75th Anniversary Celebration
Faculty Remembrance
Nancy Wade
Nancy Wade (then) Nancy with her great-nephew
A Q&A with Nancy Wade
Nancy Wade, associate professor of biological sciences, grew up on a North Carolina tobacco farm and was educated in her home state. At ODU, she has the primary assignment of teaching all sections of a course in introductory biology. She also is known on campus for having a bigger than life personality, for presenting course material in fascinating ways, for wearing bib overalls and for driving a vintage Volkwagen bug. She coordinates the laboratory component of the introductory course, supervising three to five laboratory instructors. She works in the Monarch Advantage Program and serves as a departmental advisor for undergraduates.
Question: When did you join the ODU faculty?
Answer: 1964
Q: What memories do you have of your first weeks of employment?
A: I remember my fears of standing in front of students and not being able to keep the class from partying during my teaching.
Q: What best piece of advice did you get early on from a veteran faculty member?
A: “Wade, you can do it!” Paul Homsher, told me. (He is professor emeritus of biological sciences.)
Q: Do you have memories of ODU's 50th anniversary celebration?
A: No. Twenty-five years ago, I was dealing with major health issues and extra energies were invested in trying to stay above water.
Q: Can you give us some examples of how the university has changed during your years as a faculty member?
A: Today, the campus suggests urban development with an international, multicultural population of students and faculty. When I came I believe that there were only three or four buildings and, essentially, minimal diversity.
Q: How has your teaching changed during your years as a faculty member?
A: One of my areas of concentration has been to give exams that test and discriminate. My skills in achievement-based testing now exceed national levels. Usually the reliability of a test is above 0.90 (0.70 is acceptable) and it has a low standard error of measurement. Also, delivery of information in the classroom has changed: chalk board to overhead projector to PowerPoint. Today, I read more articles and journals that relate to science. There are many moments that I wish I did not like to read new discoveries and interpretations, and then I think PowerPoint would not rule my life.
Q: Can you compare students you taught during your early faculty years with students of today at ODU?
A: During my earlier years, students were highly motivated to achieve and had attitudes that accepted and executed suggestions, which allowed them to reach their goals. Students of today have goals, but are less apt to accept and execute suggestions that have the potential to increase the chances for success.
Q: Of your accomplishments at ODU, which one makes you the proudest?
A: I cannot rank the accomplishments that make me proud. I can say that students’ writing to me or coming back to sit in a class after 10 to 40 years is a good feeling.
