To be named a professor emeritus of Franciscan University requires more than many years of service. Candidates must posses an unblemished record of commitment to the teaching of the Catholic Church and the mission of the University and receive formal approval from the Board of Trustees. Here, our newest crop of professors to be so honored share brief highlights from their distinguished careers.
Dr. James A. Harold, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Retired in 2021; 35 Years of Service
“Franciscan University is a great gift to me and to my family. I was given the opportunity to share wonderful philosophy with others, my children received a first-class education, and they found serious Catholic spouses giving them a happy Catholic family life. My favorite memory is bittersweet: seeing Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, leaving Franciscan for the last time. The University buildings emptied out, and we lined the streets waving to him goodbye, this wonderful, holy priest.”
Dr. John Holmes, Professor Emeritus of English
Retired in 2022; 37 Years of Service
“Lessons from three students. Teresita, who corrected me when I called her ‘Sister Teresita’—then founded an order of nuns. Melia, who inaugurated my favorite classroom exercise: ‘name your favorite passage.’ And a third whose name escapes me, who dropped my course but made up for it by marrying me.”
Dr. Bob Doyle, Professor Emeritus of History
Retired in 2022; 22 Years of Service
“I spent 22 years teaching full-time at Franciscan University of Steubenville. The friends and colleagues I met and worked with here have been remarkable people, skilled in their areas of study and very capable teachers. While here, I wrote one book, The Enemy in Our Hands (2010) and have another one now under review by a military press. My students have been a wonder. I gave them future; they gave me life. Can’t ask for more than that.”
Dr. John Crosby, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Retired in 2022; 32 Years of Service
“One of the most important things I did in my 32 years at Franciscan University was to work for the strengthening of the liberal arts core curriculum. Franciscan has always been strong as a center of faith formation; it has always offered solid professional programs; but the intellectual formation proper to a university needed more attention. For our students not only want to go deep into their faith, but they also want to learn how to think. This is why many of my colleagues and I have given high priority to the University’s commitment to liberal arts education.”
Dr. Alan Schreck, Professor Emeritus of Theology
Retires in 2023; 45 Years of Service
“Little did I know when I began teaching here in 1978 that this would result in many international adventures. But the very next year, some theology majors planned a month-long trip to Israel, and I accompanied them as faculty advisor. One highpoint: plant- ing a College of Steubenville banner atop Mount Sinai at sunrise. In the 1990s, Franciscan began our Austrian Program, and my wife and five children accompanied me as I taught in Gaming in 1992-93 and again in 1996-98 (my wife and I returned in fall 2015 and 2018-19). We went on pilgrimages with our students but also had family expeditions to Eastern Europe. One highlight: giving two weekend workshops for Catholic schoolteachers in Nitra, Slovakia, only three years after the fall of communism. Also, because of our Catechetical Alliance, we visited ‘sister’ catechetical institutes in England and France. I never imagined teaching at a small Catholic college in Steubenville, Ohio, would be my ‘gateway to the world’! Thanks be to God!”
Professor Alan Schreck (left) and students planting the College of Steubenville flag on top of Mt. Sinai.
