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The most exacting, demanding,
inspiring
By Nathan Weinert
Editor-in-Chief, The Hilltop Monitor
Dr. Ann Marie Shannon, professor emerita of English, died Wednesday, January 23 at age 78. A woman whose careful, precise manner of speaking belied her challenging, intense nature, Shannon served as a professor at the College for 22 years and was the first senior tutor of the Oxbridge Honors Program.
Members of the College community are remembering Shannon as a challenging professor and gifted intellectual, who cared deeply for both students and colleagues.
"I think she's probably had a reputation among students, and deservedly so, as one of the most exacting and demanding and inspiring of professors at this College, and certainly in the department," Dr. Mark Walters, Oxbridge professor of English Language and Literature, said. "What I found most remarkable was just her utter grasp and retention of the smallest of historical literary details. She was the sort who in casual conversation would just rip off lines, and start reciting lines from Shakespeare, or Donne, or Marvel, or Herbert. Her facility with the texts and her area of expertise, which was primarily the English Renaissance was really quite remarkable."
Shannon joined the faculty at William Jewell in 1974. Although she retired in 1995, Shannon continued to teach Oxbridge tutorials part time through the spring 2005 semester.
"I loved Dr. Shannon," Emily Fine, senior Oxbridge English Language and Literature major, said. "She was just kind of this petite lady. Every word was carefully measured, spoken slowly. She knew what she was saying," said Fine, who was a member of Shannon's last Oxbridge tutorial. "At the same time, I don't think I've met too many people who could inflict the fear of God on you like that woman. It wasn't that she was loud or mean—it was that she had a presence."
Fine recalled the way Shannon challenged students from the beginning of their time at William Jewell. "She encouraged us to start our thesis or honors project as freshmen, and there was just this sense of ‘you don't want to disappoint Dr. Shannon,'" she said. "She could be very intimidating, but in a good way. She was great. Very funny, too, but not in your typical humor. I think there are a lot of students who will still remember her and really enjoyed their time with her. She was a very special woman."
Other students in Shannon's final tutorial also spoke highly of Shannon.
"She was the best professor I've ever had," Lisa Laney, senior Oxbridge English Language and Literature major, said. "Her class was the first where I actually studied and understood poetry and learned to appreciate it."
Walters also fondly recalled Shannon's wit.
"I think what always gave me the most pleasure with Dr. Shannon was how she had this perfect comedienne's timing and light touch for the incongruous, that she could move so effortlessly from John Donne to John Belushi in the course of a conversation without ever revealing that she herself was startled by that, or without betraying in her expression that she was anything other than just absolutely serious about what she was presenting," Walters said. "There was just a sense of her urbanity, sophistication and class, and she had these high expectations for students. On the other hand, she could be really ribald and salty and she was quite capable of an appreciation of vulgarian humor, and that was certainly endearing to me.
"She touched a lot of students—all those Oxbridge students with whom she worked, and helped them across the way," Walters said. "She could be at once disciplined, but very maternal as well. I would never think of her as sentimental, but she took care of a lot of students, really tended to them."
Dr. Jim Tanner, professor of English and dean of the College emeritus, described Shannon as a "wonderful teacher," and echoed Walters' sentiments about Shannon's care for her students.
"She was a very dedicated teacher, and a very conscientious one, loved by most students for the care and dedication that she showed," Tanner said.
Tanner gave credit for the initial success of the Oxbridge Honors Program to Shannon. "She was as responsible as anyone else for getting that program off to a great start," he said.
Tanner also noted that Shannon had served as interim dean in 1984 while he was teaching at Harlaxton.
"As a colleague she was just a wonderful, wonderful person," Tanner said. "She was as dedicated to helping her English department colleagues as she was to helping her students. Her death has come as such a shock, and she is, for those people who knew her and were part of the community where she was active, just a terrible loss."
Dr. David Sallee, president of the College, noted the wide reach of Shannon's influence.
"We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Ann Marie Shannon. She was the kind of faculty member one has in mind when the phrase ‘giants of the faculty' is used," Sallee said. "She influenced the lives of several generations of Jewell students through her teaching, her mentoring and her high expectations. She also influenced the direction of the academic programs of the College in her role as first Senior Tutor of the Oxbridge program and in her commitment to outstanding general education programs."
Sallee said several personal traits helped Shannon impact the William Jewell community. "She was quiet, genteel and tough, and that combination of qualities made her an invaluable member of our community. Her influence will be felt on the Hill and beyond for decades."
Dr. Chad Jolly, '94, vice president for Institutional Advancement, was an Oxbridge history major while Shannon was the Oxbridge Senior Tutor.
"As I know she did with countless others, Dr. Shannon helped me to first see and then appreciate the life-long value of the Jewell experience. She inspired generations of students to be passionate in their preparation for the whole of life," Jolly said. "Her influence on the College, as our first Senior Tutor of the Oxbridge Honors Program, is immeasurable. Dr. Shannon called us all to be better and reach higher. We have lost one of our very finest."
Dr. Dean Dunham, professor emeritus of English and one of Shannon's successors
as Oxbridge senior tutor, recalled Shannon's outstanding student evaluations
as a measure of the high respect in which students held her.
"Her student evaluations were routinely fives—routinely the top possible evaluation," he said. "I was her department chair for a long, long time, and we didn't get the complaints about her. I'm sure there were students who really b*****d about her back in the dorm because she was tough, but they knew that they were in the presence of someone who was really outstanding and brilliant.
"She was already experienced before she came to the College—she'd taught many years. We were lucky to find her, because she turned out to be one of the very best teachers a lot of students had ever had," Dunham said. "She had such a manner about her that people felt like they were in the presence of someone who was really great."
Dunham noted numerous ways in which Shannon was a leader on the faculty. In addition to her tenure as interim dean, Shannon helped start the Foundations program (a predecessor to the Responsible Self core curriculum), served as special assistant to the president for strategic planning and overseas study coordinator.
Shannon was deeply involved in the community, most notably at Grace Episcopal Church where she was a member. Walters, who also attends Grace Episcopal, noted that Shannon was "very well informed and something of an expert on Anglican history." He said Shannon had a "deep appreciation for the Book of Common Prayer." Shannon served the Episcopal Church in many capacities in the parish, diocesan and national level, and in 2007 was honored with the Bishop's Shield Award—the highest award which can be given to a member of the Episcopal Church.
Ann Marie Woods was born on Oct. 1, 1929 to Anne Sanford and William Frank Woods. She earned her bachelor of arts from Agnes Scott College in 1951, her master of arts from Radcliffe – Harvard University in 1952 and a doctor of philosophy degree from Emory University in 1961. She married David Patric Shannon on Aug. 9, 1961.
Before coming to William Jewell, Shannon taught at the College of Santa Fe, Oklahoma City University, Southern Methodist University, Austin College and Wilson College. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board.
Shannon's involvement in the community was extensive. She was a member of the board of Hillcrest Ministries for many years, served as a fundraiser for Agnes Scott College and her service at Grace Episcopal Church included service to numerous other service organizations.
Services were held January 26 at Grace Episcopal Church with interment in the columbarium at the church.
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 25, 2008 issue of The Hilltop Monitor.
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