LUCY JACKMAN / CONTRIBUTOR

After nearly four decades at the University of San Diego, Communication Professor Roger Pace is preparing to step away from the classroom and into retirement. 

Dr. Pace is retiring after 39 years. Photo courtesy of Roger Pace

The decision comes at the end of his 39th year at USD, a career that helped build the university’s communication department and shaped generations of students. 

As retirement approaches, Pace said his   motivation   for   teaching  remained the same throughout his career. 

“It’s why we do this job,” Pace said. “To see students succeed.” 

Pace started at USD in the mid-1980s during the construction of the Department of Communication. 

“We taught every class,” Pace recalled. “Just the three of us, even classes I wasn’t familiar with.” 

Prior to his move to San Diego, Pace’s upbringing in Provo, Utah, played a formative role in his career path. 

At age 12, Pace joined the Boy Scouts and earned a merit badge in public speaking, sparking his interest in the field. That interest carried into high school and college, where he joined the debate team and found particular success in forensic debate competitions. 

Pace enjoyed college, leading him to pursue a career in academia.

“Partway through [college], I began to think, ‘how can I stay around,’” Pace asked himself. “And the logical answer was: be a professor.” 

While studying at BYU, Pace also met his future wife, Diane. The two worked together in food service at the university, catering for administrative events. 

The couple married while they were still students, a decision that shaped Pace’s early career choices. After the two tied the knot, Pace temporarily dropped out of school and worked in construction so Diane could finish her degree, before returning to complete his own studies as she began her career. 

Once he graduated, Pace began teaching high school debate, a temporary stop on his path toward higher education. 

“I knew I didn’t want to teach high school forever,” Pace said. I enjoyed it, but I always knew I wanted to get back to the university.” 

That desire prompted him to pursue a doctorate at Pennsylvania State University. Even after missing the application deadline, a faculty connection helped him secure a spot in the program. 

After completing his PhD, Pace accepted his first university position at Texas A&M. long-term fit for him. 

“Texas A&M was a good place to be,” Pace said. “The students were eager… But I was missing a more intimate undergraduate teaching experience.”

Large lecture halls sometimes contained more than 200 students.“I didn’t even know their names,” Pace said. 

After about three years at A&M, one of Pace’s friends from  graduate  school  who was working at USD  encouraged Pace to apply. 

“I was walking up the sidewalk to the UCs,the SLP wasn’t there yet,” Pace said. “It was a glorious day with sun and palm trees, and I’m thinking, ‘oh, this could be good.’” 

Only one obstacle stood in his way: when he and Diane got  married,   she   told   him  she  would live anywhere but California. Luckily, she trusted his judgment and Pace  accepted  the   job,   moving  his  family  across the country to sunny San Diego. 

“Now my wife is more Californian than any of us,” Pace said. 

Throughout his time at USD, Pace has taken on a wide range of roles beyond the classroom. He has served as a department chair, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, director of the honors program, and vice provost. Many of those opportunities came to him unexpectedly. 

“None of them I applied for,” Pace said. “So all of those have been blessings I didn’t even know I wanted.” 

After stepping down from administrative roles to focus on teaching and research, Pace moved into a small office hidden under a staircase in Camino in an attempt to keep a low profile.

“I thought I was going to hide out,” Pace said. “I even tried to disguise where my office was. I didn’t tell people except the students where I was.” 

Still, colleagues kept finding him. 

“By the end of the year, I was interim assistant dean of the college, interim head of the film studies program and then ultimately, the vice provost,” Pace recounted. “People just kept knocking on my door. I don’t know how they found me.” 

Teaching has always remained central to Pace’s career. In the classroom, Pace  emphasizes respect for students and an understanding of the personal struggles that can interfere with academics. 

That perspective partly developed during his undergraduate years, when he missed a deadline for a major paper due to personal difficulties. When Pace  finally turned in the assignment late, his professor’s response left a lasting impression. 

“He took the stack of papers he was about to grade and put mine right in the middle,” Pace said. “He said he’d read it as if I’d turned it in on time.” 

The moment shaped Pace’s perspective on the kind of educator he wanted to be. 

“Students have difficulties in their lives,” Pace said. “So I’ve always tried to give students a second chance. I’ve always wanted my students to succeed.” 

While compassion is one important aspect of his teaching principles, the other is humor.

“My underlying philosophy of teaching is to try and be funny,” Pace said with a laugh. “I know they’re laughing because they think it’ll make better grades, but I’m shallow enough to believe I’m funny.” 

Outside  the  classroom,  Pace is interested in travel, writing and film festivals. He has attended festivals globally, including Sundance, inspiring a project he hopes to pursue in retirement. 

“I’d like to start writing about film festivals,” Pace said. “Not [reviewing] films, but a discussion about the festivals themselves  and   their   importance to local communities.” 

Now, as Pace looks ahead to retirement, he notes the decision isn’t based on burnout. 

“It’s not that I’m dissatisfied with my job,” Pace said. “I’m still energized by what I’m doing.” 

Instead, he simply feels it is the right time for a new chapter.

Looking back on decades at USD, Pace highlighted that students have always been the most meaningful part of his career. 

“I’ve just had great experiences with them, and I enjoy watching what my students do with their careers,” he said. 

Though Pace will leave the classroom soon, the impact he has made at USD will carry on well beyond his teaching days.

Pace taught in the Department of Communication at USD. Photo courtesy of sandiego.edu