Impact in Education: Linda Love, EdD

Linda Love, EdD, is the recipient of the 2020-21 UNMC Impact in Education for Inspirational Mentor of Educators Award. The award recognizes an individual who has mentored and sponsored junior faculty or trainees at the local, regional or national level including a consistent track record of fostering future educators.

See information on March 3 ceremony.

• Name: Linda M. Love, EdD
• Title: Director, UNMC Faculty Development; assistant professor, UNMC Department of Psychiatry
• Joined UNMC: 2004
• Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska

Tell us how mentors inspired you.

UNMC colleagues (young and seasoned) are mentoring me every day by the way they live their lives — most of whom are walking our hallways unaware of their huge impact. Some of the best mentoring advice that I have seen in action are:

• Make sure you surround yourself with just as many people who don’t think like you as those who do.
• Don’t rely on the adage that good things happen to good people. Make them happen. Don’t wait; be strategic.
• Don’t lose site of the guiding question: “What problem are we trying to solve?”
• Ask: “Who says you (or we) can’t?”

Describe your proudest moment as an educator.

The most inspiring and proudest moments for me as an educator at UNMC are when I see so many of our colleagues leading courageously. It is not easy to be an educator in this age of dramatic change. More than skill, more than vision, more than knowledge — an educator needs courage. And it is inspiring to witness it. We have people who are putting their personal lives on hold so they can immerse themselves in additional graduate learning. We have faculty who dedicate years studying leadership to get ready for guiding and navigating the future. We have champions who are taking bold actions to create a more diverse scholarly and health care community to provide richer experiences. We have teachers who have thrown out their old trusted PowerPoint slide decks and created something new, fresh and better. We have educators and scientists who are learning how to connect with students and the public better than ever before, whether on a 10-foot by 10-foot national stage or a 10-inch by 10-inch digital screen. These people, willing to stand out instead of blend in, these actions should make all of Nebraska proud.

What advice would you give other faculty members who want to have an impact in education?

UNMC is a place where every single door of opportunity is open to you. If fear is your biggest obstacle — fear of rejection, fear of walking into your leader’s office, fear of trying an idea first, and maybe failing — challenge yourself to release this inner voice swiftly. Surround yourself with optimistic wonderers, the relentlessly curious — they will bolster your courage. If you have an amazing idea for education, let’s get started making it happen — let’s do it now.

The biggest difference-maker in our everyday culture is developing the habit of telling others — out loud — “I see you, I see your amazingness.” Our professional lives are crowded with pressures; these seemingly inconsequential mini-celebrations are essential.

Do you have a favorite quote or philosophy on teaching?

I have had this quote framed in my office for a number of years, as a perpetual reminder. It is
timeless:

” We must acknowledge . . . that the most important, indeed the only, thing we have to offer our students is ourselves.” -D C Tosteson (New England Journal of Medicine, 1979)

But I have a new favorite, equally as timeless, but especially relevant today:

“Committed acts of caring let all students know that the purpose of education is not to dominate, or prepare them to be dominators, but rather create the conditions for freedom.” -bell hooks, (Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, 2003)