Chris Curran Rob was always willing to help other teachers improve their biology classes, including many local high school teachers who participated in the NKU Biology Alliance through the Center for Integrative Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CINSAM). In this workshop, Rob taught teachers how to use live animals safely and effectively in their classrooms.
Rob interviews (gave a fabulous lecturer in SC 207 packed to the gills) and is awarded the fulltime A&P lecturer position.
Mr. Kues’ BIO 150 lecture course was the first college lecture I attended after 19 years out of school. His wonderful communication and teaching style had a significant impact on my impression of NKU. I wasn't sure I would be able to succeed in school after being away so long, but I always felt comfortable asking him for his advice and guidance, an...
Patty Kappesser Rob loved so many different things. One thing that a group of us liked to do is listen to music in our offices together and occasionally go to a concert together. River Bend concert memories will forever bring a smile to my face.
Professor Kues was my lab instructor for BIO 208 my freshman year of college (2018). On the morning of our second lab practical, it was pouring down rain and I was running late to get to class from my dorm across campus. When I went to leave, disaster struck and my car wouldn't start. By the time I made it to the classroom door, I was 20 minutes l...
Madeline Blevins By the time I graduated from NKU in 2017, I had not yet had the fortune of meeting Rob Kues. The following year when I was hired there as a lab technician, my mornings would often begin with a smile and a "hello" from a friendly man who I quickly learned was Rob. The first time I passed by his office, I had to stop in to admire the beautiful display of his beloved dart frogs. If he was busy with something, I wouldn't have known it, because he sat down on the floor with me and opened the door to each of the tanks to teach me about the frogs he kept. As time passed, my office check-ins with Rob would happen every other day. He was so willing to share with people the things that he enjoyed that he later helped me to setup my own tank, and gave me froglets that he reared from tadpoles to care for. I was hooked, and built two more tanks, one that he gifted to me, with him. His generosity and kindness for his students and colleagues was immeasurable. Since his passing, whenever I care for the frogs, I feel a profound gratitude for the time I spent with Rob learning from him. I will always associate this hobby with him and our friendship. The picture I included is of the first tank he helped me to build.
Rob was teaching BIO 208 the first semester I started as an assistant professor at NKU. I was also teaching a section of the class and observed his lecture before I taught mine. An email from Debby Dempsey asking for our birthdays sent around her list of birthdays and I saw when Rob's birthday was. I plotted with his TA Addie Green and his SI lead...
Like Dr. Seuss once said: “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”. We had so many great moments with Mr. Kues in our BIO 208 and 209 class. We just did not know how many we had left to enjoy. Anatomy and Physiology was a very hard course, but Mr. Kues made it fun and memorable. He taught us to not just memo...
Seth Jerome I wish I had dropped in earlier to thank him. I was just a month too late. I found out he passed away when I decided to visit. It was so shocking. I don't know much about Professor Kues' personal life or his beliefs. Perhaps he was a very open-minded, tolerant man, or perhaps it can be attributed to professionalism, but he always treated me with the same dignity and respect you would show any student. I never felt like I didn't belong in his classroom or couldn't stop by his office to ask questions. It was such a relief to have a safe place to be able to focus on learning. I am so grateful. I wish I could thank him for being such a kind, decent person, for answering all my questions, and for helping me change graduate schools. I would not be graduating otherwise. When I went back to get my letter of recommendation, he and three students were gathered around his desk, intently focused on a small box with two amphibians. All four of them were so into it, it made me chuckle. We were lucky to have a professor like him.
I was fortunate to work with Rob teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology for a number of years. Rob was a friend, and a talented, thoughtful and kind-hearted colleague, always willing to lend a helping hand and encouraging words, and to lighten things up with humor. To see him teach was a joy and inspiration! He would light up, and enthusiastically a...
Rob was a fun and inspirational colleague to share an office suite with. He was always in early before me in the morning and I loved knowing that I would not be there alone at the crack of dawn. If Rob was in his office, he was rarely in there alone - there were always students and alumni visiting him. His care for students was obvious and genuine....
I had Professor Kues for anatomy 1 in 2019 and from the first week of classes I knew he was someone special by his teaching style. He could take the most complicated topic and break it down to where students got the “ah ha” look and you could see his face light up with joy and laughter when he knew he got through to us. It is one of the many things...
Rob was a true friend. I met Rob in 1994 when we were both teaching at Holy Cross High School and I was so happy when I realized we both taught at NKU all these years later. Anyone who knows Rob knows his light, energy, and kindness, his love for teaching. How skilled he was at being fully present and how easily he could make you feel present too. ...
When my dad passed away last year I had only had Professor Kues for about 3 days. He showed me so much kindness and understanding. He emphasized I took care of myself before all else and we would figure everything else out later. He supported all the decisions I made for myself and even helped me find wonderful resources around campus including my ...
Rob was just such a wonderful colleague, I am going to miss him very much. Not only was he an incredibly patient and effective teacher for his many, many students, but he was always open and helpful mentoring new instructors in our Department. He was so helpful, supportive, and generous with his time. Rob also always had the greatest comments an...
Nilesh Dixit I talked to Rob regularly on weekends. We used to laugh about the fact that we knew where to find each other over the weekend. On one of those weekends, after Rob left his office, I found one of his frogs curled up on the floor. I didn't know what to do with it so I made a small frog house in a plastic box, filled with wet soil, leaves and dry sticks. I didn't want it to die so I tried feeding it a piece of naan. I was glad that I found Patrick in the corridor that day. He took Rob's frog to one of Biology labs. Next day, when I talked to Rob, he said it was his frog that got out when he was feeding them. He gave me a small tour of his frog paradise. it was so cool to see. I loved the way he took care of the frogs and fishes in SC. He was a wonderful human being. I still look at his office when I make my coffee and get in my office on weekends. He will be greatly missed!!
Chris Curran Rob Kues earned a bachelor's and master's degree from Northern Kentucky University and spent many years teaching high school including serving as the Technology Coordinator for Holy Cross High School. He joined the NKU faculty in Biological Sciences in 1998, teaching even more high school students through the School-Based Scholars Program and hundreds of biology and pre-nursing students. He was consistently rated as one of the university's outstanding educators for his work in Introductory Biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology lecture and lab courses. He will be greatly missed.
Story from The Northerner on the announcement of Rob's death. https://www.thenortherner.com/news/2020/10/28/biological-sciences-lecturer-died-on-tuesday/
Elinor Rambo Rob was one of Tom’s and my favorite students and it was a joy to us when he began teaching at NKU. I never saw him without a smile on his face and a caring word. We knew that his students meant the world to him! What a loss to us all.
I had Professor Kues this past Summer & was in his fall lab class as well. I am a remote student & only attend class online. I am an older student returning to obtain a higher degree. I have been out of college for 21 years and over the summer I got to know him well, because he met me on zoom out of class about 3 times a week. We had a running joke...
Chris Curran Fund-raising began today for the Professor Robert Kues Memorial Scholarship to support a Northern Kentucky University student who plans to teach high school science. You can donate by following this link: https://impact.nku.edu/project/23441
Rob has been such a wonderful long-term colleague and friend! He was one of my favorite students in my biology classes in the 1980’s, and for many years we have been sharing our love of frogs, snakes, marine biology, and many other exciting aspects of life. In 1999, when I was writing the Photographic Guide to the Newport Aquarium, Rob generously...
I was Rob Kues University Advisor for his first year teaching high school biology. He was a great teacher. It was a joy to have him join the Biology Department at NKU and a great sorrow to learn of his passing. I always treasured talking with him. He loved his subject, he loved teaching, he loved his students, and he loved reptiles. What more...
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The Northern Kentucky University Department of Biological Sciences created this site to share memories and photos of faculty member Rob Kues. We greatly appreciate your contributions to this memorial site. You may also donate to the Robert Kues Memorial Scholarship at: https://impact.nku.edu/project/23441
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