Dr. Jim Vosper came to Centralia College 33 years ago as adjunct faculty and decided to keep that ‘less-than-fulltime’ status for a while. He has kept enormously busy with his students and jokes that he “worked for 33 years since earning my degree without once ever holding a full-time job.” With his Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Education, Vosper remained in high demand from his students in NW History, Philosophy, and Education. At some time in the near future Vosper may return to teach in some capacity at the college but he definitely will continue the pursuit of his extensive work with genealogy.

Dr. Don Foran is leaving after teaching at Centralia College for 25 years. Foran formerly taught at Seattle University, was an ordained priest in the Order of Jesuits, and still teaches on a limited scale at The Evergreen State College. Foran taught English, Philosophy, and Ethics and has been a long-time member and past president of the Washington Humanities Association. He was named “Professor of the Year” by the Carnegie Foundation, but says his greatest reward has been working with the faculty and staff at Centralia College. Dr. Foran is an accomplished poet and is presently bringing poetry to a prison setting as he develops a theory that includes poetic work to help discover meaningful and sustainable living.

Dr. Cheri Raff served as Dean of Instruction in the Child and Family Studies division at Centralia College. She has been instrumental in building the division into a leadership position in teaching the science of Early Childhood Education, while providing the region with insights on family question resolution, pre-school learning initiatives, community outreach, and the introduction of positive parenting development to a range of population groups across the state and Pacific Northwest region. Raff’s primary career trait, according to her colleagues and contemporaries, is her dedication to the parents and families the program serves, and especially the children that are part of the Child and Family Studies program at Centralia College. Raff’s achievements have been many as is evidenced by the fact she couldn’t pick out any that overshadowed others in her memory. “I’ve simply enjoyed the opportunity to work with such a dedicated and visionary staff,” she explained, “and I have been especially grateful for the warm and positive reception our programs have received from the community at large.” Travel will play a big part in Raff’s retirement, but she also insists she’ll spend more time with her husband, her children, her grandchildren.

Doris Wood seemed the classic example of one who achieved success within a few miles of home. Born and raised on a small farm near Pierce, Colorado, Wood graduated from tiny Pierce High School before attending college less than 30 miles away at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. There she earned a bachelor’s in English and education and her master’s in speech communications. For the next 20 years, Wood taught in a small, rural school just a few miles from Pierce, teaching kindergarten in the morning and junior high in the afternoon. Wood had married another teacher who had become a school administrator, and when their daughter graduated from high school the couple realized they had spent their lives no further than 30 miles from home. Surely, they thought, there is more to life than northern Colorado. So the couple moved to Port Orford, Oregon, where her husband took a job as school superintendent. She taught junior high English and math. Later, with their horizons broadening, the two traveled to Barrow, Alaska, where her husband had accepted the job as North Slope Borough school superintendent. Returning to the Pacific Northwest, he was hired as the superintendent at Boistfort in the Chehalis Valley. Shortly after the move, Doris accepted a teaching position at Centralia College. In retirement, Wood expects to remain active in the United Way and Soroptomist, and remains dedicated to helping underserved women realize a college education.

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