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Featured:
Dr. Janina Traxler

Lively, varied, and quick paced, Dr. Janina Traxler's classes in French, Classical and Medieval Literature echo her enthusiastic and energetic approach to teaching. Because her class sizes are small, Professor Traxler tailors work for her students, mentoring them to reach far beyond what they ever expected of themselves.

Traxler brings the world to the classroom, connecting current events with coursework. For example, last spring her assignment of Britten's War Requiem coincided with the bombing of Baghdad, so Traxler offered her students the chance to compare Britten's denunciation of the wickedness of war with events that filled the evening news. These kinds of opportunities for stimulating conversation and developing critical thinking skills provide a basis from which students are able to “distinguish the rubbish from the gold,” Traxler said.

From her National Endowment for the Humanities research and writing fellowship in Strasbourg, France, to her teaching assignment in Shenyang, China, to her many travels abroad, Traxler values the benefits of learning from diverse cultures. She encourages her students to do the same. “Living in another country is life changing,” she said. “The experience makes students more resilient, flexible, and able to adjust in today's world.”

“Professor Traxler pushes students to test themselves” junior physics major Greg Robison said of her teaching style, then added, “though, if I didn't take her classes, I would regret it, knowing that I would have missed so much.”

Janina P. Traxler (1979), professor of French, chair of the department of modern languages, chair of the division of humanities
  • B.A., Manchester College, 1973
  • M.A., Indiana University, 1977
  • P.h.D., Indiana University, 1986

 

Art Professor James Adams was honored by Congress as the 2002 Professor of the Year for baccalaureate colleges.
94 percent of our full-time faculty hold Ph.D.s or the highest degree in their fields.
57 percent of our faculty have studied or lived abroad.
Our student to faculty ratio is 14:1, which means we have one outstanding faculty member for every 14 Manchester students.
Full-time faculty teach 94 percent of our classes.

According to the 2001-02 National Faculty Survey of the Higher Education Research Institute, about 98 percent of MC faculty indicated a campus priority of promoting intellectual development, compared to 77 percent nationally.
In the same extensive national study, more than 93 percent of Manchester College faculty indicated a campus priority of developing community among students and helping them understand personal values, double the national rate.