Tallitsch's human anatomy class supports classmate

On January 11, the first day of class after winter recess, Dr. Bob Tallitsch's human anatomy class learned about another important human element—compassion.

Following their midterm on the final day before heading home for the holidays, most left campus for a restful time with family and friends. However, one student went into a scheduled 11-hour surgery that would leave her wearing a hat or wig for the remainder of winter term. After the student told Dr. Tallitsch, he sent an email to the entire class encouraging them to support their classmate by wearing a hat or wig on the first day of classes, too. And they all did.

This was a big deal, as Dr. Tallitsch is strict about not allowing men to wear hats in class. As Katrina Jensen '11 recalled on Facebook, "This reminds me of one of the class rules set forth on the first day of all of Dr. Bob's classes that I took: Gentlemen may not wear hats in class. It is disrespectful. Ladies may wear hats in class because it's part of their 'outfit...'"

An alumna wrote of another faculty member, "Reminds me of when I was out for 2 weeks for back surgery sophomore year... My teachers were very supportive. My organic chem professor sent me class notes so I could try to keep up while I was out."

As another alumna put it, "So when people ask 'why Augustana?,' This is why Augustana."

See photos from the class below and view more comments on the Facebook post.