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Susan M. HegbergProfessor Emeritus of Music After 27 years of service to Susquehanna University as music professor and chapel organist, Susan Hegberg sees her retirement as an opportunity to continue pursuing her lifelong love for music. For Hegberg, retirement will not provide a chance to rest but rather an opportunity to make music full time. While preparing for a particularly challenging organ presentation during a sabbatical in 2005, Hegberg found the extra hours she spent at the organ so enjoyable she began looking into retirement so she could continue the rigorous practice. “I realized that I still found great joy in learning new music,” Hegberg explains. Hegberg’s passion for music remains as strong today as it was when she joined Susquehanna in 1980. She continues to be an active member of the American Guild of Organists and now enjoys long periods of practice as she prepares for several upcoming recitals. Hegberg, who holds a D.M. in organ performance from Northwestern University, also plans to arrange and compose music for organ and choir. Music has been a major part of Hegberg’s life since she began her study of piano at age 5 and organ at age 13. During her time at Susquehanna, Hegberg served as chapel organist, director of the women’s choir and, for two terms, chair of the music department. She taught not only organ lessons and church music classes but also general courses in music theory and music history, courses taken by all majors in the department. Hegberg describes her experience with Susquehanna as the best of both worlds. “What Susquehanna allowed me to do was to pursue two loves: teaching and church music.” Valerie Martin, dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Communications, says, “Susan was a devoted faculty member, and as a teacher, she was always available to work with students from music history or theory classes or from her organ studio. She recognized the importance of faculty presence at student recitals and concerts and made it a priority to attend every one. Susan was generous with her time, knowledge, patience and humor, whether it was in the classroom, office, hallway or concert hall.” Watching students grasp new concepts was one of her greatest joys as a teacher. “I always wanted to be available to my students to give them extra help — not to give them answers, but to try to lead them to the answers,” Hegberg explains. In fact, she considers her greatest achievement during her time at Susquehanna to be the triumphs of her students, seeing them become not only successful but also unfailingly enthusiastic about making music and sharing it with others. Though she has retired, Hegberg’s love for music runs so deep that even as she continues to practice for recitals and serve as a substitute organist for area churches, she has undertaken a new musical endeavor — learning to play violin. What Hegberg considers her greatest achievement, the accomplishments and continuing passion of her students, is a clear reflection of her own lifelong passion for sharing her love of music with others.
J. Thomas WalkerProfessor Emeritus of Sociology While J. Thomas Walker was working on his master’s degree in the mid-1960s, he found himself knocking on doors for a job. His most promising prospect at the time was a position with the department of corrections, but then a college teaching opportunity emerged. Walker was offered a teaching position at Greenville College in Illinois, his alma mater, and taught there three terms. “I considered it an honor to be asked by my professors to come back to teach as well as a unique opportunity to possibly begin a career in college teaching,” Walker says. Prior to joining the Susquehanna faculty in 1967, Walker met with then dean Wilhelm Reuning, professor emeritus of history. Walker remembers being impressed with Reuning’s “serious academic bearing and his keen interest in the history of the social sciences.” Before the end of their meeting, Reuning offered Walker a position in the Department of Sociology. “I accepted since I had decided that Susquehanna would be a good place to develop a career in academic sociology,” he says. “I am grateful to Susquehanna for providing me with the opportunity to develop a fulfilling and rewarding 40-year career in teaching.” Walker, who holds a Ph.D. from St. Louis University, taught various courses in sociology over the years including sociological theory, social change, sociology of the future, criminology and principles of sociology. He served as Department of Sociology head for two decades, beginning in the mid-1970s. Also in the 1970s, Walker created Susquehanna’s certificate programs in mental heath and mental retardation education. The Evening Division programs were attended by hundreds of educators, nurses and other caregivers. “I really consider that one of the hallmarks of my career,” Walker says. Outside of the classroom, Walker’s service at Susquehanna included membership on the Admissions Committee, which he chaired for a time in the mid-1970s. He also served on the executive committee that later legally founded the Lutheran College Washington Consortium, which provides opportunities for students to study and intern in the nation’s capital. Walker served as advisor to Phi Mu Delta, a position in which he found great personal reward. “Seeing young guys take the creed of the fraternity seriously and really develop in leadership and service and ultimately into mature responsible men — it just doesn’t get better than that,” he says. In retirement, Walker plans to spend time traveling with his wife, Suzanne, and continue with two longstanding hobbies of gardening and winemaking. He also sees retirement as an opportunity to continue scholarly efforts. Lucien T. Winegar, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences, says Walker is “a great example of someone who insisted on growing and reaching to keep current in his field and to develop scholarly projects that continue into his retirement. He is a model of successful lifelong learning toward which his students might also strive.” Appropriately, one of Walker’s particular areas of interest is the future, a focus area he’s explored for three decades. “We must contemplate the present to understand the future and how the decisions we make today will affect it,” Walker says. With his own decision to retire behind him, Walker can contemplate a rewarding career at Susquehanna as his passion for sociology shifts from vocation to avocation. –Mary Cammarata Markle
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