Wooster alumnus finds rewarding career in theatre education

Bob Hetherington ’74 came to The College of Wooster planning to major in history and attend law school, but a junior year detour with the College’s debate team to a theatre production inspired a passion for the art that shaped his career. An emeritus professor of theatre and dance at the University of Memphis and recipient of Wooster’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2024, Hetherington thanks Wooster for setting his career in motion.  

Recruited out of high school by Jerry Sanders, then an assistant professor of speech, to be a member of the debate team, Hetherington also became involved in the arts at the College, publishing film reviews in The Wooster Voice and hosting a radio show on WCWS, Wooster’s student-run radio station. In his junior year, he decided to act in a theatre production and fell in love with the art form, choosing to attend graduate school for theatre at Northwestern University.

 After completing his master’s degree, Hetherington returned to Wooster, serving as an instructor in speech and taught courses in oral interpretation and public speaking as well as radio, television, film, and theatre history. “I learned in that year that teaching was what I wanted to do. When I went back to graduate school, I went back determined to try to become as inspiring a teacher as the teachers that I had at Wooster,” he said. After completing his doctoral studies, Hetherington began as a professor and artistic director at Wright State University. He also helped launch The Human Race Theatre Company, Dayton’s premiere professional theatre, as their first resident director. 

 Hetherington moved to the University of Memphis in 1997, serving as chair of the theatre department for 15 years. During his tenure, the department added its first professional staff positions and international exchange programs, established community partnerships with neighboring theaters, and created a popular undergraduate musical theatre concentration.  

Throughout his career, Hetherington directed more than 60 professional theatre productions, including spending five seasons at the acclaimed Stratford Festival in Canada, and currently serves as the program editor and essayist for the Shaw Festival. “What I do personally and professionally is directly a result of some very influential faculty members at Wooster,” Hetherington said. “My career, my values, and to some extent, my passions, are the result of these monumental people.” 

Posted in Alumni on June 15, 2024.