Remembering Dr. Linda Nelson
Audrie MacDuff
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: News
On Friday, January 29, SUNY Potsdam lost the beloved faculty member Linda Nelson. Suspicion arose when Nelson did not arrive on campus for her usual Friday classes, and it was later found that she had passed away in her home.
Nelson began teaching in the History Department at SUNY Potsdam in the spring semester of 1999 and has been teaching classes steadily ever since. This semester alone, those classes included Europe 1500-1815, two sections of US History to 1877, as well as Imperial Russia 1613-1917. According to an e-mail that was sent to faculty and staff from Galen K. Pletcher, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Nelson participated in the campus Literacy Assessment Project as well as in the Supplemental Instruction Program for EOP students.
Linda Nelson studied at University of California in Santa Barbara and was a PhD candidate with a dissertation revolving around the topic of Nationalism and Gender Identity. During this time, Nelson was awarded two research grants and was named a research scholar by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Amongst many other accomplishments, Nelson instructed classes at UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College, Moorpark College, Clarkson University and Mississippi University for Women.
Since her passing, History faculty members were asked to share their memories of Nelson. According to Professor Axel Fair-Schulz, "Linda was one of the kindest and most helpful people I have encountered in academia. Given that she and I are fellow European historians, we had many discussions, specifically about Russian, Soviet, and Bulgarian history. She shared her insights freely, and we frequently exchanged ideas, articles, and even films. I am particularly saddened that the last few weeks of her life were so clouded by the New York State budget crisis that very much threatened her security and livelihood... I will miss her comforting presence terribly."
Along with Fair-Schulz, History professor Dr. Tom Baker shared a few words about Nelson's contribution to the SUNY Potsdam campus, saying that "it is worth noting that Dr. Nelson always took the lead in collecting donations for the department to recognize Leslie Delosh on Administrative Assistants' Day (also known as Secretary's Day) and at Christmas. The fact that she took this initiative as an adjunct instructor is a measure of her thoughtfulness; it certainly was not in her job description."
It is evident from these comments that Linda Nelson was an integral part of our campus History Department. The cause of death has yet to be released and is currently being investigated.
Nelson began teaching in the History Department at SUNY Potsdam in the spring semester of 1999 and has been teaching classes steadily ever since. This semester alone, those classes included Europe 1500-1815, two sections of US History to 1877, as well as Imperial Russia 1613-1917. According to an e-mail that was sent to faculty and staff from Galen K. Pletcher, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Nelson participated in the campus Literacy Assessment Project as well as in the Supplemental Instruction Program for EOP students.
Linda Nelson studied at University of California in Santa Barbara and was a PhD candidate with a dissertation revolving around the topic of Nationalism and Gender Identity. During this time, Nelson was awarded two research grants and was named a research scholar by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Amongst many other accomplishments, Nelson instructed classes at UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College, Moorpark College, Clarkson University and Mississippi University for Women.
Since her passing, History faculty members were asked to share their memories of Nelson. According to Professor Axel Fair-Schulz, "Linda was one of the kindest and most helpful people I have encountered in academia. Given that she and I are fellow European historians, we had many discussions, specifically about Russian, Soviet, and Bulgarian history. She shared her insights freely, and we frequently exchanged ideas, articles, and even films. I am particularly saddened that the last few weeks of her life were so clouded by the New York State budget crisis that very much threatened her security and livelihood... I will miss her comforting presence terribly."
Along with Fair-Schulz, History professor Dr. Tom Baker shared a few words about Nelson's contribution to the SUNY Potsdam campus, saying that "it is worth noting that Dr. Nelson always took the lead in collecting donations for the department to recognize Leslie Delosh on Administrative Assistants' Day (also known as Secretary's Day) and at Christmas. The fact that she took this initiative as an adjunct instructor is a measure of her thoughtfulness; it certainly was not in her job description."
It is evident from these comments that Linda Nelson was an integral part of our campus History Department. The cause of death has yet to be released and is currently being investigated.
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