NEWS: Jeb Livingood Retires from UVA Creative Writing

Charlottesville, VA — June 2026

After twenty-six years of service to the University of Virginia’s Creative Writing Program, Jeb Livingood has retired, concluding a tenure marked by steady leadership, deep institutional knowledge, and a lasting commitment to graduate and undergraduate students.

Livingood was a constant presence in the program through multiple periods of transition, seeing generations of faculty and directors come and go while providing continuity and stability. He was especially known for his accessibility to MFA students, maintaining an open-door approach and offering practical pedagogical guidance and steady support throughout their time at UVA. He created several systems to track alumni awards and publications, databases that have recorded over 550 alumni books and 220 student awards to date.

He served as faculty advisor for Meridian, the MFA Program’s student-run literary magazine, helping sustain a key platform for emerging writers. His own work has appeared in Best New American Voices 2001, The Texas Review, Yemassee, and other publications. He launched the Best New Poets anthology in 2005, with Virginia faculty member George Garrett serving as the inaugural guest editor. He co-edited the 2020 edition with current poetry faculty member Brian Teare.

Livingood also served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve before and during his time at UVA, a background that informed his consistent professionalism and sense of service. His Coast Guard specialties included port safety and security, and intelligence analysis. In 2010, while conducting research in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he helped establish an improvised triage center after a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island nation. He retired from the Coast Guard in 2015 at the rank of captain, with his final tour in the Pentagon.

At UVA, he was a familiar presence in the Creative Writing Lounge, often accompanied by his dog, Sugar, who became a welcome part of the community. He was also a strong and engaging speaker at program events, known for his clarity and an understated sense of humor. He also served as a first- and second-year undergraduate advisor and taught several COLA and EGMT sections themed on the U.S. Intelligence Community. He also taught undergraduate courses in fiction writing and a popular desktop publication course.

As he steps into retirement, Livingood leaves behind a program shaped in part by his reliability, care, and long view of its development. His influence will be felt in the students he supported, the publications he helped guide, and the institutional continuity he helped maintain over many years.

The Creative Writing Program extends its gratitude for his service and wishes him all the best in retirement.