Dr. Amrita Sen, English professor, left OCU after the end of the fall semester to accept a job in Calcutta, India.
Dr. Tracy Floreani, English professor, said English faculty knew Sen was leaving about midway through the fall semester.
“She was pretty quiet about it because she didn’t want a lot of attention, like a going away party or something,” Floreani said.
Sen, originally from India, returned because of family and for a teaching position she was offered.
“Because of the way that the system works at the school in India, she needed to start there in January,” Floreani said.
Officials did not schedule Sen to teach any spring classes because they knew she would leave before enrollment opened in October.
Sen taught world literature, specializing in early British literature and Shakespeare. Because of her departure, the English department is understaffed in that area.
Two to four sections are usually offered per semester, but, this semester, there was only one. From now on, Dr. Karen Youmans, Honors Program director and associate director of English, will teach the courses.
Some students had positive feelings about Sen, but did not know she was gone since she wanted to keep things private.
Callie Dewees and Mercedes Arndt, acting sophomores, took mythologies and the Harry Potter liberal arts seminar, respectively. They were both taught by Sen, and said they were shocked that she left.
“I thought she was a very interesting woman, and she cared a lot about what she taught,” Dewees said.
Arndt said Sen required her students to actively pay attention in her class.
“I just really appreciated her subtle sense of humor. You really had to be present in the room to catch it,” Arndt said.
Patience Williams, English senior, said she also admired Sen because of all she accomplished in her life so far.
“Seeing a woman of color teaching such a diverse background of literature was really nice,” Williams said.
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