Dr. Kate Berneking Kogut, Dean of the School of Integrative Studies, will retire in July. We'll miss her!
How long have you been at Stephens?
I’ve been at Stephens for about 20 ½ years.
What subjects have you taught over the years?
A WIDE variety! A lot of playwriting classes, a lot of lit classes – mostly genre lit, a class called Writing Through Performance, Characters & Their Worlds, Audio Drama…and way back when a class called Love Actually: Studies in International Film.
What subject is your favorite to teach and why?
So many favorites! In writing, I love to teach playwriting because so many students haven’t written plays before, and they sometimes start out a bit nervous or skeptical…then they really get into it and find that they love the genre. And even if they never write another play, what they learn about writing dialogue really informs all their other writing. Also, Audio Drama! It’s truly a collaborative effort with students working together to develop the characters, the storyline, the dialogue – for that class I tell them that they really must check their egos at the door – not everything you suggest will work and you need to learn to build WITH your class colleagues. I also love teaching Characters & Their Worlds! It is fascinating to help students gain various tools to create characters with depth.
In lit, I have always enjoyed teaching Women’s Detective Fiction. And Fiction, Fact, & Film. Oh…and Time Travel Lit!
Tell us about your favorite memory or accomplishment while at Stephens?
Lots of wonderful memories – I’ve had the pleasure to work with so many amazing colleagues I couldn’t really pick a favorite memory. Accomplishments? I always enjoyed our Write Like A Pirate Day – inspired by International Talk Like A Pirate Day (September 19th every year), I created WRITE Like a Pirate Day. We had a costume contest, we did Pirate writing activities, and the winners of the Pirate Haiku Competition read their winning haikus.
I’m also thrilled with our Writer Retreats! With the great English/Creative Writing faculty team of Kris Somerville, Ann Breidenbach, and myself, we were able to bring the Retreats to fruition. It is awesome to see the students building a writing and literary community through our activities during the Retreats.
And I’m incredibly proud of the way my colleagues and the students worked together to get through Covid. It was amazing to see the resiliency, the tenacity of folks during that time.
What do you plan to do with your time in retirement?
I had all sorts of things I was going to say: "My husband and I renovated a school bus and are going to travel the country" – or maybe "we bought matching Harleys and were heading to Sturgis later this summer!" The reality is that I’m going to focus on my writing. I’ve completed the first novel in my cozy detective series (a Bridging Days novel), and while I submit to agents, I will be working on the second novel. I’m also working on a craft writing book with the working title: Under Construction: Building Fictional Characters, Their Worlds, and Their Words – where I will focus on my areas of expertise: character development, world building, and dialogue.
I’m also planning to garden (of course), learn how to make choux pastry, and a bunch of other “stuff.”
Any quotes, advice, or parting wisdom you'd like to leave with us?
When you’re starting garden seedlings and your deck is twelve feet off the ground, twenty feet from a large oak that has a hawk’s nest and the eggs have just hatched…do NOT keep your seedlings on said deck because when you’re watering them, you just might disturb Ma & Pa Hawk and they might come at your head.
You're a Star, Kate, and you'll be sorely missed around here! Congratulations on your retirement.