William J. Kelly

William J. Kelly earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of Rhode Island. He also received an M.A. in English from Rhode Island College and a B.A. in English from Southeastern Massachusetts University (now the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth). He began his career in 1975, teaching junior high school and high school English in the Fall River, MA, public schools. In 1984, he joined the English Department at Bristol Community College and within five years was promoted to full professor. In addition to his teaching, he enjoyed a three-year stint writing a weekly newspaper column and has presented numerous teacher training workshops and graduate courses in the teaching of writing. In 1997, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) named him Massachusetts Professor of the Year, the first time a community college professor in this state received this prestigious award. He is the author of several texts, including Pearson Longman's ODYSSEY: FROM PARAGRAPH TO ESSAY, sixth edition (Deborah L. Lawton, co-author); DISCOVERY: FROM SENTENCE TO PARAGRAPH, fifth edition (Deborah L. Lawton, co-author); SIMPLE, CLEAR, AND CORRECT: PARAGRAPHS; SIMPLE, CLEAR, AND CORRECT: ESSAYS; SIMPLE, CLEAR, AND CORRECT: SENTENCES; STRATEGY AND STRUCTURE: SHORT READINGS FOR COMPOSITION, fourth edition; INTERSECTIONS: READINGS FOR COLLEGE AND BEYOND (Nicole C. Matos, co-author); BEGINNINGS: A RHETORIC AND HANDBOOK; and MODELS IN PROCESS: A RHETORIC AND READER. He retired from full-time teaching in 2019, and currently serves as a consultant and writing specialist, focusing on technical and business writing, staff training, and editing. A runner for over fifty years, he is also an avid handball player. He and his wife, Michelle, Associate Professor of Psychology at Bristol Community College, live in Fall River. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Nicole C. Matos, Associate Professor of English at the College of DuPage, and Jacqueline M. Wright, professional musician and flute instructor, and proud grandparents of Alexander Owen Matos.