Alumni News | Peckham Gives Keynote at West Virginia 40 Under 40 Awards

Dr. Rachael Peckham

Dr. Rachael Peckham, Associate Professor of English at Marshall University, gave the keynote at the annual Generation Next: 40 Under 40 awards in Charleston, W.V., reports the State Journal in a story headlined “Generation Next recognizes up-and-coming community leaders.”

• Also see “Notable Alumni Spotlight | Rachael Peckham Teaches Creative Writing at Marshall.”

Peckham earned a Ph.D. in creative writing in 2009 from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University, where she specialized in contemporary forms of the personal essay.

Peckham, who holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from Ohio University, is working on a project about the history of the 1970 Marshall University plane crash at Tri-State Airport in Huntington that killed 75 people on a chartered flight, including 37 members of the Thundering Herd football team.

When she was first hired at Marshall, Peckham said she decided to learn about how the crash affected the university, the city of Huntington and surrounding community. She said she found it inspiring the way Marshall graduates and students still remember the crash.

Peckham said the 40 Under 40 honorees were also inspirational, and had the future in their hands.

Read more in the State Journal.