The Professor

Basically, Marlow says, "I learned teaching on the job." But it was a profession, he says, that he grew to love. He began teaching Eastern (World) Religions which took up the greater part of his teaching load for quite some time. "One of the greatest thrills of teaching was teaching the eastern religions class with class members from all areas of the world." Marlow says Albright’s high percentage of international students lent itself to students of Islamic, Indian, Hindu, Chinese and Japanese backgrounds all being in the same classroom. "They all contributed to class discussions about how their religions applied in their families." During his tenure, Marlow also developed and taught courses such as Introduction to Bible and the Personal

Search for Meaning. "That was an exciting course for me," he says. "It was a course with a lot of personal sharing. But there was a confidentiality rule of course." In the course, students were asked to evaluate their own thinking. It was the only subjective course that was taught.

"From the outside you would see a bunch of similar students, but when they began sharing stories of suicide, tragic deaths, abusive relationships or stories about someone who helped them out of a situation, you saw very different individuals. That class helped to shape a lot of lives," he says.

Another favorite, Marlow says, were his biomedical ethical classes. "We dealt with issues like when to turn off life support systems, controlling birth defects. They were brand new ethical issues at the time and they were issues that touched people’s families."

It was the 70s now. A very different time than when he served as chaplain in the 60s. "The class that entered in September 1971 (the year of the Tet Offensive and end of hostility in Vietnam) were completely different from their older brothers and sisters,” he says. “The sense of rebellion and protest just wasn’t there."

The students at this time were interested in different things, he says. "They wore a different style of clothing – finer clothes, not just jeans and t-shirts – and they devoted their energies to personal goals and future careers. It was a totally different atmosphere on campus."

As the atmosphere on campus changed and the 80s came and went, Marlow continued teaching with the same vigor and enthusiasm he always had. However, in 1992, he decided it was time to retire…but only from teaching, not from Albright, of course.