and Frank Chorba
By Paul Smith and Tyler Christman
Frank Chorba has had an
class, you weren’t just entering his
enormous impact on the lives of
class, you were entering into a life
the many students he has taught
lesson,” Moya said.
throughout the years at Washburn
Through personal stories and a
University. He has also done many
good sense of humor Chorba has put a
great things for the mass media
unique spin on teaching. Not only has
department, and Washburn.
Chorba had an impact on many of his
Currently he’s on phased
students he has also influenced many
retirement and will be no longer be
of his fellow colleagues.
teaching in two years.
“Frank has a wonderful, delightful,
Some of his students got more out of
incredible sense of humor, and is just
his classes than others.
an amazingly kind person,” said Kathy
“He was a good teacher who
Menzie, the chair of the mass media
always tried to help you and make sure department.
you understand everything,” said Kyle
Because of his background in
Kogl, a mass media student.
mass media he has been trusted by
Others were more
his hometown
impressed by some
of Follonsbee,
of his grander
Pensylvania to
accomplishments.
write a timeline
“If you look up
of the town’s
the word epic in
history.
the dictionary,
Chorba has
you get a picture
gathered his
of Hercules and
information by
Chorba having
talking to older
a beer,” said
people that have
Ivan Moya, a
lived in the area.
student Washburn
Ivan Moya, mass media senior His efforts have
University.
been supported
“Chorba’s tears
by grants
can cure cancer. Too bad he doesnt
from Washburn University. With
cry.”
these grants he has been able to get
For more than 30 years Chorba
information from the local newspapers
has inspired students to achieve their
in town as well as pictures to use on
goals within the field of mass media.
the timeline.
Throughout these years Chorba has
Chorba has a list of some of
taught a variety of classes including
the residents he has interviewed.
Sports & Media, Media Literacy
Dr. Chorba said one of his favorite
and Broadcast Performance. In these
residents of the town was a man
classes students have been taught
named Joe Prest. He lived to be 100
valuable tools that will benefit them in and he took a shot of whiskey every
the future.
day. Every day Prest delivered milk to
“Whenever you walked into his
the town on a horse and a wagon. He
“If you look up the
word ‘epic’ in the
dictionary, you get a
picture of Hercules
and Chorba having
a beer.”
Courtesy of Frank Chorba
Longtime Professor Frank Chorba enters
phased retirement this year. He will
continue to teach part-time through
spring 2017.
learned the horse’s name was Nelly
and that the horse knew where it was
supposed to travel.
These are part of the many stories
that Chorba has uncovered throughout
the process of making his timeline.
“He is collecting, in one place,
the history of this town, which is
something nobody has done before,”
said Maria Stover, professor of
mass media. Another positive thing
about his project is that it is not in
book form. Instead, it is online and
everybody can access it. According to
Stover this is the biggest contribution
to the project.
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