RIP Dr. Phillip Naylor

[Billy Hoyle]

Sad news: Dr. Naylor passed away last week. Western Civ with him as a freshman was the ultimate "welcome to college and Marquette academics" experience. Earning an A in his class during second semester remains my proudest academic accomplishment at MU. He even asked me for my term paper on Garibaldi and the unification of Italy to use as an example for future students (back when we all had to use microfiche for research). I got to have dinner with him many years later at Big East meetings as he was the FAR.

https://today.marquette.edu/2026/07/university-mourns-history-professor-emeritus-dr-phillip-naylor/

My favorite Dr. Naylor memory comes from that second semester too. Wednesday was the NIT title game against Va Tech, and we had tests scheduled for Thursday and Friday. He started class by reminiscing about how much fun he had marching to the lakefront in 1977 and hoped we'd have the same experience... the tests were postponed until the following week. Standing ovation!

[Scoop Snoop]

Really nice write up Billy. I have many great memories of my profs at Marquette.

My "coup" at MU was in a poly-sci class where I wrote a paper successfully predicting a huge upset in Ireland's election between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. I had immersed myself in the Irish Times and concluded that the voters were grumbling loudly, ready to boot out the incumbents. The best part was that the prof laughed off my premise before it became true. 

I wish I had the opportunity you had to have dinner with a favorite professor. 

[Billy Hoyle]

Really nice write up Billy. I have many great memories of my profs at Marquette.

My "coup" at MU was in a poly-sci class where I wrote a paper successfully predicting a huge upset in Ireland's election between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. I had immersed myself in the Irish Times and concluded that the voters were grumbling loudly, ready to boot out the incumbents. The best part was that the prof laughed off my premise before it became true. 

I wish I had the opportunity you had to have dinner with a favorite professor. 

One of the reasons I gave my dad to justify going to (and paying for) MU was that I didn't want to "just be a number" and get to know my profs, unlike at a 40,000 student state school. One in Poli Sci was only at MU one year, but 30 years later we still talk and hang out, and his daughter was the flower girl in my wedding. That was a special aspect of MU. My wife was cleaning out a family storage unit recently and found a letter sent to her parents by a professor she had at MU praising her performance in class and her future in her major. That doesn't happen at Buckyville. I can honestly say neither my sister or brother have ever mentioned one of their professors to me by name (MSU and UM).

The funny part of the dinner with Dr. Naylor was that we did a "Yankee swap" after the meal. Well, he had picked a really nice MU pullover I knew my wife would like. I turned to him and asked, "You can't change that A I got from you, can you?" and swiped it! We had a good laugh and shared a drink. An amazing professor and person who epitomized what an MU education was about.

[21Jumpstreet]

Inspired me to double major, psychology and history.