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Latino-Native American Cultural Center newspaper clippings, 1972-1988
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Part 5 SEEING THE CONTRIBUTION Darwin T. Turner Jay R. Berry Dierdre Sanford Cross [ on the side of article] "Graduate students are the individuals who will become the leaders of cultural and professional activities." When Darwin T. Turner was a doctoral degree candidate at the University of Chicago, he studied under a professor who often invited his students to his home. One room of the man's apartment had shelves and shelves of books--not unusual for a college faculty member. But all of these books, the professor explained to visitors, had been written by his former students. "I thought that was one of the most wonderful experiences a teacher could have," Turner says, "not merely to have the hope of contributing to the lives of one's students, but to be able to see the contributions." Even when the results and rewards are not so tangible, Turner, a UI Foundation Distinguished Professor of English, believes advanced study is important and productive. His commitment to education is something of a family heritage, passed down to him by a great-great-grandfather who founded Cincinnati's first successful school for blacks, a grandfather who was one of the first blacks to receive a doctorate in science, and his mother, who graduated from University of Cincinnati at age 18. Turner himself, a member of Phi Beta Kappa at age 15, earned his master's degree before he turned 20 and his Ph.D. by age 25. Now as chairman of the African-American World Studies Program (formerly Afro-American Studies), Turner works with the latest generation of students who possess his commitment to graduate education. Among them are his two research assistants from 1985-86: Dierdre Sanford Cross, a UI Graduate Opportunity Fellow in African-American world studies, and Jay R. Berry, a Ph.D. candidate in American studies, with an emphasis in African-American world studies. As is true for most graduate students, their advanced education has required sacrifices and made persistent demands on their time and energies. yet both feel the work beyond their bachelor's degrees is essential. With Turner, they consider the ways graduate students literally and figuratively fill the bookshelves. BERRY: The primary reason I'm pursuing a graduate education is my interest in teaching at the university level. But frankly, even if I didn't see myself as a teacher, I still would have been interested in graduate school. Even if I don't teach, this will be time well spent in terms of personal growth. I've gained a tremendous amount of knowledge, both general and specialized. I've become more analytical than I was as an undergraduate, and I'm a more attentive reader and listener. I think I've become a more well-rounded person. Those are some of the more tangible things. CROSS: My decision to go to graduate school was due to my curiosity about Afro-American literature. Having only taken a few Afro-American literature courses as an undergraduate, I really wanted to make myself more familiar with the authors and their works. I'm also interested in writing, and I wanted to learn from writers who are my people. So I decided to pursue the M.A. in Afro-American literature. I believe, like Jay, that graduate school has made me a better thinker, a more analytical thinker. I don't accept things at face value so easily--and that extends outside the classroom. When an issue or problem confronts me, I can exercise the same skills I use when I think carefully about a piece of literature, and it helps me. BERRY: I think a liberal arts education can be very useful, and, obviously, I see a value in the humanities. I assume that what I'm doing can make some sort of impact. How big, i don't know. But there are opportunities there. Cont'd on back of page
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Part 5 SEEING THE CONTRIBUTION Darwin T. Turner Jay R. Berry Dierdre Sanford Cross [ on the side of article] "Graduate students are the individuals who will become the leaders of cultural and professional activities." When Darwin T. Turner was a doctoral degree candidate at the University of Chicago, he studied under a professor who often invited his students to his home. One room of the man's apartment had shelves and shelves of books--not unusual for a college faculty member. But all of these books, the professor explained to visitors, had been written by his former students. "I thought that was one of the most wonderful experiences a teacher could have," Turner says, "not merely to have the hope of contributing to the lives of one's students, but to be able to see the contributions." Even when the results and rewards are not so tangible, Turner, a UI Foundation Distinguished Professor of English, believes advanced study is important and productive. His commitment to education is something of a family heritage, passed down to him by a great-great-grandfather who founded Cincinnati's first successful school for blacks, a grandfather who was one of the first blacks to receive a doctorate in science, and his mother, who graduated from University of Cincinnati at age 18. Turner himself, a member of Phi Beta Kappa at age 15, earned his master's degree before he turned 20 and his Ph.D. by age 25. Now as chairman of the African-American World Studies Program (formerly Afro-American Studies), Turner works with the latest generation of students who possess his commitment to graduate education. Among them are his two research assistants from 1985-86: Dierdre Sanford Cross, a UI Graduate Opportunity Fellow in African-American world studies, and Jay R. Berry, a Ph.D. candidate in American studies, with an emphasis in African-American world studies. As is true for most graduate students, their advanced education has required sacrifices and made persistent demands on their time and energies. yet both feel the work beyond their bachelor's degrees is essential. With Turner, they consider the ways graduate students literally and figuratively fill the bookshelves. BERRY: The primary reason I'm pursuing a graduate education is my interest in teaching at the university level. But frankly, even if I didn't see myself as a teacher, I still would have been interested in graduate school. Even if I don't teach, this will be time well spent in terms of personal growth. I've gained a tremendous amount of knowledge, both general and specialized. I've become more analytical than I was as an undergraduate, and I'm a more attentive reader and listener. I think I've become a more well-rounded person. Those are some of the more tangible things. CROSS: My decision to go to graduate school was due to my curiosity about Afro-American literature. Having only taken a few Afro-American literature courses as an undergraduate, I really wanted to make myself more familiar with the authors and their works. I'm also interested in writing, and I wanted to learn from writers who are my people. So I decided to pursue the M.A. in Afro-American literature. I believe, like Jay, that graduate school has made me a better thinker, a more analytical thinker. I don't accept things at face value so easily--and that extends outside the classroom. When an issue or problem confronts me, I can exercise the same skills I use when I think carefully about a piece of literature, and it helps me. BERRY: I think a liberal arts education can be very useful, and, obviously, I see a value in the humanities. I assume that what I'm doing can make some sort of impact. How big, i don't know. But there are opportunities there. Cont'd on back of page
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