She is a powerhouse, an advocate, and a tireless educator. Lucy Freibert, SCN, is well known in Louisville, Ky., and beyond for the impact she has had on the lives of so many. Former students sing her praises and go out of their way to stay in touch and if one Googles Sister Lucy, there are many references to her on the Internet. Among the references, the Facebook profiles of those who note her as their hero.
It is nearly impossible to do justice to all that Sister Lucy has accomplished. In SCN archives there are boxes of awards, writings, letters of thanks, and scrapbooks. She has even been honored with a painting that quite beautifully depicts her deep faith and thirst for knowledge. Sister Lucy has earned honors and awards too numerous to list. Some of them include the University of Louisville’s Distinguished Teaching Award (1987), the Mary K. Bonsteel Tachua Gender Equity Award (2004), and the Trustees Award (2001) in recognition of her contributions to and impact on student life. The UofL Office of Community Engagement awarded Sister Lucy the Lifetime Community Service Award in recognition of her more than 50 years of community service and in 2010, she was inducted into the UofL College of Arts & Sciences Hall of Honors.
Since 1947 when Sister Lucy began her career in education, she has taught thousands of students at all levels — elementary school, high school, college, and graduate school. Sister Lucy has been praised for her energetic presence in the classroom, the way she empowers students to ask questions, and the authors and writings she has chosen to highlight, some long forgotten or neglected by history.
Sister Lucy began teaching at UofL in 1971. As a professor of English, she was one of the founders of the Women’s Studies Program. She also taught one of the first African-American literature courses and was an advocate for racial equality throughout her career. Sister Lucy was instrumental in establishing the Women’s Center and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.
In addition to receiving recognition for being a “steady and constant inspiration” in the classroom, Sister Lucy has also authored numerous writings including Hidden Hands: An Anthology of American Women Writers, 1790-1870. It was the first anthology devoted to American women writers of the period. When asked several years ago about her inspiration for writing the anthology by a budding journalist at the UofL student newspaper, Sister Lucy responded. “When I was in college, the only female we learned about extensively was Emily Dickinson. There were so many women who were not taught.”
When Professor Freibert retired from UofL, Dr. Barbara A. White, Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire was among several who flew to Louisville from around the world to pay tribute. “We could talk about the pioneer Lucy Freibert, who has succeeded in all the areas in which a college professor is judged: who has many important publications, who’s received UofL’s Distinguished Teaching Professor Award, who has served on every possible committee — one does wonder how UofL will function … and the University of Louisville is to be congratulated for recognizing Lucy in these ways, for not all universities do that.”
Humble, Sister Lucy did not try to seek the limelight, but her zest for life often led reporters to approach her. She once told a student journalist, “I see myself as somebody who challenges students to learn as much as they can and to try to understand the culture in which they live. I try to teach them to examine that culture and examine their own thinking about it.” In another article, she remarked upon a guiding philosophy, “You take risks and live with the results.” And yet a third journalist, Courier Journal columnist Dianne Aprile wrote, “For me and for many of those who’ve known her over the years, Freibert has been a refreshing reminder that women can break the rules, live outside traditional roles, speak loud and clearly against the status quo, and not just survive … but thrive … and, in the process, nourish the dreams of others.”
There is little doubt that Sister Lucy has “nourished the dreams of others,” in the classroom and beyond. She has been involved with various organizations and has often been a founding member of much needed entities like Pleades Theatre and Project Women, Inc. (now Family Scholar House). These not-for-profit agencies have grown and flourished. The Family Scholar House which recognizes the challenges that single-parent students face in trying to provide housing, childcare, and basic necessities for their children without adequate income or education, has helped hundreds of families in Louisville and Southern Indiana. Single parents have been able to fulfill their dreams of earning a degree and having a career thanks to assistance with housing, childcare support, and educational opportunities.
Sister Lucy has also helped others to develop lives of deep faith. In one of her writings, a letter, she encouraged a dear friend to “set aside 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night to talk to God. Some of that time should be spent listening, for the reply. Don’t argue or worry. Just sit still and listen. That is a way to peace and calm. The answer may not come the first few times, but be patient and it will come to you.”
Vice Provincial Adeline Fehribach, SCN, says Sister Lucy has had a lasting impact on the lives of many, “She helped to forge a road for women through the wilderness and it is never easy being a true pioneer. It is only because of women like her, of her generation, that I and other women like me, are able to be who we are today, and are involved in some of the work we do.”
Indeed, Sister Lucy has left an amazing legacy both intangible and tangible. The UofL library now houses the Lucy M. Freibert Collection, a gift from Sister Lucy, a 1,059 volume personal library which contains signed first editions and correspondence with contemporary women writers such as bell hooks, Marine Kumin, Marge Piercy and Alice Walker.
No doubt the UofL Library and SCN archives also have a wealth of Sister Lucy’s writings full of insight, wit and humor. Among the favorites, an address to the Freshman Class of 1991 entitled “The Universe, the University, and You.” In addressing a packed room full of bright eyed-students, mostly freshman, and their parents, she offered sage advice on becoming a life long learner and an agent of change. “… If in the few minutes I can move one or a hundred of you to live a happier, more exciting intellectual life than you would have otherwise have had, my influence will go on multiplying, through you, generation after generation to infinity. Socrates will have nothing on me except that he got an earlier start and had Plato for his press agent.”
0 Comments