Penn laments death of professor

Penn students are continuing to mourn the loss of popular English Professor Lynda Hart, who recently lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 47. Students traveled from all over the country to attend a memorial service for Hart on January 20 at St. Mark's Church in New York City. Another service, presented by the English department, will be held Thursday in the Rosenwald Gallery in Van Pelt Library. Hart passed away on December 31 of last year. Penn Women's Center Director Elena Di Lapi, a longtime colleague and friend of Hart, emphasized that the overwhelming student presence truly has been a testament to Hart's impact. Hart came to Penn as an assistant professor of English and Theatre Arts in 1988, and moved on to be an associate professor in the English, Theatre Arts, Comparative Literature, and Women's Studies departments in 1994. She became a full English professor in 1998. Outside the classroom, Hart was a strong advocate of women's issues and gay and lesbian rights. She founded the Women's Theatre Festival of Philadelphia in 1990 and was an active member on the boards of both the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center and the Penn Women's Center. Hart was a prolific writer, and one of her books, Fatal Women: Lesbian Sexuality and the Mark Aggression, won her an Alice Paul Award in Women's Studies and a Callaway Prize nomination. According to faculty and students who had the opportunity to interact with Hart, her innovative and personal manner of teaching distinguished her from other professors. College senior Greg Steirer, who took several classes with Hart and was her work-study student, described her teaching style as "unusual and so powerful at the same time." "She taught in a way that most people wouldn't even consider teaching," Steirer said. "She wanted you to learn how to teach yourself and to learn from what you already know." He added, "Without her, I would not know how to speak or write as myself as I do now." Di Lapi shared her own perception of what made Hart so unique, as well as the impressions communicated to her by Hart's students. "When I talk to students, they only rave about her as a professor," Di Lapi said. "She really allowed something special to happen in her classes." She added, "At an age when many students are trying to define themselves, she provided a space for them to do some of that exploration in an academic context." Di Lapi also emphasized that Hart's strong sense of spirituality had an enormous impact on her teaching. "She created an environment in which students could really connect with their creativity, which was not forced into a mold, but rather allowed to grow," Di Lapi said. Both Steirer and Di Lapi will be speaking at Thursday's memorial service.

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