UMSL @ 60 - Steve Moehrle

Audio file

Steve Moerhle Recording Part 1.mp3

Transcript

Franklin Morris: 00:01:00: Hello, my name is Franklin Morris and I'm here with on November 29th, 2023 and I'm conducting an interview and with an UMSL alumnus for the UMSL at 60 Anniversary Project. Could you please state your name and spell it for the record?

Steve Moerhle: Sure, the name is Stephen Morley. I go by Steve. The first name is spelled S-T-E-P-H-E-N, nickname Steve. And then the last name M-O-E-H-R-L-E. And I am a 1985 graduate of the University of Missouri, Saint Louis.

Franklin Morris: All right, Steve. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. 00:02:00I would like to remind you that you are being recorded and then afterwards I do have a form for you to sign. It's a release form for the project, but this interview we're going to be talking a lot about you and your personal history here at the University of Missouri St. Louis, before we get started, I'd like to ask how are you doing today?

Steve Moerhle: 00:03:00doing great.

Franklin Morris: Glad to hear it. All righty to kind of get us started off I'd kind of like to ask a few general personal questions about you.

Franklin Morris: Where? Where were you born and where are you from?

Steve Moerhle: I was born in South Saint Louis and just near the city line in the in the county. And so I grew up in South Saint Louis and have then came here. If you'd like, I'll give you the biography. I came here as an undergraduate and then graduated, worked for the CPA firm Earnst and Winnie, right out of college, and I practiced for seven years total.

Steve Moerhle: Before and at and during those days at night, I got an MBA from Saint Louis University and then I decided to pursue what I always wanted to do, and that is be a professor. And I went to the, entered the doctoral program at Indiana University and earned a Master of Accounting and a PhD. In business and accounting.

Steve Moerhle: 00:04:00And major in accounting at Indiana.

Franklin Morris: Wow. So you went from growing up in Saint Louis to moving--I am just making sure I have the picture right. You went from growing up in Saint Louis, coming here to also for your undergrad, then moving to get your doctoral program at Indiana State University. Now Indiana State University?

Steve Moerhle: Indiana University.

Steve Moerhle: Indiana State is actually a different university, so that's why I'm specifying.

Franklin Morris: Oh, I see. My apologies.

Steve Moerhle: Yeah, it’s alright.

Franklin Morris: Right. So, after getting your doctoral degree, did you come back and teach here at UMSL or did you move--

Steve Moerhle: I we our first, my first job out of Indiana. So, I taught in Indiana and then I taught at on the I was on the faculty at the University of California Irvine and the University of Southern California and then and I absolutely loved it out there in the University of Southern California. So wonderful. Wonderful place to work, but we had some personal reasons to return to the Midwest and simultaneously my wife is also.

Steve Moerhle: 00:05:00A faculty member in accounting and as many know when you're when you're a couple in this business, it can be difficult to remain to, you know, to find the right opportunity. And we felt like long term, given our personal family situation as well as our career situation when we got the opportunity to return to the Midwest and indeed to my alma mater, we decided that that was the best thing to do, and it was. It was a good decision overall.

Franklin Morris: Wow. Really. Really. So, to move on to kind of, did you, were you always thinking about going to college when you were growing up? What really inspired you to come?

Steve Moehrle: Inspired, I just. I love yes from the early, early, early age. I love learning. Learning is my passion and so college was was it was absolutely going to happen. If I could make it happen and that's where University Missouri St. Louis comes in because it was very influential in making it happen and then? Yeah. And I always, always planned on getting a college education. 00:06:00And so literally, I remember it was some well it was 1980 probably the spring of 81 and I went into the guidance counselor at my high school Bayless. And it was Mr. Young and I said, you know, I marvel that I saw.

Franklin Morris: Just one of those incredible moments. I guess that just happened out of the blue.

Steve Moerhle: Yeah, yeah.

Franklin Morris: Are there any things you seem you have? You seem to have a very full satisfied experience of the university or the undergraduate experience? But was there anything that you feel like you may have missed out on anything you wish you could have experienced a bit more of?

Steve Moehrle: Yes, certainly. You know, certainly I am a huge, huge college sports fan. So by all means, you know the experience of 00:07:00SEC or big 10 Football, you know, big 10 basketball, of course.

Franklin Morris: I would get that later in life by.

Steve Moerhle: You know, to the extent that I was able to take advantage of it and Indiana, but that was certainly something that that was missed out on that would I would have uniquely loved because of my huge, huge love of college sports.

Franklin Morris: So for those of us who are unfamiliar, who may be listening, what is big 10 football or the Big 10 SEC?

Steve Moehrle: Yeah, the it is of course huge. Now it is the nature attending the tailgate and then the pregame and hearing the hearing, the bands in the distance and tailgating, and then attending games like, you know, like this, 00:08:00you and I are speaking after what is known as rivalry weekend. And so there was the game between Michigan and Ohio State that's known as the game and everybody that ever set foot on either the campuses watches passionately. My son is an Alabama grad and they have the Alabama Auburn, what's known as the Iron Bowl. And you know, so that meant for him when he was a student there, that meant getting up early and going and watching all the festivities and tailgating all day and getting in the stadium. And again, the the marching bands and the chance and the fun around that day that that is a wonderful college experience and. All the young people that do that, but we have plenty of things that we're blessed by here as well.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. Absolutely. I'd say so. Now we've mentioned a lot of individuals who have certainly been formulated and you've talked about a lot of individuals either in faculty or that you've got to know 00:09:00after becoming a faculty member that have kind of shaped your unusual experience. Do you have any particular stories or specifics that you'd like to talk about with one or more of them?

Steve Moerhle: It's one that those around the Business School have heard a lot. But I think it's really special. My, my dear, dear, dear friend and mentor Dave. Hands and this would have been.

Steve Moerhle: The spring semester of 1983 and I was taking managerial accounting, which is a required accounting course for all business majors. Then I would then I would start the bid, the accounting major proper and one day I had to go up and work. They made solutions manuals available and I was up looking at how I did on my homework and making sure and learning from the solutions manual. So I was sitting in a little small work room and across the hall. 00:10:00I was listening to this man speaking to a student. And I absolutely stopped what I was doing and I . . . I guess this is eavesdropping so guilty. I apologize to both of them for doing this, but I listen to that conversation And I thought to myself that is going to be my profession someday, and I'm going to do it just like whoever that is in that office. So Needless to say I I finished my work with the solutions manual and then as I walked out I just looked at the name on the door and it was David Gans. And so, you know, he became a wonderful friend and he's a wonderful friend to this day and a mentor throughout.

Franklin Morris: And with that, that's so I'm guessing you're not the only one who's experienced or heard 00:11:00Professor Gans across the hall with down the hall. Then, if that's such a popular story.

Steve Moehrle: You couldn't you have just made one of the great UMSL understatements of all time. He's known as Mr. Ramsell, and he's known as Mr. Ramsell for a reason. To this day when we go out and we friend raise to make sure that you know, we continue to make UM Saint Louis great. When I go out to UMSL alum they all ask about Dave and rightfully so. He is the he's the face of the College of business. Indeed for many of the base of University of Missouri St. Louis, but certainly the College of business. So if you come to our wonderful, beautiful Anheuser-Busch Hall, you'll see the Dave Ganz's classroom 00:12:00and you'll see the list of generous donors that donated in his name and and built A and that constituted building a significant portion of that building. So he's beloved.

Franklin Morris: It's really great to hear, yeah.

Franklin Morris: With that, now that we've talked about that a bit, were there any that you could think of or that you might remember unpleasant or challenging experiences on campus for you more specifically or even in general, something that just happened that stuck out to you?

Steve Moerhle: That's a great question.

Steve Moehrle: That is a great question. Let me think about that.

Steve Moehrle: Excuse me for the pause.

Franklin Morris: It's alright, it's alright. It is a memory interview pauses are expected.

Steve Moerhle: Right. And I appreciated the last chance that really conjured up some. Fun memories. 00:13:00I am very, very, very happy to say. That nothing is rushing right to mind.

Franklin Morris: It is, it is always good to hear. If there's nothing that you have, like, I've had this story and I've been waiting to tell it for 30 years, no question. I would think, at least for me, even in the history that we're that's a good thing necessarily, because it means as unrealistic as it sounds, there might not be one. Now, that's very unrealistic, but.

Steve Moehrle: That I I will say the most and there was one thing. This to this day, probably the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me, and that is I had a I had a bit of a knee injury from from A and so my knee was quite stiff and it locked up on me and I fell down several steps in a lecture hall in front of everybody. 00:14:00And so that was obviously when most humiliating moments of my life, early in the semester. So I so I had to deal with I had that, that was my burden to bear for a semester. I was the guy. And but you know what? In the end, that's all part of college. Because I learned to deal with humiliating moments. I'm a clumsy individual to this day, and I just own it. And I probably learned to own it from that experience. So that's it, but that's part of what it means to be a college student.Franklin Morris: I can--I couldn't agree more. I've definitely had my fair share of those experiences myself, yeah.

Franklin Morris: Now to kind of shift gears just a little bit, talking about maybe a little bit towards post-graduation and career. How is UMSL really? How do you feel UMSL's really prepared you for that professional world?

Steve Moerhle: When the UMSL graduates from accounting walk into those CPA firms we perform on par. You know, just in general we know we know empirically that our graduates perform on par with, though, from all the large accounting programs of the country and certainly Midwest and certainly the you know the 500 mile radius and I felt that way. And and certainly my the success especially of some of the people who did better than me in the profession speaks to that, so it was wonderful, wonderful preparation to enter the CPA profession and remain so.

Franklin Morris: Now in the CPA profession you've you've talked about both in moving from kind of more accounting focus 00:16:00to teaching focus and how you were inspired by Professor Gaines into saying I want to be in that position someday.

Franklin Morris: When did you really start working towards that? Or did you work through that straight out and work towards that straight out of graduation?

Steve Moehrle: It was. It was always at least in the back of my mind and maybe even more than the back of my mind, kind of forefront, so a couple of things. I was always saving my my my pennies for the possibility of going to a doctoral program #1. And number and #2, I was always remaining interested and in in the thought of entering the profession. So that's probably the the biggest thing. And it was, you know, and it was my, among other things, I it was the how much I loved it here and loved the learning being on a college campus and learning constantly and learning with others.

Franklin Morris: That's very that's. That's really great.

Steve Moehrle: 00:17:00And and being having such access to those professors, you know, even even in our, you know, certainly in our major classes, but also in the general education classes. Again, I was blessed to be in the South Mariners program, so that the classes were. Especially intimated, and we got to know the professors especially well. But in those days, if you if you want, if you wish to, you could forge a relationship with any professor you cared. The classes weren't that big here.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. Absolutely. Now you touched on your wife earlier saying she was also a faculty member and kind of shifting gears a little bit. Again, did is she also an UMSL alumnus?

Steve Moehrle: She she is not. We met in the doctoral program. So very, very coincidentally, she also worked for the firm, 00:18:00the CPA firm Ernst and Winnie, which has now has merged and is the CPA firm Ernst and Young or EY, she worked but we put in a different city, a different office. She was a University of Kentucky undergraduate and then we would meet in the doctoral program in Indiana University.

Franklin Morris: Alrighty, did you have any other family members attend upsell or either for an undergraduate or masters or doctoral degree?

Steve Moerhle: Let's see. Well, as a matter of fact, my daughter. Don't know why that took so long to come to mine. Yes, my my daughter earned her undergraduate degree at Samford University and then came here and entered what has been a life changing program for her. And that is the masters of behavioral analysis, which is a new program on campus. And they prepared her wonderfully for her career forward of certified behavioral and analyst working to improve the lives 00:19:00of of young people on and young and old on the on the autism spectrum. And so it's been a great blessing for her.

Franklin Morris: That's very. That's really incredible. Truly. It's always great to hear about people going in with just that drive of I'm going to change the world in big ways and small and that seems to be the general attitude of almost all students as well and.

Steve Moerhle: The thing if there's one word that I've always described our student population is humble. Even among the alumnus. The humility here is just so inspiring. They're bright, but they're humble and they're yes and she certainly fits into that mode as well. I must admit I'll add, I tell my students all the time. They'll vouch I tell them you're too humble. Make me work harder. Ask me more questions. 00:20:00Ask me more tough questions come to my office hours. You're you. You, you, you, you deserve everything we're in. We're investing in making you great. Our goal. Our goals are to help you meet your goals. And so. You know, use us.

Franklin Morris: And that's also very great too. That definitely in my undergrad program, I wish I had professors be more blunt and ask “ask us harder questions”. I've certainly had the opposite of the professor saying. I know everything you've got. You are going to be shaped by my knowledge, yes. And I think everybody, I think everybody's had that professor. Yeah, but it's really glad to hear from you, a professor here, a faculty member here saying this is the approach that you're having.

Steve Moehrle: That's what makes it fun.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. How long have you been teaching here at UMSL?

Steve Moerhle: Since 1999.

Franklin Morris: 1999. So that'd be about. . . (trails off).

Steve Moehrle: Yes, like 24 years when their 25th year.Franklin Morris: 24 years.

Franklin Morris: Was there any moment that really sticks out to you in those 24 years of teaching here.

Steve Moerhle: There's a lot of them.

Franklin Morris: I can look down the question a bit if you'd like.

Franklin Morris: Any moment that strikes you as a reflective piece of this is why I came into this career. This is why I chose…

Steve Moehrle: So yeah that that we have every year is our. Our goal is to take young people from, you know, primarily modest backgrounds and prepare them to to have a a life beyond their beyond their their dreams. It did it for me. UMSL did it for me. I I never dreamed that I could be where I am in life. When I was, when I when I came here at 18 years old. 00:22:00And so every year we have that where we see young people onto the CPA profession and become partners and you know not that that's the most important thing, but wealthy beyond their dreams as well as successful beyond their dreams and we've seen them, we've seen wonderful marriages out of our student population and just living there, living the life that they wished for themselves. That's what we do this for.

Franklin Morris: And that's I think very great and an amazing, inspiring message to get behind for faculty and students alike.

Franklin Morris: Even sooner.

Steve Moehrle: Parents come up to us, tears in their eyes at at commencement for, you know, for what their you know what, what their child has, what their student has achieved and what they're what they are entering this great CPA profession. Most of our students enter the CPA profession and the parents see their salary and they see that they had four offers from world class CPA firms 00:23:00of all sizes and it's just so, so enriching, and so inspiring.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely to kind of shift gears just a little bit, again, back to focusing on your time on campus a bit start off. Do you have and by all means you do not have to answer if you do not wish. Do you? Do you identify with any form of faith or religious belief or practice?

Steve Moehrle: I'm very proud to answer that question. I respect everybody that. But yes, I am an evangelical Christian and it's the single most important thing in my life. So I do.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. And was there a community active here on at UMSL when you were a student?

Steve Moerhle: 00:24:00I come to realize that I was a bit nominal in my faith in those days, so I bet there was a wonderful community and to my detriment, I I was not yet prepared to take advantage of what would have what what is just a wonderful, wonderful aspect of certainly my life.

Franklin Morris: Would you say at UMSL your faith was challenged or changed in any way and during your experience here?

Steve Moerhle: It I what's the biggest thing it did is taught me to think so that when I would begin to think about the big questions and analyze the evidence around one's faith. I felt prepared to do so.

Franklin Morris: That's always good as well. I feel that today it's a question that's sometimes ignored and I think it's important that we talk about those things as well because you we're full of skeptics today.

Steve Moerhle: Yeah, sure. 00:25:00And we and we need to we need to respect everyone you know about that hugely important decision and I, you know certainly where are all of them those that do adhere to any of the major religions that are taught to love everyone. And you know. And turn the other cheek and all those wonderful qualities, and. And we will. I will always do that. And I think all my all fellow believers will agree with that. So. So I love the fact that there are those of every faith on Earth walking around this campus right now and indeed often setting up tables. In our in our, you know, tabling, which we call it on college campuses to in case anyone has questions about their about their activities and their beliefs and it's wonderful to see that. And it's wonderful to the atheists are here too to bring their beliefs and discuss if they care to.

Franklin Morris: I agree.

Franklin Morris: 00:26:00Yes, and has until always been that way. Since your time as an undergrad to your time as a faculty member now, has it always been that open, expecting, experiencing all cultures and beliefs and experiences? Or has it since opened up even more since after?

Steve Moerhle: It's uniquely. It's a unique if this goes back to the quality of the early faculties, the tradition of free speech here, the tradition of open inquiry is solid. It has always been, of course, we're a secular State University, so we have no particular dog in the. In the fight, so to speak. But they have. I have never felt for one more. That anyone's beliefs were under attack and certainly not around the faith, not around. The question of faith. I hope that's true, and I hope that's true today. Certainly hope that anyone believes that's true as it relates to my interactions with any other human being on this earth.

Franklin Morris: 00:27:00Absolutely, I agree. And I do hope that is true and remains so. Now to move on to a little a little bit more of the cultural side of religious things. Were you exposed to any new or at the time, unfamiliar cultures or cultural practices or experiences at your time?

Steve Moerhle: So, oh, let's see, Sir. It's not. It was not as diverse as it is today. This is a, as you know, a wonderfully diverse student body. And it's that's been a tremendous addition to the value of this university at that time. We were a largely commuter campus. And at that time, Saint Louis was not as diverse. So I certainly was exposed to all the great diversity that the Saint Louis area would bring in those days, 00:28:00but we didn't have the wonderfully developed Bosnian population and we and and we didn't have the the the many students that we bring in from China and India. So there wasn't as much of that. There were a few, probably mostly in the Masters programs, because already the Masters programs, the research based master programs were strong. So we had we had some but not the quality that we have today where as you know this is. A&A one of the most wonderfully diverse places I've ever seen.

Franklin Morris: I completely agree with that and it does make sense of how overtime as populations around commuter schools diversify. That would then bring diversity to the campus as well.

Steve Moerhle: And this is that's one place where I have to throw out some some kudos to, I believe the people at the at the genesis of this 00:29:00were Blanche Touhill and Joel Glassman, and they built that vision of bringing diversity onto the onto the campus.

And it has made it.

They their their intentional activities toward that end have borne fruit and then been continued on through the the work of people like Leona Constantine.

Franklin Morris: And the people you mentioned that, could you elaborate more on who they are and what they what they did?

Steve Moerhle: Of course. So Blanche Touhill is is one of the most amazing leaders I've ever met. I've ever crossed paths with, she was if she wasn't, she didn't spend her whole career with UMSL. She spent the large portion of it. She would rise from professor to administrator, and I believe to what I then believe was called Vice Chancellor. 00:30:00But it's what we now know is Provost and then she would become the chancellor in about 1988. And many of the visions both I I am very confident that when I've spoken about the early influential leaders and I'm so I suspect as a faculty member. Blanche was part of that and my sense while I wasn't here and I don't know this for sure my sense was that. Blanche and then through a shared passion for diversity with with Joel Glassman, they built this and Joel was a professor of I believe history. I actually had an I attended a special lecture by him on Chinese history back in you know about 1983. And so I knew Joel, even as a professor here. But then what I would return, he was leading the the center that emphasized. 00:31:00Relationships with international universities, international scholars, international students and and that is now a very successful center here. So Joel grew from.

History Professor Joel, I'm sorry if you were not a history professor, but I believe that's right. Might have been. Political science might have been political science. Yes, let's put 5050 on it. He might have been political science, but I've most of the years that I've worked closely with him. He's been the administrator working with relationships with international.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. And would you say that Umsl was kind of on the forefront of opening up to more of the international focus from the global body of students when universities first started.

Steve Moerhle: Great question. I'm not just saying here because we're sitting here. I suspect by all means it was one of the early, so it was in a group at that time known as the Urban 13 which I believe some of the some of the prominent members were 00:32:00Temple in Philadelphia.

And I believe the University of Alabama, Birmingham, maybe University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, but my sense is in versus Missouri. St. Louis was very influential in that group. And I suspect that Blanche Touhill was very influential in his leadership. And I suspect that especially within our genre.

And especially within our financial means, we were an early mover on being very successful in that in that important niche of building diversity, international diversity.

Franklin Morris: That's very incredible and I think I've heard the term urban, 13 thrown around a couple of times, but it's nice to kind of have that explanation as well as this, this group of universities that pushed towards more international focus.

Steve Moerhle: Right. And the what the urban 13 it was a group that 00:33:00that advocated and shared best practices for universities. 4 year, primarily, 4 year research universities that are that are placed in the very important mission of providing a four year research based education to the place the place bound citizens of that particular city. So it was an important group, it's an important thought group. To this day, I believe our Chancellor Kristin Sobolik is currently head on a two year presidency of that.

Group and it's an important group to this day to making sure that the those at universities of this of this genre receive the best possible research based education.

That we can deliver.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. Now with your time both as a faculty member for the past 24 or 20 going on 25 years, and as your time as a student to switch to a bit more of a lighthearted and fun topic, I'd like to talk about the food on campus 00:34:00and how that's kind of changed from when you were an undergraduate student in the very beginning of UMSL to kind of what we see today with the Nosh and to start off what is your relationship with like, what you remember as an undergrad, with food at UMSL?

Steve Moerhle: It's, it's so that one does conjure up a very profound memory. Every day, at that time, there was a glorified shed. I believe it was a storage shed for the Country Club, as as many know that are listening to this. This was the former home of, this was formerly Belle Reeve Country Club, which is now the wonderful Country Club out in out in the West County area of Saint Louis that hosts many of the 00:35:00major PGA tournaments over the years. Well, this was where it was located at the time, so it's of course, as you've, if those who visit the campus, it's gorgeous.

Because it was a lays like a Country Club where you'd put a Country Club and I believe it was a shed for equipment at that Country Club that unsealed the early father, the early fathers and mothers of the campus turned into a game room. And so it had ping pong and pool tables, and it had a little snack bar. That would that I would go almost every day and grab a hot dog, a chips and a coke and then play ping pong or pool with, with with the people there, with the friends there. That was almost every day.

Franklin Morris: Almost every day. Wow. So.

Franklin Morris: Did we go from just that tiny snack bar to the extensive nosh that we have today?

Steve Moerhle: 00:36:00Now correct that wasn't the that wasn't even the primary source. So no, we had a wonderful student center down at the lower level at that time of of the of what is now called the well it was called then the JCPenney building. So we had a cafeteria.

It was quite good. I just happened to be what I was doing, so I was making a very unhealthy choice, which was like, unfortunately, something I tended to do in those days a lot, but it was very fun.

Franklin Morris: Oh no. And there's nothing wrong with those trips. That's what college is all about making those choices.

Steve Moerhle: Making those mistakes.

Franklin Morris: And Is that snack bar still there?

Steve Moerhle: Oh no, the building's not even there. What where it's sat is now probably partially the the big we have for those who haven't been at campus, 00:37:00we have this really, really interesting pyramid above our wonderful mercantile library, which is a specialty museum slash library housed on our campus.

Again, by the by the the great work of our leaders then, which was led by the person I've spoken about a lot, Blanche Touhill and and her chief of staff Don Dreamier, well there they they have this wonderful artwork, architecture of a pyramid. That's where it's sat.

Franklin Morris: So basically the the peer down view of the archives and museum and library portion is where that little shed sat with the game and the uh. . .

Steve Moerhle: That's that's right, yeah.

Franklin Morris: Man, I've walked past that so many times I've never thought once this is.

Franklin Morris: Probably where I should was.

Steve Moerhle: Yeah. So if you see an old picture of campus, it looks like a, it looks like a cabin was built probably, you know, to look fairly nice, even though my suspicion it was maybe it was a 9th hole watering hole. So not now that I speak through with you, I bet it might have been that I might have. It might have been the at the at maybe the turn what they say in golf, in golf country clubs, it might have been the watering hole [00 00:38:00] at the 9th hole or something.

Franklin Morris: The the replenished station.

Steve Moerhle: Yeah, but if you see, if you see an old picture of campus, you can look where that where that pyramid is now and you'll see it. But that's where I spent my lunches.

Franklin Morris: That's really great. And that's--

Steve Moehrle: This fun memory.

Franklin Morris: --kind of what I love doing about this, because you never get stuff like that from the books.

Steve Moerhle: Right, right.

Franklin Morris: Would you mind talking about, like, with the cafeteria, what kind of food they served there? Was it very diverse with nutrition or was it kind of like the common?

Steve Moerhle: It was, it was the class I, if when I did go there I certainly had the burgers and the fries and probably had some healthy 00:39:00choices. Unfortunately, you know, 20–21-year-old Steve wasn't making them but, but I'm sure it had very healthy choices, but I probably went too often towards the hot dogs, the pizza and the hamburgers and the French fries so.

Franklin Morris: I mean, hey, hey, that's that's to be expected with college. You're there for like, if you're. If you're rushing to class, the Burger's hot and ready to go and it's a cooler day as you get in Saint Louis and you're thinking, Okay, do I want a burger or do I want a cold salad? We're going to go with the burgers. Cause not only is the salad more expensive, the burgers hot and ready.

Steve Moerhle: That's right. There was another there was another memory from lunch is if I often had a class in.

Probably 1:00 to 2:15. You know, 11 to 1:50 at that time, Monday one and Friday or 1:00 to 2:15. Tuesday and Thursday. I often had a class in that slot. Well, I was working often until 1:00 AM.

I wouldn't get home until two and I'd often have to be up here for a nine or 10 you know 9 O'clock class I was tired and so I would always grab my big Coke to make sure that I wasn't having problems staying awake, 00:40:00not that there was anything boring about these classes. Truly, I I don't say that facetiously. They were not boring. I loved them, but I was exhausted, so I would also grab a very large coke to give me a little caffeine for the afternoon.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. And it kind of touches on kind of my next question regarding were there a lot of like because I know that if you go outside of campus a little bit now, there's kind of like this small restaurant community that's built up and one of my questions, Lee too, has that always really been there? Has that always been that kind of restaurant community outside of campus?

Steve Moerhle: There definitely was. There was a, I believe it became a Panteras pizza that sat on what is, you'll know now, Noah's University Blvd. Across from what used to be the Quick Trip. 00:41:00There was a McDonald's developed in those days. There was a Dairy Queen, there was a there, and the McDonald's was up on Natural Bridge. And then there was several good once you were 21, there were several good bar and grills along Natural Bridge.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. And I've kind of seen a couple of them that I think we're still around at that time, maybe under different names, but one of the more interesting questions that I've or I think one of the questions I'm more interested in learning about is you've talked about having a lot of nights where you've stayed up till like doing work, doing research. So one or two in the morning and with an undergrad, at least from my experience, there's always that place where you go where like it's one in the morning, you're kind of hungry, you're looking for that place that stays open all through the night. Did you have one of those places that you went to?

Steve Moerhle: Well, for me the for me that was I had a very, very cool job.

A lot of those nights that allowed me to do tremendous study, I was working at a bowling center. 00:42:00And in those days bowling was extremely popular. So every lane would be used from 5:30 PM to 1:00 AM. And so the the the center would pay a person a young person to be behind the machines at all times because they didn't want the people left to wait if there was a breakdown. So I was literally told stay back there all night. And of course, there were some nights when there was just constant prop. Some machine was acting up, but some nights it would allow me to really, really study. So I bought myself some earplugs and I took my work back there 00:43:00and it was just a wonderful way, a wonderful college university job. Yeah. So, well, very often I was studying a lot now what was really bad was there was times when I needed to study and some machine wasn't cooperating. Well, that was that was just meant to. I had a long night ahead of me.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely, absolutely. And with that, with also kind of forefront to kind of tie the culture and the food together. Did some of the menus at Umsl when you were here either attending or came back as a professor start reflecting that a more international focus as it started drawing more people in?

Steve Moerhle: You bet it did. I, we've had several good vendors, all all the vendors have been, I think excellent current vendor.

Steve Moerhle: Is Sodexo and they've been for several years and they've been wonderful. 00:44:00And I I think the choice is I think the choices on campus all the way from our what we call our Nash, which is the place where we have choices of various types of foods and everything from sushi to salad to grilled burgers to pizza.

Steve Moerhle: To subway as well. Uhm.

Steve Moerhle: We we have we have that and they'll be Taco Tuesday. So we have that and then I'm blessed to very often be participating in events catered by our our current vendor, Sodexo and they're they're wonderful and unbelievably diverse choices to to meet the the popular.

Franklin Morris: And you might not be able to remember this from your undergrad, but has it always been Sodexo, kind of catering to UMSL?

Steve Moerhle: It is not there now. The good news. That's a very competitive industry. All of them are superb vendors that that provide excellent food. You know you you go now to the dorms and everybody who's everybody who's had the the a young person at college talks about that. They can't believe the quality of the food and the dorms.

Steve Moerhle: And these are all the same five or six or seven vendors, of which Sodexo is a large one and they just do a wonderful job and then they do that here as well.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely, absolutely.

Steve Moerhle: It's fun. It's fun to complain about the food, but believe me, wait, take it from this 61 year old students of today. You got it pretty good.

Frankin Morris: And that was kind of ties to my next question. What was the cafeteria like? Because I I sometimes see students kind of complaining about the food today as it was and some of the older faculty, I've heard like snippets of saying, oh, you guys don't even know the half of it. “You guys don't know what it used to be like way—"

Steve Moerhle: Right.

Franklin Morris: “--back when” I was wondering if you had any stories about just the.

Steve Moerhle: I would, I would say this is funny that you ask because anybody knows me knows that I love food and I would be, I've got some skills in life, but I would be the absolutely single positively worst food critic in the world because I love everything. God blesses us with that food and it's all good. And so I'm probably not the right person to talk because I liked it then and I like it now.

Franklin Morris: And that's alright. There's nothing wrong with that. I just figure I’d ask cause it seems like everyone has that one moment of that one thing that they serve that the cafeteria.

Steve Moerhle: Right.

Franklin Morris: It's kind of a nice change of pace here and some of that doesn't have that story there, right? To kind of move away from food. 00:47:00But a bit more of a serious, more serious topic of political systems and like the politics of the canvas, were there any political activities you participated or were active in at UMSL as your time as an undergrad?

Steve Moerhle: You know our there there were not and trying to think back. It was a time of relative calm in the world we were in. We were amidst what is known as the Cold War, but it was, it was quite cold at the time. And again at that, in those days, we all you know, I worked 32 hours a week and and took a full time, reasonably rigorous major of of business and accounting and so I didn't have time to be to become involved in it all that much even if it were going on. But but yeah, I don't believe there was anything profound 00:48:00in those days. We certainly had the the hilltop preacher. Who sometimes have some rather jilted theology. So now that I've that I've studied theology quite deeply. I I I know the strengths and the weaknesses of the stuff that, that the, the hilltop preacher is is preaching and I still to this day listen and can assess both the strengths and the weaknesses of what's coming out of them. But that certainly was here as it is on a it's a class. It's as American College campus as as as the football Saturday.

Franklin Morris: So with the hilltop preacher, do you mean the people that will sometimes come out, stand up a bit and start preaching with, like the megaphone in hand?

Steve Moerhle: Yes. Yeah.

Franklin Morris: In like the square or the commonplace?

Steve Moerhle: Right. If you yes. And the thing I would emphasize is if you're not a, if you're not real studied in theology, 00:49:00you don't have to believe every word they're saying. They're they're theology is can be quite good, and it can be quite bad, as true with everybody.

Franklin Morris: Oh, absolutely. Probably just with that. With a title like the Hilltop Preacher, I wanted to make the distinction there, someone which--

Steve Moerhle: Yeah, yeah.

Franklin Morris: There's someone specific that comes to mind. Not I did not know, like earned the title?

Steve Moerhle: Ours. But my wife speaks of the one that you know, they all, they every university campus has one and the the one that her university was known as Jed Smock, and he had some he had some good theologies, some bad theology in my life, and I laugh about it a lot. We certainly had the Jed smock. I don't know his name. I do know the one that is here now.

Steve Moerhle: And he's he's not bad in his theology, the the one that we primarily see show up once a semester and and get on the megaphone. 00:50:00He's not. He's he's got some weaknesses in his theology, but it's not that terrible.

ranklin Morris: Absolutely.

Steve Moerhle: And who am I to judge?

Franklin Morris: Right, right, right.

Franklin Morris: And did UMSL contribute to your shaping of political like the way you viewed politics and your political views? I know in the cold, in that kind of Cold War era, even when it was really cold, there was like the standard line of politics of what was right and wrong, but around that time too, and correct me if I'm wrong, there were some at least on the university level, certain challenges to that way of viewing things.

Steve Moerhle: I could not be more proud of the way again. I think back to especially Chuck Core and Lance Lalu. Lance was a political science professor that I enjoyed and I believe he's passed away. So if I'm right, may he rest in peace. Good man. Lance and Chuck. 00:51:00Really. They didn't. I don't know their politics. I don't care about their politics. They sure told me how to think about the world. Chuck taught me how to think freely. Uhm. And Lance, both of them taught me how to taught me how to think critically about the civilization in Chuck's case, he was teaching Western civilization. Joel taught Eastern civilization. Joel Glassman, who I mentioned earlier, Lance Lalu taught political science and they taught it in such an effective way to just be critical to be critically analyze your views and, if you wish, critically but politely analyze the views of anyone else. Wonderful education, wonderful liberal arts education here.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely. Could you elaborate a bit more on some of the more specific beliefs, or maybe like models or I hate to say proverbs, 00:52:00but of certain things that they said that really stuck out to you.

Steve Moerhle: I remember. Let's see. . .

Franklin Morris: I apologize for the tough questions.

Steve Moerhle: It's OK. No, it's a good. It's a good question. It's very fair.

Steve Moerhle: Again, it is the beauty of their the beauty of studying under these two people. Was that it was all about shape, about making informing your argument, shaping your argument, delivering your argument critically, assessing your argument and then critically assessing others, and that was so much the emphasis of the UN ESL faculty that I worked with as an undergrad and nothing could have been more important than I think pretty good at it as a result, not as good as those two. The the people I've mentioned are, but I'm pretty pretty good at. 00:53:00I think I'm fair at listening to everyone's arguments.

Franklin Morris: I have no doubt, based on just sitting here, talking with you for a bit, I have no doubt about that whatsoever? Steve Moerhle: Good.

Franklin Morris: It's just along the lines of I kind of want I kind of want to feel that question out a bit because I noticed today that there's this shift in teaching how to argue from critical analysis to, at least in politics, in which you see, they're just attacking your opponent's character and and I know that I've never really seen that on UMSL UMSL's campus. So I was kind of wondering not from where UMSL stands, but UM where that may have come from?

Steve Moerhle: Yeah, it's lamentable. You're you're. You could not be more right. It's so lamentable. And I will say I believe not because there's so many friends. But I believe that our, our university, for the most part does a great job of not being horrible in pushing beliefs upon people. And that's that is it that nothing could be more important for the life of the institution. 00:54:00And I would go so far as to say that I know of several colleagues, and I'll put myself on this list, who, if there were an issue, we would be glad to take our colleague aside and say, “Look, your passion is wonderful, but students have said that this this occurred” is is that is that a decent description of of what happened in that scenario and if it is we, I think there's plenty of senior scholars on this campus that would say please we we need to be respectful. So we don't have a problem as far as I know. And but if we did, I think there's plenty of very, very beloved, you know, mutually 00:55:00respected and beloved colleagues that would work towards lessening it, and I'm very proud to say that. And I would if it were different. I would say it because nothing can be more important to the, to the life of an institution than for for it to be accepting of everyone and everyone's views.

Franklin Morris: I complete. I couldn't really agree more with more than I already do with experiencing what I've experienced, even though I've only been on UMSL for a short time.

Steve Moerhle: And and your unit. I love to hear that because you're a master student. You're a master scholar in the social sciences. And so this is, this is the place where the tough questions are debated constantly. And I love the fact that that has been your experience.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely kind of moving on to the values with you said that UMSL's really you've had a lot of people, especially the two that you just mentioned really help you shape the way you view the world. 00:56:00Would you mind kind of like comparing prior to that, how you kind of saw the world, if you really looked at it compared to after your experience it on song.

Steve Moerhle: That shall be glad to say it. I was narrow. I was shallow. My world view, you know, just what. I'm going to get myself a little be a little less tough on myself there. Umm. I've always told friends that one thing that shaped me was growing up as a young person. And watching the Vietnam conflict and struggling with. Everything about those days and then then the upheaval of the 70s and so I loved that just after the 70s ended, 00:57:00just after a very, very tough time in this in this country's history, I came here because the professors here and the the general education courses, primarily at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, provided me with the tools to begin to, in a sophisticated, way process what, what I should feel about our society, our culture, the world politics.

Franklin Morris: And would you say that given that, would you say that I'm so sort of became a safe haven or a bastion against the just incredibly turbulent times of the years, the decades? Prior to its founding and even in the decade that it was founded, there were still some turbulence. Would you say it, UMSL, kind of served as the safe haven for many people?

Steve Moerhle: It did indeed and now that you mention it, not only was it a what--did I feel very safe here, 00:58:00but a bastion within a bastion was the Honors College. This sophomore honors Program Lounge, because again, I go back to that. There it was, you know, 20 at any point in time, 1015 of the of the 60 members of the group would be in there and we'd be talking about these things and these. I just love listening to how intelligent my colleagues were.

Franklin Morris: And that's also really great to hear.

Steve Moerhle: Yeah.

Franklin Morris: And hearing how it solves them.

Steve Moerhle: They put me in my place because they were more well read and more, more intelligent than me.Franklin Morris: And would you say that that's definitely part of that ontological tradition of teaching how to argue kind of this, this idea of respectful disagreement and respectful debate in the sense of someone clearly was speaking about something that they had no, because it happens from time to time, especially when someone has no business speaking on something that they're clearly more uneducated on. And then there's the respectful approach and the disrespectful one, 00:59:00and I see the respectful approach a lot more on campus. Would you say that's just rooted in the way that Umsl is always taught their students?

Steve Moerhle: Of course. Yeah, it is so, so much. So, so much that way. And again, I give all the credit in the world to that, to the generation that is just retiring over the last 10 years for that they built a culture and have the and to their credit several of my colleagues have remained engaged to ensure that it that it remains that way I think of, for example, a political science, long time political science professor here named Marty Rochester. He's very, very willing to, to stay engaged and help people to think about their, about free speech and then so he's just one of the many from that generation 01:00:00that that has led those.

Franklin Morris: And kind of with that, would you say that there was resistance to that idea since it was somewhat novel and when they were trying to lay the foundations and groundwork, was their resistance among the student body and faculty that you experienced?

Steve Moerhle: There definitely was not among the students. I I I never heard a bad word about the sorts of things that we do here now cropping up at universities. Very lamentable if, if the facts around it are as they're being stated, it's very commendable certainly never saw that at at the University of Missouri, St. Louis in my undergraduate days, and nothing has come to my attention. In my 25 years here, that was overly, 01:01:00overly troubling.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely, that makes absolutely, absolutely.

Franklin Morris: I didn't mean to be.

Steve Moerhle: Have there been some some things that some of us cringed? Maybe I've done them, but you certainly, but not anything to the rising, to the levels of some of the stuff that we we read about in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and and.

Franklin Morris: Absolutely didn't mean to be as on current events as I was with that point. Is there anything to kind of start wrapping up of it? Is there anything, any memories? Any experiences you'd like to share that we haven't covered?

Steve Moerhle: 01:02:00Let’s see. Well, I tell you the the, the, the big point that I would, I would reemphasize as I was driving over to to speak with you and it's been such a pleasure the the the the thing that I just come back to is good. This place was at the age of 18. What a what a credit to its early leaders. What an amazing credit and and the way the asset it is and if there is one thing that I want people to hear from me is do your homework and see how good of a university this is, there's always been a bit of a bias in Saint Louis towards the the private institution such that, well, it costs more, therefore it must be better. They're wonderful institutions across this city. God bless all of them for the great things they do. But I would beg everyone to to to study hard at the quality of the University of Missouri, St. Louis degree and what it provides. At its cost, it's a treasure to this city, and I know that the the areas business leaders would, would endorse what I'm saying because 01:03:00they consistently have hired their critical mass of professionals to run their businesses from here and their businesses have done well. So that's the the big the big message I'd like people to hear as someone who is both educated here and then worked here for a great part of his his life.

Franklin Morris: Well, Mr. Moerhle, Moerhle correctly? It’s been an absolute pleasure with this interview with you today. Thank you so much for coming down here and taking this good amount of time to sit here and talk with me and educate me about UMSL campus and some of the history and events that have.

Steve Moerhle: That's just I.

Steve Moerhle: Let's see.Steve Moerhle: It's been my great pleasure.

Franklin Morris: Alright. And I hope you have a great, wonderful afternoon.

Franklin Morris: You bet. And this is Franklin Morris signing off. [End of Recording]