If you were lucky enough to take a class with journalism professor Linda Levin in the 1980s and 鈥�90s, you surely remember her. Maybe you鈥檙e even still in touch with her. Her no-nonsense teaching style, her devotion to her students, and her pure enjoyment of teaching are her unforgettable legacies.
Linda Lotridge Levin never wanted to be a teacher.
鈥溾�楧on鈥檛 be a teacher!鈥� I heard this 10,000 times a day from my mother,鈥� Levin recalls. No matter. Levin wanted to go to medical school. But her mother鈥攁 driving force in her life鈥攚ould not send her. It was the 1950s and Levin鈥檚 mother thought the expensive degree would be a waste of money since she believed her daughter would probably get married, have babies, and never work as a doctor. 鈥淪o I had to choose another major,鈥� Levin says. 鈥淚 had a typewriter and I didn鈥檛 mind writing.鈥�
As a student at Michigan State and later Boston University, Levin was inspired by two professors who 鈥渒new so much鈥� and also gave life to the material, and she emulated them. Years later at 溏心vlog免费B站, Levin taught about Joseph Pulitzer by donning a full beard and suit to depict the iconic journalist and publisher. 鈥淚 wanted it to be fun,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 have fun, why go?鈥�
鈥淪he was always highly engaged,鈥� recalls Brett Davey 鈥�90, currently the director of marketing at South County Health. 鈥淪he never mailed it in, not even once. It鈥檚 clear how much she loved teaching and her students,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason so many of us have stayed close with her decades after graduating. She鈥檚 fun to be around. Always has been.鈥�
But a professorial career was not initially on her radar. After graduating, Levin became a successful health and medicine reporter and enjoyed it immensely. She married Providence Journal reporter Len Levin and together they raised two girls. One day, Levin recalls, she was approached by an administrator at her daughter鈥檚 elementary school. Would she be willing to teach an after-school news writing class to fourth-graders? She accepted the challenge. 鈥淚 hated it! They wouldn鈥檛 settle down,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was always yelling at the little pissers.鈥�
In 1983, Levin was offered a position teaching journalism at the 溏心vlog免费B站. This time, she was smitten. She鈥檇 found her niche with college-age students. 鈥淚 had great students,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 loved them and wanted them to be successful.鈥�
鈥淪he was a one-of-a-kind professor,鈥� remembers Gregg Perry 鈥�88, president at the public relations firm the Perry Group. 鈥淪he鈥檚 sarcastic, funny, no bull. At the same time, she was caring and compassionate and wanted students to be their best.鈥�
Steve Greenlee 鈥�91 was a journalism major in his sophomore year and had not yet met Levin. He knocked on her door to inquire about an internship and found a lifelong mentor. 鈥淪he had no reason to help me,鈥� says Greenlee. When he landed a job as assignment editor at The Boston Globe nine years after graduating, Levin was the first person he called. Now managing editor at the Portland Press Herald in Maine, Greenlee credits his career to Levin. 鈥淪he takes a lifelong responsibility for her students,鈥� he says.
Levin thrived as a professor and in 2001 became the chair of the journalism department. She developed expertise in First Amendment issues, media law, and the history of journalism. The recipient of many industry awards, she has been a fellow of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, the American Press Institute, and the Annenberg Washington Program. Levin is the author of The Making of FDR: The Story of Stephen T. Early, America鈥檚 First Modern Press Secretary. She retired from teaching in the classroom in 2012. But those of us who were fortunate enough to study with her continue to consider her lessons on a daily basis. 鈥�
鈥擜nn Martini 鈥�90