Founding Faculty of Clement
Where you at Columbia State between 1966-2011? Recognize these faces.
Join the effort to recognize some of the Frank G. Clement Building's original faculty including Dr. William (Bill) Andrews, Dr. Marvin (Mart) Austin, Fred Behrens, Joe McCormick and Dr. Lewis Moore, by naming a space on the Columbia Campus for these retired professors.
The donation goal is $50,000, with a friend of the college matching dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000. This is a great opportunity to recognize five professors that affected many lives during their more than 178 years of total service.
Joe McCormick
McCormick was the head of the sociology department at Columbia State for more than 30 years. A former Texas cop, he is remembered for his no-nonsense approach to teaching and learning that pulled no punches but, nevertheless, emphasized compassion for all and understanding of the human condition. McCormick spent many hours outside the classroom counseling and advising students, and sometimes doing the same for his colleagues. He won the college’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 1991. McCormick and his friend and colleague, Fred Behrens, could often be seen at Charger basketball and baseball games.
Dr. Marvin Austin
Austin taught English and philosophy at Columbia State for more than three decades. The late professor was known for his expert use of the Socratic method in his classes. Austin also served as the division chair for humanities and fine arts for many years. He was a beloved mentor to his faculty and to his students. Away from Columbia State, Austin was an avid catch-and-release fisherman. He won the college’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 1982.
Dr. Lewis Moore
Moore was one of Columbia State’s original faculty members and served the college and its students for 35 years. The late professor Columbia State’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 1984 and was also awarded the college’s first President’s Medal in 1999. In addition to being a full-time faculty member, Moore was a division chair and led the faculty for history and political science. Additionally, he coached the 1969 Charger tennis team that won the TJCAA championship. Columbia State faculty and staff remember Moore’s honors history sections where his students portrayed famous Americans from the past, his students’ election year political debates and his columns in the Columbia Daily Herald.
Fred Behrens
Behrens taught for over 45 years, and at retirement was one of the last of the original faculty. The last of the original college faculty members or staff, Behrens’ retirement in 2011 marked the end of an era for Columbia State. An accomplished artist himself, Behrens was the head of the art department at Columbia State for more than 40 years. He won the college’s Distinguished Faculty Award for his teaching in 1995. He is fondly remembered for his talent, his dry sense of humor and his love for his hometown Chicago Cubs.
Dr. William Andrews
Andrews taught history at Columbia State for 35 years. A world traveler, he enriched his class lectures with his own personal experiences and photographs of historic sites and places that he took himself. Andrews was rarely without his camera, even on the college campus where he loved to take impromptu pictures of students, faculty and staff, many of which appear in Columbia State’s 50thanniversary book. Andrews won the Distinguished Faculty Award in 1994 and the President’s Medal in 2011, and is fondly remembered for hosting pizza review parties, student field trips and his infectious enthusiasm for life.