English faculty member brings enthusiasm, humor to classroom
English language and literature faculty Jeffrey Bean poses for a portrait in his office in Anspach Hall on March 26.
Jeffrey Bean wakes up in the morning with the energy of someone who loves what they do – exactly what one might expect from the number one student-rated professor at Central Michigan University.
The English language and literature faculty member has been reviewed 27 times on the popular site, ratemyprofessor.com, and each was a perfect 5-star review.
Of all the people who logged in, not one person had a negative thing to say about Jeffrey Bean. What makes this poetry and creative writing professor one the most favorites on campus?
Bean says he is not sure exactly why people enjoy his class so much, but he believes it begins with his love for what he does.
“It’s partly that I love to do it," Bean said. “The reason to get out of bed is to talk poetry and creative writing and that’s what I love to do.”
Besides reading and writing, Bean also loves the students he has the chance to work with.
“I’m connected to the students and their lives,” Bean said. “I’m truly interested in my students as people.”
His former students can attest to this statement. One student with an especially strong relationship with Bean was eager to discuss the impact he has had on her life.
Ann Arbor senior Isabella Barricklow took six semesters of classes with Bean at CMU, and she said he made them her favorites. Barricklow raved about his enthusiasm for his students and the classes he teaches.
“He’s such a dynamic professor,” Barricklow said. “He’s hilarious and immediately engaged with his students on that level.”
Although Bean specializes in poetry, Barricklow felt he would be a perfect advisor for her honors program, despite pursuing a path in fiction. She said Bean jumped at the opportunity to help her with a semester-long study abroad project writing a novel.
“You have this sense that he cares about you and wants you to enjoy poetry and know you’re doing, but he also cares about you as a student and wants you to enjoy being at the university," Barricklow said. "You see it in everything he does.”
Barricklow was also enthusiastic about discussing Bean’s humor. One of his classes is part creative writing and part "The Jeffrey Bean" show. His students hang on his every word, laughing at each punchline. It is impossible not to notice how engaged the room is to the lesson he is teaching.
When Bean announced that the class would do a four-minute paper, students instantly fell silent and the room was filled only with the sound of pencils scratching paper.
Bean’s friend and colleague in the English department, Darrin Doyle, attested to Bean’s unique teaching style and the things that he said make him so good at what he does.
“He’s got a great sense of humor, he’s good at telling stories, and some of that is connected to his poetry writing,” Doyle said.
Bean said he appreciates all the nuances that make up being a writer, and discussed the "wrong reasons" for getting into English as well. He asserted that to succeed in this field, one must truly love the work that goes along with it, more so than the idea of having one's work published.
“Even if you’re a famous published author, the real reward is the ability to keep writing and reading, so you have to love the reading and the writing,” he said. “More than just the idea of the glory of the publication, that’s the whole prize, that’s all you get.”
Bean did not always see himself as a writer or a professor. He studied jazz guitar and performances for his undergraduate degree, but it was the creative writing classes he took during his undergrad that led him to change gears and pursue a career in writing.
He found his true calling at the University of Alabama while getting his graduate degree through the university's masters of fine arts program. However, he said feels he made the right decision studying music for his bachelor's.
“My passion was music in high school and I feel I had to follow that passion in order to figure out where I’m at now,” Bean said.
Above all else, Bean encourages people to follow their dreams and what makes them happy, although he conceded it’s rarely easy to do.
“I’m always encouraging people when you can to study what you’re most passionate about, what you’re good at," Bean said. "You may not be able to foresee the career, but if you follow that path, it’s going to lead you in the right direction.”
It is a recipe he has followed since his days studying jazz guitar, and it has made him the most highly-rated professor here at CMU.
