Herman J. Preseren

Honoree:
Herman J. Preseren

Submitted By:
Laura Veach

Herman J. Preseren, Professor Emeritus of Education at Wake Forest University, had enormous influence in my work and life. As Chair of the Education Department, he was known for running a tight ship. His military service as an officer in the Army Air Corps during World War II provided him with many resources and experiences that served us all well who had the honor of learning from him. While I was working my way through undergraduate studies in Anthropology and Education, I was assigned to work for him, particularly in the College Audiovisual Center. You see he filmed all the football games for the university, developed all his own film, was an avid photographer, taught many courses in Education, including audiovisual instruction, and it seemed to many of us he never stopped doing.

He was the quintessential educator – always showing us knowledge by doing, far exceeding mere lectures and reading. I will forever cherish the tough learning from him in my last course under his tutelage. At the time, the university had a great January mini-semester. He offered a course abroad studying the geography of Western Europe. All 21 students flew first to London to begin whirlwind study and travel to 10 major cities with no more than 2 days in each and many, many miles of train travel- we learned a substantial amount of geography, sometimes through our aching bones. In his compelling way of educating us, he believed in our capacity to learn, so much so, that as we arrived in each city, he would greet us with one sheet of paper listing our required sites for that city. We quickly learned he gave us no directions, no maps, and no hand-holding; instead he gave us the gift of learning navigation, among other lessons. To this day, after getting utterly lost in Amsterdam without a map, I still carry maps and gratefully marvel at how amazing it is to enter an unknown place yet be able to navigate successfully. These lessons in geography, of course, transferred to so much in my own teaching methods I employ today. The learning, of course, transferred to many life lessons as well.

Dr. Preseren also holds the unique distinction of winning gold medals in the Senior Games, swimming well into his late 80s. He continues to teach, in a 2010 Wake Forest publication his authorship of a book on Wake Forest faculty who served during World War II was highlighted, moreover, it mentioned he was 97. I am grateful to honor a great educator, Dr. Herman Preseren.