A City College English professor addressed an audience of students and faculty about helping students succeed in college in the 34th Annual Faculty Lecture.

Kathleen Molloy presented her lecture, “Those Who Can Teach, Those Who Can’t Go Into Less Significant Lines of Work” at 2:30 p.m. March 13, 2013 in the Garvin Theatre to approximately 200 people.

“Far too many of our students fail to reach their goals despite their best intentions,” said Molloy.

Kathy O’Connor introduced Molloy with much admiration for her “willingness to keep the dream alive.”

Molloy referenced several studies done locally and countrywide to support her claim that students must be nurtured and supported by their teachers and faculty in order to achieve their college goals.

“Students often question their ability to do well in academics,” said Molloy. “[They] are often anxiously awaiting their shortcomings to be exposed.”

This “fear of failure” that many college students experience in their first year of school often leads to complete failure and to students dropping out of school.

“Sadly, fifty percent [of freshman] will drop out before their second year,” reports Molloy.

With the help of volunteer actors from Katie Laris’s acting class, Molloy was able to share quotes from students and explain statistics from her research.

Comments of “I don’t want to be that stupid kid in class,” “It’s just so much pressure” and “If you knew it was good for me, why didn’t you make me do it?” are phrases commonly expressed by first-year college students.

Molloy had the actors take turns speaking to the audience, expressing the views of many students.

“Individual students are whole people with whole lives,” said Molloy. “The entire college community has a role in fostering student success.”

The lecture was dedicated to Molloy’s husband Paul and her two sons, Kevin and Matt. Molloy’s sister and many of her other family members have gone on to teach as well.

“My family is blessed, some might say overrun with teachers,” said Molloy.

Molloy stated that it is important to understand that students are capable of achieving the work that is given to them. Teachers must be “explicit” about their expectations for their students and about why their teachings are important.

“Understand that Einstein wasn’t Einstein until he had done years of work,” joked Molloy.

Molloy complimented the faculty on doing “some of the most significant work of all” for working at City College and helping students reach their goals.

“Kathy is just a fabulous instructor,” said Board of Trustees member Marsha Croninger. “It was a wonderful learning experience from my point of view.”