by Gina Merys, Director, Reinert Center
James H. Korn, Ph.D.: 1938-2025 : SLU – Saint Louis University
Throughout my life, I have encountered a few extraordinary people—people who exemplify traits and values to which many aspire but few attain. Jim Korn was one of those extraordinary people. Although I only had the pleasure of meeting Jim after his retirement, his visits to the Reinert Center were always filled with joy and taught me something new about teaching each time.
In remembrance of Jim’s legacy of teaching and mentorship at Saint Louis University, especially in the Reinert Center, we have collected some memories from a few of his colleagues.
For the Reinert Center, Jim is the stuff of legend. It is fair to say, without Jim’s leadership, vision, and commitment, there would be no Reinert Center.
In addition to shepherding the faculty committee that advocated for the Center’s founding, Jim served the Center in many other ways over the years. The earliest directors served under Jim’s leadership as Associate Dean for Teaching in the Graduate School; later, Jim served as a Faculty Fellow in the Center. And he was always a mentor and colleague for the Center’s directors. Jim’s commitment to evidence-based, research-guided teaching led to the creation of an award in his name. In short, his energy and commitment to the Center were unparalleled. They’re also well-documented in the Center’s archives and in the interviews on the Center’s website.
Jim also was – like all good teachers – committed to teaching as a personal and always-evolving craft. I recently browsed around the Reinert Center’s archives, and I came across many items bearing Jim’s name, including notes on what the new center might be called, his ideas about the center’s mission, and his thoughts on its structure and organization. But one document provides a clear glimpse into how Jim approached his own teaching.
In a 1997 memo (this was the Center’s first year as a formal teaching center), Jim listed some of his own professional goals for the year. At the top of his list? “Re-discover and improve my own teaching.” A bit later in the document: “I need to learn about distance learning as a pedagogical tool and want to implement some form of this technology. . . .” Always looking beyond his current ways of thinking and teaching, here is Jim, modeling what it means to be a growth-oriented educator, focused on what matters most.
If you got Jim talking about how the center came to be, you’d definitely hear about the late J.J. O’Brien, whom Jim called “the saint of teaching” at SLU. Once, attending a milestone event for the Center, Jim insisted we find and set out a photo of J.J., so J.J. was visible to all who visited the Center. Now that Jim has passed on, I like to imagine him and J.J., sitting on a bench together, talking all-things-teaching.
Jim was a lovely, funny man. He loved a good lunch at Humphrey’s. He loved a good glass of wine. He loved teaching and talking about teaching. He will be missed, but the Reinert Center stands, three decades later, as proof of his legacy at Saint Louis University.
— Debra Rudder Lohe, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning
Jim was the Psychology Chair that hired me over 34 years ago. He provided guidance to me as a new faculty member, encouraged me, and gave me opportunities to demonstrate my skills. Jim championed diversity and inclusion efforts in the Psychology Department before it was popular to do so. We were Co-PIs on a National Science Foundation-Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant (NSF-REU) in which we partnered with the historically Black colleges and universities in the Atlanta University Center — Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark-Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College. Students from these institutions spent several weeks in the summer at SLU (along with SLU undergraduates) engaging in research (study design, data collection and analyses, write-up, and presentation) as well as taking a class and engaging in other professional development opportunities, including a visit to the Missouri Institute of Mental Health (MIMH). Several of those students ended up attending SLU for graduate school. A couple still live and work in St. Louis today and raised their families here. Jim was an exceptional friend and colleague and has had a lasting positive impact on so many lives.
–Eddie Clark, Ph.D., Psychology
Jim Korn was a gift to the faculty and students at Saint Louis University. As a retired faculty member I will be forever enriched by Jim’s knowledge of and joy in teaching. Through his dedication to the CTTE he touched the lives of so many people. I loved having the privilege of seeing Jim at meetings or educational sessions because I always left feeling inspired by Jim’s insights and uplifted by his sense of humor. I will always think of him with fondness and gratitude.
— Darina Sargeant, Physical Therapy
When I think of Jim, the phrase that most comes to mind is “gentle man.” Jim was among the first people to welcome me when I joined the Teaching Center staff in 2000. He had been instrumental in the founding of the Center, and throughout my tenure in the Center always remained extremely supportive of me and the staff at the Center and available in whatever way we might need him. Jim’s willingness to provide advice on teaching particularly to graduate students exemplified his own love of teaching. Jim’s focus was always on the students. His particular interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) led the Center’s staff and advisory board to create a SOTL award in his honor when he retired. Jim continued to return to campus to present the award following his retirement.
— Mary Stephen, Former Director of the Reinert Center
The Notebook 