TOPEKA (KSNT) – Washburn University’s Director of Public Relations, Patrick Early, will retire on Friday, Sept. 30 after serving in that role for the past seven years.

“I started at Washburn in 2015, seven-and-a-half years ago,” Early said. “It was in January. I was looking for a new challenge and a new place to be. I was attracted to the ad for Washburn, it sounded like a place I wanted to be. It caught my eye because I was born in Topeka, and I have relatives that went to Washburn.”

Early came to Washburn University in January, 2015 from Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, where he served as the Assistant Vice President of Communications, Marketing & Brand Strategies. Before that he served as the Vice President of Public Relations & Marketing at Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“I’ve worked for four different fortune five hundred companies, a large regional community college, the University of Illinois, all before I got here,” Early said. “I have a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a Masters degree from the University of Missouri.”

Early received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1974 and a Masters degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1976.