Joan MacLeod Heminway

Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law

There are some people whose exuberance changes the character of a room for the better.  My friend and colleague Nick McCall was that kind of person.  His enthusiasm and energy—at times almost childlike—was contagious.  He was taken from our world much too soon.  He was a giver that still had so much to give . . . .

Nick and I met soon after I moved to Knoxville in 2000.  We bonded over common professional experiences and interests.  Later, our family lives also took some parallel tracks.  Our lunches together during that time were so helpful to me.  The sense of camaraderie between us always buoyed my spirits.  We were “in it” together.

Fast forward to last year, when I asked Nick if he would co-design and co-teach a leadership communication course with me.  It was a tough ask.  But I knew he was the right person for the task.  His leadership experience, skills, and capacity would make the course hum.   Luckily, as it turned out, he missed teaching.  He agreed to join me.

We outlined the course, got it approved, and worked through the spring and summer to map out the syllabus and lesson plans.  Nick was like a kid in a candy shop.  He had never designed a course before (although he had taught as an adjunct law professor before), and he found the work exciting and fun.  It is fair to say that the experience jazzed him up.

From my perspective, Nick was the perfect collaborator—a great listener and a strong contributor.  We riffed off each other productively in spinning out assignments and coverage points.  He was incredibly well read, and his reflections on life experiences offered me and our students many salient lessons.

During the semester, Nick brought passion and engagement to each class meeting.  His natural story-telling ability was a remarkable asset in the classroom.  Our students loved him, and he cared deeply about each of them.  His grading and comments on their work were consistently thoughtful and delivered in the most constructive way possible.  He thoroughly enjoyed in-class interactions with the students.  He was an inspirational teacher.

My course design and teaching work with Nick cemented our friendship in ways I could not have anticipated.  It has been a blessing.  Although his time on this Earth is done, his work is not finished.  He has left a legacy.  I will do my part to carry his mission forward in my teaching and in my overall leadership as a lawyer.  My relationship with Nick was a gift.  It is now time to look at paying that gift forward.