As the school year comes to a close, so too do the academic careers of some favorite faculty members who are now retiring from the College of Liberal Arts & Education. Retirement, however, hardly characterizes the next step in the lives of these popular faculty members. Many will be busier than ever.

Below, Associate Professor of Communication Studies Gary Garrett, who joined the University in 1991; Associate Professor of Sociology Lyn Lewis, a UDM faculty member since 1973; and Professor John Saliba, S.J., who has taught religious studies at UDM since 1970, reflect on their years at UDM and what they have planned for the future. Also retiring are Associate Professor of Social Work Robert Daniels and Assistant Professor of Economics James Mosby.

Gary Garrett

What are your plans/expectations for retirement?

Garrett: I plan to write extensively. I want to return to writing prose poetry and researching and publishing on masculine imagery in print advertising.

Lewis: First, to finish my books that I've been writing. One is Creating APPLE (A Peaceful, Positive Learning Environment), which explores creating a positive learning environment for elementary, middle and high school students. Second, to continue to build my consulting firm, which focuses on helping people with such issues as conflict resolution, peer mediation and motivating the motivators. And third, I will continue to explore a unique idea for a special school for abandoned, abused and neglected youth. I believe that children who are in these types of situations can't possibly be educated in a traditional school setting. Schools aren't set up to meet the special needs of these students. As a result, these children will never prosper and realize their full potential or talents unless they are provided with the necessary educational facility, instructional materials and intervention needed to meet their needs on a holistic level.

Lyn Lewis (photo by William Sanders)

Saliba: I plan to take the fall semester off, and then will return to UDM to teach part-time as an adjunct faculty member. I'll also return to my homeland of Malta to reunite with my siblings. One brother presently lives in Australia, another lives in Italy, and I have a brother and sister who live in Malta. I'll also continue as a parish priest at St. Louis in Warren, and work on the third edition of my book, Understanding New Religious Movements.

What will you remember most or miss about your time at the University?

Garrett: I will miss my students. I found them to be a source of joy and encouragement.

Lewis: No question, it will absolutely be my students. There is nothing I can add to my life that will replace that void. I feel blessed to have been able to learn from students from all walks of life.

John Saliba, S.J.

Saliba: Teaching students about different religions. The topic often "shakes the students up a bit" because I approach the information in a way that allows the students to come to their own conclusions about the religions. Most students are used to absolutes when it comes to religion.

What would you like students/alumni to remember about you as a professor?

Garrett: I would like to be remembered as fair and as a master teacher.

Lewis: As a professor who loved teaching and loved learning. I have a saying, "If God invented something better than teaching and learning, He kept it in heaven for Himself." I loved being a part of students' academic development and character development (what I call "head, heart and character development"). I hope they remember me as one who taught them to be the best they can be.

Saliba: I'd like to think that my students will remember me as one who is dedicated to what I'm doing…and that I was always there on time.

What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment as a faculty member at UDM?

Garrett: I feel that I was a master teacher of writing.

Lewis: I'd like to think that my greatest accomplishment was teaching sociological knowledge to students from all fields of study. I hope I inspired them to love sociology and incorporate it in their everyday life experiences. I also hope that I helped students increase their belief in themselves. I'd like to think that I inspired them to make a greater contribution to the world than that which they had previously considered. I taught my students that education has value beyond oneself. Education can and should benefit others.

Saliba: My writing on new religious movements.