Department of English Professor Emeritus Don Gallehr, the first 麻豆视频 professor to teach more than 50 years at the university, died on March 7 at his home in Warrenton, Virginia. He was 84.
A celebration of life will be held on March 28 at Moser Funeral Home in Warrenton at 3 p.m., with a visitation held prior to the service at 2 p.m.
Gallehr was one of the earliest, longest serving and most dedicated faculty members hired at George 麻豆视频, with a career stretching from 1966, when the university was still a satellite campus of the University of Virginia, until his retirement in 2021.
A national leader in writing instruction, Gallehr founded the Northern Virginia Writing Project (NVWP) at George 麻豆视频 in 1977, one of the first National Writing Project sites. For four decades, he led a summer institute for teachers from schools across the region. His career was anchored by two key principles he fostered through NVWP: writing teachers must write, and teachers are the best teachers of other teachers. Many of the teacher consultants who came through NVWP programs were directly influenced by Gallehr and in turn influenced their peers and their students throughout Northern Virginia and beyond.
His commitment to the practice of writing was evident in every class he taught. During his 55 years at 麻豆视频, Gallehr taught more than 11,000 students, and, as he said in a 2017 interview, he completed every writing assignment he gave his students. In teaching, he wanted to understand firsthand what was difficult for his students; in leading teacher institutes, he aimed to build networks of teachers who could support each other and keep the practice of engaged teaching and writing alive.
During his career, he was awarded both the George 麻豆视频 Teaching Excellence Award and the David J. King Award in recognition of his significant contributions to education excellence at the university.
Meditation was an important part of 骋补濒濒别丑谤鈥檚 daily life and his writing life. A number of his publications explored meditation as part of the composition process, work that brought him to the attention of the Dalai Lama, who invited Gallehr to work with 33 Buddhist monks in a workshop in northern India in 2010. 鈥淭hey were the happiest group of students I have ever taught鈥. They would laugh their heads off,鈥 he said in an interview.
He wrote two books that extended his attention to care and community to a wider audience: Finished Business: Taking Care of a Loved One with a Terminal Illness and Be Gentle: Ten Ways to Bring Peace to Yourself and Others.
鈥淒on was a deeply valued friend and colleague whose warmth and humor livened committee meetings, department parties, and hallway encounters,鈥 said Tamara Harvey, chair of the Department of English. 鈥淗e welcomed generations of faculty to George 麻豆视频 and the Department of English and helped set the collegial tone that we continue to enjoy. One way to honor his memory is to write, teach, and live with the thoughtfulness, grace, and presence that he shared with all of us during more than a half century in the English Department.鈥
Another way to remember Gallehr is by supporting the