Since I've been at Duke, one professor has stood apart as a teacher. He's enthralled me with his lectures, kept generous office hours and offered weekly lunches to all of his students. He has made an effort to know me personally outside of the lecture hall. And he is the one who is being denied tenure.
Timothy Lomperis has shown during his time at Duke what the focus of the undergraduate professor should be--teaching. And as the recent petition on his behalf attests, his excellence in this area has not gone unnoticed.
I came to Duke believing that it had a commitment to undergraduate education. Maybe I was just too eager to believe the rhetoric of the administration and the college viewbook. In any case, another great teacher has left this institution, and no one seems to know why. Whether or not you felt that he deserved tenure, it is nearly indefensible that he spent nearly four years of his life (and $13,000 in legal fees) to fight this case, only to learn about his fate from The Chronicle. His departure is a great loss for students and professors alike who knew him, and for those who believe that teaching makes a difference.
I wish Lomperis the best of luck as he continues to inspire and challenge young minds. The tragedy for us as students is that when he does so now, it will be at another campus.
Carl Berger
Trinity '97
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