Courtesy photo

Joseph Peter Gutkoska, a prominent face on the Towson University campus for so many years, has passed away, leaving behind his stories and many accomplishments he has made on behalf of the University.

Gutkoska, a longtime professor and creator of Towson University’s reading clinic, died Tuesday at St. Joseph’s Medical Center.

He was 81 and a Korean War veteran, having served in the Army where he earned a bronze star for valor and three purple hearts.

“He was always very engaging as a teacher,” Karen Blair, assistant dean for the college of education, said.

In 1967, he joined what was formally known as Towson State University, where he served the next 27 years, as director of the masters in reading education program. He retired in 1994, but not before making an irreplaceable impact on the students and faculty there.

“By power of his personality, he got his graduate students to learn,” Blair said. “Most professors probably couldn’t make that happen, but that was his style and it worked beautifully for him and very effectively.”

Gutkoska established the TU Reading Clinic in 1968.

Blair said it has become an important service that the University provides the community, both on campus in the spring and fall semesters, and off campus in the summer.

Blair worked with Gutkoska for more than a decade, as a student and then as his assistant.

She said she had many stories of his teaching ethics and how much he connected with his students.

“My eye opener was when I was his student.

We had learned all kinds of different approaches, but I think that was the first time I had seen the power of your own persona in influencing students. He was just such a clear example of what we bring to the learning experience for students,” Blair said.

Sharon Pitcher, associate professor in educational technology and literacy, said Gutkoska was her advisor and teacher during the 1970s. During her semesters with him, she recalls the stories he always told about his ballroom dancing. Pitcher describes him in one word, unique.

“I still quote him in my own classes,” Pitcher said.  “He always had the cutting edge ideas that were practical.”

In October, the University celebrated the 40th anniversary of the masters in reading program.

People had a sense of Gutkoska through his assessments that are still being used today in the reading program.

“I didn’t realize his influence on faculty he had never met,” Blair said. “Everybody knew him because of the influence he had on the program. They got to meet the legend.”

Blair said she hopes Gutkoska will be remembered for benefiting the reading program at Towson University and the connection between the academic institution and the greater community.

Article originally published in The Towerlight