Donation From Late SDSU Supporter

to Help Provide the First Endowed Professorship

in Classics

Barbara Schuch Hoped Future Students Would Embrace Classical Literature

Contact:
Gina Speciale
San Diego State University
(619) 594-4563 office
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO (Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007)-- It was a subject very close to her heart. A local school teacher and administrator by profession, the late Barbara Schuch had a passion for classic literature and poetry.

Frank and Barbara Schuch

“It was her first love,” said her husband Frank Schuch. “Barbara always felt strongly that university education needed to emphasize the humanities and the arts.

Now that education will be made possible for generations of San Diego State University students to come, thanks to a donation Barbara Schuch made in the last days of her life. Barbara left approximately $480,000 to help establish the first endowed professorship in classics at SDSU. The donation was announced at the grand opening of the College of Arts & Letters building last year. Barbara Schuch died of colon cancer on June 23, 2006, one week after her 72nd birthday.

Classics embraces all of ancient Greek and Roman civilization with a focus on Greek and Latin literature. This includes poets such as Homer and Vergil, and historians, philosophers, and statesmen. Their works and those of classical artists and architects inspired the Mediterranean world for a thousand years and are the basis of Western civilization. Humanities is the interdisciplinary study of literature, language, history, philosophy, religion, and the fine arts. These disciplines are called the “humanities” because they are concerned with human creations and achievements.

As a member of The Friends of Classics—a group that has supported SDSU’s classics program for 25 years—Schuch knew without the support of those passionate about the Classics, future students may not have the exposure she felt was so important.

“Barbara understood that Classics lies at the heart of all Western humanities, if not of Western civilization,” said E. Nicolas Genovese, chair of SDSU’s department of classics and humanities. “Her passion was inspiring.”

While she was not a graduate of SDSU, Barbara Schuch was introduced to the university through the College of Extended Studies and the Mortar Board alumni chapter.

“Barbara was a lifetime student,” said Frank Schuch. “She was immediately drawn to SDSU because of the welcoming spirit on campus.”

Barbara Schuch received her bachelor’s degree in English and home economics from the University of Cincinnati and her master’s in English and philosophy from Kent State University. After getting her doctorate in education at University of Southern California, she and her husband moved to San Diego in 1968.

She spent more than 20 years with the San Diego City School District, as a middle school and high school teacher, vice-principal and eventually manager of the GATE program. She also helped local schools get their accreditations.

“She was extremely involved in the accelerated learning programs for ‘gifted’ students,” said Frank Schuch. “Barbara loved introducing her GATE students to the classics.”

The department of classics and humanities was established in 1969 as the department of classical and Oriental languages.

The College of Arts & Letters was founded in 1968. It accounts for nearly 35 percent of all credit hours for SDSU’s 34,000 students by providing the liberal arts core for all bachelor’s degrees. Through the humanities and social sciences, the faculty strive to help students understand and appreciate their own and others’ cultural and intellectual heritages. The college fosters students life-long learning, prepares them for changing career environments, and encourages them to contribute to their local and global communities.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelors degrees in 81 areas, masters degrees in 73 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSUs more than 34,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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