Roanoke College recently celebrated six retiring faculty members who’ve collectively devoted 174 years to higher learning and student development.
“Through their passion and commitment, these educators have helped generations of Maroons, inspiring them to take on new challenges, explore the world and ask big questions as they pursue their purpose,” the college said.
The faculty include:
Roland Minton, Professor of mathematics, computer science and physics
In the classroom, Minton mentored scores of students — well over 3,000 by MCSP estimates — guiding them through the rigorous curriculum with gentle, punny humor and occasional displays of magic to drive home a principle.
His dedication and creativity as an educator earned him a Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education and a George Pólya Expository Writing Award from the Mathematical Association of America.
He authored a popular calculus textbook that went into 18 printings and wrote two volumes, “Golf by the Numbers” and “Sports Math,” that expanded on his dual love of statistics and athletics.
As a two-time department chair, Minton also played a role in the hiring of every other current MCSP faculty member, helping shape their work and earning their “unwavering admiration and love,” colleagues wrote in a resolution honoring his retirement.
During his 38 years at Roanoke, Minton channeled a lifelong passion for data and sports into innovative learning opportunities for students, cutting-edge programs and even two book titles.
Minton, who’s taught nearly every math course offered in Roanoke’s catalog, spearheaded the creation of the actuarial science major, sports analytics concentration and STAT Crew, whose award-winning students get a firsthand look at what statistics can reveal about the nuances of gameday performance.
The STAT Crew program was distinctive nationally as one of the first initiatives of its kind among small liberal arts colleges.
Iris Myers, Modern languages
Iris Myers’ love of language learning started as a young student in Venezuela, where she earned a national scholarship to pursue her undergraduate and graduate studies in the United States.
That opportunity set her on the path to become an educator and, in 1995, brought her to Roanoke to lead classes in Spanish.
She embraced her work with students with a tireless passion and joy, colleagues wrote in a resolution praising her service.
Myers took on the role of language placement test coordinator, oversaw the introductory Spanish program and served as foreign language lab director. She also devoted time to working one-on-one or in small groups with students with learning differences to ensure they were succeeding and on track to meet graduation requirements.
She encouraged students to not only master grammar and vocabulary but to put themselves in the shoes of people living in different cultures through writing assignments that allowed them to be creative and reflective.
Her work on pedagogical innovation earned her invitations to present at conferences across five continents. She was awarded both a Curriculum Development Grant and Pedagogical Development Grant here at Roanoke.
Outside the classroom, Myers was known as a go-to expert on campus technology and could be spotted teaching students to salsa and merengue during Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.
“We will miss her lively laughter and candid personality,” her peers wrote in her retirement resolution, adding that Myers’ infectious enthusiasm helped inspire students to embrace new experiences and aim for great things in life.
James Peterson, Professor of religion and philosophy
Professor James Peterson, a respected and extensively published expert in ethics, joined Roanoke in 2011 as its first-ever Charles and Helen Schumann Professor of Christian Ethics. In that role, he led vital courses for students such as Christian Ethics, Ethics and Medicine, May Term in Sweden and 15 sections of freshmen core INQ120.
He also rose to become director of Roanoke’s Benne Center for Church & Society, where he mentored student fellows pursuing weighty questions about faith and learning. Through the center, he also regularly brought thought-provoking speakers to campus and hosted 35 Faith & Learning events for faculty.
His expertise, particularly in medical ethics, has been sought after in both academic and professional realms. For 10 years, he’s taught a course in ethics and law for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He also serves as an ethicist for LewisGale Medical Center, where he’s helped arrange job shadowing opportunities for over 100 Maroons.
An ordained pastor, Peterson is editor-in-chief of the Boston-based journal Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, now in its 76th year, and is an elected fellow of both the American Scientific Affiliation and International Society for Science and Religion.
He’s been an invited lecturer around the globe including for the World Parliament of Religions, University of Oxford, Yonsei University in South Korea and Uppsala University in Sweden, among others.
He has authored or contributed to over a half-dozen books published through University of Cumbria Press, National Academy of Sciences and Wm. B. Eerdmans.
In a resolution commending his service, his peers wrote of their “profound appreciation” for his many contributions to Roanoke College and its Religion and Philosophy Department.
Joshua Rubongoya, Professor of public affairs
Professor Joshua Rubongoya’s approach to teaching global affairs is firmly rooted in the real world. Informed by his early career as a journalist in Uganda, he’s sought not only to impart policy and theory to students, but to inspire them to dig deeper and understand how decisions unfolded on the ground for families and communities.
“His ability to humanize the impact of political decisions has helped generations of students to better understand the complex interactions of our international organizations and NGOs,” Rubongoya’s fellow faculty wrote in a resolution celebrating his career.
“His deep commitment to his profession as an academic has always been intertwined with his interest in democratization and development, leading to the development of quite challenging courses on comparative politics, human rights policy, and global political economy, as well as compelling scholarship on these topics.”
Over his 33 years at Roanoke, Rubongoya earned the regard of faculty and students alike for his wisdom, humor and rigor in the pursuit of true understanding.
He’s been awarded the title of Outstanding Faculty Leader by the Student Government Association, Outstanding Faculty Advisor by the Student Life Council and Roanoke Faculty Scholar. His peers also nominated him for an Exemplary Teaching Award multiple times.
His scholarship was recognized with the African Politics Conference Group Best Book Award by the African Studies Association and led to him being called to consult for the World Bank Country Assistance Strategy.
He served as advisor to Roanoke’s Model UN for 31 years and led students on trips to Africa to learn firsthand about its governments and political nuances.
Claire Staniunas, Lecturer of mathematics, computer science and physics
Claire Staniunas’ skill and good humor in the classroom helped shift the perspectives of countless students who approached their introductory math and statistics requirements with a sense of dread.
Over the years, she’d even see hundreds of non-major students sign up to take more than one course with her. “Not out of love of mathematics,” noted her colleagues in a resolution lauding her service, “but appreciation of Claire’s clarity and willingness to work with them.”
Staniunas joined Roanoke College in 1984 and taught full-time for 28 years, plus another 12 years on a part-time basis. In that time, she built a reputation as an educator dedicated to engaging students and finding ways to make the material compelling to them.
She also played important roles in the math curriculum’s continuing evolution, helping shape new general education courses, including INQ sections, that strived to connect math fundamentals with interesting, practical issues that would help the principles click with students.
In one example, INQ240: Here’s to Your Health, Staniunas framed lessons about statistical modeling and reasoning against the more familiar backdrop of how health studies are reported in the media. The blend of the two topics introduced students to probability, estimation and statistical inference. But it also boosted their civic literacy and prepared them to better understand how to vet numbers heard in the news.
Staniunas’ decades of faithful service earned her the distinction of being the longest-serving member of the 2023-2024 MCSP faculty. Through technological and societal changes, she’s adapted and worked to always serve students at a high level, peers said.
Lynn Talbot, Professor of modern languages
Lynn Talbot has walked the sacred path of El Camino de Santiago, Spain’s storied pilgrimage route, more than 20 times, including eight journeys with Roanoke students who she shepherded overseas for a life-changing opportunity to learn and discover.
In the words of her peers, Talbot’s commitment to global exploration calls to mind the work of poet Antonio Machado: “Walker, there is no road. One makes the road by walking.”
“Dr. Talbot has certainly traced a path where she has left a footprint in Roanoke College and the Modern Languages,” faculty wrote in a resolution honoring her work. “… We will miss her leadership, guidance, vision, and years of expertise.”
In 1987, Talbot joined what was then Roanoke’s Department of Foreign Languages, later transformed into the Department of Modern Languages under Talbot’s leadership as head of the department, a tenure that also included spearheading a redesign of Lucas Hall.
Her service to campus in the decades since has been described as unparalleled. In addition to her work in the classroom, she inspired students to study abroad, served as advisor to Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society) and gave her time to numerous fellowship and faculty development committees.
Talbot’s work has been honored with the Foreign Language Association of Virginia’s Marshall Brannon Excellence in Secondary Teaching Award, the American Pilgrims on the Camino Lifetime Service Award and the Dean’s Exemplary Teaching Award from Roanoke College.
-The Salem Times-Register
