Syracuse Sun

In 2017, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud honored employees who marked milestone anniversaries in 2016. Professors Sarah “Sally” Short and Jack Graver were celebrated for their 50 years of service to the University.

By 1975, Sarah “Sally” Short, Ph.D., Ed.D., was already a legend on the Syracuse University campus. On January 3, 1975, she gained international recognition when an article appeared in The New York Times describing her unique teaching methods. The story included a photo of Short on a motorcycle—the same one she rode down the stairs of the Newhouse School of Public Communications and into her lecture room as a way to grab students’ attention.

“Dr. Short was my favorite professor back in the late 1960s,” Meredith “Mary” Moses Maxwell ’70 said in a 2020 social media post for the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. “Her classes were exciting, from being rewarded for correct answers with candy to being greeted—often by name—walking across campus. I was in the famous class that was welcomed in Newhouse’s basement auditorium by the unmistakable sounds, smells and sight of a motorcycle entering and driving down the aisle by none other than Dr. Short.”

On January 3, 1975, The New York Times published a feature story on Syracuse University Professor Sarah “Sally” Short that included this iconic photograph taken by Anestis Diakopoulos. “She was a wonderfully vibrant and exciting person to know,” Diakopoulos says. “She charmed many a student with an unprecedented teaching style, even for the 1970s.”

Short joined the Syracuse University faculty in 1966 and taught an estimated 55,000 students before retiring in 2016 after half a century in higher education. She passed away in late July, about two months shy of her 100th birthday.

“I had the opportunity to co-teach the large Nutrition in Health class with Dr. Short and was able to see how she valued engaging students,” says Lynn Brann, associate professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. “She was innovative in her pedagogy and loved storytelling to teach about nutrition. She was also passionate about sports nutrition and had conducted research examining the dietary intake of athletes at Syracuse University.”

Following her feature in The New York Times, Short brought national attention to Syracuse University through numerous newspaper and magazine interviews and appearances on television shows such as "Today," "Good Morning America," and "Real People."

“A few weeks (after the article), my older brother serving in Vietnam wrote and asked if I knew anything about this ‘crazy’ SU teacher,” Moses Maxwell said in 2020. “He’d seen a picture and article about the stunt in the Saigon Times. I was so proud to be her student. She was the ultimate teacher and a role model for my teaching and counseling career.”

Numerous former students recount memorable classes that earned Short the moniker “Psychedelic Sally.” However, beyond theatrics, she had an exceptional ability to connect with younger generations.

Sudha Raj, teaching professor and graduate director in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, recalls being a teaching assistant for Short’s Food Science class during Raj’s doctoral program. Raj describes Short as "very empathetic" with her students.

“She was a legend in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association),” Raj says. “Several FNCE attendees—noticing my Syracuse University badge—have over years asked about Dr. Short; many were her students or had heard about her bringing her motorbike into class."

Margaret Voss, associate professor and undergraduate director in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, notes that Short's ability to connect extended even to Voss' daughter Elise.

“Elise idolized her,” Voss says. “Sally had an uncanny sense of knowing whenever Elise was alone in my office... They would have Oreo tea parties while Sally told tales from when Ed Smith first opened."

Born Sarah Harvey in Little Falls, New York, she moved with her family at age four into a house just two houses away from future husband Walter Allen Short. Both graduated from Nottingham High School—Walter in 1945 and Sally in 1946—and they were blessed with three children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Short earned doctorates from Syracuse University where she also taught alongside Upstate Medical University faculty roles; receiving several awards for research/teaching while becoming an American Dietetic Association fellow.

For more details on Sarah "Sally" Short's life achievements visit Schepp Family Funeral Homes website.