By Julia Steiner
Madelyn G. Torchin has worn many hats. She has taught Latin, French, and English at all levels from fifth grade to graduate school. For nearly 15 years, she’s been a board member of Pathway to Possible, an organization providing housing, support, and advocacy for people living with cognitive and developmental disabilities, and she joined its executive committee in 2023. In 2010, she also began serving as a supervisor of the state licensing process for student teachers in Latin and classical humanities at Tufts University. While teaching has always been at the core of what Torchin has done, there’s something else that’s always driven her work—her love of learning.
Earlier this year, Torchin donated $50,000 to Phi Beta Kappa to fund the Love of Learning Professional Development Grants program. Established in honor of the Phi Beta Kappa motto, “love of learning is the guide to life,” these grants provide funds to ΦBK members who wish to pursue endeavors to continue lifelong learning and advance in their professions. Applicants can receive grants for up to $350 every year to fund their professional endeavors. The funds can be used for graduate school application fees; fees for exams, courses, trainings, and certifications; annual membership dues for professional associations; and conference, seminar, or workshop registration.
Torchin’s love of learning and of languages reaches back far into her childhood, but her work for her doctoral dissertation, which she completed for the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1985, has been an enduring influence in guiding her academic journey. “My dissertation on the 14th-century Miracles de Nostre Dame par personnages provided a nexus for my three academic passions: understanding the culture and language of the ancient Romans, connecting that ancient language with the development of French, and the generation of modern French drama from these first performances by the laity in the nave of Notre Dame Cathedral,” Torchin said. “As a lifelong learner, I am still exploring the depths of these plays written anonymously for ways in which they presage modern thought.”
As someone who deeply feels the impact of learning, Torchin searched for a way to enable others to continue their learning as she has. “Over a few cups of coffee and a bite of lunch with Fred Lawrence, I had been discussing ways to support lifelong learning at Phi Beta Kappa; then, as happens in life, a self-made online diagnosis from what turned out to be insignificant, made me realize that ‘someday is now’!” Torchin recalled. From there would develop Phi Beta Kappa’s Love of Learning Professional Development Grants.
Of course, Torchin couldn’t have done it alone. A partnership was needed to further her vision. “With the help of Phi Beta Kappa’s outstanding staff, we were able to put together the various aspects that I had been working out with my family, several of whom are involved in charitable development,” she explained. “Being able to encourage continued learning for others is a lifelong dream come true, rendered even sweeter by my family’s support and encouragement.” In fact, to honor their generosity, she officially named the fund the “Gonnerman Torchin Endowment Fund.”
Torchin’s induction by the Alpha of Missouri chapter at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1965 was also something sweet, coinciding with the birth of her first son. “When the notice of induction arrived, my husband and I debated the time and expense of accepting,” Madelyn recalled. “Married as juniors, and now happily expectant parents, awaiting our son’s anticipated arrival four days before the ceremony, we decided ‘Yes.’ The baby arrived on time, and my brother carried me up the stairs to receive my credentials and learn the magic handshake!”
In addition to her Phi Beta Kappa membership, Torchin has received numerous awards for her outstanding work in education, including the Caverly Award for Excellence in Teaching in Brookline and the Classical Association of Massachusetts Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Always an advocate for excellence in language teaching, Torchin is a life member of the Massachusetts Language Association. She pushed for a state supervisor for languages and became a representative to the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages. As a scholar of language instruction and an advocate for her profession, she has delivered more than 40 presentations and keynotes at various conferences on how to teach languages, and here, she offers her advice:
“To deliver language instruction best, an educator must first fire passion in students! Building on this desire to learn, educators can then help students become autonomous, taking charge of their own learning. New modes of learning, through AI and technology, allow access to pathways to proficiency not previously available. As always, the educator must be involved, whether to offer models of performance or examples of achievement.”
To explain why language learning is so important to her, something that’s central to her being, Torchin points to language as a key component of human communication. “Since childhood, first teaching myself to read at age three or four, then my brothers, I have been centered on languages,” she recalled. “When it came time for a profession, it felt natural, as though this profession had found me.”
Throughout her career, Torchin learned unique lessons from every experience. “Each language or level that I have taught has been a jewel, revealing language function and proficiency, like focusing a microscope on its dynamic makeup,” she observed. “Sharing these wonders has afforded opportunities to appreciate the intercultural connections between worlds and peoples.”
“I am profoundly grateful to Phi Beta Kappa for allowing me to extend support for lifelong learning, including my passions, interculturality and language learning,” Torchin said. Phi Beta Kappa equally acknowledges the impact of Torchin’s gift, not only to the Society but to those who follow the light of learning Phi Beta Kappa holds along the path. “We are deeply grateful to Madelyn Torchin for supporting the Love of Learning Grants program,” added Frederick M. Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of Phi Beta Kappa. “These professional development grants have been extremely meaningful to recipients and perfectly exemplify Phi Beta Kappa’s commitment to lifelong learning.”
Find out more about the Love of Learning Professional Development Grants at pbk.org/awards/love-of-learning-grants. Applications for 2025 grants will open May 1.
Julia Steiner graduated in May 2024 from Tufts University. She majored in international literary and visual studies with minors in French and history. In April 2024, she was inducted into the Delta of Massachusetts chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Photo Credit: Barry Braunstein Photography.