The one word that John Scott Strickland will always be remembered by is “caring”.

When a student couldn’t afford their textbooks, Strickland stepped in and bought the books for them without fanfare on more than one occasion, Norman Kutcher, an associate professor in the department of history, said.

When a new faculty member was hired, specifically amidst a dramatic faculty turnover within the department in the 2000s, Strickland stepped in and became a mentor to them and “generously offered to read their work and provide counsel,” Kutcher said.

When Margaret Susan Thompson, an associate professor in the department of history and longtime friend of Strickland, dealt with a serious illness more than ten years ago, no one visited her more times in the hospital than Strickland, she said.

These are just a few examples of compassion from John Scott Strickland, an associate professor of history at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, who died on May 28. Strickland joined the Syracuse University faculty as an assistant professor in 1984 and was named associate professor in 1990. He received his doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina in 1984. At SU, he served as the department of history undergraduate director until his death.

The role of undergraduate director is important because it involves advising students on how to proceed with their majors and making sure they fulfill all the requirements, Thompson said. But Strickland looked at his job as more than just helping choose classes, she said.

“He’s also just been there for them a lot, so it’s more than just a formal know your rules and regulations and so on,” Thompson said.  “He was there for them as someone who could give them advice too.”

Carol Faulkner, chair of the department of history, said Samantha Herrick, a professor in the department, will be the new undergraduate director.

Strickland’s openness and advising ability earned him the 2003 Faculty Advisor of the Year Award.

“Scott was usually in his office from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and made himself completely available to his students,” Kutcher said. “He helped them plan their schedules, but just as importantly, he talked with them about their lives and plans for the future.”

While Strickland was “too much of a perfectionist” to publish much of his own research, Kutcher said he remained an astute historian and was very helpful in critiquing the work of others.

The research that Strickland did do focused on United States history, with an emphasis on the American South, African American religion and culture and the United States social history from 1700-1900.

Thompson said she thinks Strickland was focused more on teaching and helping students than his own research and that this was evident in how he spent his time and energy.

She said Strickland helped students who were working on their doctoral theses, despite them not technically being his pupils.

“I’ve talked to a number of them [the students] since Scott died and all of them have talked about how generous he was with his time, with his knowledge and with his support,” Thompson said. “Even though these were not necessarily his students, he felt the desire to help them in a number of different ways.”

Strickland also spent his time focusing on providing opportunities to SU students, not only through the department of history and his advising, but also through the Documentary Film and History program, a joint degree master’s program between the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School that is designed to help students make documentaries while teaching them the historian’s craft, Kutcher said.

Those who knew Strickland said he’s been a key part of their lives, and he’ll be missed.

“It sounds really cliché but I’m going to really miss him,” Thompson said. “He’s been a really important part of the department for a really long time and I think we’re going to really miss him in ways we can’t even imagine at this point.”

 

Published on June 12, 2014 at 11:53 am

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