Provost retires after 28 years communting to Coker

Dr. Pat Lincoln will retire the end of this month after commuting from Columbia to Hartsville for 28 years to teach at Coker College.

But the Pontiac Bonneville she has 360,000 miles on will not retire. She said, “It’s just getting broken in.”

Lincoln taught biology for 25 years before moving over to the administrative side three years ago as provost and dean of the faculty.

She taught a wide variety of courses, ranging from invertebrate and vertebrate biology to the biology of plants.

“With a poet’s heart and a scientist’s curiosity, Pat has taught our students, inspired our faculty and become one of my dear friends,” Coker President Dr. Robert Wyatt said. “Others have known her longer, but I daresay few will miss her talent, energy and passion for Coker more than I will. She is a treasure.”

Lincoln’s effectiveness in the classroom speaks volumes about her teaching expertise. She was selected Master Professor by the students; a Distinguished Professor by the S.C. Commission on Higher Education; and received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the S.C. Independent Colleges and Universities.

Among others, she has served as chairwoman of the faculty senate and on Coker’s board of trustees. More recently, she led in the development of Coker’s new strategic plan, which will plot Coker’s direction through 2015.

Lincoln came to Coker in 1983 as a temporary visiting professor in biology. She only expected to stay for a semester.

But she liked what she saw. She liked it even more when she was offered a full-time teaching position.

“I’ve thrived on helping students learn about the joys of discovery,” Lincoln said during an interview Monday in her office. “Nothing is more fun that having students do their own research and come up with new answers. It’s incredibly exciting.”

Lincoln has seen Coker grow by leaps and bounds. Both the physical plant and student body have doubled during her tenure.

Two of the biggest additions are the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center and the Charles W. and Joan Coker Library.

Computers have been one of the biggest boons to teaching, Lincoln said.

“They have allowed students to access information you could never have dreamed of in the past,” she said. “Coker has been on the cutting edge of this revolution.”

Lincoln has thrived in the teaching atmosphere at Coker. While she may have had 20 students in her lower-track classes, she only had two to five in her upper classes.

“The small classes gave me a singular opportunity to interact with my students,” she said. “That interaction has been a great joy to me. That’s the payoff for teaching at Coker. That’s what it’s all about.”

Lincoln is married to Dr. David Lincoln, a retired University of South Carolina biology professor. They met at Kalamazoo College in Michigan when they were undergraduates.

And neither is letting the grass grow under their feet or their small trailer when Pat retires.

“We’re headed for Alaska next month for eight weeks,” Pat said. “We’ve never been to Alaska and we’re looking forward to the trip. We aren’t going to get in a hurry.”

And both will remain involved in research, conservation and environmental type things when they return.

They will also enjoy relaxing at their cottage in McLellanville when they aren’t at their home in Columbia.

And Pat, who has never owned a dog during her marriage, plans to adopt a boxer who will be a “rescue guy.” She sees no problem with Izzi, their “demanding cat,” adapting to a newcomer.