University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

I read Phil Terrie’s book, Forever Wild, when I started graduate work at Penn State in 2002. I grew up in the Adirondacks, but had no idea of its cultural history (I blame standardized testing for this!).  This book opened my eyes to the history of my back yard.  From that point, I took on the task of also becoming somewhat of an Adirondack historian, albeit from a sport and outdoor recreation context. Since 2002, I have been in contact with Phil (he wants me to call him Phil) on multiple occasions as I developed my scholarly line of inquiry. Over time, I published several articles on Adirondack sport and outdoor recreation culture. I’m pretty sure Phil reviewed every one of them before I submitted it for publication. I’d probably still do that today. Ironically, I’ve never met Phil face-to-face. I don’t even recall sharing a phone call with him. But that never mattered. Beyond the scholarly expertise I enjoyed through email exchanges with him, I also learned that the smallest gesture of kindness—to fledgling grad students or any student for that matter—can inspire for years.  And that act of kindness will stay with me forever.