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A Generous SpiritGoing through the CCCC officer rotation, as any past chair will confirm, you tend to develop a strong relationship with the officer whom you will replace and find yourself suddenly paying attention to everything that person does, knowing that you will have to assume that role the next year. So watching John Lovas became for me a daunting task, because as I observed him perform the various duties in his bodacious and forthright manner, I came to realize that I was in big trouble. He really was the act I had to follow. And what an act. Other tributes on this page give testament to his larger than life image and even to his often overwhelming, but not mean-spirited, in-your-face affect.
John never stopped with taking a position. He acted on his beliefs in ways that mattered--with words--because he realized what we all claim to understand, that words have power. He was always sending links to letters he had written to various publications or to sound bites from talk radio shows, as if to say, “See, this is the public discourse we need to engage in.”
What I respected most about John Lovas was his fierce and constant advocacy for two-year colleges and for the teaching of writing. He never backed down, even when you hoped he would. But because I felt that he was always genuine—the John you saw was the John you got-- I found myself frequently defending him to those who had not experienced his generous spirit.
John has set a high standard for those of us who hope to bring about change in the profession and in the world.
A hard act to follow, indeed.
Shirley Wilson Logan
University of Maryland
College Park
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