CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — A man who started his academic journey as a student at Del Mar College during the Eisenhower administration is being celebrated for his nearly six decades of teaching at the school.
Dr. Willard Rushton began as a part time student at Del Mar College in 1954 while in the Navy. Little did he know at the time, that 12 years later he would begin teaching sociology and economic courses at Del Mar. From there, he moved on to serve as the chair of the sociology department for seven years before finally becoming a tenured professor in 1985. In 2010, after a stint at Texas A&M-College Station and Texas A&M-Kingsville, Rushton returned to Del Mar where he would take the role of adjunct sociology instructor.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, after making 90 trips around the sun, he said it's finally time to hang it up, and if there is one thing he will never forget it is the people he worked with every day.
"The highlight is working with these bunch of folks here in this department, it's awesome," Dr. Rushton said when asked by a colleague about the highlight of his career.
Now that he will have more free time, the professor said he will take up a new hobby- woodworking. Dr. Rushton has a workshop full of woodworking equipment, and he thinks now is the best time to start putting it to use.
