Osborn retires after 20 years of service
By Jessica Mitchell
A college staff member retired after nearly two decades of directing and administration.
Bill Osborn, associate vice president of instruction, took the leap November 16 from working in the office to working on his farm.
Osborn is a deep-rooted resident of Gardner, Kansas.
“I’ve lived there all my life,” he said. “I was born and raised on a farm, went to school one year at Spring Hill Elementary, then attended Gardner from there on out through high school.”
While attending school in Gardner, Osborn took nearly all the industrial arts courses that they had to offer.
“In fact, I worked in an Industrial Arts shop part-time, and towards the end of my high school career I got a job as a welder at a place in Olathe, Kansas,” he said.
What sparked Osborn’s interest in the industrial arts and welding was his lifestyle and upbringing on a farm.
“My dad farmed all of his life and was continually having to fix things, work on things, and work with his hands,” Osborn said. “I recall when I was just old enough to kind of tag around after him, we went to my neighbors’ house to weld something. They had helmets on and there was this bright light and sparks and I was told not to look at it, to turn away; it just piqued my interest.”
After high school, Osborn followed in his older brother’s steps and attended Emporia State University. Not knowing what he wanted to pursue, he started on the track of becoming a math teacher. After taking some math classes, he realized that that wasn’t what he wanted to do, so he went to the Industrial Education department and finished in Industrial Education.
“I really went back to where I felt very comfortable,” he said.
Directly after attaining his degree, Osborn began working full-time at the welding company he worked for during high school. He continued welding for roughly three years until a teaching opportunity opened up for him.
“A couple years after I got my bachelor’s at Emporia, there was a vocational school started in Olathe and, lo and behold, they needed a welding teacher,” he said.
Osborn taught welding there for 11 years. During that time he completed a master’s in an Educational Specialist degree at Pittsburg State University.
For his final years at the vocational school, Osborn started in administration for the first time. He was titled a vocational supervisor, which was somewhat like an assistant principal, and would continue that position until an opportunity opened up here at the college.
“I had a relationship with the college because of our vocational school structure so a gentleman interviewed me for a position here as the program director for Industrial Technology,” Osborn said.
After getting hired for the position, Osborn began working on his doctorate degree from the University of Kansas and was later deemed successful. With an added degree under his belt, Osborn started taking on some interim responsibilities and moved from being a program director to what is called the associate vice president of instruction.
“I work with the instructional branch in a variety of venues,” Osborn said. “One of the focal points that I work with are Career and Tech Ed programs.”
After 20 years of work here at the college, Osborn decided it was time to retire.
“He’s been great to work with over the years,” Counselor Jeff Anderson said. “I’m sorry to see him go. He’s a hard act to follow.”
Marilyn Rhinehart, executive vice president of academic affairs and close friend to Osborn, echoed Anderson’s sentiment.
“It sounds trite, but we’re really going to miss him,” Rhinehart said. “He’s contributed so much. I’m kind of emotional about it. I’m trying not to be but it’s very hard for me. He’s become a very good friend of mine.”
Osborn looks forward to spending his newfound time with his family and on projects.
“What I look forward to doing is spending time with my grandson, my parents, who are somewhat elderly, and my family,” he said. “But I also have a lot of projects around the farm that I’d like to work on. That industrial arts part of me is still there so I want to build.”
Osborn isn’t sure how the retired life is going to suit him, but he has a feeling he will adjust perfectly.
“It’s been an absolute wonderful experience working here,” he said. “I could not have staged my career any different to where it would have been better. The transition from teaching to administration to employment at the college has just been truly an honor for me. I couldn’t ask for better.”
Contact Jessica Mitchell, reporting correspondent, at jmitch54@jccc.edu.