Writing Center coordinator and longtime English professor may not return to Pepperdine.
By Sarah Carrillo
News Assistant
Enthusiastic, innovative, challenging and passionate. Faculty and students use these words and many more to describe someone they say is one of Pepperdine’s most loved faculty members, Dr. Cynthia Cornell Novak.
After teaching at Pepperdine for more than 20 years, Novak, a professor of English and a pioneer for many programs like the Writing Center, the Women’s Studies Minor and the Social Action and Justice Colloquium, is taking a leave of absence for the Spring 2003 semester.
Although Novak has not officially said why she is leaving, Dean of Seaver College Dr. David Baird said he thinks Novak is leaving in order to explore other opportunities. She will probably not return to Pepperdine.
“She has the heart of a servant and I think that she thinks it can be best served elsewhere,” Baird said.
Novak said she did not wish to comment on her leave of absence other than to say she is leaving on good terms.
“The university and I are parting amicably,” Novak said. “I have been granted an administrative sabbatical for spring term 2003. After that, I am not certain what new adventures I shall undertake.”
Novak should have no problem with her new adventures considering the many she has already had developing programs like the Writing Center, which began in 1975 when Novak wanted a way to help international students with their writing. It has since grown from its original cubicle-sized space in the Pendleton Learning Center to its new location in a classroom in the Cultural Arts Center.
“She started the Writing Center and made it an official place of grace,” Henry Gambill, director of Assessment, said.
With the new SAAJ program, Novak helped promote awareness of social and ethical issues and gave students an opportunity to express their views.
“The creation of the Social Action and Justice Colloquium is a testament to her faithfulness …” Dr. Erika Olbricht, assistant professor of English, said. “SAAJ is a very moving and appropriate legacy – her gift to Pepperdine.”
As the faculty adviser for the Feminist Forum, Novak brought to light issues that are not normally dealt with on a Christian campus like sexual harassment and the feminist movement.
Novak’s strong stances have drawn criticism from administrators and students in the past.
“I think that it is really important that she was willing to take on that responsibility (leading the forum),” Dr. Lorie Goodman, associate professor of English, said. “It’s not always a popular position on a Christian campus but she provided the faculty support for (the members) and allowed them to get together and have discussions on issues.”
In addition to developing new programs, Novak is also dedicated to her students and helps them both in and out of the classroom.
“She is a very good professor,” Sherre Gillaspy, a senior English major, said. Gillaspy works in the writing center and has taken a class with Novak. “She makes students think about things from a different point of view. I did things in the course that I didn’t even know I could do.”
While team teaching with Novak, Goodman experienced first-hand the enthusiasm Novak brings to the classroom.
“She’s always been a very strong advocate for the students, whether it’s building their academic base or supporting them in exploration of political views or ethical issues,” Goodman said. “I know that I’m a better teacher when I’m teaching with her.”
Olbricht co-taught the inaugural Women’s Studies class with Novak and also learned a few lessons of her own.
“I learned so much from her while teaching that class about how to integrate belief both into the classroom and into my life,” Olbricht said. “She helped me understand and articulate the importance of service learning as a bridge between the theoretical and the everyday – a bridge that makes the purpose of both the theoretical and everyday sharper and more meaningful.”
Service has been an integral part of Novak’s life at Pepperdine. She has received the Helen Pepperdine award for outstanding service and can often be seen coordinating trips to rescue missions and other places for her classes.
“She personifies vocation,” Gambill said. “She pioneered service learning.”
Last November, Novak helped organize a Homelessness and Hunger Forum for Pepperdine. In the Nov. 15, 2001 issue of the Graphic, Novak explained why homelessness is such an important issue.
“We are not the same,” she said. “More than 100,000 airline workers are out of a job; big companies like Kodak, Sprint and McDonalds have laid off many of their workers. In New York alone 25,000 people have applied for disaster unemployment assistance.”
As the director of Pepperdine’s Assessment program, Gambill said he was fortunate to have Novak’s help in the beginning of the program.
“She worked full-time for a month in the summer for free looking at portfolios to help with the project,” Gambill said. “When I tell people that, they never believe me.”
Novak not only helps her colleagues with their projects, but has also helped a few realize their goals.
“She convinced me to do my doctorate,” Dr. Julie Smith, assistant professor of English said. “She held my hand and convinced me that I could do what I needed to do to get my doctorate. She cares about people individually and goes the extra mile. She is good at helping people realize their potential. She’s a real mentor to me.”
With all that she has done for the university, Novak’s leaving came as a harsh blow to her fellow teachers.
“I’m absolutely broken-hearted,” Goodman said. “It’s a loss for the students because I feel like they’ve lost one of their most devoted advocates.”
While seeing Novak leave will be hard for Gambill, he said he has come to understand why she needs to go.
“I understand that someone like her can’t be contained in one spot forever,” he said. “It makes perfectly natural sense that other people need her too. It’s part of her vocation that spreads beyond the university.”
November 14, 2002