Professor strives to be an influence Few people have the opportunity to be as influential in the lives of students as a humbl e teacher. Caring teachers made the learning experi en ce at H arding more fulfilling, and they were the most valuable sources of information and guidance available to students during their college caree r s. Great teachers are great examples. The :o!o ro sen ior class voted to honor a great teacher and example with th e Petit jean dedication. Ch emistry department chairman Dr. David Cole deve loped a passion for teaching after watching h is mentor, forme r professor Dr. Don England. "In graduate school, finishing my master 's degree, I got to think back to the teacher that had the most influence on me ," Cole said. " I would like to be able to put myself in some kind of position where I could at least have th e potential to have a similar influence on other people that he had on me." Many students could see that Cole had realized that potential , but teach ing was not th e only ca.ree r opportunity he had. After graduate schoo!, Cole applied to a number of Ch r istian co lleges. He got an inte rview offer from Smith, Kline and French pharmaceutical company and C rowley's Ridge College at t he same time. Cole h ad the Crowley's Ridge interview first and accepted the posit ion. Mter his time at C rowley's Ridge, Cole taught at Michigan C hristian College for 14 years, which was where h e got his start teaching earth science. '~l really h ad not had any earth science classes myself. except for one class [at Harding], and so I started taking classes just to better prepare myself to teaching that class in particular." Cole said. "So I wound u p taking introductory geology, astronomy and historical geo logy courses at a college nearby." Cole soon learn ed about a Ph.D p rogram in science educat ion at Western Michigan. Because h e wanted a broad background in the sciences, Cole took a two– year leave of absence from Michigan Christian. About the time he had fini shed his d octorate, he got a call fr om Don England informing him of a need for a physical and ear th sciences teache r. In the fall of 1989, Cole began his career as a professo r at Harding. Junio r Tony Daily raved about Cole's willingness to work with students. Daily came into Cole 's ea rth science class almos t a week late but with Cole's help was completely caught up in a short amount o f time. "Dr. Cole first and foremost is a great teache r ," Dailysaid. "He takes care of his students and does what h e can t o better the class experience. H e also tries to come from Christian perspective as much as pOSSible." Another former student, senio r Cy Mason, really enjoyed that Cole tried to incorporate students into h is lectures. "I think I was a prop for at least two lessons," Mason said. "One [was] about the moon and the other abou t motion. The important thing is, he never lost his enthusiasm for his work. Not the third day, the 30th day, or the last day." Though many students may have found his classes difficult. Cole always seemed to have a great amount of patience and understanding. " I had Dr. Cole for organic chemistry his first semester at H U," 1991 graduate Tony Hill said. "Although I spent much of th e class totally lost, h e was very patient and extremely helpful. "I also h ad Dr. Co le for earth scien ce, and that's where his real passion for teaching science came out. A teacher takes a different approach when he teaches a class of science majo r s than when h e teach es a gen eral education class . H e worked h ard to make the earth science class excit ing and relevant to everyone in the class regardless of their major. " Cole's passion for teaching was evident to students who took his classes. One of the ways he communicated that passio n was in showing students scientifi c examples from his personal endeavors . "[H e showed] us places wh ere he has been and different insigh ts of geology from his experiences [and th ose are lesso ns] you will not gain out of a textbook," senior Peter Bell said . "He was always willing to he lp and did not just always h ave class periods whe re we ran through slides. H e mixed it up, which was nice." With all of h is knowledge about sci ence, his obvious care for his students and his patience and kindness, Dr. David Cole h ad proven himself to be a professor who would leave a Significant pos it ive influen ce o n his students. ''We ' re working for some thing that's bigger than ourselves and we have a wide r influence for good ," Cole said. "That 's really kept my motivation. " Hannah Beall
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