James H. Korn, Ph.D.: 1938-2025

08/21/2025

James H. Korn, Ph.D., emeritus professor of psychology, died July 17, 2025. He was 87.

Korn was a long-time professor at SLU. In 2006, the University established the James H. Korn Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award in recognition of his many contributions to the research on teaching and learning. 

“Jim was a very influential mentor to so many faculty and graduate students in the Psychology department and elsewhere across the university, encouraging us to be the very best we could be for those students we had and have the privilege of teaching,” said Donna LaVoie, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor in the psychology department. “He challenged us to not only be prepared to deliver content well, but to think always about the ethics of what we were doing as teachers, and to think about the success of our students in ways that perhaps we hadn't considered before: to do the ‘right’ thing, not always the expedient thing. He greatly influenced my own teaching and what it means to me to be a faculty member at SLU.”

Korn was born April 30, 1938, in Oak Park, IL. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from Miami University in Ohio in 1960. From there, he earned his master's (1962) and doctorate (1965) degrees in psychology from Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh.

Korn began his academic career in 1964 as a research associate at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. The following year, he was named an assistant professor of psychology at the school. In 1969, he was named an associate professor of psychology at Carnegie-Mellon University. He was naked outstanding teacher of the year at the university in 1970.

In 1974, Korn came to SLU to lead the psychology department. He stayed at SLU until he retired in 2006.

Korn was deeply committed to scholarly teaching at SLU; he was also a member of the faculty committee that first established SLU's teaching center, the Paul C. Reinert, S.J. Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, in 1997. Since 2006, the Reinert Center has given out the James H. Korn Award, with Korn serving as the inaugural recipient of the honor. 

Korn was a member of the Council of Undergraduate Psychology Departments, American Psychological Association, American Association of Higher Education, Psychonomic Society, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Korn was listed in “American Men of Science” and was the author of numerous journal articles. His research interests included college student development, social problem solving, and human learning and motivation.