Washburn University has welcomed a new English lecturer, Rachel Brown, to campus. Brown has been a part of the Washburn community for only a short time and has thoroughly enjoyed her position so far.

“I’m only 6 weeks in and everyone is amazing,” Brown said.

Brown attended Kansas University to receive her PhD. She taught for 3 years at Marian University in Indianapolis and was an assistant professor of English, then eventually stepped into a role of chairing the department.

Brown lived in Lawrence for 6 years and kept an eye on positions in the Kansas area.

“Kansas was always home and so I was keeping a close eye on positions that may pop up and I was thrilled to see an option become available at Washburn,” Brown said.

Many reasons came up as to why Brown has thoroughly loved her time here so far at Washburn University, mainly about the effect that the university is having on its students.

“There are a variety of reasons I love Washburn, but the main one is that it’s focused on students, specially making sure that education is accessible to as many students as possible,” Brown said. “I love the new launch of its scholarship, I love how it focuses and supports first-generation students and there are so many organizations for students of different backgrounds and identities.”

Brown and her husband made the move from Indiana back to Kansas just this last summer. There were a few bumps in the road that followed the move. Their housing situation got delayed and had to adjust to living out of a suitcase for a little while. With the struggles of that, Brown explained all the student’s support that surrounded her.

“They would just check in and ask ‘How are you doing? How is the move going?’ and it’s just so incredibly kind of the students to ask that. Collogues have also been friendly along with the students,” Brown said.

Brown’s passion for English started long ago. When she was a kid, she explained how she remembered her dad reading the comics in the Kansas City Star and he would laugh about them for a few minutes.

“I remember thinking ‘woah, something is happening between him looking at this thing and him having a reaction to it, what is that?’ and so that made me have an early love of reading,” Brown said.

As time went on, she has created specific tactics that she uses when she is in the classroom to help her students become more successful.

“I really love building my classes around relationships with students, I want us to know each other. I am a human being and I really try to build trust with students,” Brown said.

Brown will make it a priority to have conversations with her students before class and she has an “attendance question” that is different every single day. Some may be straightforward, and others may be broader.

Alongside Brown’s passion for building relationships with her students and the support from Washburn, She is inspired by the rich history of Kansas and is eager to expand on her research.

“I am so excited about the archives at Washburn because there are collections in the archives from the late 1800s that match my research interests, “Brown said.” I also want to share my findings and my research with the students while I am here.”

Her love for midwestern history made her pursue her research specialty in 19th-century midwestern literature and multi-ethnic midwestern literature. Her research specifically focuses on the different lifestyles and cultural diversity during the frontier era in the Midwest.

“I am trying to get a more diverse perspective on the fascinating African American authors and towns and share those stories that haven’t been shared, ” said Brown.” “There are so many stories to unpack in this particular area which is why I am so excited to be at Washburn.”

When she is not teaching, Brown likes to stay busy and delve into her many hobbies. She loves to hike, play the piano, bake bread, make arts and crafts, weave shawls, knit blankets and scarves. If she is not in her office or the classroom, you may get to see her walking her two chocolate labs around campus.

“She seems super dedicated to her students and is excited about teaching,” said Louise Krug, professor of English and director of the writing center. “We are thrilled to have that here at Washburn.”

Brown currently teaches English 101 (First-year Writing) and English 103 (Academic Reading and Research). She is looking forward to teaching new classes and learning along with her students.

“I will be very frank; I would love to stay here forever. While the position I have been hired for is only a year, I am playing it by ear. While I’m here, I just want to teach my heart out and meet as many people as possible,” Brown said.

Brown had nothing but positive things to say in regards to Washburn and her position. She is looking very forward to the future of her career here.

Edited by LeSha’ Davis and Larissa Morgan