“It’s Intoxicating.” Sarah Lawrence’s Longest-Teaching Professor, Charlotte Doyle, Enters Her 60th Year of Teaching

Elise Hendricks ‘28

    Photo from the Sarah Lawrence College website.

When asked about the earliest memory of her career aspirations, Charlotte Doyle, a professor of Psychology and Children's Development at Sarah Lawrence College, recalled a memory of hers from a doctor's appointment when she was just four years old. At this appointment, she was asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” At first, she answered that she wanted to be a nurse, but after her mother told her that would mean emptying bedpans for the rest of her life, she decided that she wanted to be an elementary school teacher. “Those were some of the only jobs for women then, so I chose one of the two,” said Doyle. “I carried wanting to be a teacher with me.”

And a teacher she would become.

Charlotte Doyle specializes in the Psychology of the Creative Process with keen interest in Child Development and Children’s Literature as well. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate studies and enjoys teaching courses on both child development and children’s literature. She’s a published author, having published a range of books such as “The Creative Process: Stories from the Arts and Sciences” and children's picture books such as “Freddie’s Spaghetti.” Doyle has also been awarded Outstanding Teaching Honors from the University of Michigan as well as Sarah Lawrence College. However, Doyle's impressive repertoire does not stop there. 

Doyle has made history as Sarah Lawrence's longest-serving teaching professor, entering her 60th year of teaching at Sarah Lawrence College. Stepping onto campus in 1966, Doyle knew she was right where she belonged.

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1937, Doyle was born to a Slovakian father and an Austrian mother. She and her family made the move to the United States in the late 1930s when Nazi troops invaded Vienna. She completed her undergraduate studies at Temple University before receiving both a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate in psychology from the University of Michigan.

Going back to the start of her teaching career, Doyle recalls her first day at Sarah Lawrence College in 1966 as one of excitement. She was assigned a third-floor office in a dormitory on campus, one that was perhaps nicer than some of the other offices that faculty had on campus. During her very first day at Sarah Lawrence, Doyle met two professors, Margery Franklin and Gertrude Baltimore. Upon meeting these professors and seeing that their offices were stationed deep down in a cellar, Doyle made an on-the-spot decision. She gave up her third-floor office and moved down to the cellar with her newfound friends. “The Senior staff member in charge of assigning offices told me, 'You can’t move down there with them,” explained Doyle with a content look. “And I told them, 'I already did.”

Franklin, Baltimore, and Doyle remained intellectual comrades and best friends for life.

Charlotte Doyle and Margery Franklin outside of Teahus, 2007. Photo from the Sarah Lawrence College Archives.

When asked the burning question of what has kept her here at Sarah Lawrence for so long, she had two things to applaud: the people and the academics. “The relationships with students run so deep. Students bounce their ideas off one another, and class goes from good to absolutely magical,” said Doyle, reflecting on the many students she’s had the pleasure of teaching over the years. “It’s intoxicating.” 

One of her students, Judy Young, recalled some of her fondest memories of Doyle taking place in a class on child development. “There was one time in class we weren’t feeling the discussion, and no one was really talking,” said Judy, smiling. “So, she pulled out a children's book; it was one of hers, Freddie's Spaghetti, and she began reading to us.” This memory of Judy’s is something that she describes as one of the jokes Doyle would pull to make her students laugh and engage in conversation. Judy decided to choose Doyle as her temporary don while her original don is on sabbatical. “I would describe Charlotte as warm and very thoughtful,” said Judy. “Having her as a don, she really cares, and she makes sure to check in.”

Doyle with a former student. Photo from the Sarah Lawrence College Archives.

It’s not only the students who Doyle has made her mark on, but her beloved colleagues as well. Upon speaking with Carol Zoref, the director of the Writing Center at Sarah Lawrence College, she recalled wonderful memories of getting to know Charlotte over the years. 

“I was assigned an office right next door to Charlotte Doyle,” explained Zoref. “I thought, 'Wow, I am going to be adjacent to one of the icons of Sarah Lawrence College.” Zoref has not only been a Sarah Lawrence faculty member, but she was an undergraduate student at Sarah Lawrence as well.  Graduating in 1976, Zoref never had Doyle as a professor, but she was still aware of Doyle’s impact around campus and the community. 

“Unbeknownst to her, I knew she was a superstar,” said Zoref on having her office next to Doyle. “I felt like I was in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood because I was fortunate to land with the nicest, most committed faculty who were smart and generous.”

When Zoref was asked about one thing that she’d want to say to Charlotte, she simply said, “Thank you.” She then explained, “I continue to learn from Charlotte. Charlotte reminds me that one of our responsibilities as longtime members of the community is to teach not just students, but all members of our community that we are all one another's students.”

Also placed in this “neighborhood” was Barbara Schecter, Sarah Lawrence alumna, former psychology professor, and former Director of Children's Development at Sarah Lawrence. “In every way, Charlotte is bold. She’s very deeply reflective and very clear-minded,” said Schecter. “I learned from Charlotte to not be afraid to do something new and in a different way from other people. To follow your own moral and intellectual compass. Don’t be afraid to follow a path that hasn’t been led for you or laid out for you.” Schecter went deep into detail about the unique mind of Doyle, emphasizing that Doyle had a way of looking at things from an entirely new perspective, one that was completely original to anyone else.

Doyle pulled from years and years of her experience to answer one question, “What message do you have to the Sarah Lawrence students of today?” She thought for a moment before saying, “I would say don’t worry. You can do it.”

The Sarah Lawrence community has been enlightened by the teachings of Charlotte Doyle for the past 60 years and is honored to still have her teaching. Just like her longtime colleague and friend, Barbara Schecter, noted, “She has always been a visionary.”