The Department of English is expecting a significant change in the coming year due to the fact that four faculty members are leaving the community. Longtime Peddie English teachers Bill McMann and Pat Clements are retiring. Also, Chris Mixon and Ali Kittle, who were recently married, are moving to Colorado.

In order to fill up the spaces, Matthew Roach, the new head of the English Department, explained that four new English teachers have been hired so far: Grant Edwards, Alex Kocar, Sarah Jensen and Diku Rogers, a Peddie alum from the class of 2012.

Edwards is a veteran teacher coming from St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire and will also be joining the girls’ basketball program. Kocar, husband of history teacher Megan Kocar, has a PhD from Princeton University and has been a professor at Rutgers this year. Jensen has been highly recommended by multiple professors and is a senior English major at Williams College. Rogers graduated from Middlebury in 2016 and is excited to return to campus.

Roach highlights that the Peddie community, especially the English Department, will dearly miss the four departing English teachers and their immense impact. He notes that Peddie will always remember “their creativity, professionalism, brilliance, and wisdom…as they have had such a profound impact on so many teachers and students over the years”.

Yet, the English Department cannot hide their excitement for the new teachers.

“[I am] thrilled with all of the people we have hired, and I think they will be excellent additions to our community,” Roach said. “Our English Department will continue to be one of the very best in the country, full of interesting course offerings, dynamic texts, deep question in class discussions, and a powerful writing program.”