Kevin Sauter, communication and journalism professor at St. Thomas, will retire after the fall 2019 semester, capping off his 37th year teaching at the university.

His interest in political rhetoric influenced the courses he taught such as television criticism, film criticism and rhetorical criticism.

“There’s something really special about meeting people when they’re 18 or 19 and getting to know them for a couple of years until they get to graduation, and then keeping up relationships afterwards,” Sauter said.

Sauter completed his undergraduate eductation at Moorhead State University and went immediately into his master’s education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He then attended Pennsylvania State University for his doctorate.

“I applied for one job in my life, and I’ve been here for 37 years. And I remember the night that I got tenure and I went, ‘well, it looks like this is what I’m doing,’” Sauter said. “It turned out to be a fantastic fit for me, it just really has been a wonderful career in higher ed.”

Sauter and his wife, Susan, look forward to traveling in retirement without worrying about time constraints. Sauter has taken over 350 students abroad as part of 16 different courses due to his love of travel.

“I was able to help students learn about the world and see that they can travel to places as easy as Hawaii, but as difficult as South Africa,” Sauter said.

Sauter spent a year in South Africa with his family, so it holds a special place in his heart.

Sauter went to mass in different countries for 30 days and wrote a book titled “A Month of Sundays.” He learned that while each culture will add its own emblematic elements that represent the local culture, the basic structure of Mass is the same.

“I learned that the Catholic church is truly a world-wide organization and that people are connected because of their faith in ways that are different than nationalism and ethnicity, that we can be Chinese and we can be South Africans,” Sauter said. “We’re all Catholic and the binding function of the liturgy, I think, is so important to bring that together.”

Through his retirement, Sauter wants to make room for younger faculty.

“The time was just right for me to be done here full-time. It‘s not that I’m done teaching, but I’m done full-time,” Sauter said.

Sauter won the Global Citizenship Award from St. Thomas for his contributions to the study abroad program, COJO professor Bernard Armada explained.

“He’s going to carry his adventurous spirit into retirement,” Armada said. “He has had the travel bug for as long as I’ve known him.”

Sauter brought a knowledge of how theory and practice enhance each other, Armada explained.

“What he’s brought to the department is a real knowledge of the interrelationship between all forms of communication, but especially in his case, the way in which the study of rhetoric and the creation of multimedia intertwine and compliment one another,” Armada said.

Sauter and Armada have been through many changes in the COJO department, which is currently transitioning into the Emerging Media department.

“I wish he wouldn’t go. He’s leaving at a time that we really need him and, at the same time, if I were here as long as him, I’d want to retire too. ” Armada said.

COJO major Julia Gennaro is currently taking Sauter’s rhetorical criticism class and believes Sauter makes intentional connections with students.

“You can tell that he wants to get to know us more,” Gennaro said. “He really likes to get the class engaged in the discussions, so he definitely keeps us listening and engaged in class.”

Gennaro enjoys the ways Sauter’s class incorporates history and politics beyond what a typical COJO course would.

“I haven’t taken a history class since high school so it kind of brings me back to that and makes me realize how versatile COJO is because we’re getting into a lot of political aspects,” Gennaro said.

While he will no longer be at the university full-time, his legacy is sure to remain long after he leaves.

“I tell my students that after they graduate they sometimes need to let the winds of fate blow, but you’ve got to have your sail up in order to capture that wind,” Sauter said. “I have been able to, in my career, capture a lot of wind and go and do some interesting things; in my research and in my teaching and certainly in my service here at St. Thomas.”

Rachel Torralba can be reached at torr3544@stthomas.edu.