Notable Contributor
Joan Crawford
Crawford answered the call time and time again
Joan Crawford, Garrett College's first professor emeritus.
Where there was a need, there was Joan Crawford. That was true whether it meant serving as a Navy Wave in World War II, rallying Garrett College in the midst of an enrollment decline, helping create the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival, or teaching seniors in Garrett County nursing homes.
Crawford – who became Garrett College's first professor emeritus when she retired from GC in the early 2000s – accelerated her college education so that she could become a Navy Wave prior to her 21st birthday.
"I think she was always patriotic and she loved the water, so the Army was out of the question," said daughter Susie Crawford, who is a senior judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. "Going into the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt [University] after Pearl Harbor, and hearing President Roosevelt's ‘Day of Infamy' address, half the guys went out to the nearest recruiting station. My mother said, ‘I have to do my part, too.' She wasn't even 21 years old. Her dad had to sign the papers."
Susie Crawford said her mother served as a dispersing officer in the Navy.
"Her job was to pay the sailors," explained Susie. "She was stationed in Norfolk – with two Marine guards with weapons because they paid in cash. She had her own pistol. Mom said one of the Marines asked, ‘Ma'am do you know how to shoot that thing?' And she said, ‘Well, not really, but I could probably scare them.' "
After the war, Joan Crawford was an English teacher and department chair at Pittsburgh's Keystone Oaks High School. She joined the faculty of Garrett College in the fall of 1972, and would remain at GC for more than three decades as a faculty member, humanities department chair, and director of admissions.
Former GC President Steve Herman recalled how Professor Crawford came to lead the enrollment effort at GC, which in the mid-1980s was struggling for students.
"I was desperate," Dr. Herman readily admitted in eulogizing Professor Crawford at her 2010 memorial service. "The College's enrollment had dwindled over a period of years. If that trend was not reversed soon, the College would not have been able to survive – but I had no money to hire a director of admissions.
"Then I found out Joan had been a business major with a background in marketing," continued Herman. "I asked her if she would put her knowledge of marketing to use as Garrett's next director of admissions."
Answering Dr. Herman's call, Professor Crawford quickly raised the College's profile as well as its enrollment.
"Virtually every edition of The Republican carried at least three positive articles about the College, sometimes as many as seven, due to Joan's efforts," recalled Herman. "Only the [Garrett County] Commissioners made out better – I know because I was counting!"
"We used to joke that if there was a light bulb at the College that needed changing, she'd be up there changing it," said Susie Crawford.
Dr. Herman said Professor Crawford organized new approaches to admissions and helped start new academic programs, which aided GC's enrollment rebound.
Ron Skidmore – who will be retiring in June as GC's professor of art – said Professor Crawford made the decision to hire Skidmore as an adjunct instructor. Skidmore also said Professor Crawford wasn't intimidated by difficult circumstances.
"I had dropped off an application a couple months before I received her call," recalled Skidmore. "She said, ‘Hello, this is Joan Crawford. I see your application states you have an MFA [Master of Fine Arts] degree, and you are seeking a teaching position.'
"I replied yes," continued Skidmore. "There was some discussion about my teaching experience as a graduate teaching assistant – and then she said, ‘We need a teacher for the Art History course.' I said that I could do that, and she said, ‘It starts tomorrow.' After a moment of hesitation, I asked if I could get a textbook and she said, "I can meet you at the bookstore.' "
Skidmore said Professor Crawford encouraged him to take on more courses after that first semester.
"I am forever grateful that Professor Crawford gave me the chance to realize my lifelong dream as an Art Professor at Garrett College," said Skidmore, who also praised Professor Crawford's supportive nature and general kindness.
Dr. Herman and Professor Crawford were also part of the broad-based effort, coordinated by Kathryn Sincell Corwell, that created the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival (GLAF).
"Seventeen people attended a meeting at Gail's and my house," recalled Dr. Herman. "That night we raised $8,500, which we used to leverage a $10,000 grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival was born."
Joan Crawford addressing the crowd at Garrett College's 25th anniversary gala.
In addition to being a successful administrator at Garrett College, Professor Crawford was a recognized academician. She was thrice-selected to Who's Who Among American Teachers, received the 1999 Garrett College Board of Trustees Award for Outstanding Contributions, and was the faculty representative who worked with students and community members to create the first Garrett County Special Olympics.
"I think teaching just came naturally to her," said daughter Susie. "She wanted a job where she would still have time with my sister and I. After World War II, she went back to school on the GI Bill and got her English degree."
"She was awesome. All she cared about was the students," said legendary Southern Garrett High men's basketball coach Tom Bosley, who was one of Professor Crawford's students and then taught alongside her at Garrett College.
"She was an instructor that you would not miss her class – you wanted to be there," said retired insurance agent Rob Michael, who was a student in multiple classes taught by Professor Crawford as a Garrett College student.
"It's because of her that to this day I can write the way I do. I ended up in the insurance business and you have to write a lot of reports in that business," continued Michael. "I owe all of that to Joan Crawford. It's all composition that I learned from her."
Bosley, who took classes from Professor Crawford in English and creative writing, said she "could take a person who couldn't write and make them understand how to write and make them pretty good at it."
Bosley said he was able to see another side of Professor Crawford when they became colleagues.
"We were in the academic forum together," recalled Bosley. "She was an unbelievable leader in promoting the college, and also one of my favorite people ever."
"She was certainly a leader in the College and knowing her was an unforgettable experience," added Michael, who went to serve as a chair of the Garrett College Board of Trustees. "She ranks as the best teacher that I ever had."
Susie Crawford said the family's love of Garrett County went back a generation before her mother.
"My mother's parents bought a cottage on the lake in 1954 and we started coming down here for summers and loved it," recalled Susie. "My parents bought their house in 1960, winterized it and added onto it and moved here full-time in 1972. My mother just loved it here. "
After retiring from Garrett College, Professor Crawford was a volunteer teacher at local nursing homes and the Mary Browning Senior Center, teaching creative writing and memoir writing. She also served on the boards of the Garrett County Arts Council, GLAF, Habitat for Humanity, and Appalachian Crossroads.
Susie Crawford said both her parents enjoyed being fully engaged in the Garrett College community.
"They loved the students, loved athletics and just loved teaching," recalled Susie.
"I think she very much appreciated the role Garrett College played in the community and the opportunity it gave to all people to go to college," said Susie, who currently serves as chair of the Garrett College Foundation. "She realized the role the community college played particularly in a rural community like Garrett County. The College played a center piece in bringing the community together."
