At the end of the 2012-13 academic year, Hollins said goodbye to seven retiring faculty members, four of whom are highlighted in this issue: Professors Nancy Dahlstrom (art), Ruth Doan (history), Randy Flory (psychology), and Wayne Markert (English). The other three—Art Poskocil (sociology), Eberle Smith (social work), and Juergen Fleck (economics)—will be profiled in the summer 2013 issue. The article’s headline—“Great Teachers Inspire”—sums up what these longtime professors have given to Hollins students over the decades.

President Gray writes about the important contribution these professors have made to Hollins in her essay, “Post-College Success Isn’t All About the Money.” She makes a strong case for the enduring value of a liberal arts education.

Hollins professors take the spotlight in another feature article, “How To,” in which we find out how to live better—if we take the advice of Juergen Fleck (how to prepare for retirement), Jeanne Larsen (how to read and write poetry), Jill Weber (how to relate to an audience), Renee Godard (how to reduce your carbon footprint), and George Ledger (how to improve your memory).

In “Violence Revisited,” Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. ’11 writes about how an incident that Louis D. Rubin, Jr. Writer-in-Residence Karen Osborn ’79 witnessed many years ago inspired and informed her most recent novel, Centerville—which, by the way, received this year’s gold medal in the popular fiction category from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Karen Adams M.A. ’93, M.A. ’00, M.F.A. ’10 writes about the slight—but no less fascinating—connection between Hollins and Irene Langhorne Gibson, who served as the model for artist Charles Dana Gibson’s famous Gibson Girl illustrations of the late 19th century. Irene’s famous sister, Nancy, a.k.a. Lady Astor, is profiled here.

We celebrate the life and legacy of Nancy Thorp ’60, who died when she was a young woman and whose family established the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest in her memory. In “A Responsive Ode to Nancy Thorp,” Eve Strillacci M.F.A. ’13 writes about the young poet and the contest she inspired, now in its 50th year.

In the “In the Loop” section, we celebrate other programs having milestone years: the January Short Term (45 years), the Jamaica Service Project (25 years), and the Hollins Critic (50 years).

Jean Holzinger M.A.L.S. ’11

Editor