Stanley Nodder Jr.
John C. Pflaum
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Stanley Nodder Jr., Professor of Classical Languages
John C. Pflaum, Professor of History
There are two professors who definitely influenced my career direction. Although I was
a pre-law history major and political science minor, I later completed my M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees in history and became a professor in ancient history. Stanley Nodder taught Greek
history and Roman history at Dickinson. He was my original adviser, and all of his students
I knew thought he was one of the nicest teachers they ever had. He gave clear lectures
and related very warmly to each student as an individual.
J.C. Pflaum was bombastic and irritable at times, but he was a gifted storyteller. I
had him for Western Civilization and Europe since 1815, and I believe that he held student
interest better than any professor I have ever known. He and I often had lunch between
classes around the corner from Denny Hall and he, too, cared about what his students
were doing.
I have been teaching for more than 30 years now and have chaired our history department
at Western Kentucky for more than five of those, but I still think back frequently to
some of the fine classes I took as an undergraduate at Dickinson.
Rich Weigel ’66
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