Dr. Phil Wann, professor of psychology, always tells his freshmen students to get as broad of an education as possible, and don’t be so quick to jump into the classes that they think they want to major in. “I always advise them to take general studies first. A broad general background is important.”
Phil has been giving that advice to students at Missouri Western for the past 35 years. He arrived on campus while he was working on his doctoral dissertation from Carleton University in Ottawa, Can., in 1976 and has been a mainstay in the psychology department ever since.
“I like Missouri Western students,” Phil says. “A lot of them are first-generation students and I enjoy teaching them.”
As an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Phil was thinking about majoring in chemistry, but after obtaining a part-time job in the psychology department where he helped with research on animals, he chose the major that has led to a lifelong career. His specialty is physiological (behavioral) psychology and the neuropsychology of learning and memory. “I thought psychology was all Freud and counseling, but when I found out it was research, I was interested,” he said.
Conducting research with students has been a highlight of his career. “I enjoy it when I see students get excited. When students start working on a research project, sometimes in the beginning they just see it as a project. But soon they get more interested and self-motivated. They enjoy the learning just for itself.”
Kasey (Goings) Beaty ’94, one of Phil’s students and advisees, said he sought out opportunities for her to make the most of her educational experience, including working on research projects together. “He encouraged me to take every opportunity to present projects at various conferences and to conduct an honors thesis project – all of which helped me to stand out above other students and gain the most of my experiences after Missouri Western,” she said.
“Research really helps students understand what it’s all about,” Phil said. When he began his career at Missouri Western, there was not a huge emphasis on research with students or applied learning activities, he noted, but those opportunities have increased steadily over the years. In fact, Missouri Western’s psychology department serves as an online clearinghouse for papers of undergraduate research across the country.
“I can honestly say that, if it were not for Dr. Wann’s gentle nudging, I would not have been prepared for graduate school or for my professional positions in the area of psychophysiological research,” Kasey said. “Through his help, my expectations of myself were elevated and my achievement accelerated. His guidance has made all of the difference in my academic experience both at Missouri Western and thereafter.”
Kasey earned a master’s and worked several years as a research assistant in the field of psychophysiology. She and her husband, Jim ’94, have four children and she is currently an at-home mom.
Dotty Dobbs, LMSW, ’00, enrolled as a transfer student at Missouri Western in 1976 and said Phil and Dr. Willis McCann inspired her to pursue a degree in psychology. After completing a night class in the fall of 1981, Dotty had earned 98 credit hours, but a daughter and a full-time job put her education on hold for 18 years.
“In early 1999, I contacted Dr. Wann and visited with him about my desire to finally achieve my college degree,” she said. “He was very supportive and encouraging, personally assisted me to assure credits I had accumulated in the past were still valid, and served as my advisor for outlining a class schedule so I could complete my degree in one year.”
She graduated in 2000 with her bachelor’s degree in psychology, the only one of her six siblings with a college degree. Dotty went on to earn a master’s degree and worked as a clinical therapist.
“All this was possible because Dr. Wann offered validation of my goal, and advocated for me when I wanted to return to college later in life as a nontraditional student,” Dotty says. “Dr. Wann was always available to foster confidence that I could succeed.”
Phil says he has continued to teach because he loves the way it forces him to keep abreast of changes in the field of psychology and to communicate ideas clearly to his students.
“The classes that Dr. Wann taught were, without a doubt, my favorite classes at Missouri Western,” Kasey said. “He had a personable style of teaching that truly engaged me in the classroom. He also planted seeds within the classroom that awoke an interest within me to study the course material in a deeper way outside the classroom.”
“Dr. Wann was very instrumental in my success at Missouri Western and subsequent graduate education and career,” Dotty said. “I will always be grateful that our paths crossed!”
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