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Professor of Philosophy Donald Turner will not return to teach at Hillsdale College.
Professor of Philosophy Donald Turner’s health will prohibit him from returning to teach at Hillsdale College. He is currently living near family and friends in Alabama.
Turner said he planned to come back to campus for the 2015-2016 academic year, but as his health declined throughout the summer and into the fall, it became clear to him that teaching again would not be possible.
“It all started near the end of July on a trip to Pittsburgh,” Turner said in an email.
While in Pittsburgh, Turner suddenly found himself gasping for breath after walking just a few steps. He was hospitalized upon his return to Alabama at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital for a pulmonary embolism — a blood clot in the lungs. Although he originally expected to stay in the hospital for only a few days, he remained there for one month after he developed severe pneumonia and doctors discovered cancer.
After his initial month-long stay, he returned to the hospital twice more with persistent pneumonia that complicated his cancer treatments.
“During the third hospitalization with pneumonia, the doctors recommended that I not try to go back at all, which was very hard for me because I love teaching and I love my students,” Turner said. “I am on oxygen and probably will be for life, and I am on medication, which would make it extremely difficult to try to teach.”
Turner is not alone in grieving his absence from the college.
“I don’t know if we’ve come to terms yet with the idea that he’s not coming back,” Professor of Philosophy and Culture Peter Blum said.
Blum is a close friend of Turner’s.
“Don consistently brought humor and an upbeat attitude that I’m sure we’ll miss,” Blum said. “Don’s just a warm person who everybody loves having around. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like Don. He’s a much loved individual, so we just miss having him around.”
The philosophy department now faces emotional and logistical challenges in his absence.
Blum said Turner’s absence has led the philosophy department to reconsider its hiring process for the fall 2016 semester. Due to changes in the core requirements, the department planned to add a new professor but will now adjust its hiring processes in light of Turner’s situation.
Loved and cherished, no professor will ever replace Turner, his students said.
“His classes were never merely lectures but were focused on student involvement, getting them to focus on the issues and offer their own opinions,” senior Timothy Troutner said.
Troutner said he took Turner’s Philosophy of Science Fiction class. He cited the free-range discussion as an “important experience.”
Blum attested to Turner’s strength as an educator.
“He’s been instrumental. Everybody knows that he’s great in the classroom,” Blum said. “There have always been at least some of our students that have awakened through his intro class and become interested in philosophy. It’s difficult anytime when you have somebody like that, who’s a significant figure in developing your interests and abilities… It’s a loss.”
Blum visited Turner in Alabama over New Year’s weekend, bringing a box of cards and gifts from Hillsdale professors and students. He described Turner as speechless upon receiving the good wishes.
“I hope that people around here do not underestimate the importance and the impact of even just a little bit of contact — something on Facebook, an email — and how meaningful that is in terms of support for him,” Blum said.
Turner actively checks his Hillsdale email.
“I miss my colleagues, and I miss my students,” he said.
