Consider the following: At colleges and universities across the country, professors are a name that appear on the top of a class syllabus. Attendance is taken by the downward swipe of a student I.D. and a bustle of dutiful graduate students, not professors, hold office hours and grade your assignments.

 At Guilford, students are on a first-name basis with professors from day one.

Here, we students are not a number among thousands or another subdued face in a crowd, but rather a hive of curious, independent minds who actively seek to share insights and listen (most of the time) to those of others.

We require attention but more importantly seek approval from our professors; we want to flex our intellectual muscles and be patted on the heads, seeking positive reinforcement whether it is deserved or not.

Yet, what is most often taken for granted is that we have professors who care to see us or speak with us at all, much less take walks or listen as we bombard them with query after query.

At most other institutes of higher learning, professors reside in the world of academia, but can choose to disengage themselves from their roles as educators. Instead, professors travel the world, seek to complete their own research, and publish their findings for the betterment of themselves and the institution where they are employed.

For many professors, students and teaching are secondary to these primary goals.

While a number of Guilford professors, both past and current, have published books, presented papers at conferences, and satisfied curiosities within their specific field, this is not their main objective.

First and foremost, they are educators, who value and seek to uphold the importance placed upon student-teacher relationships. If not, they wouldn’t be here.

On Feb. 9, in light of the recent string of revolutions across Tunisia, Egypt, and now Iran, a panel titled “Revolutions in North Africa and the Arab World” was held. Initiated by Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Eric Mortensen, the goal was to create a forum in which a variety of perspectives, insights, questions, and answers could simultaneously be presented.

This desire to engage in open dialogue is an intrinsic aspect of education; here, the professors take this a step further and seek to not only engage the student body but also the greater Guilford and Greensboro community.

At the heart of a Guilford education must be a willingness — from both professors and students — to expose one’s questions and uncertainties as well as provide answers. Community forums and panels initiated by professors or students and attended by both provide a setting in which Guilford allows all of its working parts to flourish.