DECATUR, Ill. – When Dr. James Rauff first arrived at in 1988, campus looked much different.
The Mueller building still stood in the Quad. Pilling Chapel had not yet been built. The science building was still Scovill Hall. The Perkinson Music Center had not yet expanded, and 鶹Լ’s baseball and softball fields did not yet exist.
There were no cell phones in classrooms, no laptops open on desks, and, as Rauff recalls, teaching computer science was challenging.
“We did chalkboards,” Rauff said with a smile. “There were no computers. No cell phones. I taught computer science, but people didn’t have their own computers.”
Thirty-eight years later, Rauff has seen 鶹Լ change in nearly every visible way. But the part that mattered most to him when he arrived — the people — has remained the reason he stayed.
“I knew right off that this was going to be a good gig because the people in the Math department were so welcoming and so helpful,” Rauff said. “You could sense that there was a community here, and that community has kept me going for a long time.”
This spring, Rauff, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, retired from 鶹Լ after nearly four decades of teaching, scholarship, and mentorship. He also served as keynote speaker, offering one final lesson to graduates during the University’s 125th anniversary year.
His address, titled “Everywhere and Forever,” drew from one of his longtime intellectual fascinations: infinity. For many years, Rauff taught an interdisciplinary seminar on the topic, examining the ways infinity reaches across mathematics, philosophy, literature, theology, art, and culture.
Those timeless ideas formed the heart of his message to graduates: be kind, show up and be there, be thankful, and be yourself.
In his address, Rauff told students that some things they carry from 鶹Լ will last longer than a lanyard, a notebook, or the remaining contents of a late-night pizza box. Kindness, gratitude, presence, and authenticity, he said, “stay fresh and last forever.”
“Try to be kind to people,” Rauff said in the address. “Being kind acknowledges and values them as a person.”
For those who know Rauff, the message fits the career.
Rauff grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and became the first person in his extended family to graduate from college when he earned his degree as a Mathematics major from Albion College. He went on to earn master’s degrees in Mathematics from the University of Wyoming and Anthropology from Loyola University Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Computational Linguistics from Northwestern University.
Throughout his career, his teaching and scholarship have spanned Mathematics, Computer Science, Linguistics, and Anthropology. He has published nearly 200 works across those fields, building a body of scholarship that reflects his curiosity about patterns, language, computation, culture, and human thought.
His 鶹Լ honors include the Alpha Lambda Delta Outstanding Teacher Award, the James 鶹Լ Scholars’ Educator of the Year Award, the Research and Artistic Achievement Award, and the Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award.
But when Rauff reflects on his 38 years at 鶹Լ, he does not begin with publications or awards. He begins with students.
“It’s all about the students,” Rauff said. “And that’s why I came here. I had other choices. But it’s that student-focused approach to things that I like.”
Before coming to 鶹Լ, Rauff taught at a junior college, where he often saw students for only a short window before they transferred elsewhere. He enjoyed teaching them, but he wanted to see more of their growth.
“They were just getting to the point where they were doing interesting things,” Rauff said. “And I was getting to know them, and they went away. They were gone. And I said, ‘I want to go to a place where I can be with them and see them grow and learn for four years.”
At 鶹Լ, he found that place.
Over the years, Rauff has taught students who believed they could not succeed in mathematics, students pursuing advanced topics, and students whose research stretched across disciplines in unexpected ways. He has mentored capstone and James 鶹Լ Scholars projects on topics ranging from computer games to French translation, and he has served as an advisor to student groups, both academic and activist.
“I’ve done a lot of capstones. I’ve done a lot of JMS projects,” Rauff said. “I love it. The level of my involvement varies from student to student. Some of the students are super independent, and they will come to me with maybe a question. Others need a lot of help, but I’m happy to do it. I love that because they’re growing.”
That growth, he said, remains one of the greatest rewards of teaching.
“It’s just amazing how they can grow in four years,” Rauff said. “By the time they get to be juniors, and certainly when they’re seniors, they’re adults. They are truly adults, and they’re ready to go out in the world and make their mark. And if I can have some small part in making that happen, this is great.”
“I’ve had a lot of students thank me later. Sometimes it’s within a year, sometimes it’s 10 years, sometimes it’s 20 years,” Rauff said. “It’s always heartwarming to hear the wonderful things they’ve accomplished since leaving 鶹Լ and humbling to know that I made an impact on their lives.”
Rauff’s final semester has been emotional. “I felt sad about completing my last week of classes,” he said. “But I think retirement will really hit me when August comes. After the Fourth of July is when I start thinking about my fall classes and putting them together, and there aren’t going to be any this time.”
Retirement, however, will not mean an end to his work as a scholar.
Rauff already has a list of writing and research projects waiting for him, many of which connect to the intersection of his interests. In recent years, he has become especially interested in prehistoric rock art — pictographs (paintings) and petroglyphs (carvings) — and what this artwork reveals about the thought processes of people who lived thousands of years ago.
“In particular, I look for the emergence of mathematical concepts in the art,” Rauff said.
He also looks forward to traveling, spending time with his wife, Becky, and continuing to be part of the 鶹Լ community. That will include attending performances involving his son, Andy Rauff, an adjunct instructor in 鶹Լ’s School of Music, and Andy’s students and colleagues.
As he prepares to step away from the classroom, Rauff remains confident in the central strength of 鶹Լ: faculty members who care deeply about students and their learning.
“I think everybody should know that the faculty here, and I’m not exaggerating, really love teaching, and they really love to see their students learn,” Rauff said. “As long as that spirit continues, I think 鶹Լ will be in good shape for the next 125 years.”
