Ned Bachus

Ned Bachus received a BA from Temple University, an MA from Gallaudet University and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. While a grad student at Gallaudet, he founded Gallaudet Rugby Football Club, the first rugby club for the Deaf in the United States. A Community College of Philadelphia faculty member as a counselor from 1974 to 1989 and as Associate Professor of English from 1989 to 2012, he received various awards for service to students, including the Alana Collos Award for Teaching Excellence and the Christian and Mary Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Bachus’s stories have appeared in publications, including The Louisville Review, Calliope, Antietam Review, Meridian Bound, Carve and The Evansville Review. He has won fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and was awarded an artist residency at Cill Rialaig Project in Ireland. His collection of short stories City of Brotherly Love (Fleur-de-Lis Press) was awarded the 2013 Independent Publisher Award (IPPY) Gold Medal for Literary Fiction.

As a songwriter and solo artist and as a member of the Philadelphia-based band, Sacred CowBoys, he has recorded several CDs and performed in music venues throughout eastern United States; his songs have been performed and recorded by various artists in the U.S., and have been featured on NPR programs including A Prairie Home Companion.

Bachus's memoir, Open Admissions: What Teaching at Community College Taught Me About Learning, was published by Wild River Books in 2017, and has been praised by educators and authors around the US. “Brilliant, engaging, and instructive…A must read, not only for those who teach at community colleges, but for all teachers and all administrators.” Gina Barreca, contributor, Chronicle of Higher Education.