The Pearson Program

What a wonderful opportunity Wisner had to participate in such a program, like the Pearson Program. If only every undergraduate student had the opportunity to connect to a subject, a book, a professor the way he did to all three. I feel like some of today's college campuses are not without some of these hallowed "Pearson Professors". I feel priveleged to have studied under one professor in my undergraduate career that really sparked my love and interest in history.

The first history class I took outside of my required electives was also my first summer course. The class; Civil War in the Carolinas. The professor; Dr. Dan Morrill. In my first class, I was unsure of what I had gotten myself into. Used to the rigors and scaffolding of typical undergraduate courses, I found myself in a small room with ten other souls, and one man who walked and talked with an infectious madness. The course text was written by Morrill himself and required reading for our 4 week course. We read every single chapter; not because he was one of the haughty dr. types that expected you to memorize every fact and date, but because he wrote the way he spoke and read...with passion. I remember that our lectures were full of Dr. Morrill reading passages and excerpts from the era we studied. He read with such passion that it ignited our attention. He did not stray from controversial material...in fact I think he took pleasure from the shock value sometimes! He also used the material, as well as the facts to spark classroom discussions. He did not stray from voicing his opinion, nor did he stray from validating our opinions. I will always be thankful to Dr. Morrill for not being afraid to teach his passion. Because of this, I took three more courses (outside of my already accomplished electives) and decided to double major in History. I know I am not alone in my adoration and admiration of him, just try and schedule a time to see him during registration for the next semester. History majors were able to pick and choose our advisors and who to see during advising periods. I always valued his opinions (even if they were vastly different from my own) and tried many times to see him as my advisor. Alas, I never did.