Merle Oxley Retiring After 32 Years at ACC

Merle Oxley receving an award at his retirement celebration

Francis “Merle” Oxley has been a fixture at ACC since he taught a “Women in Construction” class at the old Ridgeview Campus in fall 1979. Now the adjunct professor for Building Construction Technology is hanging up his hard hat and retiring at the age of 80.

“I’ve enjoyed working with people at ACC more than anything else,” says Oxley. “It’s easy. My students are here because they want to be and they want to learn.”

His first class at ACC was something of a night-owl experience. He and another instructor teamed up to teach the Women in Construction course Monday through Thursday, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and Friday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Those were the only hours the classroom and shop space were open for the instructors and 14 female students.

“We were overwhelmed with the amount of students trying to register at that time. We had a class I agreed to teach and no place to do it, so we had to do night classes,” says Oxley. “I said I would take another class for spring, and I ended up with two. After that I was off and running.”

Oxley served as the department chair for Building Construction Technology in 1984-85. Beginning in 1986, he took on an adjunct faculty role.

Warren Heatwole, current department chair for Building Construction Technology, refers to Oxley as his mentor. Oxley is the one who brought Heatwole on board at ACC, urging him to take a faculty position in the mid-eighties.

“Merle Oxley gave me an opportunity to succeed here at ACC, and that’s what he does each time he enters the classroom or laboratory with students,” says Heatwole. “He offers them the opportunity to succeed.”

Following Oxley’s final class May 10, students and colleagues honored him with a retirement celebration.

“Students appreciated Merle’s thoughtful, patient approach to teaching,” said Pam Powell, instructional associate in Building Construction Technology. “We should all be so involved at his age.”

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