It came down to the wire.
As the summer wound down senior Journalism professor Terry A. Dalton became ill and was unable to return to the Hill for this fall semester. With just a few short weeks notice before the semester began, English department chair Robert Kachur and former chair Kathy Mangan needed to put their heads together and quickly find an experienced professor to fill in.
The result: Bob Allen.
Allen is a forty year vet in the journalism field having previously worked and freelanced for The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and The Nashville amongst other newspapers.
Allen also sports some impressive accolades in the field. In 1981 he won the Certificate of Merit from the American Bar Association for his investigative reporting on the poor conditions at the Nashville Metropolitan Jail. Allen said at times his investigation became very intense.
“I got robbed… and hit while I was on the investigation,” he said.
Another starring portion of Allen’s career was his work for “The Rolling Stone” in which he wrote an article on country singer Hank Williams Jr. – before he became famous.
More recently, Allen has taught Journalism at Towson University as an adjunct professor. Amidst his teaching, Allen is still freelancing for the Maryland newspaper chain, Patuxent Publishing.
Although Allen was initially stressed by coming to teach here at McDaniel under such short notice, he says he is amazed how personal and helpful everyone is here. He attributed the community feel to the small liberal arts school aura and the good people here on campus.
McDaniel Junior and advisee of Professor Dalton, Ben Grant, spoke about the transition from Dalton to Allen, “I’m going to really miss Mr. Dalton as an advisor, mentor and teacher, but I’m also anxious about meeting Mr. Allen and what I can learn from him this semester.”
Fun Bob Allen facts:
• He applied and was accepted to McDaniel College, but chose St.John’s in Annapolis.
• He enjoys and hobbies in guitar playing and has been influenced by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.
• Other career highlights include interviews with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Clint Eastwood.
• Allen has also been published in “Esquire” magazine.
