Professor John Lehman

In college, I double majored in English and communication, with an emphasis in public relations. I was fortunate enough to have several amazing professors who taught me a great deal – both about the subject at hand and about life – but I truly can say that there was no one quite like John Lehman.

Ah, yes…Professor Lehman. The communication professor to be feared by many, revered by most, and respected by nearly everyone in the division. I heard stories about Professor Lehman and, honestly, was kind of scared to take his courses. Horror stories – stories of seniors having to delay graduation because of not passing his classes, stories of memorized speeches, stories of no one, and I do mean no one, passing the first exam in each of his classes. So, I did the smart thing: I waited until my senior year to take the three required courses that were taught only by Professor Lehman. Just a few weeks into the semester, I figured out that waiting to take his classes was not intelligent; in fact, it was one of the biggest mistakes of my collegiate career. Why? Because I was afraid I wouldn’t pass? Nope. It was because of the amount of knowledge this man possessed – knowledge that would have benefitted me much earlier in my academic pursuits.

I took one of his classes the first semester of my senior year and was planning to take the remaining two during my final semester. We were approximately a month in to the first class (Theory of Communication) and he announced the first test. In his rough, gravelly voice, he proclaimed that no one ever passed his first test. Well, if you know me, you know that I took that as a challenge and set out to prove him wrong. Amazingly enough, one of my classmates and I DID prove him wrong, by passing. He lauded us in front of everyone, which embarrassed both of us, but secretly, deep down inside, we were proud of ourselves.

Fast forward to the end of that semester and the class (significantly reduced in number by those who couldn’t hang with Lehman) filed in to take our final. We waited…and waited…and waited. No Professor Lehman. Was this some kind of joke? Was there really not going to be a final? The class had gotten easier over the semester, so dare we hope that there wasn’t going to be a final? The door opened and Dr. Katt, the division chair, walked in and stood before us. As he looked us over, swallowed hard, and managed to not look any of us in the eye, we all knew something was wrong. He told us, in a hushed voice, that Professor Lehman had suffered a heart attack the night before. He was alive and expected to live, but was not in good shape. Dr. Katt would be giving us our final.

A few weeks later when the spring semester started, I walked into my first Professor Lehman course of the semester and found a stranger for a professor; he announced the Professor Lehman was out for the semester to heal and would not be back until the next year. I was crushed -- no more Professor Lehman; this man was my nemesis in that he made class incredibly difficult, but he was my sage, knowledgeable professor who taught me so much. While I was excited to realize that this might mean that my final semester would be easier, I was broken-hearted that I wouldn’t be learning from such a great mind. In the end, the two courses I completed that semester, which were supposed to be taught by Lehman, were taught by two stellar professors and I look back on those memories fondly. I learned a lot from both professors and have one of my best collegiate classroom memories from Advanced Public Speaking, taught by Dr. Joseph Rosillion.

So, why the long soliloquy on Professor Lehman – the gruff, old, stubborn professor? I learned this morning that he passed away on Friday and I’m overcome by a huge sense of sadness. When I first learned of his death (posted by Roger Heineken on facebook, for those of you ESU’ers who remember Roger), I sat in my office with tears in my eyes. Even though I knew that his health most likely wasn’t great, especially because of the heart attack, he somehow seemed like the giant who would live forever. ESU will not be the same without him. Professor Lehman, if you’re somewhere that you can read this, thank you. Thank you for helping make me the communications professional I am today. The future students of ESU truly never will know what they missed out on without you.