Sister William McCue
For more than 40 years, Sister William McCue has helped guide students and watched them as they make their way through school at Ashford University. She's observed them change from the time they first stepped onto the campus until the day they graduated.
But the students are not the only thing that has changed since she first began teaching in Clinton. When Sister William started teaching, the University was still a Junior college. Since then she has seen it grow to become a four-year college and finally a university that confers graduate degrees. "I'm very grateful for the privilege of being at the University for so many years," she said.
Sister William is the chair of both the Philosophy Department and the Religious Studies Department. Her role as chair involves arranging class schedules for both departments, making sure that the other instructors of her departments are informed of everything they need to know, and being a resource to the instructors if they have any questions or concerns. She also teaches many classes including Logic, Ethics, Human Conduct, and Franciscanism. "I loved having Sister William as a teacher," said alumni Lisa Hoppe- B.A. '90. "She was so enthusiastic and excited about what she taught."
When she is not teaching in the classroom, Sister William can be found at most of the University's home athletic events. "I believe in the holistic teaching approach," she said. "I like to see my students in extracurricular activities and other classes. I love to see their gifts and talents." Sister William attends almost every home basketball, soccer and volleyball game. She also tries to attend when a student presents a paper for another class, demonstrates a science project or performs in a play.
And while these moments are fun for Sister William, her presence is also meaningful to the students whose activities she attends. "I'm always glad to see her at the games," said baseball player Aaron Owen of Las Vegas, NV, a Social Justice major. "She was at all of the home games," remembered alumni Chad Delzell, B.A. '96. "It helped me as an athlete just knowing that she was not only going to be there, but would talk to me about it the next day."