College Salutes Retiring Faculty
Bork, McConnell, Kohl: Three dynamic teachers, 102 combined years of service to Webster

Dean David Carl Wilson paid tribute to Joyce Bork at her retirement party

Seena Kohl, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences

Seena Kohl, a cultural anthropologist, joined Webster in 1967 when it was still an all-female college. Beginning her academic career in the civil rights era, she would have plenty to study about human culture. She covered everything from race and gender relations to oral culture, to American frontier settlement and Native Americans. Kohl ran the gamut while fascinating colleagues and students alike.

Kohl received one of the earliest Roswell Messing, Jr. Awards, given to Webster faculty for curriculum innovation, in 1979. In her time at Webster she helped guide and manage countless programs as a colleague and committee member, including the Women’s Studies program, the Faculty Speaker’s Committee, and the internship program for Webster students at the Missouri Historical Society.

In 1986, she was awarded faculty development leave to spend a year as scholar-in-residence for Neshoba County, Mississippi, as part of the Mississippi Committee for the Humanities. There she studied relations among blacks, whites, and Choctaws – and encouraged them to learn their shared histories as part of a project called, “Diverse Origins, Common History.”

The background of the Neshoba County cultures was so rich – yet scarred – that the local citizens had sought out a scholar-in-residence, which Kohl applied for and earned, resulting in a remarkable project. Bringing citizens together to openly discuss wounds from before and after the Civil Rights movement, Kohl believed eyes were opened, and a new level of support and understanding was reached between the different ethnic groups.

“It was the first time that many of the people had talked to each other about those experiences,” Kohl said at the time.

It was one of many eye-opening lesson Kohl unveiled in her 42-year career with Webster.

William McConnell, Department of Biological Sciences

Bill McConnell is a legend for his love of science and his keen insight in how to teach it to students of all ages. As he has said of his teaching philosophy, “I like to look at the word ‘science’ as a noun, a verb, and an adjective,” noting that it is information, it is action, and it is a state of mind.

It’s this approach that helped McConnell propel the science component of Webster University’s innovative Master of Arts in Teaching program when he arrived at Webster in 1965. In the ‘60s, when science programs were essentially reading programs, McConnell flipped things around by focusing on laboratory work and actual hands-on experience of science.

Along the way, he was one of the first teachers to use computers in the classroom. He’s taught courses in astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, physics, calculus, energy conservation, and science teaching methods – making him a valued part of both the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Education.

No surprise, then, that he received a steady flow of accolades, including the Missouri Science Educator Award in 1969, Webster’s Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1994, and the Gene Fuchs Memorial Excellence in Teaching Award in 1997. He also received the first-ever Outstanding Science Educator Award, given by the Academy of Science – St. Louis in 2004.

But while he is officially retiring as a full-time professor, McConnell will still be around to help Webster and teach here and there. The great ones, after all, never stop teaching.

Joyce Bork, Department of Biological Sciences

Joyce Bork is the pup of the College of Arts & Sciences’ retiring trio, having come to Webster “only” 16 years ago. She retires as chair of a department that she has helped grow and strengthen during her entire tenure. Adapting to the quickly evolving nature of the field, Bork was instrumental in developing Webster’s Biotechnology program, as well as the interdisciplinary Environmental Studies program.

While physical space has always been tight in Webster’s labs, Bork has worked tirelessly with donors and external partners to make sure Webster biology students have the latest and best lab tools at their disposal.

Biology remains a popular field for incoming freshmen each year, and Bork is largely to thank for that steady flow of promising new students. For years she has led students in her ecology class to practice lab work in the field at the Tyson Research Center, a 2,000-acre center of ecology and environmental research located just outside of St. Louis.

Like McConnell, Bork “retires” but remains at Webster and will be seen in the fall as professor emerita.

Suffice to say, each of these retiring faculty has left a lasting mark on Webster University. Each exemplifies what Webster leaders mean when they say Webster University is first and foremost a “teaching university.”