Written by Jose Villalpando ’23
After serving over 18 years as a professor of education at Doane, Dr. Linda Kalbach decided to make spring 2023 her last at the university, and move into the next stage of her life: retirement.
“The pandemic made it clear society really needs to focus on what matters and to approach what consumes our time differently. I want to embrace that lesson,” Kalbach said.
Kalbach takes with her a lot of good memories of colleagues and, of course, the students she’s known both in class and from chance encounters on campus.
“My proudest memory was when students founded their Doane Is Love Festival in response to Westboro Baptist Church's picketing the college for the positive support of its LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
Moreover, this memory relates back to one of her core beliefs.
“I truly believe in humanity's capacity to be better and to do better,” she said. “ Even in our darkest hours, there have been good people working to end the ugly and replace it with compassion.”
In retirement, Kalbach will be able to focus more on herself and her interests, which include gardening, antiquing, reading and historical preservation.
As a final note, Kalbach wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who supported her throughout her time at Doane.
“Thank you Doane, especially my colleagues and students for your support and allowing me to be me in the ways that I taught and contributed. I hope each of you finds this type of acceptance in your work and your life,” Kalbach said.
