Professor William Ketchum retires after 37 years

After 37 years at Delta College, William Ketchum is retiring, effective May 1. Ketchum began his career at Delta in 1977 as news bureau chief and later switched to academics and rose through the ranks to associate professor of English. He said all he ever wanted to do was either earn a living as a writer or teach writing.

Ketchum graduated from Cornell University and began looking for newspaper jobs. "All journalism students wanted to hit the big time," Ketchum said, adding that he cast a broad net when seeking that first job after college. "I even applied at the Michigan Chronicle, which was a black newspaper and I had delivered as a kid. Everybody said, 'Come back when you have more experience.'"

Ketchum wasn't hired by any of those newspapers so he “went to the next part of my goal, and actually what I had been trained to do, which was to teach," he said.

The Detroit native started teaching at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw in 1976. At that time, teachers were given a "pink slip" during the summer months and were expected to be rehired the following fall. Even though he was told by his co-workers not to worry about it, Ketchum remembered the advice his mother always told him.

"My mother once told me, 'Find a job and keep a job, and don't leave a job until you have another,'" he said. "So while the Saginaw Public School System was going through its process, there was an opening for a position here (at Delta College). I sort of walked in off of the street and got it."

After a stint in PR, Ketchum decided to return to teaching here at Delta. Ketchum's students gave him high praise.

"William Ketchum is by far the most influential teacher I have ever had in my writing career. Delta College will not be the same without him," said Jared Maurer, a 19-year-old mechanical engineering major from Frankenmuth.

Essexville native Ashley Wrubel, 19, said Ketchum “has taught me so much about writing and putting myself into my essays. He is truly a one-of-a-kind professor who always knows how to put a smile on your face.”

Ketchum also had a profound impact on Alicia Nelson, 57, a social work major from Saginaw.

"I was coming back to school after 40 years,” Nelson said. “He basically taught me the ins and out of English. I would ask him things and he was never too rushed to explain and answer to me."12