Valley Star

Issue date: 5/16/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Allan Gold Professor of History Shannon Stack

Shannon Stack loves to tell a story. From the hundreds of historical books on her office shelves to the elaborate gold jewelry that she wears with pride, everything about the doctor of history tells a tale; her eyes sparkle through her glasses, and she smiles warmly when talking about history of any sort.

But one chapter of her own story is about to close when she retires after more than 30 years of teaching at Valley College.

The energetic redheaded teacher began her journey with Valley when she decided to be a student here, and continued when she came back to teach in the '60s before taking off on a true adventure to the Middle East to study.

"I got to go abroad for a year," said Stack. "It was quite an experience because I was a woman traveling alone."

Stack has served on numerous committees at Valley since returning in 1971. She is currently the faculty president, and also served in the same position during the 1986-87 lay-offs. Although she is proud of her work outside the classroom, she is looking forward to more teaching even after she retires.

"I say that I am really retiring from committee work," said Stack. "I have been on more committees than I could possibly ever count, so I will teach for a little while."

Her colleagues have high praise for the professor and marvel at the amount of work she has done for her students and the college.

"Dr. Stack is one of the rare individuals who loves her job, her students, her area of teaching and yet has found time to be a faculty leader as department chair, faculty association president, and head of IMS (Instructional Media Services)," said Jack Sterk, a former Valley teacher and longtime friend of Stack.

"She is widely recognized as a scholar in her field. Beyond that, she has found time for her friends. She believes in the community college system and has dedicated her professional life to it."

"She has been a strong advocate for students, and she has been one of the most active faculty members," said Valley President Dr. Tyree Wieder. "And I wish her the best as she moves on to new journeys."

Stack admires the diversity of Valley, and she remembers when the college was mostly white students and marvels at how the campus has changed and how teaching has changed with it.

"When I went here this was a white suburban college and now we have turned into a more inner-city [college] with tremendous diversity, which necessitates lots of changes, and you can't teach the same way," she explained.

Valley also holds a special place for her since she met her husband and fellow teacher Eddie Irwin here, and her son has also attended classes on campus. In Stack's office there are pictures of both of them prominently on display.

In step with Stack's penchant for decoration, two small, framed pictures sit by her door. One is of Audrey Hepburn and the other is Dame Diana Rigg in a still from the "Avengers" TV series. Although it may seem out of step with the rest of the decor, it is simply that Stack is herself equal parts classy lady and adventurer, and her story is far from over.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools