As the semester came to a close, so did the illustrious career of Dr. Pauline Nugent, a professor in Missouri State University’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages. Nugent retired this May, ending 30 years as a professor in a variety of fields. From Latin to French and even Biblical Hebrew, Nugent has been an educator all over the world.

Born and raised in Ireland, Nugent spent most of her life in close contact with extended family in Liverpool, England and in America. She hadn’t heard of Springfield, Missouri, until 1992, after spending several years teaching throughout the United States.

She first arrived in the U.S. to undergo three years of intense spiritual training as a sister at the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate in San Antonio, Texas. Then, beginning her career as an educator in Metairie, Louisiana, she taught 64 first graders for one year. In 1964, back in San Antonio, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Latin and French at Incarnate Word College, now Incarnate Word University. She returned to England to obtain her master’s degree in Latin and French. Upon graduating, she returned to the U.S., before she was once again led to teach overseas.

To Nugent’s surprise, when she landed in Ireland to teach college-level students, she found herself filling the role as administrator of the college and head of the entire French program. Having grown up speaking French and Latin fluently, Nugent was unfazed by this unexpected workload. She rolled up her sleeves and told herself she would take it one step at a time.

“If the cleaning lady didn’t show up, I cleaned the bathrooms. I just did all the chores that needed to be done to keep the college going,” Nugent explained.

By 1979, at age 40, Nugent was once again called back to San Antonio. And with the change in location came the inspiration to tackle yet another academic challenge. She entered into a doctoral program for French and Latin at the University of Austin, Texas, where she had completed her master’s degree. Along the way, she learned Hebrew which, at last, brought her to MSU.

“The students here are in a league of their own. I’ve taught overseas, I’ve taught in Texas, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for the students at Missouri State,” Nugent boasted.

She started out teaching the Biblical languages: Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. During her time at MSU, she served on the Faculty Senate and was the recipient of numerous awards that lauded her excellence in teaching. For the last few decades, Nugent has played a prominent role in the graduation process with the honor of reading off student names during the ceremony.

“I look in the eyes of these graduating students at a moment of ecstatic joy that they cannot believe is happening to them.” —Dr. Pauline Nugent

For the last ten years, Nugent taught medical students. She joked about earning a reputation as a “tough old schoolmarm” but spoke highly of her time at MSU. As an educator, Nugent explained that what she valued most about her job was her power to affirm and empower her students.

“You meet people where they are, and you help them,” she stated.

Nugent will officially retire at the end of June, however, her time at MSU isn’t over just yet. She plans to return to MSU to teach a medical terminology course in the fall. While MSU may be saying au revoir to Nugent as a professor, she will forever be a cornerstone of the community.