Drew mourns beloved icon Merrill Skaggs

Professor Merrill Skaggs, a scholar of American literature, the former Dean of the Graduate School, a member of the Drew faculty for 45 years, died last Monday at the age of 70. She will be remembered by all for her bold opinions, kind heart and strong presence on campus.

"When alumni come back to Drew there are seven to eight faculty members that they mention over and over again. These are Drew's icons," President Robert Weisbuch explained. "Merrill Skaggs was one of those people. She had an extraordinary influence on generations of both undergraduate and graduate students."

After retiring from the College of Liberal Arts last year, Skaggs continued to teach in the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies.

"My interaction with Merrill Skaggs was that she was one of the iconic professors in our community programs," Dean of Continuing Education Ronald Ross said. "Her lectures at the Madison library [during Drew's series there each semester), would fill up, and she was one of our strongest draws."

Skaggs, a northern Florida native, was passionate about literature and writing. She published 42 articles and multiple books on a varied selection of American literature, especially Willa Cather, whom she studied for over 30 years. Her lively teaching style kept both undergraduates and graduate students continually engaged in her classes. "I have always admired her intellectual curiosity, and she was always challenging me to do my best," one of her graduate students, Jeevan Gurung (G'09), said.

Skaggs also drew a large crowd of older students, encouraging them to learn and relearn. "She didn't care if you were 17 or 70, she taught the same way, and everyone called her Merrill," Dr. Steve Levin, one of her former graduate students and continuing education audit student, explained.

With Skaggs' guidance and enthusiasm, Drew quickly became a leading center for Cather scholarship. The Drew library now contains many Cather first editions, including the original typescript of Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Skaggs heavily encouraged her students to use the Cather collections, often by strange means. "I told 70 Cather scholars there's a free Skaggs B&B within walking distance of the library, which they can use if they work on the collection," she once said.

"[Seeing Merrill teach] Cather is like seeing Moses teach the 10 Commandments," Levin said, citing Skaggs' love of Cather and her expertise.

"Her work on Willa Cather is known internationally," Weisbuch said. "Whether she was talking about Willa Cather or Walt Whitman, or anything she touched, she would treat it in a way that was extraordinarily acute. It brought people to the core of a writer's work," he added.

Skaggs was full of energy, and her bright outlook on life was contagious. Gurung described her as "very aggressive with her opinions." He went on to say that "she was very open to any kind of intellectual discourse and open to different points of view." During the 2004 elections, Skaggs ignited controversy when she required all her students to vote (or at least to cast a blank ballot) on her syllabus. She saw problems in the fact that college students do not often vote, leaving their views unrepresented in politics. Her unconventional assignment quickly attracted nationwide attention from organizations such as The New York Times, New Jersey News, PBS, MSNBC, CNN and CBS.

"She would have had so much fun at [this year's] election," Levin said, citing Skaggs' interest in politics.

Skaggs was also a mother, and she raised her children to be as dedicated and passionate as she. She co-authored a book about mothering, now considered to be an important contribution to establishing that mothering is not at all simple. A son, Adam, a lawyer, lives in Florida. He recently won a case against the Secretary of State dealing with voting law infractions and low-income and minority voters, according to an article written by Peggy Samuels.

"She was a powerful colleague, an amazing, delighted and delightful presence whose loss is devastating," her colleague and dear friend Professor Robert Ready said. "She taught me a Quaker saying: 'I will hold her in the light.'"  

Her vitality transcended the classroom, and she would often share her opinions in campus activities. In an article from the Nov. 7 Acorn issue, her involvement in a student-run organization that focused on activism at Drew, Act Out!, was described. "The key to being an activist is you have to believe it can make a difference," Skaggs said of the program. "To my mind it is grand to see a new generation begin to assert itself [in Act Out!]"

Skaggs was determined and set in her beliefs, regardless of what the subject was. She was a great believer in activism and sharing ideas. According to Peggy Samuels, when the ROTC attempted to recruit on the Drew campus during the Vietnam War, Skaggs worked hard to prevent the recruiters from returning to campus.

"Perhaps what most marked not only her teaching but also her scholarly work was an extraordinary originality of thought, a superb capacity of expressing that thought in memorable language and an energy that inspired other people to think more rigorously," Weisbuch said.

A memorial will be held on Sun., Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. in the S.W. Bowne Great Hall. A reception in Mead Hall will follow the service.