Professor Lamine Sagna was surprised at his cousin's reaction when he told him he had a call from a scholarly acquaintance made while studying in Paris. The scholar in question was Cornel West GS '80.
"I told my cousin, and he explained that [West] was very important," Sanga said.
Three years later, Sagna and West have become close as both friends and colleagues. Sagna will spend this semester precepting West's class AAS 201: Introduction to the Study of African-American Culture Practices.
Sagna, like several others at the University, has made the decision to take time off or away from another job for the opportunity to precept with one of the University's luminaries.
It is not just his desire to share the classroom with the likes of Cornel West, however, that keeps him here.
"I love this environment because it is very quiet with books everywhere," he said. "There are people like Cornel — intellectuals — with whom I share debate."
Originally from Senegal, Sagna moved to Paris for his education, which includes an undergraduate degree, a business degree, two master's and a doctoral degree.
Whether working on a bank's research team or with the University of Paris, he has focused his research on the relationship between money and culture.
"Because I came from a developing country, I see how people use money," he said.
"Rich people with plenty of it, poor people dying without money. The study of money pulls together all my previous subjects," he explained.
Sagna believes he has a unique perspective to bring to his precepts.
No one can fully understand Africa without understanding Europe and how it affects the continent, he added.
Professor James Peterson, another preceptor for AAS 201, came to the University from a slightly closer location.
A professor at Penn State-Abington, he does not have to worry about international barriers but does have to deal with the interstate.
"I-95 has been responsible for so many late or missed precepts," he said. "All it takes is one accident."
Peterson said, however, that the traffic does not deter him in the least from continuing to teach at the University.
He likens his role to that of an apprentice. "It's an amazing process," he said. "While the students take notes on content, I'm in lectures taking notes for form."
Peterson's time at the University, however, does not come without some financial setbacks.
Many semesters, he said he actually pays to precept when the costs of the commute and the time he loses are factored in.
But Peterson added he has never regretted his choice to precept.
"I love the intellectual environment. I will hang around here in any capacity I can," he said. "These are some of the best students in the world."
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