THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412020251
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Faces and Places
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Whenever Nancy Sandberg would go on vacation, she'd mail a postcard to each of her co-workers at Paul D. Camp Community College - from the president to the groundskeepers.
And often at work or home, she'd jot a note of thanks, encouragement, praise or support - some scribbled on a napkin or an envelope - to her colleagues.
In 1989, when she came to Franklin as the college's academic dean, she convened a meeting around a table filled with fresh flowers and piled with homemade goodies as classical music played in the background, all courtesy of the new dean.
And while people note her many professional milestones, ``Dr. Nancy'' - as friends affectionately called her - was also known for her caring personality and her whimsical flair - her infectious smile and the hats she often wore.
``That's the key to her, really,'' said her biggest fan, Peter Lars Sandberg, who proposed on their first date nearly 40 years ago.
``She was tremendously able as an educator but she never lost that warmth and human touch. Make no mistake, the project got done - but with style.''
Her family and friends will gather Saturday at Southampton High School to celebrate her life and her legacy of commitment and caring. Sandberg died Nov. 19 after a courageous five-month battle with colon cancer.
Due to her health problems, Sandberg, 59, retired as dean of instruction and student development in August. Too weak to attend a retirement party, she watched from her bedroom as friends gathered outside her window and sang an adaptation of ``She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain'' and paid tribute to her.
They left her a scrapbook of memorabilia and messages they'd written, like the many notes she had written them, and poems they had crafted, such as Carolyn Mayfield's ode to ``The Lady Who Wears Hats - Dr. Nancy.''
Sandberg, a native of Mount Vernon, Ohio, lived in various parts of the country before coming to Franklin, where she met so many ``kindred spirits,'' said Peter Sandberg, author of suspense novels and short stories.
She had interrupted her studies to support the twosome until he finished school, then she returned to the classroom at 28. Eventually she earned a doctorate and taught at Notre Dame College in Manchester, N.H. Later she founded the graduate program there and chaired the graduate division.
The president of the New England college flew to Franklin this fall to bring her an honorary doctorate after learning she would not make it to the May graduation when they had planned to present it.
Some questioned her decision in 1981 to leave a successful administrative position at the four-year college to teach in the Virginia community college system, first at Northern Virginia, then Blue Ridge before coming to Paul D. Camp. But she believed in the system's mission to serve those unable to go to four-year schools. And she believed in the second chance the schools afford.
At Paul D. Camp, Sandberg set up a mentoring program, and student retention increased 13 percent. She led a major grants-writing campaign, and the college's enrollment increased 63 percent - thanks to an additional half-million dollars in grants. And the college got the largest grant awarded to a Virginia community college by the state Council on Higher Education.
Her career highlight came recently when the college received the U.S. Senate Productivity Award, said Patsy Joyner, dean of continuing education.
``She would immediately praise everyone for helping, but she was very much the sparkplug for it,'' Peter Sandberg said.
But her teamwork approach motivated those around her.
``She was always encouraging us,'' Joyner said. ``She would say, `Let's write a grant. We're going to stay in this room until we're finished.' ''
Still, she was sensitive to others' feelings. A former colleague once called her, ``an iron fist with a velvet glove.''
``Nancy didn't have any hard edges,'' Peter Sandberg said. ``But she was tough, make no mistake.''
Nancy and Peter Sandberg, inseparable opposites, met on a blind date in college. But she insisted on a ``reconnaissance date'' - half an hour at a coffee house - before agreeing to an entire weekend at Spring Formal.
By the end of their first evening together, he announced he was going to marry the ``rather diminutive blonde'' first-chair trombone player, an anomaly among male-dominated brass sections of the time.
He gave her his fraternity pin that summer and an engagement ring for Christmas. They were married the following September.
Nancy Sandberg's mother, Virginia Bell, sent her daughter a copy of ``The Little Blue Engine'' to boost her spirits when she became ill.
``She seemed to think she could do anything that needed to be done,'' her mother said.
Often she did, and always with style. MEMO: A memorial service will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Southampton High
School auditorium, Courtland. Memorial contributions may be made to the
Dean Nancy Sandberg Scholarship Fund, Paul D. Camp Community College,
Franklin, Va. 23851.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``Dr. Nancy'' Sandberg was known for her caring personality and her
whimsical flair as well as her professional milestones.
by CNB