JCCC Department of English Blog

Bill Carpenter, adjunct professor of English, is retiring from JCCC after more than 33 years–that’s teaching 101 consecutive fall, spring, and summer semesters!  Before coming to JCCC, Carpenter taught at the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Fort Hays State University.  He received his master’s degree from the University of Arkansas and did Ph.D. work at Kansas State University.  Eventually, Carpenter intends to move with his wife back to Louisburg, his hometown where he grew up.  According to Carpenter, “My acquaintances and colleagues at JCCC are the high point of my academic career, along with meeting my wife in CC 323.”  Though he will not have email once he retires, he can be reached at P.O. Box 134, Louisburg, KS 66053.

After 29 years at JCCC, Bob Brannan, professor of English, is heading into the sunset to celebrate his “golden” years outside of the academy.  He has many backpacking, hiking, and kayaking trips on his agenda.  Some specific vacations he has planned with his family include visits to Barcelona and other areas around the Mediterranean, New Zealand, and Australia.  Brannan is looking forward to diving in the Great Barrier Reef before it bleaches completely.

In 2002, McGraw-Hill published the first edition of Brannan’s A Writer’s Workshop: Crafting Paragraphs, Building Essays.  This best-selling developmental writing textbook was published in two more editions and was used as the main textbook for Introduction to Writing at JCCC for more than 15 years.  Brannan has several writing projects planned for his retirement, though none involve another textbook.  Aside from spending more time outdoors and more time writing, Brannan has about 40 other projects on his “fun to-do list” that will keep him quite busy in the coming years.

Jeff Boyer, adjunct professor of English, is planning to retire at the end of the spring semester after teaching for more than 30 years at JCCC.  Prior to JCCC, Boyer taught at Kansas State University, where he received his master’s degree, and at Fort Hays State University.  Throughout his time at JCCC, Boyer has worked for a number of different deans, program directors, and chairs — Jim Williams, Bill Lamb, Andy Anderson, Keith Geekie, and Larry Reynolds, just to name a few.  Counting his years in the Army, Boyer says that he’s been continuously in the workforce for 60 years, so it’s now time to step back and concentrate on some of his other activities.   He’s planning to return to some writing projects and continue to stay active in the “festivals, jams, get togethers, and performances” that he and his wife engage in as part of their extended Bluegrass community.