Mae Business School Professor Keith Retired at Texas A&M for more than three decades

Message from grateful alumni to Professor Keith Dana, a clinical associate professor who has taught business law at the University of Texas A&M University School of Business for more than 30 years since announcing his retirement to his former students on Facebook.

“The only part I sat in front of voluntarily was because you made it so much fun to learn more about it!” Wrote one.

Others meditate on the famous, strong but fair presentation: “I still tell people how hard your trials were, but you made it happen.

“Thank you so much for being one of the thousands of lucky ones who have made you a professor,” another commented. “Enjoy retirement, you’ve got it!”

He joined the faculty in 1989 and spent most of his adult life dreaming of teaching at A&M. Decades later, he said, it is still difficult to believe that dream has been around for many years: “It still seems like a dream in many ways.

Over the years, Master has made a name for himself as a dedicated and caring teacher.

As a long-term business legal course teacher and a non-government, business, government and community course teacher, each semester was challenging as needed. Taking a group of students with little to no knowledge of legal concepts and providing them with the tools they need to understand these issues and explore their future careers.

“If you have a minor business or a major business, you need to know and understand some aspects of the law – not just to be a lawyer, but at least to know what the lawyer says and how. Things work in the business world. ”

For swimmers, that often means teaching students to think critically and to understand that not every question has a black and white answer. As he freely said, that can be a great challenge for many. But the swimmer always took the time to help those in need.

“It was very rewarding for the whole experience to see those who came to my office hours and work with me start doing horrible things and do so much better,” he said.

He is widely known for his philanthropic work, with an annual Christmas toy car for needy children, food storage and card writing campaigns for the 12th grade, and hospital patients across the country – all of whom are reluctant to receive major credit. B.

“The students did it,” he said. “I was just a coordinator. I did not. They did it. “

As he embarked on his next chapter of life, he said he would be grateful to his wife Brenda forever – “I couldn’t do everything without her” – and was useful to the many Aggies who spent their time on campus. He said that he would warm his heart when he saw how many of them wished him well.

“It has made me feel so blessed to have had so many wonderful students over the last 33 years,” he said. “And that’s what I miss the most in retirement. I’m sure I won’t miss out on students.”