Letter from Lizzy Kildahl '15

Dear Mr. Wagner,

I am lucky enough to have had Sheaf Satterthwaite as my Art History conference professor this fall, and will be taking Transport History with him this coming semester.

When family and friends ask me about my first semester at Williams, and

specifically about professors, Sheaf always ends up being the main topic of conversation. I have had wonderful professors this fall (Carmen Whalen, Maria Elena Cepeda, Cassandra Cleghorn and Miguel Martinez), but it is always Sheaf who I end up gushing about. His teaching methods are better than any of the other good professors' methods I've had so far. He engages class conversation among his students, and then goes the extra mile to continue debates and discussions outside of the classroom. Inviting someone to have coffee, or to walk with you and take an extra minute to look at something interesting on campus are things that improve any student's experience at Williams, and so far, only Sheaf has shown the consideration (and had the time), to do so. My entry-mate Amanda Su and I had coffee with him at Goodrich after a conference early in the fall, and both of us came out of the Coffee Bar marveling at how lucky we were to be in a  place that had professors who showed such genuine interest in the lives and well-being of their students. 

Sheaf does something else very simple that seems to be unique to him. He tells us that there is no such thing as a "stupid question," and preaches that merely asking can be just as valuable as knowing the answer. This seems like a kindergarten-teacher phrase, but the number of students who don't participate because they're scared of being wrong is underestimated by most college professors. Sheaf knows better though, because I think he really understands how Williams kids think, and his encouragement to just ask benefits his students far beyond his classes.   

The best and most valuable thing I have learned in my first semester at Williams was taught to me by Sheaf. He has a view of the world in which no tiny detail or aspect of anything, and anyone, is unimportant or uninteresting. He values obscure observations and unrelated comments because to Sheaf, nothing is not worth knowing more about. He never dismisses anything or anyone as unworthy of his attention, and in class and outside it, he encourages his students to think the same way.  What other lesson is more important than that? Sheaf prepares his student to go on to other classes, and out into the world, with a view that inspires them to never stop questioning and always discover more. He prepares us, in short, to be exactly the kind of Alumni Williams will benefit from having.

The fact that Sheaf is near retiring anyway, and that not renewing the contract of a 71 year old man who has dedicated his life to this school, is upsetting. Worse though, is the thought of loosing a professor who had inspired so many Williams students and Grads in the most positive way. There are more Sheaf classes I want to take, and I know he has more to teach me, and my classmates. Don't let such a good thing go. 

Yours Sincerely,

Lizzy Kildahl