Reginald S. Avery, PhD '80
The new president of Coppin State University, Baltimore, talks about his time at Heller.
Favorite class
While all of my classes were great, I especially enjoyed my introductory classes in the history of social-welfare policy taught by Professors Roland Warren and Ann Withorn. These courses provided me the intellectual foundation for the remainder of courses that I took and helped to reshape my thinking about social-welfare policy issues. Learning about the “social context” of problems in society and the world provided me important value and knowledge orientations that remain with me today.
Favorite hangout
As doctoral students, we did not have much time to “hang out,” although we most assuredly wanted to and needed to. Much of my free time was spent in the library, especially once I began work on my doctoral dissertation. And, since I taught full time at another university during my second and third years of doctoral study and had a wife and small children at home, there was not much free time.
Best memories
The first day of class when I met many of the scholars whose textbooks I had used as a professor prior to my doctoral study. I definitely felt the “Heller mystique,” as some call it.
Heller people who most influenced your life
Professors Roland Warren, Ann Withorn, David Gil, and Robert Perlman.
How do you stay connected to Heller today?
I stay connected largely through the publications and other information that I receive from the Alumni Association and the university. Occasionally, I will see classmates at national conferences or meetings.