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Last Wednesday (4/22), Professor at the University of Braslia (UnB) Terrie Groth, died of cardiac ischemia. The educator has been part of the academic staff of the UnB since 1996, teaching at the Instituto de Cincia Poltica. His areas of interest in research and teaching include theories of democracy, theories of the contemporary state, authoritarianism, and democratization, as well as political education and civic engagement.
Terrie, an American, was born in 1952 in Davenport, Iowa. She earned a BA in history from the University of Las Amricas, Mexico, and a PhD in political science from the University of California. In Brazil, before working at UnB, he was a visiting professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) between 1987 and 1989. At the Federal University of So Carlos (UFSCar), he worked from 1992 to 1996.
At UnB, he was the creator and coordinator of the Politica na Escola extension project, created in 2005, which provides political education for children in public schools in administrative regions. The students remembered him as a kind person, educated and very dedicated to work and the University of Braslia.
There is still no information on wake. The family is still considering what to do since the teacher died during a pandemic, and crowds are not recommended. He was married to UnB professor Loussia Flix, at the Faculty of Law (FD / UnB), who saw Terrie as “a fantastic example of academic and professor”. Terrie leaves a 24-year-old daughter.
I miss you
“He had a very good heart. I even talked to him last week. For me, it was a big surprise when I heard about his death. I was very upset, “says Jos Maurcio Neto, 20. The student was administrative coordinator of Poltica na Escola between July 2018 and July 2019.
“Terrie was very dedicated to this project. I didn’t get a chance to take classes with him, but from the reports I heard, I know he was an excellent teacher and a person who contributed a lot to political science, ”he says. For Jamile Sarchis, 23, Terrie was more than a teacher. He was a friend. The student, who came alone from So Paulo to study political science at UnB, says she was received by him.
“We had a very close relationship. He texted me asking about my academic future. At least once a semester, he insisted on dining with me to advise me, because he knew he wanted to have an international career, “he recalls.
“This year, he was helping me with the process of getting a scholarship to spend time in Washington,” he adds. In addition to being a student of Terrie in the American Political discipline, inaugurated by him at UnB, Jamile was also the administrative coordinator of the Political project at the school for a year. She says the teacher was missing classes, suspended due to the coronavirus.
“He spoke to me last Sunday and told me how much he missed the classroom and the routine. The isolation was making him very sad, both because of the situation in Brazil and the United States, the country where he was born, and because he was away from the students, “he says. She remembers that the educator was always attentive and concerned about the students.” He called us when we were not in class to find out what was going on and if he could help us in any way. ”
The farewell of a great love.
By Loussia Felix, FD / UnB teacher and live with Terrie Groth, with whom she had a 24-year-old daughter.
“Terrie worked at the Cincia Poltica Institute and the Law School. He supervised doctoral theses and dissertations at the Law School. A trademark was his commitment to democracy, having trained generations of students in undergraduate and graduate courses. He had remarkable analytical skills and refined humor that was won over by colleagues and students. He was an example of a teacher, committed to the best academic values.
Tolerance for diversity of opinion, respect for colleagues, and impeccable academic ethics were trademarks. In your classes and academic activities, help combat sexism and racism, which unfortunately are still present as intolerable social practices. I don’t even have words to describe such an amazing person. He was an excellent speaker. He participated in numerous international events presenting reflections on Brazil, its political system and the challenges for de facto democratic consolidation.
At the end of the semester, he received many messages of thanks for his intellectual dedication and skill. He was very respectful of all the students. He was the most feminist man I have ever met. I supported all my academic projects. It greatly stimulated my professional activities. He educated his daughter in what he believed: so that he knew that education is the highest value that can be earned.
She made no effort to educate her own daughter and all the students who crossed her path. He was a person who sincerely believed in equality between all people. I have never seen him, in our 38 years of living together, abusing someone. He was a faithful friend. ”
Testimony: a dedicated and extensive colleague
By Lcio Renn, director of the UnB Institute of Political Science
“When Terrie joined UnB, I was finishing my master’s degree. I met him as a teacher and then I became his colleague. He was a great colleague and someone very concerned about the strengthening of the UnB and the Instituto de Cincia Poltica, who assumed various administrative positions. Lately, he devoted himself to extensive projects aimed at society, such as Poltica na Escola. He also began to serve as the institute’s outreach coordinator. He was concerned that the university would provide practical and tangible services to society and understood that teaching does not end in the classroom, since the student must live this learning applied in practice. I think these are the elements that set him apart from most of his colleagues who end up more concerned with research and teaching and less concerned with extension, this very important aspect of the university in which he has always invested. He was a very friendly person, easy to deal with, light, collaborative and who made a difference. So really a loss. He cared a lot about others; It was a very beautiful line. Death was a shock to all of us. We are all very distant due to social isolation, but we had our interactions through WhatsApp, phone … “
An unforgettable teacher
By Gustavo Rabay, lawyer, partner of Rabay, Palitot & Cunha Lima Advogados; doctor of law, state and constitution from UnB; Master of Laws from UFPE; professor at UFPB, UNIPE and Legal Mind; founder of the Compliance Academy; Joo Pessoa resident
“He had a very authentic reflection that democracy was not a concept adequately exploited by law, it was only a beginning, without praxis. The research in law owes him a lot, because it allowed an interdisciplinary opening without displacing the axis of political science, a territory that Professor Terrie knew like few others. In my case, I came from Paraba without knowing practically anyone in Braslia and he looked at my research project and said: congratulations, you are trying to overcome a delay of 60 to 70 years of the Brazilian legal academy in relation to the study of political behavior of the judiciary. . He was always very firm and strict. I remember that on my rating board, as an advisor, I brought an extensive written opinion and discussed it much more rigorously than the other board members. In the final panel of the doctorate, which dealt with the National Council of Justice (CNJ), the other members practically venerated him: if Professor Terrie agrees to guide such a thorny issue, he can be sure that we are facing a true thesis. After the defense, he also invited me to other doctoral boards at UnB, including the participation of distinguished professors such as Gilmar Mendes and Marcelo Neves. And he accepted my invitation to come twice to give lectures in Paraba. It always encourages me to teach, even in the face of uncertainty. Thanks to his persistence, I completed my doctorate and acquired skills that led me to create new legal education formats, such as Legal Mind and Compliance Academy, in addition to the Time Thinkers podcast: all of this has Terrie’s DNA. I am still heartbroken. The experience with him was one of the most surprising memories of my time in Braslia for five years. “
Posthumous tribute
Terrie Groth’s students and colleagues plan a tribute to the teacher. The group wants to publish a book with essays in honor of the teacher. Each author writes on a topic relevant to Terrie.
* Interns under the supervision of the assistant editor Ana Paula Lisboa
