WESTFIELD – The retirement of professor John Paulmann marks the end of an era for Westfield State University’s Communication Department, a program that has evolved by leaps and bounds during his tenure.
Over the past week, fellow faculty and friends of the loquacious and ubiquitous professor have reflected fondly upon their time spent with him at Westfield State.
“He makes this place very happy and warm, which is one of the reasons I’ve thought this is a wonderful department to work in,” said Makoto “Max” Saito, a fellow Communication Department professor. “He always reminds us that, when in doubt, always decide what is best for the students, and we are keeping that tradition very strong.”
Other figures in the department have also spoken of Paulmann, the portly pillar of the Communication Department, which began as a small offshoot of the English Department.
“If there was ever a superb example of the old adage, ‘he’ll give you the shirt off his back,’ it exists with John Paulmann,” said colleague Kate Lemay-Miller. “Since the day I met John, he has been the kind of supportive colleague and friend whom a person hopes to find in life.”
“It is almost impossible to imagine the Communication Department without John Paulmann,” said another professor, Maddy Cahill. “The cheerful hallway greetings that set the tone for the department, the sound of his voice when he talks to students…”
Generous almost to a fault, Paulmann’s selfless nature has rubbed off on his colleagues over the years.
Professor Tom Gardner recalled getting caught in a snowstorm early in his tenure at the school and, being unable to get home to Amherst, spent the evening on a colleague’s couch.
“When I came back into school the next day, John Paulmann greeted me with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and brand-new underwear and socks,” Gardner said. “What a gift that was and what a gift he is!”
Paulmann’s influence was never more apparent than last Friday evening, when the Communication Department honored him at their annual spring dinner. Westfield State alumnus and State Senator Don Humason, Jr. stopped by the give the departing professor a citation from the State Senate.
“When I was a student, I never had him, but he was one of my favorite professors,” said Humason, who graduated from then-Westfield State College with a degree in Criminal Justice. “CJ met on the third floor of Ely where Masscomm was at the time, but we became friends. It seemed like everyone knew John Paulmann, whether you had him or not. He was a professor you could go up and talk to, who just made you feel welcome. He’s a class guy.”
Perhaps no greater testament to Paulmann’s kind wisdom exists than the words that have come from all over campus from the student body, who feel as though they are saying goodbye to a friend, not just a professor.
“Professor Paulmann was always the first to sing everyone’s praises. He never had a bad word to say about anyone,” said Alexandra Myers of Peabody, who graduated in 2013. “You will learn more about life and all it’s intracacies from listening to him than you will anywhere else. He will be missed at WSU.”
Joseph Kreisen, a senior from Natick who will be graduating within the coming weeks, spoke of a Paulmann story that in many ways define the man.
“He drove all the way to UMass-Amherst to support me for an award I won,” said Kreinsen. “I have never met a kinder, more genuine man in my life. When I am faced with adversity in life, I just ask myself ‘what would Professor Paulmann do?’
Joseph Shisler, another senior from Hanover who suited up with Kreisen for the WSU Owls football team, provided another heaping of praise upon the beloved professor.
“I feel blessed to have met a man like John Paulmann in my lifetime. I have never met someone so genuine, so kind, caring, and loving in my life,” Shisler said. “Whether it’s something as complex as the conversion of oral tradition to written tradition, or as simple as a handshake with a smile after class. He truly is a great man with a beautiful soul.”
“Paulmann’s passion and inspiring dialogue was unmatched,” added Greg Zalinski of Ware, a 2012 WSU Comm graduate, who described Paulmann as a “fantastic professor with a zeal for education and love of life. Each lesson would contain a bit about him and the importance of the topic at hand.”
Kylie Coffey, a 2013 Comm. graduate from Everett, had a unique take on Paulmann’s impending departure.
“I’m sort of glad that my time at Westfield is over,” she said. “I don’t think I could handle walking through the Comm. Department and looking into his (Paulmann’s) office, with the door always open and all your books stacked high on the shelves, and seeing it empty.”
Coffey added that not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about how much Paulmann “cared and helped her to success at Westfield State.”
Dr. Elizabeth Preston, Westfield State’s interim president and former Chair of it’s Communciation Department, also thanked her former colleague for his tireless work.
“On a campus where the faculty and staff are deeply committed to student success, John Paulmann’s dedication to our students nevertheless stands out.” she said. “For decades, he has been a tireless advocate for each of the students he has taught.”
Preston spoke of Paulmann as ‘tenacious in his determination to assure that our students have an opportunity to explore other cultures and travel to other places’ and that the University ‘wishes him all the best.’
