Teaching with evident passion: Cooper and Waddell love thier subjects and students

By Sharon Pelletier
Special to the Collegian

Dr. Ranessa Cooper has a reputation among biology students for bad botany jokes. Perhaps she is egged on at home by her talking parakeet, Marklar. Or maybe these unscientific tendencies are in her genes; her brother Matthew, a high school senior, is a talented artist. But science is in her heart, for her sweetheart, Jonathan, is working on his doctorate in botany.

Cooper says that Hillsdale offers her the unique opportunity of teaching botany specifically. She is also excited about working in the lab.

“I enjoy research,” she said. “I’m interested in looking at a plant’s structure. I want to understand how it lives in its environment.”

Cooper is not only an assistant professor of biology, but also the director of Slayton Arboretum. This allows her to introduce students firsthand to the beautiful flora of Michigan.

“I plan to take full advantage of the educational opportunities at the Arb,” she said.

Biology, and botany in particular, have been her passion since youth. She grew up in southern Indiana.

“As a child, I planted corn in the sandbox,” she said.

Her high school biology classes cemented her interest. This is one scientist who stayed well rounded, however. Cooper minored in French at Truman State University in Mississippi and attended the University of Alberta for her doctorate with bilingual hopes.

“I thought I would speak French [in the community]. I ended up playing hockey and curling,” she said.

Athletic pursuits are still a hobby. Cooper enjoys running 5 or 10 K road races, and even has an eye on intramural basketball and volleyball.
Sunday night bowling at Hillside Lanes is another favorite activity, and she won a stuffed SpongeBob SquarePants at the County Fair.

Looking around her office, it’s obvious that Cooper is crazy about botany. On a file cabinet by the window is a “tree knee” (one of those gnarly old stumps you see growing out of swamps) and leaves and blossoms are sprinkled over nearly everything in her office, from Post-It Notes to a flower pot full of pens.

“I really enjoy what I do, and I hope it shows,” Cooper said.

Just down College Street from Cooper is another professor with an evident passion. Dr. Rachel Waddell is the new assistant professor of music. Through her music history courses and individual flute lessons, she communicates to her students her excitement.

“Music history opens up everything else about music,” Waddell said. “And music itself is what touches us most individually.”

Waddell enjoys exploring Hillsdale and the surrounding towns. Side trips to Ann Arbor enable her to indulge her love of shopping and nice restaurants. It surely helps to see a familiar face; Dr. Cynthia Woodbridge of Hillsdale’s chemistry department was her next-door neighbor at the University of Nebraska, where they both received their doctorates. Comrades are also found at home in her husband, Scott, and her two cats, Chloe and Pliszt, whose name Waddell explained as a musical joke.

Waddell said that Hillsdale College was always at the top of her list.

“It’s a liberal arts school true to what that means. I really liked the idea of classical education. I believe you can specialize and still be well-rounded.”

Waddell praised Hillsdale’s welcoming community and friendly students. She has also been impressed by the faculty.

“I liked the sense of teamwork I discovered here,” she said.

The discord and lack of unity she witnessed during her education at larger universities set off the contrast.

After many years of study, earning a bachelor’s degree in flute performance, a master’s degree in music history, and a doctorate, Waddell values her role as instructor. Waddell said the end of her role as a student was what she was most looking forward to about Hillsdale.

“I feel ready to be a real professor, ready to be doing the job.”

Waddell loves music for its evolving quality.

“It always wants to go further! There’s always so much to talk about, because it’s always changing.”

During her time here, Waddell said her main goal is to raise the level of academic scholarship in music history. She also hopes to be involved in interdisciplinary classes.

“I want to branch out beyond just music,” she said.

Sharon Pelletier/Collegian

Dr. Rachel Waddell sets a good example for her flute students: practice makes perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Pelletier/Collegian

Dr. Ranessa Cooper explains ferns to junior Chris Falkiewicz as her lab assistant, senior Chad Kreisnak, looks on in BIO 200 lab.