Professor, teacher, friend

A tough goodbye to Dalhousie’s Sue Campbell 

Evan Goulet, Opinions contributor

“Have a seat,” said Sue. My nervousness surprised me. The professor across from me couldn’t have been gentler, more genuine, or more attentive. But I was intimidated. What if I said something absurd? What if my ideas weren’t brilliant? I was a clueless Masters student trying to develop my thesis; she was an eminent scholar, and my supervisor.

It turns out, it didn’t matter. When my thoughts made sense, she nurtured them. When they didn’t, she questioned why. Her encouragement and humbleness calmed me. I left our meeting awestruck.

This woman was Sue Campbell, and she died this month at 56 years old.

If you knew Sue, you probably already understand her ability to shape lives. If you didn’t, you should know what you missed: some professors do much more than lecture and grade assignments.

Sue was such a talented and renowned philosopher that she could have taught students by simply telling them what to think. But that wasn’t her style. She would guide, foster, and question ideas. Though she was a leading scholar in her philosophical fields, she was passionate about helping students contribute to those fields in their own unique ways.

As students, we expect our professors teach us about their academic province. Truly great professors, however, are able to guide students beyond academia.

Like most people, I was somewhat lost when nearing the end of my degree. I considered doing another degree, starting some sort of career immediately, or travelling. I feared that if I didn’t start toward a career right away, I would fall behind. I received a lot of great advice from family and friends, but still felt uneasy.

After months of floundering, I emailed Sue. I explained my quandary and she offered to talk about it over a beer. When we met, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Sue wasn’t a career counsellor or a life coach, but she understood people. And with that understanding, she knew how to help them. After months of knowing her, her interest in my thoughts no longer made me nervous, but her ability to guide those thoughts continued amaze me.

She listened to me. Then she said that one of her only regrets was not travelling before starting her career. Maybe because of this, she became a collector of shot glasses from places she hadn’t been.

That such a successful person could have such a regret (or any regret!) was enough to convince me to take a year off to travel. That year gave me the time and experience needed to figure out what to do with my life. When I later told Sue I wanted to use my philosophy background in law, she encouraged me, by sharing her own experience shaping public and legal policy. Just like when she supervised my thesis, Sue didn’t tell me what she thought was right. She used her experiences to foster my ideas and suggest their application.

It’s been more than four years since I met Sue, and her teachings and advice have deeply shaped my thoughts and career. We often don’t hear of the broad impacts seemingly ordinary people have had on others’ lives. Dalhousie is better for having had such a professor, and worse for having lost her.

Evan Goulet is an alumnus of Dalhousie’s graduate studies programme in philosophy.