By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89
Dr. Alan Chalmers
19 YEARS
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, EMERITUS
Dr. Alan Chalmers, professor of English, emeritus, always loved literature but didn’t find his passion for teaching until he worked to support his doctoral degree as a teaching assistant.
“I found that learning along with the students — being instructed by their questions — is the real pleasure of teaching,” he says. “Literature is always new again. Learning to appreciate and respond to it can provide students with a lifelong resource, and reading it with them makes it new again to me, too.”
“Wofford has been collegial in the best sense.”
Chalmers taught at the University of Oregon and USC Upstate before coming to Wofford 19 years ago. He chaired the Wofford Department of English for four years, advised majors and first-year students, and taught 18th-century British literature, the early English novel, literary theory, contemporary British literature and occasional courses on topics such as animals in literature and film.
He also loved his time traveling with students and is looking forward to continuing his travels with his spouse, Dr. Sally Hitchmough, professor of English, emerita.
“There are many places we want to go. Europe always pulls, but so do other places. For example, we’re both University of Southern California graduates and still have friends out there. We spent time exploring the West in an old VW bus during graduate school, so maybe a more comfortable version of that.”
He's also already relishing time with his children and grandchildren and looks forward to truly independent reading.
“Ironically English professors rarely have the freedom to read what they want because they’re always rereading to prepare for courses,” says Chalmers. “I also love music and the outdoors — am an amateur bird watcher and fly fisher — so the idea that time is entirely mine, no more fitting personal pursuits around a full-time job, is one I have yet to fully absorb.”
Chalmers didn’t dwell on the significance of the moment when he left the classroom in the spring. Accustomed to the rhythms of the academic year, he graded, examined, attended Commencement and made the family’s annual trip to England. It was all business as usual. But come late August …
“It will be quite strange,” says Chalmers. “I’ve cherished my years pursuing my career among colleagues and students in this beautiful setting, and I am grateful to all who made it possible. Wofford has been collegial in the best sense — a wonderful place to work and teach.”
Dr. Li Qing Kinnison
20 YEARS
PROFESSOR OF CHINESE, EMERITA
When Dr. Li Qing Kinnison came to Wofford in 2004 to start the Chinese program, she spent at least 12 hours a day on campus. She had been warned by colleagues that the task of establishing a new program would be daunting, but she was too excited about the opportunity to pay heed to their warnings.
“I had this desire to build a strong Chinese program,” says Kinnison, who retired in May as professor of Chinese, emerita. “For the first two years, I was all by myself, but I got so much support from everyone at Wofford.”
She met students early in the morning or late into the evening. She applied for a Fulbright teaching assistant. She served on college committees and learned about her new home from faculty colleagues. She was always working to ensure the program’s success.
“When we sent the first group of students to China to study abroad, it was a test,” says Kinnison, who eventually traveled with students during Interim. “It was a relief when students said they were prepared. … I was so happy that what I had been doing was right.”
Kinnison’s current work includes writing a book about Chinese politeness.
“In the West, being polite is for everyone; social strata don’t matter. You should be polite because we are equal. In China it’s different,” she says. “Social structure affects behavior. With very good friends or family, you don’t have to worry about being tactful because you care for them.”
She says the book comes from years of striving for cross-cultural understanding but making mistakes navigating relationships and social situations.
“I have loved learning about my students and their lives.”
“My goal has always been to bring Chinese history, communications and culture to Wofford students,” says Kinnison. “I share personal experiences with my students to help them learn. We laugh a lot in my classes.”
By the time her students graduate, Kinnison says, she knows them well. Practicing Chinese means talking, and pets, relationships, food, homes, work and family make excellent topics of conversation.
“There’s no privacy in language class,” says Kinnison, “and I have loved learning about my students and their lives. It’s been the highlight of my Wofford experience.”
Dr. John McArthur
34 YEARS
PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, EMERITUS
In 1990, Dr. John McArthur, professor emeritus of economics, and his wife, Mary, were considering teaching opportunities and house purchases in Easton, Penn., and Spartanburg, S.C. They chose Wofford College and Spartanburg because they could buy a threebedroom for $80,000, almost half the cost of an equivalent home in Easton. McArthur says it was the right decision.
“We came because we could afford a house in Spartanburg. We stayed because Wofford students are really good. They ask good questions. That’s the main thing,” says McArthur. “And it turns out that the faculty were really collegial.”
McArthur retired in May after 34 years because of the progression of his myotonic dystrophy condition.
One of the first things McArthur remembers about coming to Wofford was the construction of the Franklin W. Olin Building. He remembers the college planning to move the Department of Economics to the building, but the senior faculty in the department wanted to stay in Main Building.
“I guess I did some things well enough.”
“I’ve been in Main ever since,” says McArthur, who has never gotten tired of helping students discover “how the world works” through economics. “I especially enjoyed teaching law and economics, environmental economics and the economics of Native Americans.”
Some of his favorite college memories include serving beer to alumni during Homecoming and catching up with alumni when they wander through Main Building on visits back to the campus.
“I guess I did some things well enough,” says McArthur. “The department hasn’t been dissolved, and we’ve gotten some really good new colleagues. And the students still come back, so that’s good.”
Once an academic, always an academic. McArthur remains a voracious reader in his discipline as well as in the murder-mystery genre, including a series of books about economists who solve crime using the economic way of thinking. “I read until my wife says, ‘Enough reading.’ Then I usually have to go do yard work,” says McArthur.
The McArthurs are planning to sell their home in Spartanburg, downsizing and moving to Columbia, S.C., to be near their daughter, Kristen McArthur Simmons ’00, an attorney in the state attorney general’s office, and her family.
Gary McCraw ’77
42 YEARS
PROFESSOR OF MUSIC, EMERITUS
For more than 42 years, if there was a Convocation, Commencement or Baccalaureate Service, Gary McCraw ’77, professor of music, emeritus, was there. From his perch at the piano or organ or behind the music stand, he led and loved his students and the opportunity to serve his alma mater.
“The rapport I had with students was always the best part,” says McCraw. “For me, it’s the relationships that you establish with students over four years, some that continue even after they graduate.”
After earning an associate degree at Spartanburg Methodist College, McCraw enrolled at Wofford and immediately made himself indispensable to Dr. Vic Bilanchone. McCraw continued to play for Wofford after he graduated and in 1982 was hired part time. In 2001, upon Bilanchone’s retirement, McCraw took over.
“From accompanist to full professor, I worked my way up and learned a lot in the process,” he says. McCraw served as chair of the department from 2001 through the fall of 2023, when he shared the job for a semester with Dr. Aaron Harp, assistant professor of music.
McCraw considers hiring Harp one of his greatest accomplishments. That’s saying something because during McCraw’s leadership, the college instituted music performance and music non-performance minors. The department moved from the Daniel Building to the Montgomery Music Building, and McCraw found creative ways to share student talent with the greater community, including leading the national anthem at football games.
“Julie and I would feed them lunch and then warm them up in the parking lots,” he says.
McCraw was also famous for entertaining students at the piano during classes, playing selections live instead of using recordings, and for his Interims that fostered music appreciation and the development of life skills. Students knew he loved them, which earned McCraw a variety of nicknames, including G-Mac and Mac Daddy. In the fall, McCraw was recognized with the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Citizen Award, and in the spring during McCraw’s retirement celebration, former students established a scholarship in his honor.
“The rapport I had with students was always the best part.”
“I’ve had quite a year,” says McCraw, who plans to continue to lead music for Westminster Presbyterian Church, something he’s done for 38 years. He and his wife, Julie, also plan to travel, enjoy time with family and continue their Broadway subscription at the Peace Center.
Dr. Bob Moss
32 YEARS
LARRY HEARN MCCALLA PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, EMERITUS
From his home office in Spartanburg — a space that looks more like a gamer’s control station than the office of a professor emeritus — Dr. Bob Moss is planning his fall, winter and spring classes … the ones he’s teaching at George Washington University, University of Maryland and Catholic University.
Moss retired in May as Larry Hearn McCalla Professor of Biology after serving Wofford College for 32 years, but he’s not ready to leave the classroom … not even close.
“I can’t not work. It’s not a possibility for me,” says Moss, who will be moving to an apartment in Maryland with his wife, Heidi, to be closer to their son and first grandchild. “I will teach until I can’t.”
Moss went half-time at Wofford in 2017, but the slower pace only showed him how much he relished his time teaching and advising students. “I love the interaction. I love the students,” says Moss. While teaching at Wofford, Moss took classes whenever he could: psychology, organic chemistry, philosophy, personal finance … “All were just to broaden my knowledge,” he says. “My favorite class ever to teach was a seminar I led with Dr. Charlie Kay (professor emeritus of philosophy). We discussed current issues in biology, picking eight topics and covering them biologically, socially, politically and philosophically.”
“I will teach until I can’t.”
Moss and Kay taught the course 11 times together, and Moss says he learned something new every time.
Moss was the health careers advisor for the first 25 years of his tenure at Wofford. He’s proud of the students who excelled in medical school or physician’s assistant school, and he still enjoys hearing from them. He also has fond memories of traveling with students during Interim, leading three trips to Japan and four to Israel and Jordan.
“It was a sad day when I finished my final class at Wofford and moved out of my office. The finality of that really set in as I drove home,” says Moss. “But Heidi and I are obviously head over heels with Zoe, our first grandchild, and we’re eager to help out with her and spend more time with family.”