While in grad school, our department had a rare wealthy professor. He specialized in antitrust economics and made millions for expert testimony, back when the FTC and the Justice Department actually pursued anti-competitive behavior. The fact that they don't is a talk for another day.
His wife died suddenly and tragically.
Later, I had a young woman in my Econometrics class who also took this same professor's Law and Economics Class. This occurred perhaps a year after the wife's death. She said that she went to the same church as the professor and really liked him. She asked me what I thought she should do?
I had no idea what the policy was, but I told her to drop the Law and Economics Class immediately and make the hours up in another Economics class later. I didn't think the school cared if a random student dating a professor, it was simply that there could not be any formal relationship between the two.
They later married-the religious connection alone helped. We never talked about our initial conversation, but I did go to a lot of parties at their marvelous house. This is the only time in my life that I exhibited any skills whatsoever as a matchmaker. I admired her determination.
I guess the point here is that it is a lot harder to switch a coach out than a professor. Running is like a major with only one professor!
