Donald H. McInnis
Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Science
(retired 1996)

 

  

In June, we lost one of the most beloved members of our departmental family—Don McInnis. The following biographical sketch was written by Don’s longtime colleague and friend, Dave Castillon.

   Don McInnis was a member of the (Southwest) Missouri State University faculty from 1962 to 1996. After retirement in 1996 he continued as Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Science until his death in June, 2008.

     Don came to SMS in 1962 with a B.S. (1953), and M.A. (1954) in Mathematics (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Missouri (Columbia). He joined the Mathematics Department as an Instructor and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1966. Before his teaching career began, Don served four years in the United States Air Force; most of those years were in the South Pacific at the rank of Captain.

     In 1967 Don moved to Columbia to continue his education, completing his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science in 1970. Don returned to SMS as an Assistant Professor in the Physical Science Department, where he developed and taught new courses in Meteorology and Astronomy. In 1973 he moved to the new Department of Geography and Geology as Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science, and he was promoted to Professor of Atmospheric Science in 1976. During his many years at SMS, Don taught a wide array of courses. After being transferred to the Department of Geography and Geology, Don continued to teach courses in Mathematics as needed along with courses in Geography and Conservation. However, Atmospheric Science and Meteorology became his primary teaching load. In 1976 Don developed a very successful Weather Elements course for TV, marking the start of regular classes broadcast over the KY3 television network, later moving to KSMU (PBS).

     In 1995 Professor McInnis won the SMSU Foundation “Excellence in Teaching” Award. Students filled Don’s classes every semester, and extolled his preparation and lectures as exceptional. Learning was fun in Don’s classes. The weather expert of the campus, Don proclaimed his pride in his chosen discipline and his institution with his personalized license plate “SMSU-WX”. Most of Don’s colleagues in the Geography, Geology and Planning department rated him right up there with Puxatawny Phil, and we told him he should change his license plate to “PHIL-II”, to give himself a more nationwide profile. However, Don was content to stick with his local southwest Missouri appeal. A “good ol’ Missouri boy” who grew up on a Missouri farm in Huzzah and made good…Real Good!