“That I can convey my own excitement for the literature and language seems crucial. I introduce students to new areas of study, but also try to get them to pay more attention to what they already know.”

Janet Ericksen is revered across the Morris campus for her dynamic teaching and compassionate advising. She is also widely respected as a “scholar of the first order” and a wise and effective campus leader.

Ericksen’s striking classroom presence is legendary. Students praise her vitality and her obvious passion for literature and language. She is known as a demanding teacher of difficult material and arcane topics and as a tough grader, but students admire her rigorous high standards as much as they do her enthusiasm. “Janet has an amazing rapport with her students and spends an extraordinary amount of time helping them achieve the high goals that she sets for them,” says a colleague.

Ericksen’s students also give high praise for her ability to engage everyone in her classroom in meaningful discussion. “She always provided exactly the right kind of historical details and cultural ties that turned archaic gibberish into something very gripping,” says one student.

It has also been said that Ericksen is “probably every student’s dream of an undergraduate adviser.” She is deeply committed to making sure that her students enroll in the best courses, take advantage of scholarship and internship opportunities, and prepare themselves for life after graduation. More than one of her students says, “Janet was the most influential figure in my academic career.” “She continues to stand as the bar by which I measure my own ability as an educator and as a leader,” says another.

Visit the Janet Schrunk Ericksen faculty Web page here.