A Tribute to Marie M. Clay
Marie Clay: An Honored Mentor, Colleague, and Friend A Tribute to Marie M. Clay: It is an awesome task to describe Marie Clay as a mentor, colleague and friend. She Searched for Questions In my attempt, words fail to capture the extensive and nuanced ways that she impacted and influenced those of us That Needed Answers who were privileged to be mentored and befriended by this remarkable Billie Askew, trainer emeritus, Texas Woman’s University humanitarian. The authors in this section provide insight When I consider Marie Clay’s influ- Marie’s perpetual state of inquiry had into the nature of her learning, thinking, ence on my life, I must return to a profound effect on me. At first, it encouraging, and challenging. We are the late 1960s, long before I knew was not always comfortable when reminded of her never ending search for what is possible. Sailing in new directions her. My advisor and mentor at I was the object of her inquiry and herself, she supported her colleagues to the University of Arizona, literacy wanted to respond with an ‘accept- travel to previously uncharted territory scholar Ruth Strang, talked of visiting able’ if not ‘right’ answer. I had to as well. She provided an outstanding with a young researcher from New abandon some ‘safe havens’ and be example of extraordinary research, borne Zealand at the World Congress in open to new ways of thinking, asking from her keen observations of children’s Copenhagen. Dr. Strang predicted new questions of my own. What a development. She employed unusual lenses to observe and capture change over that this extraordinary thinker would gift she gave me—both professionally time and to reveal to all of us what we contribute to world literacy in ways and personally.
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