Why Teach at a Small Liberal Arts College?
Ryleigh Johnson | April 1, 2025
After leaving bigger institutions, Rebecca Westfall, a swimming coach with years of experience, and Todd May, a renowned philosophy professor, found a new professional home at Warren Wilson College (WWC). While teaching at any institution can have its challenges and benefits, Westfall and May share the joys of working at a small liberal arts college like WWC.
Photo courtesy of ISSC
In the world of college swimming, Westfall has coached it all–from club teams to Division I (D1) programs. Westfall studied sports management at Texas A&M and took jobs all over, moving to Colorado before settling in Asheville, North Carolina, at WWC. From 2012 to 2014, Westfall was the assistant coach to WWC’s swimming team, leaving when the program was temporarily canceled. She then shifted to coaching at UNC Asheville.
“From there [UNC Asheville], I…moved around quite a bit at a bunch of Division I institutions…” Westfall said. “Each move was taking me higher in the rankings. Bigger institutions, more successful institutions. And then we had two children along the way, and realized I couldn't work those 80-hour work weeks anymore.”
WWC has allowed Westfall to have a healthier work-life balance, giving her more time with her children. She says that this difference in institutional values is a big part of why she’s still coaching at WWC.
“I think I was pursuing those major Division I jobs because I felt like it was almost an extension of what I was doing when I was an athlete…” Westfall said. “I have to coach at the highest level to be considered successful. But that didn't align with my value system, and I think that's why I was unhappy and I wasn't succeeding the way I needed to.”
Westfall appreciates that the school maintains a better balance for students as well as coaches and tries to foster a healthy competition environment for her athletes.
“At a major institution where you're recruited to swim and you're on scholarship, your sport is your job…as an athlete, I would have skipped class before I skipped practice,” Westfall said. “Even if you only got three hours of sleep because you were up studying for a test, you still went to morning practice…At Warren Wilson, one of the things that I value is a work-life balance, and I want that for my swimmers, too. While it's not ideal that we have a swimmer staying up until three in the morning studying and then trying to come to practice in the morning, they can call me and say, ‘Hey, I was up late studying, I need to not come to morning practice.’”
In the end, Westfall says, the ultimate measure of success is not about the division you coach, but rather the ability to support the people around you.
Photo courtesy of Warren Wilson College
After teaching at a large public university, May was surprised to be approached on his first day at WWC’s campus.
“I was walking to my first class on the first day I was teaching here, and somebody came up to me and he said he hadn’t recognized me,” May said. “I told him who I was, and he said, ‘Oh, you're the Good Place person!’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I'm the Good Place person.’ And he said, ‘Well, it's really good to meet you. My name is Jay Roberts, I'm the provost.’ At that point, I'd had more conversation with the provost on my first day walking to class than I'd had with almost all the provosts at Clemson in 31 years.”
May moved to Asheville after retiring from teaching at Clemson, where he had been employed for decades. After the move, he wrote letters to colleges in the area, asking if they would be interested in having him teach. WWC sent a friendly email back inviting him to take on a class, beginning his career at the college. From May’s first day teaching at WWC, he has appreciated the openness that both WWC’s administration and students possess.
“I noticed right away that the students at Wilson were more wide open…” May said. “They were more likely to say something, they felt comfortable to jump in in class, they weren't worried about their grades. They just seemed to be ready to go on whatever journey we happened to be on.”
Another major difference between Clemson and WWC has been May’s overall experience with the administration. At WWC, he says, it seems like the administration genuinely cares about the institution and its students. This stands in stark opposition to the administration at Clemson, particularly later in his time working there.
“I've spoken to Damián [Fernández, president of WWC] several times, even though I'm still a part-time person,” May said. “They [WWC’s current administration] seem very concerned about the college, about making it the best place it can be. Clemson was run by a bunch of empty suits. They strike me as entirely unconcerned with the content of what happens and very concerned with branding.”
He described his exit from Clemson and subsequent retirement as a form of parole–not because of a lack of desire to teach, but because of the university’s politics.
“I say I was paroled, not because it was a university, but because it was that university, those administrators,” May said. “I like teaching: I liked teaching my students at Clemson, and I like teaching my students here…When I was in the room with my students at Clemson, it didn't matter what was going on outside. They [the administration] could be what they wanted, I was doing something that I love doing. And I love doing it here.”
While May and Westfall’s love of teaching and coaching have remained consistent no matter where they have worked, a smaller college has provided each with unique benefits. For Westfall, coaching a less competitive division affords her more time with her family. For May, a more responsive and accessible administration has led to a greater sense of fulfillment. For both individuals, WWC’s unique student body, leadership and culture have allowed them to continue working as educators in a sustainable and meaningful way.