Dr. Stanton loved students, Savior
By Dr. Michael Coulter ’91 · Contributing Writer
On Oct. 20th, Grove City College held a memorial service for Dr. Stanton in Harbison Chapel. The following article is Dr. Michael Coulter’s remarks at that event. In order to maintain the spirit of his obituary, we are publishing the entirety of Dr. Coulter’s remarks.
Sam Stanton loved many things; he loved God, he loved his wife and children, he loved political science and teaching political science to undergraduates, he loved supporting community organizations and being an active member of the community, and he loved friends and conversing with them. And in his own way, he loved Grove City College.
“The things we love tell us what we are,” wrote Thomas Merton. And in his friendly but sometimes cantankerous way, Sam, if he were here, would give me a hard time for quoting Catholic monk and poet to help describe him.
Over many conversations during those 20 years as a member of the Political Science department – including time when he was my department chair and a time when I was his – and also several years as my next-door neighbor, we had many, many conversations.
He was raised mostly in the south, and he graduated from high school in Arkansas. It surprised me and so it might surprise some of you that Sam played in the marching band during part of high school. After high school, Sam joined the Air Force, and he had hoped to stay longer in the military, but in the 1990s there was a reduction in forces policy making it hard to have a career in the military, and so Sam turned his energy and intellect towards academia.
Sam earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science at Arkansas State University; he then headed to Lubbock, Texas where he worked on a Ph.D. in political science. Sam’s interests were quite broad in political science — besides specializing in comparative politics and international relations he also took several classes in political theory — always a good sign. A political theorist that I knew had him in class there and spoke very highly of him.
While at Texas Tech he also did something more important than those degrees: he met and married Vicki. Their first son Samuel S. Stanton III – I’ve always called him Sammy – was born in Lubbock. Their second son Nathan was born not long after the Stantons arrived in Grove City.
He was so excited for the opportunity to come to Grove City College. He loved teaching the Research Methods class. For many social scientists, teaching the research methods class is seen as a chore to be endured, but for Sam it was a special class. It would enable students to begin a path of “knowledge production.”
Sam taught several different classes in international relations and comparative politics, including Nuclear Deterrence, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, African Politics, Asian Politics, Great Power Politics, and International Politics. Students who took a Stanton class were presented with challenging topics, careful descriptions of important concepts, and introductions to debates within the discipline and among policy makers. Those students would be required to write a lot, and those essay were subjected to careful scrutiny. He famously had his “Stanton’s Picky Rules.”
By the way, I suspect Sam had “Picky Rules for Memorial Services” and I’m concerned we might be violating some of those rules today.
I want to share here some comments – some sent directly to me and some posted under my Facebook post about his passing – from students who took those classes.
“Dr. Stanton had an unforgettable classroom presence. I think all political science majors were a little scared of him, but I remember he was so warm and charming when I would visit him during office hours. I still remember his Research Methods class as one of the best I took at GCC. The College has lost a great academic mind and very effective teacher.”
“Dr. Stanton may have have begun my time at GCC as an intimidating guy, but he became a dear advisor and friend. I am thankful to have been his student assistant. I still have the playlist I made for his class. He was truly a legend.”
“He inspired me to get into national security and challenged me in a way few other teachers have.”
“I will never forget his encouragement during freshman year when I was grieving and really struggling with the loss of my dad. I am grateful to have known him.”
“He challenged me to become a critical thinker, an articulate writer, and a prudent policy analyst.”
“He pushed us hard towards excellence; we were better students because of his standards.”
“His music videos were legendary, as was his teaching.”
There are others that I could cite, but those quotes present a committed teacher and advisor. Those quotes can also be an encouragement and a challenge to the present faculty at Grove City College. Our work can have a great impact on students – if we are serious and committed in our teaching and mentoring.
Sam also shared with me his work as a scholar. He loved working on scholarly projects and going to academic conferences. We attended some political science conferences together, and, let’s just say, that I have vivid memories of those trips.
I have focused on Sam’s professional life, but you would miss an important part of Sam’s life not to speak of his engagement with the community. Sam loved sports; he was incredibly supportive and engaged with the Little Eagles local youth football program. He beamed when he would tell me how well Sammy or Nathan did during a game. He was treasurer for the local organization – and that was a big job. Sam was also a leader – the board president – in the ABC Football league, a regional youth football organization. Sam was also active with the Wrestling booster organization. For the past several years, Sam turned his non college time to being football official – and a softball and baseball umpire. Youth sports need officials and referees – and no one is getting rich being an official. It’s a service to youth sports to be an official.
Because of his excellence as a treasurer for the GC Little Eagles, Sam was asked to be a treasurer for the local Salvation Army. Sam quietly, faithfully, and excellently carried out that role.
Sam certainly loved his Savior and was active in the local churches he attended. He was a part of two efforts to start local churches. Most recently, he attended Rocky Springs PCA outside of Harrisville. I told him that he was probably “most Baptist person ever” to be a part of a PCA church.
It’s hard to sum up a life. But Sam loved the world – traveling in it, studying it, teaching about it, and writing about it – and he loved his local community. He wasn’t just theoretically interested in his community. He was committed to the work that keeps communities vibrant. And while he taught about dark things such as war and terrorism, and he sought to be a light to those within his reach.
Eternal rest grant unto Sam, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
