After 25 years of teaching Geography at St. Cloud State University, and on the eve of his retirement, Dr. David Wall decided it was time to “cut ties” and raise money for students attending and presenting at geography conferences.
The scene: St. Cloud, Minnesota, April 1998. A young professor of geography, having spent a good part of his career teaching at various universities across the country came to interview for a job.
At the time, the area south of Crossroads Mall was still a vacant field. He stayed at the Super 8 and went to and from the campus of St. Cloud State University along Division Street.
Interviewing on campus in a room without windows, the nerves of interviewing flowing strong, he had no idea the Mississippi River was on the other side of the wall.
Dr. Randy Baker, Professor of Geography, was a member of the search committee. “It was clearly not the most aesthetically pleasing part of town, but we rationalized that David was an economic geographer, so this put him right in the middle of St. Cloud’s economic center,” Baker recalls.
Returning to his hotel room that evening, he looked out the window and thought to himself, “This is the ugliest place I’ve ever been. I hope they don’t offer me a job.”
They offered him the job.
Outside of the windowless interview and lackluster Super 8, Baker showed Wall some of St. Cloud’s outdoor recreation activities knowing he was an avid outdoors person. “I made sure to show him places like Quarry Park, Munsinger Gardens, and the other parks along the Mississippi River, and talked up the plans for a regional bike trail (Wobegon Trail), the first phase of which had just been completed,” he said.
Twenty-five years later, David Wall has since discovered the North Shore as a favorite travel destination and the self-described “mountain snob” is only a day’s drive from the Rocky Mountains.
“What makes the world a better place is how each of us acts each and every day.”
Dr. David Wall
Wall is known for always wearing a tie when he teaches. Often paired with his favorite shirt, a white oxford button down, Wall’s “old school” approach to teaching is on display.
Having spent extensive time in Central America and Mexico, he noticed that people in Latin American countries look their best when going out in public, regardless of their economic status. “It is a sign of respect,” said Wall.
Being chair for the Department of Geography and Planning for nine years prompted Wall to up his tie game. He would have to adapt to a number of situations at a moment’s notice – students, donors, colleagues, and more. “I always felt I needed to respect the position by dressing in a way that I thought respected the position and represented the department,” Wall said.
The habit stuck.
About halfway through his final year of teaching, Wall realized he was no longer going to have a need for his extensive tie collection. He also wondered if the unused ties could be used for good. Could he sell them to raise money for Geography students?
A Student-centered Retirement
The Geography faculty at St. Cloud State believe strongly in taking their students to conferences where they can learn from others and showcase their research and work.
“It is delightful to see their maturity when they do present,” Wall said. “It is like they are all grown up and ready to go out and be professionals.”
Fellow professor of Geography Gareth John has witnessed for himself Wall’s dedication and devotion to student research excellence. Even when young Geography scholars are no longer students of Wall, he still guides them on research projects, particularly when census data and statistical analysis is involved.
“David generously shares his time and expertise with so many students,” John says. “This support of student research was echoed in his championing their attendance at national professional conferences, where they consistently presented their research alongside seasoned professors and advanced graduate students from around the world.”
Wall goes on to emphasize, “I think the student’s ability to see the wide variety of research presentation at a professional conference further solidifies for them, that their choice of a geography major was the right one, and that they can be very proud of the discipline of geography.”
An online store was created where Wall’s ties were on display for friends, family, colleagues, former students, and all to see. Each were given a name and a little story – some true and some completely fictionalized. David Wall’s ReTIErement Store was open during the month of April and raised $1,120 to be used towards students presenting at conferences.
The well wishes and advice of retirement have been flooding in. One bit of advice he is taking to heart is “be active, but not busy.” Wall looks forward to this new lifestyle where he can go to the 9 a.m. yoga class instead of the one at 6:30 a.m.
There will no doubt be travel with his wife, Margaret, in the future – New England in the fall, Washington, Costa Rica, Zion National Park, hiking the entire Narrows, and many more places on both of their lists.
Another piece of advice Wall is channeling is for the first year of retirement is to say “no” to all new requests. Advice easier said than done, Wall doesn’t want to say “no” forever. He is more than willing to continue working on small GIS projects or teaching a class as an adjunct every once in a while.
Honesty, integrity, kindness
Wall approaches everything he does with honesty, integrity, and kindness. His focus is always on the student. In Wall’s 32 years of teaching, he has learned all the names of all the students in his classes (except the very large auditorium sections).
“What makes the world a better place is how each of us acts each and every day,” Wall says.
In his very first semester of teaching at the University of New Mexico, just before the middle of the semester, a student came up to him and said, “I’ve been a student at UNM for two years and you are the first professor to learn my name.”
St. Cloud, April 2022: Wall completes the grading of Latin American maps early and places them at the desks of each of the students. After class, a student walked up to him and excitedly said, “You are the first professor who has learned my name.”
