Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, Ph.D., associate professor of educational studies, died Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. She was 70 years old.
Pierce joined Saint Louis University in 2015 as an assistant professor in the School of Education. Initially a literacy specialist in the undergraduate program, she eventually taught and mentored across all levels at the School of Education. She became an associate professor in 2022.
Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, Ph.D., advises a student in 2016. Pierce died Dec. 10, 2025. SLU file photo.
“I had no idea what an intellectual companion and visionary she would be here in this building, but she was both,” said Jennifer Buehler, Ph.D., associate professor of educational studies. “She had that brilliant, visionary, critical lens that encouraged students and colleagues to think more about equity and justice and power.”
Pierce’s research interests included children’s literature, teacher beliefs and practices, and classroom discourse.
“She really believed that we learned best in relationship with each other and that there were ways that you could design interactions to help children learn well,” said Molly Schaller, Ph.D., associate dean and professor in the School of Education.
Having expertise in classroom discourse seemed to influence Pierce’s own teaching and leadership within the School of Education.
“Kathryn was terrific at setting up opportunities for us to talk about things that might be challenging in a way where we could do it civilly, thoughtfully, where everyone’s voice could be heard,” said Gary W. Ritter, Ph.D., dean and professor in the School of Education. “She was masterful at encouraging us to work together in ways where we were kind and gentle and somehow still hold each other accountable.”
In addition to teaching and conducting research, Pierce directed doctoral dissertations, served on academic committees, wrote and contributed to numerous books and journal articles, and delivered many papers at academic conferences.
Ritter said Pierce was integral to the process of redesigning the undergraduate curriculum that the School of Education launched four years ago. She created several new courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She also chaired the School of Education’s faculty assembly.
“She had a vision not just for her own research or course load but for the School of Education — and specifically for graduate educational studies when she became program director,” said Karissa Sywulka, who was Pierce’s graduate assistant and is currently finishing a doctorate in curriculum and instruction.
Pierce was active in the National Council for Teachers of Education and was a member of the Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking, Mid-Missouri LLA (Literacies and Languages for All), Missouri Council of Teachers of English, and Literacy Research Association, among other professional organizations.
“Her reach was so broad, and she had so many amazing relationships,” Schaller said. “And then she connected them with us.”
Pierce started her career in education as an elementary school teacher in 1978. In 1984, she began the first of a few assistant professorships at colleges and universities in the St. Louis area. Through much of the 1990s and early 2000s, she taught in elementary and middle schools with an emphasis on literacy and writing curriculum support. She also served in an adjunct capacity at several universities in St. Louis, Columbia, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, throughout her career.
Pierce earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Stephens College in 1978. She earned a master’s in reading curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri – Columbia in 1982 and a doctoral degree in reading and language education from Indiana University – Bloomington in 1986.
“She had a lot of different interests, which came out in her teaching because she loved things to be multimodal,” Sywulka said. “She was always tinkering. She was very creative and also very intellectual.”
Buehler said that in addition to a full professional life, Pierce shared “the pleasure she took in taking all of her knowledge of children’s literature and young people, and pouring it into her own family.”
“Her approach was purposeful and intentional and full throttle. She poured herself into every course, every advising session, every meeting,” Schaller said. “She made me want to be better at my work.”
She is survived by her mother, Lois K. Mitchell; daughters Jennifer O’Neal (Andrew) and Courtney Logue (Kyber); grandchildren Kaitlyn, Anna and Henry O’Neal, and Tere and Vaitiare Logue; two brothers; and her nieces, nephews and their children.
A celebration of Pierce’s life will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Church of St. Michael and St. George in Clayton, Missouri. The service will begin at 11 a.m.
Saint Louis University’s School of Education plans to host a memorial in the spring.
