The end of an era

“It’s been more than five decades since professor Warren Lucas walked into an NAU classroom to teach his first class. Now Lucas is closing his classroom door at the end of this semester and dismissing his students for the last time to start a new journey. His departure from NAU marks the end of an era defined by consistency and institutional memory, closing a chapter that has spanned generations of students. From teaching the largest Sociology 101 classes in the history of the department, to serving as department chair, helping write the proposal that started the master’s program in applied sociology, taking classes on field trips all over the state and teaching NAU’s undergraduate sociology classes to incarcerated Arizonans, Lucas leaves behind a legacy that will be hard to follow. “To me, Dr. Lucas is symbolic of the best of NAU,” said Jessie K. Finch , chair of the Department of Sociology. “He is absolutely devoted as a teacher and faculty member, an exceptional colleague and a supportive mentor. All his work is research-informed with just the right mix of critical-spicy. His legendary presence will be deeply missed.” The Lucas legacy Although Lucas will not be physically present in the classroom, his teachings and mentoring style will continue for years to come. Angelica Sanchez , an NAU alumna who worked alongside Lucas as a peer mentor for five semesters, said she feels herself channeling him sometimes when she teaches at Coconino Community College. “I was able to get that personal connection with him and feel I have taken so many of his lessons into my classroom,” Sanchez said, “especially when I draw on the board, because it reminds me of when he would draw on the projector slides to get a point across. I was a non-traditional student and felt out of place and Dr. Lucas was one of the first people who made me feel seen. That definitely was one of the reasons why I stuck with sociology. I really enjoyed his personality and how much value he added to my education.” Sanchez said Lucas would take peer mentors out to lunch at the beginning and end of each semester to help them build connections. Now, she does the same thing with her teaching assistants. “I think the reason Dr. Lucas could make anything sociology was because he always zoomed out,” Sanchez said. “When you zoom out, there are always people and groups at play. That lesson helped me build better personal connections outside of the classroom and grow my professional development.” Lucas’ impact also resonates with current students like Sarah Monsegur , a sophomore majoring in marketing who is taking Sociology 101 this semester with Lucas. She said the class has helped her see the world from a broader perspective. “What I like most about his class is that he has a lot of personal experience and funny anecdotes to share, whether that be from his travels around the world or from teaching at NAU since the early ’70s,” Monsegur said. “He teaches us to look at things from a broader lens, not just in terms of my beliefs, but everyone else’s, and I feel that is what sociology is about—understanding how the world works and questioning it rather than just going with the flow.” Teaching different generations Lucas said his students are the driving force that kept him at NAU for half a century. “I have taught students who grew up, had families and sent their children to NAU,” Lucas said. “They told their kids that they should take Lucas for Intro to Sociology and they enrolled in my class. Over time, I have had two generations of students enrolled in my class. I like teaching the introduction class of sociology because new students don’t usually have any sociology background, so it is kind of nice to expose them to that.” Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Pugliesi said that amid 50 years of change in the Department of Sociology, the one constant has been Lucas’ teaching. “I have been able to see what Warren has brought to this university over a large number of years,” Pugliesi said. “One of the things that the Department of Sociology has worked on over a long period of time is wanting to engage students in provocative ways to think critically about our world, the way it works and more importantly, how it could be different. This is deeply ingrained in how Warren has been teaching for many years.” The road ahead When asked what is next for him, Lucas said he plans to take some time to travel across the United States. “I am planning on visiting family and friends, maybe some national parks,” Lucas said. “My daughter lives in St. Louis and I am going to go visit in July. I would like to go to the Northeast in the fall and see the colors. I have not been able to do that before because school would be in session. As for the rest of my plans, they are open-ended.” Mariana Laas | NAU Communications (928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu

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