Thomas R. Schnell, Ph.D.Thomas Schnell received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a major in English and a minor in Speech. He received a Master of Science degree from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, majoring in Secondary Education-Reading and minoring in English literature. His Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with emphasis in Reading was awarded by SIU-Carbondale. Dr. Schnell taught in various Illinois high schools and one elementary school and at the St. Louis Community College district before coming to UM-St. Louis in 1971. At this institution he has twice served as chair of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, as Associate Dean, and as Interim Dean of the College of Education. He is a long time member of the International Reading Association, the National Conference on Research in Literacy, the Holmes Group, and the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.
For the past several years, Dr. Schnell has served as the Director of the Regional Center for Education and Work, an effort funded primarily by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, and involving partnerships with a variety of businesses and agencies. The RCEW's focus is on developing and maintaining relationships between the worlds of education and of work.
Since his retirement from full-time employment at UMSL, Dr. Schnell has continued with his administration of the RCEW building, advising several doctoral students, most of whom are studying in higher and/or adult education, and serving as the Dean's representative on the renovation and restructuring of the Ward Barnes Library building.
