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English professor Gaffney to retire after 26 years
By Mary Kay Roth
At an office tucked in the corner of
Andrews HaM, amidst momentos from years
; jst and cluttered papers of the present, sits
; 63-year-old English professor. His white
'lowing, fluffy hair swept back from his
f-rehead, matches his shaped goatee and
raggley mustache.
But this spring, after 26 years, Wilbur G.
Gaffney must leave UNL.
'I'm superannuated overage," he
cr.uckled. In other words, he must retire.
H is office of 1 3 years will seem cruelly bare
;ithout his paintings, photographs and
'V;sortmenf of relics and treasures plastered
on the walls.
"Each one means something special to
mo," he explained.
His wife's photograph faces his desk
h-cause, "she looks better than I do." He
raid they completely forgot their 45th
anniversary this year.
Flying hippo
Among a variety of paintings Is Gaffney's
c-.vn artwork of a flying hippo and his wife's
painting of "Things That Go Bump in the
Night.
But all these memories must come down
when he leaves at the end of second
semester.
Gaffney plans on remaining in Nebraska,
because he was brought up in Lincoln and
has lived here for the past 26 years.
All of that time he has been at UNL and for
the majority of that time he has taught his pet
class, now labeled Advanced Expository
Writing.
"I try to teach students to write plain
English on technical subjects," he explained,
"to make gobbledey into something under
standable." His class has turned out
engineers, mathematicians, lawyers, novel
ists and playwrights.
No 'word sense'
Over the years, Gaffney has seen students
experience more problems with their general
sense of the English language. He said most
have not developed a true word sense, which
is evidenced in their spelling, punctuation,
general carelessness and lack of precision.
Despite language problems, Gaffney said
his students have won a satisfying number of
awards. He has received positive feedback
from former students about his classes and
others have made npted accomplishments.
One former student, Marilyn Coffey, has
written an article in this month's "Atlantic"
magazine "The Day the Town Panicked."
Gail Hock, another student, authored several
TV specials "Thanksgiving Treasure" and
"The House without a Christmas Tree."
Gaffney chose to return to a teaching
career and his native Lincoln when he was 45
years old, after an array of occupations and
experiences.
"I don't want to sound corny, but I felt I
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would be more socially useful in teaching,"
he explained.
NU graduate
Gaffney grew up in Lincoln -and took off for
the east coast after receiving his diploma
from UNL. In New York, he wrote circulation
advertisements until he discovered he
couldn't write them.
"I quit after six months before they found
..out," he said.
At New York University (NYU), he met his
wife, a librarian. She later helped start the
record collection at Bennett Martin Library.
"By 1948 New York was getting scruffy,"
he said, "dirty, noisy, polluted and even
dangerous."
He returned to Lincoln, a teaching position
at UNL, and inherited his present composi
tion class.
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Wilbur G. Gaffney, UNL professor of English, will retire this spring after 26 years.
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thursday, december 12, 1974
