Suesi Metcalf sits at the desk in her walk-in-closet-sized office where a Mac laptop sits next to an old alarm clock. Artwork adorns the walls – much of it hers – but the thing she’s most proud of is a sugar water pastel painting of human organs, created by former students.

Having taught for nearly 40 years, the art instructor primarily teaches art education at NIU. Last month, she was named the 2008 Higher Education Art Educator of the Year by the Illinois Art Education Association.

“She’s like a one-of-a-kind,” said Assistant Art Professor Christine Staikidis, who nominated Metcalf for the award and considers her a mentor. “She gives her students a sense of mission.”

Metcalf teaches like the art she used to create: abstractly, for lack of a better term.

“I don’t teach in a typical way,” the petite professor said in a calm, relaxed demeanor, seemingly devoid of stress. There’s no right or wrong answers in her world; no right or wrong way to create art. Instead she finds out what interests each individual student and then that becomes their curriculum.

“Working on the right side of the brain rather than the left – working with emotions – really makes a difference,” she said.

Even the way she spells her name is atypical. After a former classmate at NIU spelled her nickname S-U-E-S-I; it stuck.

Metcalf also believes in the use of alternative medicine: Taking regular meds just leads to more meds, she said. When a student walks in to inform Metcalf that she won’t be attending class because of an illness, Metcalf recommends a doctor who helped her husband with a similar problem.

“I put the mom hat on,” she said, after sending the girl on her way. “I take the teacher hat off and put the mom hat on.”

Metcalf treats colleagues with similar tenderness. She makes them Christmas gifts, brings them food from her garden and has given art workshops to staff members.

“She just brightens up the day when she comes in,” said Art Secretary Connie Rhoton. “She’s great to work with.”

Metcalf makes sure to show compassion to everyone in her life.

“If you don’t have compassion for every single child in the classroom, you don’t deserve to be there,” she said.

She supposes she picked this up from her grandmother who was also a teacher.

“I do a lot of reading on education,” she said, “just because I really am interested in changing education. Maybe teaching the students I have will make a difference.”