ALPINE – For Dr. Ira Blanton, retirement may be a misnomer.
Dr. Ira Blanton
Blanton, an associate professor of Languages and Literature at Sul Ross State University, will retire as a full-time faculty member after the 2013 Summer Session II after 25 years.
He will remain on the faculty under the Early Retirement Option II (50 percent time), teaching two classes and organizing programs for the Ira Blanton Folklore Endowment at Sul Ross.
In addition to part-time teaching, Blanton’s future plans include ranching, fish farming, land development, and traveling to Austin to visit his two sons, Ira and George, who are in the music business there.
“Staying busy will not be a problem,” he laughed.
Blanton was born in Marfa, noting, “Mom couldn’t make it all the way from the ranch to Alpine,” but spent most of his formative years in Austin, where he graduated from high school and attended the University of Texas, broadening his education in business and history before ending his tenure at UT in the Classics Department.
After leaving the University of Texas, Blanton returned to his family’s PeZitas Ranch in Presidio County and worked with his father, Ira Blanton, Sr. After working for several years on the family ranch, Blanton became an announcer at KVLF Radio in Alpine and, later, KERB Radio in Kermit and KPEP Radio in San Angelo. Later, he worked at KUFO, a rock ‘n’ roll station in Odessa owned by country music legend Lynn Anderson.
Following his time in the music world, Blanton returned to Alpine and enrolled at Sul Ross. He earned a B.A. (1985) and M.A. (1986) in history from Sul Ross, and then received an M.A. (1988) in English. He began teaching as a lecturer in English in 1988 and, after a two-year leave of absence to complete coursework for his doctorate, He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in 1999.
During his tenure at Sul Ross, he has taught a wide range of subjects, including freshman composition, Literary Types, Technical Writing, Introduction to Folklore, Southwestern Folklore, Southwestern Literature and Writers of the West. In 1995 Ira Blanton, Sr. established the Ira Blanton Folklore Endowment to provide scholarships in folklore and monies to bring folklore artists to the Sul Ross campus.
Over the years, Blanton and the Department of Languages and Literature have provided numerous opportunities for the Sul Ross community and the public to hear professional storytellers, enjoy storytelling and readings by noted Southwestern author Denise Chávez, and immerse themselves in musical performances by Patrick Ball and Doyle Bramhall. He was a co-sponsor of Alpha Chi, a national honorary society, and, as co-sponsor of Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society, helped set up and staff many a coffeehouse and book sale, as well as assisting with the Cowboy Poetry Gathering for many years.
“It has been an honor to work outside the classroom with so many of Sul Ross’ finest students,” Blanton said.
“It has been a great experience for me,” he said. “Sul Ross could not have been a better fit: to be living here and to be able to work here. I am indebted to Sul Ross.”