2021 Retiring Faculty

Jacob S. Zook Professor of Physics and Astronomy
(1985-2021)

In August 1985, after earning her Ph.D. at Rutgers University and completing post-doctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin, Barbara Andereck joined OWU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, where her passion for teaching and high level of adaptability served her and OWU well. She taught practically every course the department offers, and her honors course On Time has been popular for decades. Her peers have recognized her teaching effectiveness with multiple accolades, including the Shankland Award for the Encouragement of Teachers (1994), the Bishop Francis Kearns Award (2008), and the Welch Meritorious Teaching Award (2020).

Professor of Music
(1991-2021)

Born in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and raised in the South, Nancy Gamso earned a D.M.A. in woodwinds performance from the University of North Texas and joined the OWU faculty in 1991. Over the course of her tenure, Dr. Gamso taught applied woodwinds and other woodwind-related courses, music appreciation, Western music history, and jazz history. She remained a triple-threat teacher and performer on the flute, saxophone, and her principal instrument, the clarinet. Her dedication to teaching earned her early promotion to both associate and full professor, as well as the Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers in 2002.

Professor of Music
(1986-2021)

Larry Griffin studied trumpet and earned his D.M.A. from the University of Minnesota. At OWU, he has been honored with the Bishop Herbert Welch Award for Scholarly or Artistic Achievement and the Libuse L. Reed Endowed Professorship. He has conducted OWU’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble (1986-2018), Brass Choir, Trumpet Ensemble, and Jazz combos. Dr. Griffin enjoyed an outstanding trumpet studio and taught Instrumental Conducting. He toured extensively as a soloist and clinician, including two solo China and three solo Switzerland tours. He has performed with many orchestras and played at Aretha Franklin’s final public performance in New York, Nov. 7, 2017.

Professor of Psychology
(1985-2021)

Dr. Harry Bahrick hired Lynda Hall as associate director of a National Science Foundation research project in 1985. Dr. Hall became a full-time faculty member in the Psychology Department four years later, teaching courses on cognitive psychology, behavioral statistics, research methods, and memory. Her research with Bahrick culminated in their 2013 book, Lifetime Maintenance of Knowledge, co-authored with Melinda Baker. She received the Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers in 1999. In her final years at OWU, Lynda assumed administrative responsibilities, first as chair of the Psychology Department and then as the Associate Dean for Academic Performance.

Associate Professor of Chemistry
(1994-2021)

David Lever earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Utah. At OWU, his expertise extended beyond general and organic chemistry courses to topics that ranged from polymers, color and dye chemistry, and asymmetric organic synthesis. He was committed to undergraduate research, teaching, and the incorporation of extensive instrumentation training within the Chemistry Department’s core curriculum. Dr. Lever was an active member of the OWU community through academic advising, recruiting, grant funding, committees, and countless other activities. Most important, Dr. Lever’s dedication to OWU and his students will be his legacy.

Professor of Geology and Geography
(1991-2021)

Barton Sawyer Martin served as chair of the Geology & Geography Department and on committees including University Governance and Academic Policy. His greatest love was teaching students, in liberal arts style, about our planet in classes such as Physical & Environmental Geology and Volcanology, and he prepared geology majors well for myriad careers. He earned a Ph.D. at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, specializing in geochemistry, igneous petrology and volcanology. Columbia River Basalts of the Pacific Northwest became an enduring research focus. Dr. Martin is a Licensed Professional Geologist for Washington State and a Laboratory Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Professor of English
(2002-2021)

Robert Olmstead is one of America’s great authors. He has published masterful work in several genres: seven novels, a memoir, a short story collection, and a textbook for fiction-writing workshops. His brilliant books are internationally acclaimed. He is a writer’s writer and was an inspirational teacher of writers at OWU for nearly two decades. He was known for his skillful, devoted mentorship of creative writing students. Professor Olmstead’s many awards include an Ohioana Book Award, National Endowment for the Arts Fiction Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and OWU’s Bishop Herbert Welch Award for Scholarly or Artistic Achievement.

James Heisler Professor of Economics; Faculty Director for The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship
(1985-2021)

Clearly, Alice Simon holds a place in Ohio Wesleyan’s pantheon of great teachers. Students through the decades speak of the profound impact she has had on them as students, professionals, and, most important, people. This impact was a result of her hard work, clear lecture style, strict standards, and, especially, her caring. Dr. Simon’s Monetary and Fiscal Policy and Principles of Economics classes were among the most popular at the University. Under her leadership The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship grew to better serve students, the University, and the broader community.

Professor of Comparative Literature
(2006-2021)

After completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, Anne Sokolsky joined the Peace Corps and taught high school English for two years in Morocco. Raised in a home filled with her grandfather’s Asian art collection, she was inspired to teach high school English through Japan’s exchange program. Enamored with the culture, she studied the Japanese language at the University of California-Berkeley, where she earned her Ph.D. At OWU, Dr. Sokolsky taught a wide range of courses, including Bad Girls of Japan and Literatures of the Silk Road. She also served as Fellowship Director for the Honors Program.

Cornelia Coles Fairbanks Professor of History
(1984-2021)

During his long tenure at OWU, Richard Spall taught a wide and diverse array of popular courses, including courses in British, European, and economic history. Dr. Spall was awarded both of OWU’s prestigious teaching awards, the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers and the Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award. Dr. Spall’s research interests focused on Victorian Britain and the Empire, and from 1994 until 2019, he was the book review editor of The Historian, one of the world’s largest scholarly history journals, publishing more than 300 book reviews a year and providing internships for students.

Aden S. & Mollie Wollam Benedict Professor of Christian Studies; Sharp-Davis-Trimble Professor of Religion
(1989-2021)

Known affectionately by his students as “ET,” Emmanuel Kalenzi Twesigye has mentored and inspired Ohio Wesleyan students for three decades. Born in Kambuga, Uganda, as the eldest son of an Anglican rector and tribal king, Dr. Twesigye is an ordained Anglican priest. He holds seven higher degrees culminating in a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt. Before coming to OWU, he served at Kyambogo and Makerere in Uganda and at Sewanee, Fiske, and Vanderbilt in Tennessee. At Ohio Wesleyan, he has taught broadly in global theologies and ethics while publishing nine books on religion, politics, theology, and millennialist cults in East Africa and globally.

North Ohio Conference Professor of Chemistry
(1979-2021)

After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry at Northwestern University, Dan Vogt brought his expertise in chemistry and biochemistry to OWU and built the biochemistry program from the ground up, building a successful biochemistry major that has served chemistry and pre-professional majors for many years. As part of this program, Dr. Vogt developed and taught General Chemistry, Biochemistry, and seminars in Neurochemistry and Mechanisms of Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions. His commitment to teaching and mentoring students was a hallmark of his time at OWU, and he received the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for the Encouragement of Teachers in 1986.

Ella Faye Schaaf Rodefer Professor of Education
(2000-2021)

Paula White was called to service in higher education by her recognition of the need for qualified teachers willing to teach in diverse settings. Serving as director of OWU’s Middle Childhood Program and acting upon her belief that all students deserve excellent teachers regardless of their life circumstances, Dr. White dedicated the past 21 years to preparing OWU teacher education students to work with diverse students in diverse settings. Dr. White is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Racial and Cultural Diversity (2013), the Welch Meritorious Teaching Award (2014), and the Libuse L. Reed Professorship (2017-2019).

Ohio Conference Associate Professor of Modern Foreign Languages
(1990-2021)

Thomas K. Wolber was born in Germany, where he completed his undergraduate studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg before coming to the United States in 1977. Pursuing his passion for German literature, culture, and civilization, he completed his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since arriving at OWU, Dr. Wolber has always put his students first, providing numerous tutorials and small classes on a wide range of subjects in the German language and on German studies. He also has been an integral part of both the OWU and Delaware communities, dedicated to sustainability and the dissemination of community-related news.

In Memoriam

Robson Professor of Politics and Government
(1999-2020)