Guilford professor Tim Pettyjohn died on Jan. 14, following hospitalization near his home in Chapel Hill since Jan. 10. The administration learned of his death the afternoon of Jan. 18. His family has not released details of the situation.
A campus memorial service is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 27 at 4 pm in the Moon Room. The family’s memorial will be private, and they plan to scatter Pettyjohn’s ashes near their home in Moore County.
While he was in serious condition, a dozen students and faculty members gathered at the Hut on Jan. 12 to show their concern for Pettyjohn and his loved ones, as well as to support each other. A few attendees were in tears, but several took the chance to joke and tell favorite stories about Pettyjohn. Reflecting upon his sardonic sense of humor, Archdale hall secretary Janet Wright said that “Tim would be amused that we were all saying nice things about him.”
Senior Cesar Weston, a former student in Petty-john’s Cultural Anthropology class, described Pettyjohn as expecting real intellectual curiosity in his students. Weston said that Pettyjohn displayed the hallmark of a good teacher by constantly pushing his students to excel.
In a sentiment that has been echoed by many of his former students, Weston was dismayed at news of Pettyjohn’s hospitalization, saying, “I didn’t want to lose such a great guy, such a great professor.”
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Kathryn Schmidt calls this a particularly challenging time for Pettyjohn’s colleagues and friends as they struggle to balance their own feelings for him with how to best provide for his students.
“I think we’re handling it as well as can be expected.” Schmidt said. “It was a shock, but we’re adjusting. The ‘good news’ is that no one was in the middle of a class. By only canceling one class, we were able to impact as few students as possible.”
As a visiting anthropology professor, Pettyjohn taught classes such as Anthropology of Religion, Appalachian Culture, and Social Theory. He was scheduled to teach several classes, among them Cultural Anthropology, this year. Most of his classes for this semester have been replaced with alternate courses, taught by other members of the Sociology and Anthropology department. One section has been canceled.
The administration did not learn of Pettyjohn’s condition until the evening of Jan 10, and students in his classes that day, such as first-year Chelsea Whitehouse, recalled waiting through the class period, unaware of any problem.
Upon hearing the news, Whitehouse said “right now I just hope that Guilford is supportive.