Roane State Community College

Dr. Bill Stafford teaches Roane State dual enrollment biology at Loudon High School.

July 16, 2018

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Dr. Bill Stafford was first a veterinarian, then a farmer, and now a Roane State Community College adjunct professor.

He said he saved the best for last.

“This is my third career and the most enjoyable one,” said Stafford, an adjunct professor who teaches biology to dual enrollment students at Loudon County High School.

“I didn’t need gobs of money. I needed something to do, and this is very satisfying.”

His courses are popular and lure high-achieving students at the 750-student school who want to take college-level classes in the high school setting and receive both college and high school credits.

Most of his students are high school juniors who have previously taken the school’s biology course and have scored at least a 21 on the ACT test, which assesses college readiness.

“I have to keep on top of things because I get the best kids in the school,” he says. “They challenge me, and I’ve got to know more than they know.”

Still, the Loudon County native who graduated from Loudon High School says, “This is where I want to be. This is home.”

Stafford said he started looking into the possibility of teaching when he was 50 years old.

Stafford had graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980 and practiced as a veterinarian for five years.

Then, he decided he “needed to do something else, so I went to farm for a while,” returning to the family farm in Loudon County where he’d grown up.

His third career as an educator “almost seemed like fate,” he said. “I always thought I’d like to teach, so I started pursuing that goal, but getting into teaching was difficult.”

Stafford first thought he’d have to obtain a master’s degree, and going back to school after eight years of college education didn’t appeal to him. He said he was about ready to abandon his efforts when the Loudon High School job opened up, and he was hired on a provisional license. He was given two years to complete six courses and take three teaching licensure exams.

“I started teaching in the fall of 2005, and the rest is history. I got a job teaching in the school I most wanted to teach in.”

Along with teaching biology, Stafford is the science department head at the high school. He teaches a broad overview of biology during the fall semester, and the spring semester focuses on specific animal and plant kingdoms.

His dual enrollment courses are popular, and just about all of his fall semester students go on to enroll in the spring course.

He’s won awards for his efforts, including Loudon High’s teacher of the year, regional teacher of the year from the National Association of Biology Teachers, and Walmart teacher of the year.

Now 63, Stafford said he intends to keep teaching for at least the next two years and then reassess his situation.

He and his wife Jody – a nurse who works at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge – have two children and four grandchildren.