Summers Named to Hergenrader Chair

Headmaster Pete Sanders has named Dr. Kyle Summers as the Sally and Wil Hergenrader Chair of Excellence in Science. Summers has taught Biology and AP Biology since arriving at MUS in 2020 and serves as co-advisor for the school’s HOSA Club.
“Dr. Summers has established himself as a solid classroom teacher in the mold expected of an MUS faculty member,” Sanders said. “By virtue of his doctorate, he is thoroughly steeped in his subject but does not teach from on high. He is a master of the art of making science understandable, engaging, and fun for his students.”  

Summers brought experience teaching at both the university and high school levels to his role, most recently as the Upper and Lower school STEM teacher at Margolin Hebrew Academy from 2016-20 and as an adjunct professor for Anatomy and Physiology at Christian Brothers University from 2013-16. He has served as a National Science Olympiad judge.

He earned a degree in biology at Christian Brothers University where he received the Biology Award at graduation. He completed his doctoral degree in biomedical sciences (neuroscience) from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center where he served as a post-doctoral fellow conducting neurotransmission research in the laboratory of Dr. Steven J. Tavalin. As a graduate assistant from 2009-15, he investigated the consequences of cocaine sensitization at the molecular level by examining glutamate receptors at key sensitization sites of the mesocorticolimbic system.

“Teaching here at MUS has been fulfilling in ways that I never imagined,” Summers said. “I owe the school a debt of gratitude, and being chosen for this position is an honor that I will strive towards living up to every day. My goal is to deliver the same level of instruction that I would like my own son to receive. Thank you so much.”

Recognizing that the best leadership and teaching are required in the rapidly changing field of science, Sally and Wil Hergenrader endowed the Sally and Wil Hergenrader Chair of Excellence in Science in 2007 to support and enhance the MUS faculty in the Science Department. Mr. Hergenrader passed away December 13, 2022. The Hergenraders’ family includes sons Terry ’75 and Steve ’77 and grandsons Wil ’12 and Lewis ’15.
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