Sheila McCarthy, a longtime faculty member at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, died on January 11 in Ithaca, New York. She was 79 years old.
A native of Salem, Massachusetts, Dr. McCarthy earned a bachelor’s in Russian from Emmanuel College in Boston. She held a master’s degree in Soviet-area studies from Harvard University in 1965 and a doctorate in Russian literature from Cornell University in 1980.
Dr. McCarthy taught Russian language and literature at Antioch College, Cornell University, and Grinnell College, where she worked for 16 years and earned tenure. She then joined the faculty at Colby College in 1987. A scholar of Russian literature and modernism with a near-fluent command of Russian, Dr. McCarthy was instrumental in developing exchange programs for Colby students in Russia.
“She was absolutely dedicated to teaching undergraduates, had a great rapport with students in the classroom, and mentored many students,” said Anthony Anemone, Colby’s former assistant professor of Russian who hired Dr. McCarthy. “I valued her brilliant knowledge of Russian, her wit, kindness, and her dedication to the program.” Dr. McCarthy would chair the program for several years starting in 1992.
Professor McCarthy taught at Colby until her retirement in 2009. After retiring from Colby, Dr. McCarthy was active in adult and community education around the Waterville area.