This entry in “Not Forgotten:  Recalling Former Faculty in the Department of Social Studies” series is about Wade Currier, a member of the Department of Social Studies at Glassboro State College (GSC) from 1965 until the founding of the Department of Geography in the early 1970s.  He retired in 2000, continuing to teach as an adjunct faculty member until 2004.  As with many of the faculty members hired at Glassboro State College in the 1950s and 1960s, he was a remarkable individual with a fascinating life before coming to Glassboro.

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On June 13, 1928, Louis Wade Currier and Evelyn Richardson Currier welcomed their son Wade Richardson Currier, to the world in Syracuse, New York.  At the time, Wade’s father was finishing his dissertation in geology at Syracuse.  His mother had given birth six years earlier to Wade’s sister, Dorothy.  Soon, the family moved to the District of Columbia where Louis Currier had a very successful thirty-year career for the United States Geological Society where his numerous publications greatly benefitted highway engineers and those exploring for ground water.  The family lived on 9^th Steet and Wade attended elementary and secondary school in Washington before going to college at George Washington University (GW). There, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geography. 

While at GW, he sang with a Barbershop quartet and joined a travelling choral group called The Troubadours.  After graduating, he began to teach as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington while still travelling with the Troubadours, who performed for United States armed forces all over the world.  They visited Greenland, Iceland, Japan, Libya, and many more.  While performing with the Troubadours, he met Beverly Perry who worked in the Employment Office for George Washington, after having graduated from GW with a psychology degree.  She not only interviewed prospective applicants for various positions, she also helped seniors with job placement. They married in 1954 and moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, where Wade began doctoral work at Clark University.  They returned to Washington, and he began studying for his comprehensive examinations.  Unfortunately, his advisor changed and threw off his timing.  After his first child, Marilyn, was born in 1958, he had to give up on his doctoral dream and go to work full-time to support his family.  For several years he worked for the Department of Defense and the United States Geological Society, developing a specialty in aerial photography.  He briefed intelligence officers about Cuba before the Bay of Pigs invasion and participated in research that led to the selection of the first Lunar landing sites for the Apollo missions of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA).  His work with cartography drew the attention of Marvin Creamer at Glassboro State who was looking to expand the College’s offerings in geography.  After an interview, Wade joined the faculty in the Department of Social Studies, and the family moved into a home in Pitman, New Jersey.

At GSC, he introduced several new courses, including one in metro and regional planning.  In 2025, his wife, Beverly, recalled that he did indeed love teaching.  “I don’t know if Wade actually ever said out loud that he liked to teach, but he really did.  In fact, Wade enjoyed teaching so much that he would actually get cranky in the summer after he had been out of the classroom for too long.  I think he enjoyed being in the classroom and talking with students outside of class.  One of the things that he did not like was grading.  He used to assign essays when most of his colleagues did multiple choice.  Even though he groaned over poor essays, he refused to change to make his grading easier.” 

In the late 1960s, the State allowed GSC to offer non-education degrees for the first time.  In the early 1970s, the Department of Social Studies split into several departments as part of this expansion.  Wade was one of the founding members of the new Department of Geography and Anthropology.  Later, he was department chairperson for two terms.  Throughout his career, he served numerous Department and College committees. He had a particular interest in general education requirements and curricular matters.  Beverly noted that she and Wade made many good friends in the Geography Department, naming several couples in particular, namely Chet and Chesha Zimolzak, Jerry and Helen Lindt, Charles and Diane Stansfield, Ed and Linda Behm, and, somewhat later, the energetic Dick and Rose Scott.

Outside of GSC, Wade served as chairperson of the Gloucester County Planning Board was president of the Delaware Valley Geographical Association.  He never lost his love of music and sang in the bass section of the choir for First Presbyterian Church in Pitman for over three decades. He was the music director of the choir of seven or so years.  He organized a Holiday Caroling group that performed for residents at a local continuing care facility in Pitman for thirty years.  He loved wine, travel, and photography.  On September 18, 2005, he passed away at the age of 77.

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This is part of a series remembering past faculty members who taught history at the institution that is today Rowan University.  Many of the profiles have been made possible by Project 100 and Project 100+ interviews.  Thanks to all participants in those projects.  Thanks to Laurie Lahey for helping proofread and edit the final versions.  Email carrigan@rowan.edu with questions or corrections.  You can find the link to the page with all the current profiles here:  https://www.rowan.edu/ric-edelman-college/departments/history/alumni/former-faculty/