NEWS

English Department to honor legendary professor, speaker

Oct 27, 2014 | Liberal Arts

The School of Literature and Language at Louisiana Tech University will honor one of its favorite professors, Dr. H. J. “Tony” Sachs, by naming its upper division English classroom after him during a ceremony at 10:00 a.m., November 1 in room 223 of George T. Madison Hall on the Louisiana Tech campus.
Dr. H. J. “Tony” Sachs

Dr. H. J. “Tony” Sachs


Among the speakers for the dedication ceremony will be Judge James L. Dennis, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Fifth District Circuit Court of Appeals, who supported the creation of an endowed professorship in Sachs’s name, and Dr. Pat Garrett, current holder of the Hyman J. Sachs Endowed Professorship. The event is free and open to the public.
“Dr. Sachs cracked our provincialism and encouraged us to inquire beyond our little worlds,” said Garrett. “He was what we needed, still need: an outside light to shine in our darkness. What a difference he made with so many.”
Coming to Louisiana Tech in 1929 with his master’s degree from the University of Chicago, Sachs taught for 43 years, earning his Ph. D. from Peabody College in 1938. He served as head of the English Department from 1954-1969 and built a faculty of 25, including 16 members with Ph.D.’s, by encouraging academic freedom and assuring that professors taught at least one section in their favorite subjects each semester.
Delivering dynamic lectures, Sachs taught all the English courses, most notably the American novel and Shakespeare. In addition to his passion for teaching, he loved sports, serving on Louisiana Tech’s Athletic Committee for 30 years.
Sachs’ publications include numerous articles and four books: Readings for College Writers, A Workbook for Writers, 5,000 Useful Words, and Practical English Workbook. Also a much sought-after public speaker, he never shied away from controversial topics such as race relations and war. Celebrated as a superior professor, administrator and citizen of Ruston, he spent his final years in Shreveport where he died on November 13, 1983.