Matthew Atwood ’15 sat down with Professor Reed to discuss his time at Dickinson and his imminent retirement. The following interview is a result of this discussion. 

Q: Why did you choose Dickinson, and why did you stay?

A: As a grad student, I probably hit the job market before I should have — with only two or three chapters of my dissertation done — and although I had a bunch of interviews at the MLA conference in December, I got no offers. The Dickinson job was advertised in the Spring and I thought I’d take one last stab and then, if nothing came of it, I’d wait a year and come out with more written. I recognized the college since they’d been champions of the “College Bowl” TV competition, and I thought it must be a pretty good place. The rest is history. I stayed because I loved teaching here and the college was silly enough to give me tenure.

Q: Is there something happening on campus that you think needs to change, or continue?

A: Ooh. Searching questions. I’d say that the biggest difference between Dickinson in 1977 and Dickinson now is the diversity of the student body — diversity in every sense. I think that needs to continue and even expand. As for things to change, I wish the social life of the place were even more varied and intellectually vibrant. Oh. We need a Film Studies major at Dickinson, so interested Dickinsonians can study in-depth the definitive art form of the 20th Century.

Q: What about in the English major?

A: I feel really good about the department I’m leaving. The college has been fortunate to have been in position, during an economic downturn, to keep hiring, and as a result, the English Department has added a remarkable number of wonderful young teachers and scholars. I’m glad to see there’s another UVA Chaucerian to occupy my office and keep teaching Texts Medieval — but I’m thrilled to see new approaches to literature such as Ecocriticism coming into favor. Current dialogue between majors and faculty about how the major might evolve is very healthy.

Q:  What are your plans for after retirement?

A: Travel, writing of various sorts, and waiting to become a grandparent. I promise, if any of my former students get in touch, to recall each and every one of them as among the best I ever taught.

Q: Do you have any amusing stories about students?

A: I was once preparing a class for the final exam, and suggested it would involve a question about what Chaucer, based on his conventional themes and concerns, might have thought about two or three older English texts — e.g. “Beowulf.” A guy at the back of the room said, “Wait a minute. You mean we have to know TWO things?” I answered, “At least.”

Q: Any other parting thoughts?

A: It’s been a wonderful place to work, not least because the college is as interested in seeing its professors grow and explore new interests as it is seeing the same in its students. The premium placed on faculty-student joint research is the most visible but not the only evidence of this fairly exceptional bent.