FMU’s 17th annual Moran Address presented by Dr. Rebecca Flannagan

Dr. Rebecca Flannagan, professor emeritus, delivered the 17th annual William C. Moran Address at the FMU Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence on Thursday.

The Moran Address, presented annually, provides a platform for retiring or recently retired faculty to reflect on their academic journeys and share insights from their fields and life experiences. Flannagan’s address, Narratives from Home: How a Kentucky Girl Moved to South Carolina and Started a Different Story, looked back at her life as a young girl growing up in rural Kentucky who became a first-generation college student and, ultimately, an English professor.

Flannagan earned a Bachelor of Arts in history and English in 1983 and a Master of Arts in English in 1986, both from Western Kentucky University. She later received her Ph.D. in English in 1995 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

She joined the faculty of Francis Marion University in 1995, where she served for 29 years before retiring in 2024. During her tenure, she taught a wide variety of courses, including composition, American literature, Southern literature, creative writing, the art of letter writing, and American romanticism.

In addition to her teaching, Flannagan served as chair of the faculty from 2012-2017 and vice chair of the faculty from 2008-2011. She was also chair of the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Philosophy and Religious Studies from 2017-2023, chaired the Pee Dee Poetry and Fiction Festival from 2013-2017, and was a member of numerous committees, including the Academic Affairs Committee, McNair Scholars Selection Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, International Studies Program Committee, and the Model UN Review Committee.

In 2019, Flannagan was named the J. Lorin Mason Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the faculty. She also received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from FMU in 2017, the Charlene Wages Shared Governance Award in 2008, and the Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004.

The Moran Address has been an FMU tradition since 2005 and is named after Dr. William C. Moran, FMU’s Vice President of Academic Affairs from 1978-1992. Moran later became president of Lander University and is remembered for his many civic, academic, and cultural contributions to South Carolina. He was presented the Governor’s Award in the Humanities in 2008.

The Moran Address is made possible thanks to a generous endowment from the Moran family.