Rachel Kirk, Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Art at Central Washington University, shared her personal story on Apr. 6. Growing up in Ashland City, Tennessee, a small town with only one stoplight, Kirk found her passion for art at an early age. She recalled painting along with Bob Ross and receiving encouragement from her parents: “I was always the artist growing up,” she said. “My parents supported that. They bought me art supplies, they let me paint and make a mess on the front porch… And when I mailed a photo of my first painting to Bob Ross, he even sent me a letter back.”
Kirk’s family background is rooted in education as well as creativity. Her father taught high school wood shop while her grandmother was both her third- and fourth-grade teacher. Several other relatives also worked as K-12 teachers in their local school system.
Despite this strong educational lineage, Kirk initially focused on art rather than teaching through college and graduate school. It was during her time at Austin Peay State University that two professors inspired her to pursue teaching: “They were teaching adult students, having real conversations, and I thought, ‘I want to be just like you,’” she said.
After earning an MFA at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Kirk faced challenges finding permanent academic positions in the arts field. She spent years working part-time roles across multiple institutions before securing a tenure-track job offer from Central Washington University in 2014—a move she described as “a leap of faith.”
Now settled in Ellensburg with her husband Jason—whom she met during college—and their pets, Kirk teaches art courses that emphasize critical thinking and creative risk-taking for students.
Reflecting on how teaching ultimately became central to her life’s work despite not planning it initially, Kirk said: “I didn’t start out thinking I’d be a teacher… But looking back, I think it was always in me. It’s in the family, in our bones. I just had to find my way to it through art.”
