When he looks back over 36 years of teaching, Carroll Community College Associate Professor of Sociology Larry Fask concludes that he is a lucky man. Fask has shared a subject he loves with over 7,000 students. He has received awards for his work. He has embraced the role of community colleges in higher education. On a personal level, he has made many close friends through teaching.

Fask retired from his position at Carroll on July 1, 2005. Guests from around the college attended a warm and poignant farewell, to a man who is equally admired by students, faculty, and staff.

Fask started his professional teaching career in 1969 at a four-year Catholic women’s college called Anna Maria, outside Worcester, Mass. He then spent a year teaching at a community college in the state. He came to Maryland to teach at Catonsville Community College (now Community College of Baltimore County). While at Catonsville, Fask won the Outstanding Teacher Award. He was chosen from among 300 faculty members.

When Carroll opened as a Westminster branch of Catonsville, Fask began teaching classes part-time at Carroll. He also worked in Continuing Education with business clients.

In 1991, Fask came to Carroll to teach full-time. “I firmly believed that Carroll was the place to be, in part because of its smallness and friendliness,” he said. Twenty-eight semesters later, Fask still believes these are Carroll’s strengths.

Interest in sociology began in undergraduate school. Fask credits his college mentor, William J. Wilson, for lighting a fire in him about sociology.

Although a majority of sociology graduate students choose teaching as a career, teaching was not a first love for Fask. Teaching four credit courses and several different preparations in the first two years, his attention was initially on course content and lecturing. He almost left teaching for social work and community organization.

However, Fask’s experience at Anna Maria helped him appreciate that his students can become social activists. Teaching classes for the second and third time around, he was able to develop more non-traditional and humanistic approaches for the classroom. After coming to these realizations, he was hooked on teaching.

Over the decades, Fask made observations about student characteristics. When he started teaching, it was a bit easier to capture a student’s attention in class, he said. “Today, teachers must be more creative and stimulating, as attention spans have shortened. As educational trends dictate that faculty members become increasingly focused on outcomes and teaching to the test, creativity in the classroom suffers,” said Fask.

Students at community colleges, he continued, are very often the first generation in their families to attend college. “Community college presents a wonderful opportunity to get an affordable college education,” said Fask. “Moreover, I believe the quality of teaching is better, because the main job of the faculty is to concentrate on students, not on research and publications.”

When Fask looks back over his teaching career, many fond memories start to surface. He still recalls the early years of his career between 1969 and 1971, when student interest in social issues was intense and intellectual debate was common. Students were passionate and well-informed, he remembers. Today, multiculturalism and global awareness are new areas of interest.

In addition to teaching about the study of people and society, Fask has experienced the cultures of other lands, firsthand. He and his wife Maggie Ball have traveled a great deal. “The exciting part of my travels has been to integrate my knowledge of sociology with actually meeting people from the cultures I have studied,” said Fask.

Perhaps his most life-changing travel experience was when he accompanied his wife to India. Ball was on sabbatical there in 2001. Two years later, the couple returned to India, and came home with arts and textiles, among other treasures. Friends remarked on how beautiful the pieces were and offered to buy them. This reaction sparked an interest in opening a store featuring Indian goods. In May, 2004, the couple opened Spirit India, a boutique and gallery on Main Street in Reisterstown.

Serving as co-proprietor of Spirit India is now a life’s work for Fask. Ball, who oversees Carroll’s arts programs, was instrumental in the store’s design, layout, and merchandising. Colorful dresses, skirts and blouses adorn the small shop, which also features jewelry, and Tibetan, Indian, and Nepalese art objects. In a comfortable back room, visitors are welcome to sit on pillows on the floor, sip tea, and indulge their love for the beautiful objects from the Indian Subcontinent.

“In retirement, I can continue my love of people and cultures, through my store,” said Fask. “In a sense, it is a sociology store.”

Undoubtedly, people will be intrigued by the shopkeeper, whose tales of mentoring young people throughout the generations inspire all who meet him.

Larry Fask and his wife Maggie Ball, at his retirement party in the Student Center.

Back to top