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One Professor's Profound Impact: When Ken Job Formed the Social Science Society with His Students 50 Years Ago, He Launched a Connection that Continues Today

By Mary Beth Zeman

Job, who taught history and social studies education full-time from 1964 to 1988—and for many years later as an adjunct—was an active and prolific faculty member. He authored more than 100 books, articles, curriculum guides, and maps, and produced several films on topics such as the Lenape Indians. He served on numerous committees for the New Jersey Historical Commission, was a trustee for the American Labor Museum, and was the force behind the University’s decision to host events such as New Jersey National History Day and the annual Abram Kartch/Thomas Jefferson Lecture.

Photo at left: Professor Ken Job with scholarship recipients Tracey DiLuzio and Ian Redmond

He also had a significant impact on four social studies majors, Deloris Randle Mertz ’67, Rodney Mertz ’68, Jack Mechanic ’67, and Robert Schnare ’67, who in 1965 decided to form the Social Science Society after conversations with Job. Today, they continue to remember the influence he had on their lives.

“Professor Job loved and had great enthusiasm for three things: teaching and learning; history, most especially early American history; and, perhaps most significantly, his students, also known as ‘his kids,’ in whom he took sincere interest, dignified pride, and great professional satisfaction,” says Deloris Randle Mertz, a retired school librarian.

According to Mertz, Job’s students found his infectious spirit of inquiry irresistible, especially his enthusiasm for learning history through field experiences. This focus formed the basis for the Social Science Society, which provided the means for the students to experience living history by visiting historical sites, particularly those dedicated to life in colonial times.

“In Professor Job’s care, we learned and practiced personal and administrative skills needed for planning and actualizing large group travels, social functions, and special recognition events,”
recalls Rodney Mertz, a retired educator. “In the process, he became more than a professor. He became tutor, guide, mentor, coach, and all-around cheerleader, always challenging us to grow in vision and responsibility, kindly, watchfully, unobtrusively encouraging, guiding, and teaching.”

Students ventured to a wide range of historical locations from New England to Virginia, including Boston, Plymouth, Sturbridge Village, Mystic Seaport, Ft. William Henry on Lake George, Ft. Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown. The group met for dinners at the 76 House in Old Tappan, New York, at the Brownstone in Paterson, and at the Butler Diner.

“The concept of living history allowed the students to experience trying to walk between the decks of the Mayflower, experience the smells of an old whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, and to realize the hardships and challenges of our forebears,” says Robert Schnare, a retired professor and library director of the U.S. Naval War College. “They were given an opportunity to experience what life was like during the colonial period. You can read about history in a book but to walk the battle ground at Bunker Hill or Saratoga brings that history to life.”

“We had real fun,” says Job, recalling the many bus-ride sing-alongs and group dinners on the field trips. “All the students were interested in history and travel. We spent a lot of time together and really got to know and understand each other.”

The Social Science Society was recognized on campus from 1965 until 1979. The society later continued as an independent organization and members continued to meet for an annual picnic at the home of Dr. Job and his late wife, Amy, a librarian in the University’s Cheng Library from 1968 to 2005. The alumni fondly recall Amy Job’s support for the students; she went along on many of the trips and on occasion even dressed in colonial costumes. After her death in 2005, the picnic has continued and is now organized by society members Jim LaConte ’72, his wife Carol LaConte ’74, and Debbie Kneppel Aniano ’79 and held at the home of Cliff Williams ’65 and his wife Christine Babli Williams ’67.

While the organization created an opportunity for rich learning, it also led to lifelong friendships. “We all felt such love and warmth and became friends,” says Christine Williams, a retired elementary school teacher, noting that Ken and Amy Job were instrumental in encouraging her husband, Cliff, now a retired teacher, to complete his doctoral degree. “We loved getting
together, seeing who got married and had children, and now grandchildren.”

Jim LaConte, who became a police officer and served in Wayne for 26 years, was recruited in his sophomore year to become a member, and ended up serving as president. “We built up such a friendship that has continued for more than 40 years,” he says.
The society now serves as an opportunity for these dedicated alumni to give back to their alma mater. In 2014, they decided to honor their former professor by creating and donating to the Dr. Kenneth and Dr. Amy Job Scholarship for high-achieving juniors or seniors majoring in history or geography who plan to become teachers. They surprised Job with the announcement at last year’s picnic.

“I was totally surprised and absolutely shocked,” says Job, who admitted he was left speechless by the gesture. “I never would have expected such as honor. I always told my students that they had to know their content, but that it was how you treated each student as an individual that would make a difference.”

The scholarship has already made a difference for first-time recipients and new graduates Tracey DiLuzio ’15, who is teaching at River Dell Regional High School, and Ian Redmond ’15, a teacher at METS Charter School in Jersey City. Both were transfer students who worked full-time while completing their degrees. “Your generosity made it much easier for me financially; I am so grateful,” DiLuzio told donors Cliff and Christine Williams and Jim and Carol LaConte during a recent campus visit.

Now 50 years later, those original members have aged and retired from their own careers. “We owe Ken a great debt of gratitude, one which can never be fully paid, for his steadfast dedication to William Paterson University and all the generations of students who benefited by having had their lives touched, influenced, and even guided by this selfless, unassuming, and remarkable man,” says Mertz.

This year’s picnic, set for July 19 at the home of Cliff and Chris Williams, is being organized by Debbie Aniano ’79 and Jim LaConte ’72. Former members of the Social Science society who might be interested in attending should contact Jim LaConte at cjiml@optonline.net or Debbie Aniano at DJAniano@optonline.net.

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