Professor Ron Tanner Retires
Ron Tanner has enjoyed success as an essayist, a novelist, and a writer of short fiction.
Across these genres, he has displayed a distinctive voice that is wry, compassionate,
and learned, deeply attuned to the delights and oddities of American culture. Tanner's
writing reflects a remarkably wide range of interests in jazz, travel, architecture,
agriculture, and more. He's written a graphic novel, books about rehabbing an enormous
old row house in Baltimore, and living on a small island in the Pacific Ocean, just
west of the International Date Line. Many students over the years have confided the
tremendous influence Tanner had on their development. As a colleague he was generous
and supportive; he brought a steady hand and light touch to his long service as department
chair.
Greg Howard Loyola Alumnus '10 named to 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 for his work in The New York Times Magazine shares "Professor Tanner was one of the first people I'd ever met who regarded me as an adult, a real person with opinions and fears and experiences worth putting on paper or sharing at all. He gave me the confidence and green light to speak up, to mine my own thoughts, and consider others'. He gave me a gift I've carried throughout my writing career."
Loyola Alum, Lauren Keller writes, "I had the great fortune of spending two courses and one book launch with Ron between 2008 and 2012.
We all knew that one way or another we were in for a treat--either this man was out of his ever-loving mind, or he was going to rock our worlds with quirky but utterly transformative instruction. As it turned out, both were true. Had Ron taught fifty courses, I would have found a way to take them all. While I could only manage two, Ron offered me the opportunity to (attempt to) help coordinate his nation-wide tour for From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story at the end of my senior year. Over those few months I glimpsed both the massive effort that goes into publishing and promoting a book, and the power of working for someone who is driven, inventive, thoughtful, and kind."
