An Educational Life
Marthanne Brown has spent a lifetime in education. From the classroom to the Associate Dean’s office, and now as a board member of the Walker College Foundation, her focus has always been the same: her students.
Words by Stephen W. B. Rizzo | Image by Blakeney Clouse
“You have to have compassion for your students. You have to know your subject matter, but you also have to take time to love your students.”
This, in her own words, encapsulates Marthanne Brown’s philosophy of teaching.
Anyone who has been involved in education or humanities in Jasper and Walker County knows the name Marthanne Brown. A native of Carrollton, Georgia, she came to Alabama as a Samford University student, where she began her education by double-majoring in journalism and English.
“My dream was to be a famous foreign correspondent,” Marthanne says, “but as the saying goes, man plans and God laughs.”
A chance opening at Ramsey High School in Birmingham was her first teaching position and her life’s plan was forever altered. “I loved Ramsey High School,” she says. “Teaching there got me off to a wonderful start.”
After her marriage to O. H. Brown, Marthanne moved to Jasper and was offered a position at Walker High School as an English teacher and yearbook sponsor. She continued in that role until she took her first “retirement” at 28 to raise a family.
Several years later, when her son and daughter were in middle school, another unexpected opening brought her back to the classroom to finish out a school year. When the principal of Walker High School approached her about teaching Advanced Placement (AP) classes, she returned to college to renew her teaching certificate. Marthanne describes that experience: “When the graduate director found out I had been a teacher, he told me, ‘You're not going to renew your certificate. You're going to get a graduate degree.’ At that point, I got a master's degree in English from UAB and even taught Freshman English and worked in the English lab.”
After graduating from UAB, Marthanne spent six months developing the language arts lab at Lawson State before applying for a position with Bevill State Community College.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Marthanne was charged with developing humanities programs for Bevill State Community College. One of her most successful, Read Alabama, was initially established with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and featured talks by Alabama writers.
Over time, she secured additional sponsorships from the Bankhead Foundation and Alabama Power Company as well. The series became so successful, she says, that many affectionately referred to her as “Ms. Read Alabama.”
After teaching on the Sumiton campus for several years, Marthanne was appointed Director of the Jasper Center, which was located in the same mall area that currently houses T.J. Maxx and Hobby Lobby. Eventually she took her last position with Bevill as the Campus Dean for the Walker College Campus before retiring in 2009.
As Campus Dean, she was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the campus. “I loved that job. I loved getting know the teachers and looking for new employees,” Marthanne says. “There were so many things that were positive about that position. I will always consider that the most wonderful job that anybody could ever have."
Through the years, Marthanne also served on numerous boards and committees, including the Alabama Arts and Humanities Board of Directors, the Advisory Board for Auburn’s Center for the Arts and Humanities, the Literacy Council, and the precursor to the Walker County Arts Alliance.
After her retirement from Bevill, she was asked to serve on the board of the Walker College Foundation. “That is an important part of my life right now,” she says. “We are giving full scholarships that cover tuition and fees.”
In a lifetime in education, Marthanne Brown’s legacy in not necessarily found in the number of years she served and continues to serve. It’s in the lives she helped change along the way. 78