Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | winter 2007
Laura Mielke

 


WINTER 2007
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Cover Story:
>>The power of one

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Time to celebrate

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THE POWER OF ONE

We all had them. The professor whose teaching style was so riveting we couldn't take our eyes off of him. And the professor who was so demanding that we couldn't wait to get out of her class -- but darn it if we didn't learn the most from her that semester. And the professor who knew just the right time to reach out to us when we really needed someone to talk to.

Those are the professors we remember, whose class notes we still cherish, whose teaching style set in motion a lifetime of learning. Those are the professors who truly are the heart and soul of Iowa State University.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, at his 2003 fall convocation, said, "Faculty are the heart of everything, and the excellence of the institution will rise and fall with the excellence of the faculty."

In this issue, VISIONS explores why faculty choose to teach, what a typical week is like for an assistant professor at Iowa State, and why it's so challenging to attract -- and keep -- great faculty. And we look at a few of the professors who changed our lives.

Because in the end, that's what really matters: That cosmic set of circumstances that allows one professor to connect with one student in a meaningful way. To share, to grown, to laugh, to love, to ignite a fire. To teach.

Photos by Jim Heemstra

Read on | A Week in the life of Laura Mielke, assistant professor of English