Lee McCann joined the Wisconsin State University Oshkosh Psychology Department in the summer of 1966 after earning a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Iowa State University.
McCann grew up on a small farm in Nebraska and was the first in his family to go to college. It was a Developmental Psychology class that piqued his interest in psychology.
“I saw what my professors were doing in their job duties and it looked attractive,” McCann said. He said he heard there was an opening at WSU-O, contacted the department chair, had an interview and has spent his career at what is now UW Oshkosh.
McCann first taught summer courses in the Psychology Department in June 1966. Construction on the Clow Faculty building was not complete, so McCann shared an office with two other faculty members on the second floor of Dempsey Hall.
“I was one of the first faculty to move into the Clow Faculty building when the new building opened in September 1966,” McCann said. “At that time, our technology was a piece of chalk.”
Over the years, McCann said faculty and staff could request overhead projectors for their classrooms. “They were on carts and we could order them to be rolled into the room.”
Departments shared two phones on a single line and two typewriters until the 1970s when each faculty member had a phone line installed in their office.
“In the 1980s we were one of the first departments with computers for each of our faculty members,” McCann said. “We used faculty salary savings to purchase the computers.”
In January 2016, McCann moved back into the renovated Clow Faculty building, which features many technology upgrades. Each classroom in the renovated Clow Social Science building is equipped with a computer and LCD projector. 52 digital displays in 10 active learning classrooms, 20 projectors in general access classrooms and 420 electrical outlets for students in the lecture halls, one at each seat.
Throughout his career at UWO, McCann has held several roles. He spent 12 years as Psychology Department chair, five years as associate vice chancellor for academic personnel and curriculum, four terms as Faculty Senate president and currently serves as faculty ombudsmen, in addition to teaching and conducting research in the Psychology Department.
“Psychology allows you to get involved in science and do research,” McCann said.
McCann’s research has ranged from the impact of radiation on learning in pigs and how fish identify with their own species when reared in isolation, to social transmission of dietary preference in rats and, most recently, classroom learning preferences of students.
“It’s interesting because you don’t know what you’ll find out until you collect and analyze data,” McCann said. “A lot of what we have done in the classroom has been based on general rules of thumb, but we had no data to back up our practices.”
His research on classroom learning led McCann to coauthor five books. He also used his findings to improve his own teaching style.
“Some faculty have an ice breaker on the first day of class and we learned students hated that, so I stopped doing them,” McCann said. “Throughout my time as a teacher I’ve become more efficient and found what works well for me and for my students.”
McCann has taught 17 different courses throughout his nearly 50 years at UW Oshkosh and currently teaches Health Psychology, Comparative Psychology, and Learning.
“The University has provided me with opportunities to go in different directions and try new things,” McCann said. “From committees to governance groups to activities like Healthy Titans, UWO provides a variety of things to get involved in.”
McCann and his wife Mim, who taught math at Oshkosh West, raised three sons in Oshkosh.
“Oshkosh is a beautiful area with the lakes and river, and the University, and the area has gotten better and bigger over the years,” McCann said.
Reflecting on his career, McCann said he jokes with his granddaughter that he’s been starting school every September for 70 years.
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