Nancy Daley, Human Sexuality

By Sophie Duvall in Features, The Texas 10 on May 1, 2011 at 6:29 pm | 1 Comment

Photo by Jay B Sauceda

Believe it or not, Nancy Daley was a self-proclaimed “blusher” before she started teaching a room full of college students about sex 12 years ago.

“I learned a lot that first year,” Daley says. “It was pretty daunting, but I kind of like people. To me, the teaching part is just show biz. I figured out if I could get students talking, that is what would start working.”

Daley, an adjunct assistant professor in the department of educational psychology, teaches mostly seniors in an upper-division Human Sexuality course. In the future, however, she hopes also to educate younger students.

“I wish I were teaching this class to freshmen, because I have so much information they need that could save them a lot of trouble,” Daley says.

Whether an experienced senior or a trouble-making freshman, her students teach Daley about the fast changes in the world, and they in turn learn about themselves from her.

“Senior year people are confronting enormous pressures—family pressure, work pressure—they don’t understand this is just college,” Daley says. “More often I’m just helping people figure stuff out about themselves—sexually, psychologically. I think I really get to have an effect on people’s lives, not because of me but because of the topic.”

Tags: great professors, human sexuality, nancy daley, teaching, texas 10