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“Academic pillar” Bob Seigman ’64, nationally respected biology teacher, faculty leader, and longtime head of the science department, died earlier this week after a brief hospitalization. The entire community is invited to remember him in a memorial service at Childs Memorial Terrace on Saturday, April 15 at 11 a.m.

Bob Seigman came to McDonogh on September 14, 1960 and graduated in 1964. A former teacher remembers him as “a skinny little guy, who, although bright, was rather timid.” He came into his own when he decided to go into teaching. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Union College, Bob collected a master’s in science education from the University of Pennsylvania. He would later describe how much he learned from working with disadvantaged children during teacher training.

Bob returned home in 1969 and spent two years as an assistant dean before moving into the science department. Practically from the start, Bob had all the instincts and characteristics of a great teacher. Demanding, caring, and compassionate in equal measure, he became a student favorite.

As students got to know Bob and adjusted to the intellectual rigor of his classes, they appreciated their teacher more and more. Wrote an ‘03 alumnus who took several courses from Bob, “I could always count on learning more than just science when I walked into his room and that is what I will miss the most. My memories of him are countless, but mostly I remember either laughing with him or him yelling at me. But when he yelled it was always with the intention of getting me to focus …”

Students considered Bob a great resource and advocate as they pondered college majors and careers in the sciences. He was also particularly sensitive to seniors during those tense weeks preceding college admissions decisions.

Bob’s Advanced Placement Biology course had a reputation among students as being exceptionally challenging. Those who enrolled, however, understood they were learning from one of the best.

In fact, Bob was highly involved in the College Board’s Advanced Placement biology program. He served as both grader and grading supervisor for nearly 20 years, often missing McDonogh’s commencement exercises to do so. He also contributed two case studies to the national AP biology curriculum.

Bob was well regarded among AP colleagues from around the country. As news of his death spread, remembrances of Bob and expressions of sympathy filled the group’s listserve. As one posting read, "Bob was one of the best in the AP-Biology community and I hope that his absence from our group will stimulate us to be more like him--friendly, generous, helpful, pleasant, and caring."

Further acknowledgment of Bob’s skill came from the Association of Independent Maryland Schools, which tapped him to serve as a master teacher for its annual rookie educator program.

To colleagues and administrators, Bob was kind, thoughtful, supportive, and exceptionally capable. He was chosen to chair some of the most important committees in school history: boarding life, coeducational boarding, faculty and staff benefits and staffing, and curriculum evaluation, among others. He also served on the faculty senate.

Well aware of the constraints teachers in large school systems faced, Bob often said how fortunate he felt to have the freedom and flexibility to adjust curriculum. A voracious reader, he kept abreast of developments in the sciences, and he and colleagues kept the broader science curriculum thoughtfully revised.

In recent years, he translated his own interests in bioethics and epidemics into science electives for seniors. He appreciated the similar modes of inquiry used in science and art, which led him to help create an interdisciplinary biological drawing class.

Bob treasured the opportunity to use McDonogh’s campus as a classroom. Alumni have vivid memories of hands-on learning in biology class, which Bob strongly favored. A colleague said she admired him because he “took kids out of the comfort of a textbook.”

His plot lab, in which students examine life forms on individual sections of campus land, is a significant component of the biology course. Wrote a 1981 alumna, “I am lucky to have learned from Mr. Seigman, despite some … cold days studying my piece of land …”

In 1989, Bob was named a semifinalist in the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching Sciences and Mathematics program. He was honored at the Maryland Science Center.

In 2001, the Alumni Association recognized Bob with its Distinguished Service Award. The sum of his contributions to the school community was significant. Over the course of his career, Bob served as a houseparent, head houseparent, and coach of cross country, track, and soccer.

Outside McDonogh, Bob’s passion for scientific disciplines, science teaching, and environmental causes influenced all his activities. He worked with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation from its inception and for many years served on the board of the Save Our Streams. For a decade, he also taught biology in the evenings at Carroll Community College.

Until his death, Bob remained closely involved with the Maryland Association of Biology Teachers. He often hosted the group’s Saturday morning meetings on campus and served as its president for several years. He was involved with the National Association of Biology Teachers, as well, editing articles for its official publication, The American Biology Teacher.

When Bob moved to the Hampden neighborhood a few years ago, he helped develop the science curriculum for a public community school there.

Bob is survived by his daughters, Melissa ’95 and Carrie, a sister, and two grandchildren. The family has asked those interested in remembering Bob to send memorial contributions to the McDonogh School science department.