By SARAH CLARK
Contributing Writer
As students make their way to class in Hearst, Liz Richards tentatively reviews assignments from her students, which include films, audio stories, or written assignments that analyze complex videos. For someone who told their mother she would never be a teacher, Richards exceeds the baseline for what is expected of a competent professor.
During her first two years at Millersville University, Richards did not know that she would work as a Producer at the PBS History Series, or become an Assistant Professor in the communications department at the College of Saint Rose. In fact, she started out her college career by studying nuclear medicine. When she became a junior, it was then Richards decided to change her major to anthropology. After she received her bachelor’s degree, she went on to a master’s program for women’s studies at the University of Buffalo, where she also taught classes, and then later an M.F.A in Film and Video at SUNY Brockport.
“The best thing about it for me was it made me realize I could be a perpetual learner,” says Richards. She started teaching women’s studies courses during her graduate program at 23 years old, and during that time, discovered her love for being an educator. “There are some things I know but I don’t know everything, and I am just constantly seeking.”
In high school, Richards became a projectionist while working at a movie theater. Her job entailed placing film reels on plates and splicing together pieces of it for the trailers. This was Richard’s first experience with film, and she found it to be fun.
“I studied anthropology because it was interesting to learn about people unlike myself,” says Richards. This major pairs well with film because at the same time she joined the program, she learned about ethnographic film, which can be compared to documentaries and centers around non-Western individuals. After her undergraduate program, Richards began to shoot films on her cameras she received from her grandparents and parents. “That [ethnographic film] is what pulled me into anthropology.”
Richards is well supported in her position, and that is one aspect she appreciates the most at this institution—she even just received tenure on Friday. She describes one of her previous teaching jobs that was at a conservatory, in which the environment was stereotypical in that the departments lacked support and there was a competitive nature among colleagues.
“I feel valued but I feel like I am making a difference in my student’s lives,” said Richards. Although she has received other job offers, the supportive nature of Saint Rose has kept her from leaving. Richards firmly believes that her students teach her as much as she educates them. “I feel like I am guiding them towards a path they want to pursue.”
“Liz Richards is the most supportive professor,” says Melissa Cruz, who concentrates in Public Relations and Advertising. Cruz has taken her Basic Multimedia Production course, and enjoyed how Richards was always willing to help her during office hours. “She is supportive of your vision but also offers constructive criticism.”
As much as Richards loves her job, there has been a noticeable change in how she must perform. Personal technology has hindered how students can focus while in a classroom setting. According to Deborah R. Tindell and Robert W. Bohlander, “92 percent use their phones to text message during class time, and 10 percent admit they have texted during an exam on at least one occasion.” Evidently this is an issue that Richards and other professors face in today’s era of education.
“I notice that so many students would rather be absorbed in their phones and other devices than in piquing their curiosity about the world and people around them,” says Richards. During class time, Richards has a strict no technology policy, and if a student breaks that rule, they will be asked to leave class for the day. “I believe that students are curious, but it just means I need to find new ways to motivate that curiosity.”
Five years ago, Richards created a class called “Multimedia Storytelling.” This class offered students collaboration opportunities with those in the art department to create projects that involved various forms of media. The juniors and seniors collaborated with freshmen on creating inflatable sculptures, which then they projected images onto the white surfaces.
“The thing that I loved about it was there were all these different people coming together for this event,” says Richards. She describes how students in each concentration brought their own talents into the project. Journalism students covered the event in the Chronicle and Radio Saint Rose, public relations concentrators did the promotion and marketing for the event, and those in film created the videos and sound for the installation. “Everybody realized they had a lot to learn from somebody else, even if it’s someone who is younger than they are.”
An admirable quality about Richards is how she connects with students on a level that goes “beyond the superficial”—this skill could be attributed to all the emotional labor she must do with her young daughter. Even her colleagues have noted her exceptional skills when it comes to critiquing her student’s work while also building trust.
“I treat students as equals,” says Richards. She acknowledges how she knows more than her students about certain subjects, but she still respects them as she learns from educating them. “No one is better than anyone else, we are all just different.”
“She is an amazing and compassionate person,” says Eli Lee, a senior who concentrates in Journalism. Lee has taken several classes with Richards, including Digital Audio Production and 22 Minutes. “I’ve never met a professor that’s so involved and caring on a personal level.”
As Richards prepares to continue grading assignments, students are planning their next projects for her and other professor’s classes. Her caring demeanor and generosity, yet challenging courses, remind students how impactful educators can be.
“Whoever I am walking past on the street I respect because they exist. It’s really not that hard to do, I think the world needs more humanity.”
