Michael Gray joins HCTC English faculty

Michael Gray began teaching English this semester at Hazard Community and Technical College after relocating his family from south Florida. This is an opportunity to have a career doing what I love in a subject area I find irresistible. I welcome the challenges of offering instruction and service to a new community and hope that I can make positive contributions, Gray said.

The college s facilities are attractive to Gray. I was thrilled to find that most instructional spaces in Jackson and Hazard are equipped with smart classroom technologies. I ve grown accustomed to such features over the years for their research and presentation benefits. The Telford Labs in Jackson are particularly useful, both in terms of their equipment and personnel. I have also fallen under the spell of the HCTC libraries, though given my major I suppose that was inevitable, he noted.

Gray has written several short fiction articles that have been published in various places including The Baltimore Review, Carte Blanche, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, and The Rockford Review. His professional work also includes a Lawrence Sanders Fellowship from Florida Atlantic University. His community service includes work with geriatric residents and with children ages 8 to 13 in English and creative writing.

Gray earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida and his bachelor s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He has taught for Clark State Community College and was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Florida Atlantic University. He served as a copy editor for Nexus Literary Journal at Wright State University.

Gray and his wife, Jennifer, and two sons live in Jackson. He has a range of interests in terms of books, music, films, and physical activities. Japanese literature is one of his more recent loves as well as playing guitar, but spending time with family is always his top priority.