Stewart guides generations of students

In the 31 years that Gordon Stewart has been advising undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences, everything, and nothing, has changed. And that, he claims, is what makes coming to work such a joy. “The diversity of students and faculty, evolving curricula, new programs, all within 100 yards of Jefferson’s Academical Village, make each day dynamic and yet familiar,” said Stewart, who is associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College.

Stewart’s advice is as relevant today as it was in 1970 when he joined the faculty as a professor of German literature. “An essential point that I have been making to students for years is to get involved. Students who think that passivity and education can coexist don’t understand the essence of this institution,” said Stewart, who believes the quality of the educational experience at U.Va. is due in part to the sense of community on Grounds. “Community mattered when the institution was founded and it matters today.”

In Stewart’s opinion maintaining the quality of the educational experience and a strong sense of community is more challenging today given the growing student population. “What is exciting, however, is that the University’s response to change is reminiscent of the core ideas upon which U.Va. was founded,” Stewart said, giving as examples the use of new technologies and the recent trend toward residential colleges, which foster faculty-student interaction and community within a larger university system.

Opening students’ minds to love learning and to realize their potential while at U.Va. is how Stewart feels he and his colleagues make the biggest difference as association deans. “Each year we welcome new students who arrive here seeking the opportunity to think independently, to go to class, to become involved, to use the library, to talk with a professor,” said Stewart, whose daily undertaking is to instill that kind of appreciation of learning in all the undergraduates. “Learning is preparation for the rest of one’s life; it’s so much more than just grade-point averages or training for a job. Over the years I have tried to live that and encourage that attitude with all the students.”