Dear James:
Thank you for being such an inspiration to me during my time at UNC. You embodied the scholar’s life, and I will be forever grateful to you for being such an exemplary teacher and thinker. When I remember being in class with you, I picture you at the front of the room, often with your hand on your forehead, working through a knotty idea with the kind of thoughtfulness and intellectual insight that only comes from extensive reading and careful writing. You modeled for me how to think out loud in front of a room full of students, and I am quite certain that your example inspired many people teaching in college classrooms to this day. I also remember quite fondly the many times I visited you in your office and how kind and generous you were to an unformed and underinformed graduate student. I hope I can live up to the example you set.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making me a better teacher and—I hope—a better person.
With gratitude and love,
Adam McKible