Instead of returning to Pacific next fall, English professor Pauline Beard will be starting her retirement on a five week trip traveling throughout Europe.
Beard was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and was raised in England in an industrial town called Doncaster. Even though they were attending different universities in England, Beard stayed with her high school sweetheart who later became her husband.
Growing up, Beard knew that she wanted to be a teacher although it wasn’t certain until later whether she would be teaching literature or drama. She has played roles in productions and still enjoys going to plays here at Pacific.
Due to work, after college Beard’s husband was sent to Venezuela. Beard went with him and became a teacher of English as a second language. They spent two years in Venezuela even though Beard said that she was never able to make it past the present tense in Spanish.
Beard and her husband moved to New York from Venezuela where Beard was accepted into a literature program at Suny Binghamton University where she received her master’s degree. She was then asked to stay on and work for her Ph.D. in literature.
While at Binghamton, Beard published a number of essays and is still writing today, although most of her work involves the works of Jane Austin. Beard is currently working on a book that will help teachers and professors learn new ways to teach Jane Austin to their students.
The works of Jane Austen have become a passion of hers, Beard said, and the proof is in the number of critiques that she has written and the number of classes on Austen’s works that she has taught.
When Beard moved to Oregon she started out as a professor at Portland State University and was mainly teaching classes on Russian literature and drama. When she moved to Pacific, Beard said that she liked that with smaller class sizes that class discussions were able to go much more in depth and be more fun.
One of Beard’s favorite moments at Pacific was a class where they decided to have their literature discussion outside for a change. Sitting under the big trees reading Jane Austin, Beard said, was the right environment able to set off a discussion where Beard was hardly able to get a word in because her students were so absorbed and interested in the subject.
Later Beard received a handwritten letter thanking her for such a wonderful class. Beard still has the letter tucked away in a file with other letters like it.
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for Beard said she is that she is able to be very active in the education of those who put their very heart and soul into their career.
Being able to see a student come in as a freshman and then be able to help later on to write letters of recommendation has been very rewarding, Beard said.
Many of Beard’s past students keep in touch and Beard said that she is always delighted to be able to receive updates on her past students.
Gardening for Beard has also been very rewarding and it is a hobby that she plans on putting more time and effort into doing during her retirement. Her husband owned a wine shop as a hobby which is now his semi-retirement project. It is a passion of her husband’s and is something that she looks forward to being able to enjoy more of.
In her parting words to Pacific, Beard wanted to show a sense of gratitude to the faculty for their sense of support and camaraderie. Beard said that she becomes very emotional at graduation due to the satisfaction and pride that she feels when she is able to watch students that she had during their freshmen year walk across the stage and receive their diploma.
The impact that she has left behind is one of many micro themes and great literature based discussions. But Beard is off to start a new chapter; one that will involve, hopefully many vacations, writing, gardening, relaxing, her husband, great wine and many new books.
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