Of the many joys in Sigrid Kellenter's career at Union, she recalls the terms
abroad she led in Vienna and in Schwäbisch-Hall and Freiburg, Germany:
“There is so much beauty in art and architecture-illustrations of history and culture over the centuries. On excursions to city centers, with their beautiful public buildings, houses, squares and parks, fortresses and castles, churches and museums, I was eager to get in as many sights as possible. With my 'typical German' vigorous walk, getting on foot from here to there was never a problem for me, but with fifteen or twenty students who preferred to walk very leisurely, this meant keeping up the pace if we ever wanted to arrive anywhere.
I soon developed a reputation of being a challenge to keep up with. Students have joked about this for years. One group sweetly renamed me 'Frau Schnellenter' ('schnell' is German for 'fast'). I have always loved that name.”
Kellenter, the Thomas Lamont Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature, is retiring this year, having arrived at Union in 1976. She wrote her dissertation on Rilke's sonnets and has since been sowing the seeds of poetry and beauty wherever she can-from her literature classes to the yoga classes she teaches.
In the late 1970s, Kellenter was among Union's first female faculty members in tenure-track positions. In her early days here, “when we were not many women yet,” she coordinated the Women's Reading Group and co-chaired the President's Commission on the status of Women.
She has taught yoga (“my second love”) at Union for the past eight years. In the beginning, she led classes informally for the few who were interested, “in any room that was available, sometimes having to move chairs from a classroom or room in the campus center.” Now, with yoga a standard offering in Union's Intramurals and Wellness Program, she teaches classes on Tuesday afternoons to students, faculty, and staff. She hopes to continue pursuing this love after she retires.
In addition to being a renowned teacher (in 1990, she won the Outstanding Educator Award from the American Association of Teachers of German), she has served as a faculty trustee and as chair and acting chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. Over the years, she's been active in the American Association of Teachers of German, serving as president of the Hudson Valley Chapter and participating in its academic alliance between secondary and postsecondary institutions. She organized chapter meetings and brought visiting German scholars and poets to campus.
What has made her professional life meaningful? “The daily encounter with all my wonderful students, whose minds and hearts I am able to touch and sometimes turn (if ever so slightly), whom I appreciate and love, and by many of whom I am appreciated and loved in return.”
What will she miss? “People! The opportunities to build relationships with all-colleagues, students, administrators, staff. I can walk across campus now, anytime, and greet and be greeted with warm smiles. And learning! About other people and myself: issues, ideas, problems, and possible solutions.”
Life after Union? “I can go off into the sunset,” says Kellenter with a clear-eyed smile, “keeping my dreams alive as
I continue to teach yoga, and possibly an adjunct course
or two here.”