Alumni spotlight: Dr. Rob McKee, C’12

LATROBE, PA – In the spring semester of his junior year at Saint Vincent College, Dr. Rob McKee, C’12, had a biochemistry lab that was scheduled to last three hours, but often ran longer. There was only one other student in the class, which was taught by chemistry professor Dr. Matt Fisher.

In addition to supervising the students’ work, Fisher told interesting personal anecdotes, such as his passion for the Japanese martial discipline aikido and talked with them about attending either graduate or medical school.

“They were long labs, but [Fisher] made them incredibly enjoyable,” McKee said. “I remember being impressed, thinking, here's an instructor who isn't only willing to show up and teach a lab for three or four hours to two students, but he is actively engaged with us.”

After he got a bachelor’s degree in biology at Saint Vincent, McKee earned a doctorate at the University of Notre Dame. He’s now in his fourth year as an assistant professor of teaching in the Bioengineering Department at the University of California, Riverside.

Although McKee graduated more than a decade ago and now lives on the West Coast, he has stayed in touch with Fisher. McKee credits his ongoing success to Fisher’s mentorship.

“I’ve learned so much from him about biochemistry, teaching pedagogy, martial arts and even good wine,” McKee said. “People talk about lifelong learning. Well, I've been fortunate to have a lifelong teacher.”

Fisher’s approach to mentorship is based on asking questions to probe for the direction a student might be leaning towards instead of giving direct suggestions. That way, the students can have a framework to think things through and discover what will best suit them and their needs. In that sense, Fisher has found Saint Vincent to be a perfect environment.

“One of the reasons I'm teaching at a small school and not at a large university is there are more opportunities to develop those sorts of one-on-one relationships with students,” Fisher said. “Mentoring complements what we do in the classroom and in the lab.”

Chemistry was McKee’s favorite subject when he was a student at Shaler Area High School, and that’s what he initially selected as his major at Saint Vincent. Midway through his freshman year, however, McKee began to wonder if biology would be a better choice.

“As a first-year student who had never really doubted himself, I was having a bit of an existential crisis,” McKee said. “Dr. Fisher was one of the first faculty members I talked to about switching majors. He really helped me think through the process and act logically instead of out of fear or worry.”

When McKee was a grad student at Notre Dame, an advisor suggested he give up on pursing a doctorate. McKee again turned to Fisher for clarity and insight.

“We talked, and it was back to him asking me all the right questions,” McKee said. He didn't take sides. He got me to really sit and think about, ‘Well, what are my goals? Are my actions, words and thoughts in alignment with my values? How will my decision shape my life?’ That’s when the mentorship started to go full throttle.”

McKee realized he has a passion for teaching. He completed his doctorate and his post-doc work, took a job as a lecturer at UCR and eventually became an assistant professor. Through it all—the long stretches of research, his doctoral defense, teaching his first classes and adjusting to a new career—McKee leaned on Fisher for advice and support.

“He's a very dear and close friend, but also I still consider him very much a mentor and a role model,” McKee said. “When I'm dealing with a difficult student or when I'm trying to navigate university politics, I ask myself, ‘If Dr. Fisher was in my shoes, what would he do?’ That’s what has guided me the whole way.”