Spevak: Honoring a teacher who inspired, encouraged and offered support

Los Banos and Chicago may be miles apart, and Merced College’s Los Banos Campus and the University of Chicago may have different missions. But thanks to the kindness of a University of Chicago professor, they are forever connected in my life.

Professor Michael Murrin, whom I knew well for the 10 years when I was a graduate student in English at the University of Chicago, died last fall. When I read of his death in the U of C alumni magazine not long ago, I was surprised by how profoundly I was affected by the news.

Murrin was the last surviving professor of the many intelligent and kind University of Chicago teachers I had, including William Ringler and David Bevington. Because of them and others at the U of C, I was able to earn degrees that enabled me to have a long career as a community college instructor and administrator in Los Banos and Merced.

Those professors helped me get through the U of C master’s and the doctoral English programs, which gave me the knowledge and qualifications I needed to be employed in a California community college. The professor who helped me the most, from the first day I was his student in 1968 until the day I received my final degree in 1978, was Michael Murrin.

From Professor Murrin I learned how much a teacher could do for a student—inspiring, encouraging, supporting.

Since my time in graduate school years ago, I have seen many teachers at Merced College (in Los Banos and Merced) and in Los Banos high schools display those same qualities, helping hundreds of students over the years succeed.

Inspiration. At the end of the first course I took from him, Professor Murrin gave a talk which summed up the course so brilliantly that the entire class gave him a standing ovation. He inspired me to explore the breadth and depth of my discipline.

Encouragement. In that same course, Murrin told me the essay I wrote could be the basis of a doctoral dissertation. He was prophetic; it was. He encouraged me to keep moving forward.

Support. Thanks to Professor Murrin’s advocacy, the university provided me with a fellowship for my last two years of graduate work. That meant I only had to pay back the loan I took out to cover my first year of graduate school (which took me ten years to repay).

Professor Murrin stayed in contact with me for ten years. I had to leave graduate school to enter the Air Force. When I left the military, I was fortunate to find a full-time job teaching English at the Los Banos Campus and taught there for three years.

When I was ready to return to graduate school with a leave of absence, Murrin was ready and willing to welcome me back and renew my fellowship. I appreciated all of that support.

Perhaps most important, Michael Murrin helped me believe in myself. When it was time for me to take some difficult oral and written exams, he assured me I could and would be successful.

And when he needed someone to teach a freshman humanities course, he asked me. It was an immeasurable vote of confidence to be assigned to teach a course at the University of Chicago.

Professor Murrin was also patient. Along with my other advisor, he stood by me, during the three years it took me to write my dissertation during nights and weekends while I was teaching full-time in Los Banos.

With his guidance and support, when I finished my U of C work and earned my last degree, I felt confident that I could do almost anything, anywhere.

I have felt appreciative of Professor Murrin’s help for the past 54 years, but I hadn’t realized just how life-affirming his help has been until I heard of his death.

I think I speak on behalf of so many of the students Michael Murrin had during his half-century of teaching at the University of Chicago when I express my deep gratitude for all that he’s done for me and others.

Likewise, I’m also expressing my gratitude for teachers like him, who, at every level of education, have gone above and beyond the call of teaching duty to help their students succeed.

I hope my readers use this column, as well as upcoming graduation ceremonies, as opportunities to think back on their time as a student--anywhere from kindergarten to graduate school--and remember a teacher who had a similar effect on their lives.

And I hope that dedicated teachers reading this column will understand the impact they have had on their students’ lives--the times they inspired, encouraged, supported, affirmed and stood by their students--just as Michael Murrin did for me.