Professor Emerita Marianne Githens
The college has received the sad news that Professor Emerita of Political Science Marianne Githens died Tuesday, February 27, of natural causes at the age of 83.
The college has received the sad news that Professor Emerita of Political Science
Marianne Githens died Tuesday, February 27, of natural causes at the age of 83. Marianne
started at the college in 1965 and taught full time until her retirement in 2014,
continuing part time until 2016.
Marianne received her Ph.D. from the London School of Economics in 1960, where she
studied European political institutions and French political thought. She was a pioneering
scholar in the field of women in politics and remained an established authority throughout
her career. Her voluminous work included Women in Europe in 1993, a research report
commissioned by the Commission of the European Communities for Program Development,
several books, and many research articles.
Her greatest joy came from teaching. She was an educator whose pedagogy was ahead
of the curve. While some of her teaching methods may have appeared unconventional
at the time, Marianne instinctively knew what pedagogical scholarship now acknowledges:
The most important factor in a student’s success is believing in the student. Marianne
taught her students how to think and be bold in their pursuits. She was their professor,
their mentor, and their friend. Students frequently would spend hours in her office,
just talking with her, sharing stories, and hearing just what a trailblazer Marianne
was in many aspects of life. Over the years, Marianne touched the lives of innumerous
students who carry on her legacy in the work they do as scholars, as advocates, and
as community members.
Marianne had a long career at Goucher College, where she had a strong hand in shaping
the community that we are today. She spent many years as chair of the Political Science
Program and was a co-founder of the Women’s Studies Program. A staunch advocate for
diversity, equity, and inclusion, she was not one to mince her words and you never
had to wonder where you stood with her.
Throughout her tenure, Marianne was recognized with many distinguished awards. They
include the Outstanding Teaching Award, Human Rights Scholar Award, Marymount Manhattan
College’s Distinguished Alumna Award, and Caroline Doebler Bruckerl Faculty Award.
She will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues here. Our thoughts are with
her son, Jonathan Githens-Mazer, and her brother, John.