May 6, 2026

A Lifelong Student of the Classics: David Schenker’s Mizzou Legacy

Story by Logan Jackson Sitting among veteran University of Missouri faculty fully engaged in a passionate debate, David Schenker said he felt a bit like a deer caught in the headlights. Schenker had just arrived at Mizzou as a new faculty member in the Department of Classical Studies (now the Department of Classics, Archaeology, and Religion) and had been invited to teach in the long-running Honors College Humanities Sequence. The lively discussion was focused on the upcoming semester’s syllabus. “I was the youngest person in the room and was among academic giants, like Bill Bondeson, Ted Tarkow,…

Dec. 16, 2024

Seventy Years of Joy

Story and photography by Logan Jackson “Find the fun without sacrificing complexity.” Throughout her nearly 30 years as a professor in the Humanities Sequence, Rachel Harper has made it a priority to create a learning environment that allows students to gain a deeper appreciation for the world around them. Through discussions on literature, philosophy, art, history, religion and music, students are introduced to the big ideas, questions and debates of the Western tradition. Harper, along with the other outstanding faculty across the University of Missouri campus, have led those conversations, aiding students in their efforts to make sense…