Nine 25-Year Honorands Fêted at HEAA June Banquet

At the annual Harvard Extension Alumni Association Banquet on June 8 in the Quincy House dining hall, more than 200 people honored nine faculty members who have taught an impressive total of 229 years at the Harvard Extension School. According to Dean Michael Shinagel, "this is the largest number of honorands in the history of the Harvard Extension School, and it reflects the dedication and longevity of our evening faculty."

Among those who have taught 26 years are Antonio Di Sanzo, chairman of the foreign language department at Reading High School, who teaches Elementary Italian; Ellsworth Lapham Fersch, lecturer on psychology at Harvard University, who teaches Law and Psychology and Law and Ethics; Bruce Molay, lecturer in Extension, who teaches College Algebra and assorted computer science courses, including the distance education course Unix Systems Programming; and Donald H. Pfister, Asa Gray Professor of Systematic Botany at Harvard University, who began his Extension career in 1977-78 teaching Introduction to Fungi and now teaches seminars on topics in botany.

Members of the faculty who have taught 25 years are Irene Bergel, who teaches beginning and intermediate Spanish courses; Helmut Koester, John H. Morison Research Professor of Divinity and Winn Research Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School, who teaches courses on religion, notably History of Early Christianity and Jesus of Nazareth and the Gospels; Lorraine Ledford, an instructor of intermediate and advanced Spanish courses; Joanna Bunker Rohrbaugh, clinical instructor on psychology at Harvard Medical School, who teaches courses in gender and women's studies, especially Psychology of Women; and Delba Winthrop, lecturer in Extension, who teaches courses in government, including Introduction to Political Theory, Democracy, and Morals and Politics.

These veteran Harvard Extension School faculty members are, on the whole, evaluated by their students above the already high average of 4.5. It's fitting that such valued instructors are awarded for their many years of exemplary service with the traditional gift of a well-deserved Harvard rocking chair.