Libuse Reed

Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award (1971)

Interview Excerpt

“When I finished teaching I knew more than I had ever known, had more experience and probably should have taught till I was 107.

But after suffering a heart attack in my classroom, my heart specialist, who happened to be a former student, said that would be unwise. I heeded his advice and instead of living a couple more years as I thought I would, here I am 18 years later,” Libby says. She maintains a tremendous correspondence list.

In those 18 years, she and husband, John, specialist collection librarian emeritus from OWU, have traveled extensively to Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii. “But our books are here,” Libby says, “So Delaware is home.” Libby has also pursued a lifelong intellectual interest in science, having taken 13 geology courses at OWU.

“One trip two years ago to Europe, John bought me a museum-quality piece of tourmaline for my 75th birthday,” Libby says. “We plan to eventually donate it to the university.”

Over the years, Libby has noticed a loosening of formality on campus. “When we first came here, you wouldn’t go anywhere without white gloves, now things are more casual. But, I never noticed a change in the students in terms of their dedication, work or interest in their future.”

OWU’s dedication to excellence is still a hallmark, “From the beginning, if someone said, ‘Oh, you went to Ohio Wesleyan,’ they really meant, you had an excellent education. They meant it in 1952, and they mean it now,” Libby says.