Retirement Reception for Pankiewicz and Fulton

Karen and Tom Smile at the Idea of Grading Nothing

Faculty and students from EML as well as well-wishers from the campus and St. Joseph community gathered yesterday, April 22 to celebrate the teaching careers of Karen Fulton and Tom Pankiewicz.



Tom and Norma Bagnall scheme the Prairie Lands Way

Tom is a 1967 graduate of St. Joseph Junior College who spent many years as an English teacher at Benton High School in St. Joseph. Shortly after his retirement, Tom was hired to teach as a full-time Instructor of English at MWSU in 2000. Perhaps Tom's greatest legacy is work that he has done with Prairie Lands Writing Project, which he helped form with Norma Bagnall in 1987. From that time until his retirement--and beyond that--Tom has worked to help area high school teachers improve their writing pedagogy as well as their own writing.

Karen began part-time work at Missouri Western in 1985. In 1986, Karen was hired as an assistant professor of English. While rising through the ranks of associate and then full professor, Karen was instrumental in the development of the ENG 100 program. Karen also served as the university's Study Away Director and chaired the department's literary studies program. Eager to get a jump on the theater season, Karen retired last December.   

Dr. Fulton runs a meeting sometime in the last millennium

Karen and Tom leave both figurative and literal holes in our department. Not only will we miss their warm collegiality and wit, but there will be a noticeable emptiness in the area surrounding their respective offices (just a few feet apart) where countless students sat and waited for an audience with these two student favorites.

We hope that they'll come by the department and share some of their newly won free time. We were glad that retired faculty Frances Flanagan, Ken Rosenauer, Ann Thorne, and Rosemary Hoffman could be on hand to welcom Tom and Karen into the club.


Karen's husband Richard (L), Dr. Sawin, and Dr. Rosenauer congratulate Karen






Retired French Professor Rosemary Hoffman (C) chats with Claudine Evans and Ana Bausset-Page