Nancy Loncke

Professor

“I love teaching my subject. My students are so enthusiastic.”

In whatever Nancy Loncke does, there emerges an interest in forging harmonious human relationships. As an attorney she often settles cases through mediation rather than going to court. As an instructor she builds bridges between two cultures by teaching Russian to Americans, and English to Russians. And finally, as an author she’s working on a book that demystifies cultural differences between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Her first encounter with things Russian wasn’t quite so harmonious. “After high school, I took an immersion class in Russian and I had a hard time with that,” says Nancy. “But after that summer, I went to college and tried Russian again and found a fabulous teacher who inspired me very much.” And she’s been connected to Russia, in one way or another, ever since.

For 12 years she taught English to Russian emigres. But when that steady stream of students ebbed in the early 80s, “I needed a full-time position and went back to school to get a law degree.”

That didn’t stop her from teaching Russian at SMC. “Russian is a specialty in foreign languages,” says Nancy, who has been on campus since 1971. “It’s quite unique that SMC is offering Russian and has been for such a long time.”

She’s well aware that Russian is not an easy language to learn. “I came to realize how hard it is to learn something new when I signed up for piano lessons at SMC. I have a lot of empathy for my students.”

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