You have probably seen this week’s celebrity quite a lot; he is the stylish professor who is always smoking between classes on Chardon’s second floor. I met the man when I was fresh out of high school, this wonderful individual was my first taste of the world, he had very different ideas from mine and a passion for his job that he could not hide. Anthony Izquierdo is a treasured faculty member who teaches humanities. If you have taken any of his classes you know what I mean, he even makes Decart’s Discourse on the Method interesting and now you can finally know why, and get to know a bit more of what is going on inside this academic’s mind.
In his interview with HC-UPRM, Izquierdo told us about how he lives his profession with the devotion others live a religion. He has been teaching his whole life and his lectures have always had the same passion put into them, even as the years pass. His main goal when he stands in front of a group of students is to attain their complete attention in order to make them forget all of their worries and problems, at least for fifty minutes, three days a week. That is why he is so severe on the No Electronic Equipment policy on his classes because students get easily distracted; professors lecture to be HEARD. During his years here at UPRM, forty-one to be exact, Izquierdo has taught Humanities, Comparative Art, Music Appreciation and Art History.
Opera being one of his biggest passions, he took it upon himself to create a course were students would discover it’s magnificence. This genre is a fuse of two different arts: music and theater, its no surprise that this is one of the biggest passions of this cosmopolitan man. Another big passion of his is the collection of objects; stating that all he has bought in his life has been for the beauty of it, not it’s utility. Pursuing the beauty in life and the different cultures in the world he has traveled to the end of the world and back, he coordinated student trips for seventeen years. But when asked about his ideal next trip, Izquierdo told us that he would love to go to Iran- because it was where Persia was situated- and to India- because he has always felt attracted to it.
Serving people has always had its rewards, and when asked what did he like the most about teaching, he replied “To see my pupils succeed, I was so happy when I found out that Dr. Uroyoán Walker was elected president of the University of Puerto Rico because I gave him class back in the 90’s” But when it comes to the relationship he has with his students, he shared that the most meaningful thing that students have said to him, besides complementing him on his teaching, was when students named him-jokingly- Pope Izquierdo. He is very thankful of his students because they have made him, who he is; their questions, doubts and different ideas has always encouraged him to keep learning and progressing.
If you have taken a class with him, you know that his motto is “Orden y Progreso”, turns out he is not kidding when he says it; Izquierdo takes progress and discipline very seriously. When asked about how the learning system is not the same anymore he quickly replied that technology has had a lot to do with it because so much visual alternatives impair our memory but he also feels very strongly that it is because most of us have everything (cars, computers, cellphones) and there is little to no motivation to progress.
One of the many things Izquierdo teaches on his classes is the origin of the word university. The term arose because the medieval guild strived to develop a dialog with the universe through the trivium1 and cuadrivium1. In order to progress and grow in life everyone should have the knowledge necessary for their profession and for other things in life, this is no new concept- it’s been around since medieval times! Take it from someone that has been around longer than us, and focus on yourself and your journey- professional and personal.
Lightning Round:
Favorite Place to Be: Jerusalem and Istanbul
Color: Purple
Musical piece: Mozart’s 25th symphony
Era: Baroque
Operas: Norma, Medea, Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Composer: Gioachino Antonio Rossini
Hobby: Drawing
1. Trivium: Grammar, logic and arithmetic, these were the three subjects that were taught as a foundation of a medieval liberal arts education.
Quadrivium: The four subjects taught after teaching the trivium.
Together the trivium and quadrivium comprised the seven liberal arts.
Definitions taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrivium & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivium