Why Marist? Dr. Milton Teichman Shares His Thoughts

Dr. Milton Teichman is at home among his sculptures and artwork at the Teichman Gallery in Brewster, Massachusetts.

By Milton Teichman, Professor Emeritus of English Founding Member, Marist Legacy Society

Marist is high on my list of planned charitable contributions for several reasons:

My 41 years of teaching at Marist, 1962-2003, provided me with satisfactions that were extraordinary. While I was hired to teach English literature, Marist provided me the opportunity to pursue a wide range of academic interests—from American and comparative literature to Holocaust studies, biblical literature, Jewish culture, and fine art.

In the early 1970s I introduced a course on the Literature of the Holocaust. Marist was one of the very few colleges in the country offering this subject to its students. Because the demand for this course remained strong, I continued to teach it until I retired in 2003. The response of students to issues of good and evil, the nature of the human being, the grandeur of the human spirit in times of catastrophe—these responses are among my strongest memories and a reminder that an authentic education needs at times to break the heart as well as uplift it. Imagine my satisfaction knowing that a course on the Holocaust continues to be taught at Marist today.

The course on the Holocaust led to an annual Holocaust Memorial program at the College and then to an annual lecture in Jewish studies, with wide participation from faculty, staff, and students. Before long, I helped to introduce a minor in Jewish studies in which students could learn something about the beauty and wisdom of the Jewish tradition. I feel privileged to have had a role in these programs which continue to this day.

I could never have anticipated the arc of my academic life—or the depth of my fulfillment as a teacher. You can understand my debt to Marist for creating an atmosphere in which my interests could be developed and my initiatives could bear fruit.

Dr. Milton Teichman and Dr. Sharon Leder stand by Dr. Teichman’s work in the sculpture garden at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, Massachusetts.

I must add anther reason for gratitude to Marist. It was at Marist on my arrival in the fall of 1962 that I met Evelyn Fisher, who was resident artist at the College (may her memory be a blessing). She was a person of extraordinary originality, integrity, and talent. I was impressed by examples of her art throughout the campus and was soon privileged to become her friend.

It is no overstatement to say that owing to her influence I became an artist as well as a teacher. Evelyn encouraged me to present two shows of my work at Marist. Soon afterward I was exhibiting consistently at different venues in Dutchess County and beyond. When I retired, my wife Sharon and I opened a gallery in Brewster, Cape Cod, where I have been showing my own work for more than 20 years and where I have exhibited at local museums.

It will be a pleasure to make additional contributions to Marist as an expression of my gratitude but also as a way of furthering the life of a distinguished and humane institution where faculty members can grow and help their students to grow.