us he was asking to say I do. He and Jan now have two children, Jon, 7, and Jodee, 4. His son is named after Lees ancestor John D. Lee, his favorite writer John Milton, and John of the New Testament. Lee is well known as a writer as well as a teacher. He has two books of poetry published Porcine Legacy and Drinking and Driving, now in its second edition. His new book, Shadow Weaver, should be out next fall, and in 1984 Porcine Canticles will be released. In addition to his poetry, Lee also has two novels currently being read by W.W. Norton in New York. I hate writing, said Lee, but I dont know how to stop. Every two weeks I swear Ill never write again. My reaction to that is usually something like, wheres some clean paper and a pen. Lee is often asked if his priority is as a writer or a teacher. I tell people neither, he said. I consider myself first a husband and father. d Lee demands a private life. Some have labeled him a hermit or a loner. I just dont like an overlap, explained Lee. Im an academic with a private life. Im not married to the college. The separation is from the college he lives in Paragonah not from the students. Jon and Jodee are my son and daughter, he said, but my students are my other children. He wouldnt want to change anything about the students at SUSC. Students have always been my challenge and reward, he said. I am incapable of conceiving a better group of students for me to work with. His students are always his first priority in teaching, followed by the subject matter, the institution and himself. Though faculty salaries are one of Lees concerns, his love for teaching carries far beyond financial cares. Its ecstasy when its right, he said. Some moments in the classroom are sheer thrill to see a students face glowing, and to realize theres something happening. Its the ultimate for me. |
