After earning a Doctor of Arts degree in fiction writing from Ole Miss in 1981, he taught at Delta State University until he retired from full-time academic work in December of 2015. During his tenure at Delta State, Dr. Hays earned the rank of Professor of English, and he chaired the Division of Languages and Literature for eight years.  His work has been published in The Kentucky English Bulletin, Front Street Trolley, Quixote, The Mountain Review and Tapestry.