Before his junior year of college, Jack Keith had never even pictured himself as a journalist — never mind a professor of journalism.

“I was gonna maybe be in stocks and bonds, like my dad was,” Keith said.

But two years into his business degree, Keith realized he had to take some non-business classes, too. He enrolled in a journalism course at a friend’s recommendation, figuring he’d earn a few easy credits before getting started with the stock market.

Instead, the work made a profound impact on the young business major.

“I fell in love with it immediately,” Keith recalled. “So, I majored in both business and journalism.”

After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University with two degrees in 1973, Keith bounced around for a few years, working at a series of small publications in the Midwest before joining the Bellingham Herald as features editor in 1978. In 1980, when the Herald’s top editor departed, Keith took over the position. He managed a newsroom of approximately 30 reporters, photographers and editors in his 15-year tenure as top editor.

“It was great,” Keith said of the role. “I wrote a column every Sunday… But at some point, I decided I wanted to try a big newspaper.”

That “big newspaper” was to be the Tacoma News Tribune. Keith worked in a variety of editorial positions for the Tribune from 1996—2006, at one point even putting his original, mostly unused degree to some use while editing business stories. Ultimately, though, family drew him away from the position and back to Bellingham.

“My wife and I decided we wanted to move back to Bellingham to see our grandkids grow up,” Keith said. “Even though I didn’t have a master’s degree, Western liked the fact that I had experience, and they hired me to be a faculty member.”

Keith taught reporting (JOUR 307), editing (JOUR 309), and occasionally media ethics (JOUR 351) in his 18 years at Western. He also spent nine of those years as faculty adviser to The Front.

“I really enjoyed working at the Western Front,” Keith said. “It was a lot of fun, and a challenge … Teaching students how to teach each other.”

Now 73 and retired, Keith plans to stay in Bellingham with his wife for the foreseeable future. He writes a weekly column for his Rotary Club and hopes to continue doing so. He also plans to remain active as a volunteer with the Bellingham Central Lions Club, “helping the community” however he can.

Everything else, he’s got the rest of his life to figure out.