Holcomb tackles retirement with same verve she tackled teaching
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Carol Ann Holcomb planned retirement the same way she planned the courses she taught – by being resourceful, inventive, effective and dedicated.
Her retirement syllabus focuses on three goals: travel, research then write church history and plunge into stained-glass artwork. Each step researched, practiced and reviewed with diligence. No lounge chairs on the beach for this professor.
Holcomb, who has been appointed professor emeritus, retires in August after 29 years at Kansas State University.
Her past includes a PhD from Oregon State University, a 2-year stint as a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Columbia and several years as a biology and chemistry teacher in an Alaskan high school.
A rich legacy
Holcomb was a founder and leader in the undergraduate public health nutrition program and the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree programs and taught courses ranging from Women, Aging and Health to Nutritional Epidemiology.
The MPH program, which focuses on population health, boasts 18 graduates and currently has 32 students enrolled. Holcomb is most proud of her work in mentoring graduate students.
Most recent research involved studying the prevalence of macular eye disease among Kansans age 65 years and older.
Heads for the stairs
Whatever she does, wherever she does it, Holcomb will never be far from her propinquity to nutrition, wellness, and public health.
She practices what she preaches.
For exercise, she walks or rides a bike for 30 to 45 minutes a day, swims often at the campus recreation center and always takes the stairs.
To maintain a healthy diet, she eats lots of fruit and vegetables, downs a handful of almonds and one piece of dark chocolate a day. She doesn’t drink coffee but dotes on hot green and black tea.
Road trips and breakable art
Holcomb is tackling retirement with the same gusto.
She inherited her zestful attitude from her father, Holcomb said. “He never knew a stranger . . . To him, the glass was always half full.”
Within the next year, Holcomb plans to drive to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (the only three states she has not visited); travel across Canada by rail; attend a family reunion in her home state of Georgia; and visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. She’s making the rounds to all 55-plus national parks. The favorite, so far, is Yellowstone.
Second, she is collecting historical data – such as oral histories, photographs and documents - to write the history of the First Baptist Church in Manhattan as it celebrates its 150th anniversary. The current history ends with 1939.
The 1951 flood destroyed most of the church records, Holcomb said. Other archival material is badly water stained.
“There was so much destruction. When the church was rebuilt, they chose Blue Hills Road, one of the highest hills around,” she said.
The third goal is to spend more time in The Stuga, the freestanding stained glass backyard workshop she shares with retired Extension specialist Lois Redman. The workshop overflows with colorful stained glass art, sheets of artful glass and specialized equipment the two use for their work.
Holcomb’s creations range from art deco stained glass lampshades and complex kaleidoscopes to sun catchers and squatty imaginary birds. “They are happy,” she said about her little creatures.
“Anything I can do to make people smile and be happy, I do.”
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 and is filed under Dean's Blog.