May 18, 2006                                                                        

Haynes Retires from SMC

Rev. Robert Boggs of Emma Gray Memorial United Methodist Church in Woodruff presented a bust of John Wesley to Judy Haynes during a retirement luncheon May 9 at Spartanburg Methodist College. Haynes is pictured at right seated with her granddaughter, Ella Helene Adams.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. –  Spartanburg Methodist College bid farewell this past spring semester to Judy Haynes, a long-time faculty member who chaired the Division of Humanities and taught many classes in English and Composition.

Judy first came to what was then known as Spartanburg Junior College in the spring of 1968 to work part-time in the library. Pursuing her desire to teach, Judy applied for a job in the English Department and became a member of the faculty in the fall of 1968, teaching five sessions of composition. Judy continued to teach until the spring of 1974 when she took time out to raise her daughters.

Judy returned in 1982 as an adjunct instructor in English Composition, then joined the faculty full-time soon after.

She remembered that during her first years at the College the Frank Walker Building had only one telephone and some of the current classroom space was divided into office space. Long before desktop computers with spell-checkers and laser printers were thought of, countless exams and syllabi were typewritten onto spirit master stencils and run through a machine that manually cranked out copies with purple print.

Challenges facing Baby Boomer students of the 60s and 70s were different from those students face today. While Judy noted that many students in the late 1960s were trying to stay out of the Vietnam War, she added that today’s students are stretched by all sorts of issues, ranging from broken homes, parents moving, and financial obligations unlike those encountered by their parents or grandparents. Specifically, Judy has seen students try to juggle a full-time course load with a full-time job at the same time because they have to make a car payment or insurance premium.

None of the challenges diminished Judy’s love for teaching others and helping students succeed, which developed during her own education in Landrum. Judy admired many of her teachers, but she especially admired Kay Sapp, her tenth-grade English Grammar teacher at Landrum High School. “She did a lot for me and encouraged me,” recalled Judy, adding that she was also an accompanist in Sapp’s chorus class.

Joseph and Lucille Godwin, professors at Limestone College when Judy was a student there, had a major impact and still encourage her today from their home in Ozark, Alabama. She says she can never repay them for their help and wisdom.

Judy’s love for teaching is rivaled by her love for music, which was also developed during those early years – something she owes to Muriel Mazzanovich, her piano teacher, and to Janet DuBois, former professor of music at Limestone College. Now that she is retiring, Judy wants to become a better organist, and plans to take lessons. She already has spent several years as organist at Emma Gray Memorial United Methodist Church in Woodruff.

Rev. Robert Boggs, her minister, characterizes Judy as a “bedrock” presence in his life, remembering how she provided invaluable support when he was assigned the pastorate at Emma Gray Memorial.

During graduation exercises May 6, President Charles Teague presented Judy with a plaque honoring her service to SMC. “For your tireless work with students, your ability to turn on that light bulb of students who are struggling, your tenacity for not letting go of those students who are not quite motivated in classes, we give you our grateful appreciation,” Teague said. He added that future graduates “will miss a lot” because they will not have the opportunity to take courses with Judy.

On May 9, SMC faculty and staff joined family and friends to celebrate Judy’s tenure at the College. President Teague presented Judy with a rocking chair personalized with her name on the back. Teague expressed wishes that Judy would always feel a part of the SMC family.

Dr. Tom Wilkerson, former Vice President for Academic Affairs and currently President of Bainbridge College (Ga.), noted Haynes’ sense of humor and humanity.

“In the eight years that we worked together. I have never known her to raise her voice at anyone or speak or act in anger. With the best interest of the faculty member, staff member or student in mind she would always go that extra mile to make a difference,” said Wilkerson, recounting the times she would reach out to somebody in need. Wilkerson concluded that Judy’s impact on SMC “simply cannot be measured.”

Dan Foster, Chairman of the SMC Board of Trustees and an alumnus of the College, said that Judy has been an inspiration to many students while garnering the utmost respect of her colleagues.

Judy says that SMC continues to be “an excellent place to work” and urges her colleagues to “celebrate those good things about the College.”

Of retirement, Judy says she plans to see more of her new granddaughter, Ella Helene Adams, who was born this past April to her daughter, Mary Ann Adams. Her other daughter, Susan Haynes, lives in Mobile, Alabama, where she is doing her residency in Pediatrics. Judy also plans to travel more with her husband Keith, beginning with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston.

Haynes holds a M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching) degree from Converse College and a B.A. degree from Limestone College. She resides near Cross Anchor with her husband.