GSE prof. to be missed

Graduate School of Education professor Lawrence Sipe died unexpectedly on Friday, March 11.

Sipe came to the Penn GSE in 1996 as an assistant professor and was appointed to the rank of professor in 2009. He also served as the chairman of GSE’s program in Language and Literacy in Education.

“We are all in shock and deeply saddened by Dr Sipe’s loss,” GSE professor Vivian Gadsden said. “He was an incredible colleague — thoughtful, generous and a consummate intellectual and scholar willing to share his expertise with his colleagues and students alike.”

Gadsden fondly remembered Sipe’s commitment to his students and his work within GSE.

“[He was] always highly, highly committed to supporting students in their intellectual journey,” she said. “He just loved students and loved his work ... We will miss him as a friend and a colleague.”

Sipe won numerous awards during his time at Penn, including the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2007. He also conducted research on children’s literature.

“He understood children’s literature, adolescent literature, young adult literature — all of those as being a way to inspire kids and to help kids lead their real life experiences through the imagination,” Gadsden said. “He was immersed in the idea of books and children’s literature as an important media for engaging children through the manipulation of knowledge.”

“The way in which he [conducted his research] was so sensitive and so respectful of the sophistication of children and the extent to which they’re equal partners in the learning process,” Tom Kecskemethy, assistant dean and director of communications in GSE, said. “And that sensitivity came through in everything that Larry did and everything that Larry touched.”

Sipe’s students are also affected by his loss.

“He was a teacher, a colleague, a dear friend, and so for me, that loss is felt in all those dimensions,” Jessica Whitelaw, a fourth year doctoral student in GSE and Sipe’s former assistant, said. “He was a special person.”

Rachel Skrlac Lo, a first year doctoral student in GSE and Sipe’s graduate assistant, reflected fondly on the time she spent with him — both inside and outside the classroom.

“He always had a smile to offer, and he had a good ear,” Skrlac Lo said. “He was always willing to listen, and he offered great advice … He’s just really going to be missed a lot, and it hasn’t even really sunk in how big a hole he is going to leave in my life.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.