Kennard Baker Bork

Enthusiasm for learning and teaching characterized the life of Ken Bork, who died on July 27, at age 84. Ken was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on October 13, 1940, and raised largely in Westchester County, New York, before moving to the Washington DC area, where attended high school. He then went on to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where he earned a BS in Geology in 1962. In August of 1961, while on the way to Europe to spend a senior semester abroad, he met Kay Odell on the ocean liner Queen Mary. They were married on December 29, 1963, and their son Rob was born in August of 1967. In the meantime, Ken earned his PhD in Geology-Paleontology from Indiana University in Bloomington, and he began his career teaching geology at Denison University in 1966.

Over the course of his long career at Denison, Ken inspired generations of students, many of whom went on to distinguished careers of their own. He was a true intellectual, with a broad curiosity about the world and its history. In addition to teaching geology, he offered seminars on interdisciplinary topics such as the nature of time, while also auditing classes taught by colleagues on topics as diverse as mathematics and Chinese literature. In his own research, he moved from an early emphasis on paleontology and stratigraphy to a greater focus on the history of science, particularly in France. He and his family spent sabbaticals in Paris in 1973 and 1980 while he explored the work of French geologists from the eighteenth century. He then wrote a biography of his distinguished Denison predecessor Kirtley Mather, Cracking Rocks and Defending Democracy, which was published in 1994. Over the course of his long career, Ken also published 85 articles, and he received several major awards: In 1997 the Geological Society of America awarded him the History of Geology Award, normally granted to scholars affiliated with much larger universities, and in 2000 he was awarded the Neil Miner Award for "contributions to the stimulation of interest in Earth Science" by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. He served as the first Alumni Professor at Denison from 1990 until his retirement from the college in 2003.

Following his retirement from Denison, Ken continued to pursue his passions for the geosciences and for travel. He served between 2004 and 2008 as the secretary general of INHIGEO, the International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences, organizing many international meetings, and continuing on their board until 2012. In 2013 he and Kay moved to Sedona, Arizona, where they enjoyed hiking in the beautiful red rock landscape, and where Ken offered many well-received classes for the local branch of OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, covering topics such as dinosaurs, genetics, gemstones, Paris, Arizona geology, and the origins of art.

Ken and Kay moved back to Granville in 2023, enjoying the company of many old friends in the area. He retained his quick wit and good cheer even when facing the aggressive cancer that he developed in his final months. He is survived by his loving family, including his sister Susy Meyer, wife Kay Bork, son Rob Bork, daughter-in-law Sally Mills, and grandson Stephen Bork.

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