Dr. Timothy Winters
Austin Peay State University
When Dr. Winters arrived at Austin Peay State University in 1997, there was no Classics program. Now Classics at Austin Peay is an organic outgrowth of his energy and vision with four major tracks (including a certified state licensure in Latin), consistent enrollments and impressive student outcomes ... and 3 more colleagues. Dr. Winters accomplishments as a teacher, not only at Austin Peay but also at the ASCSA, are remarkable for their range and for their depth of community engagement. At Austin Peay, Dr. Winters teaches courses in both Latin and Greek (ancient and modern) and has developed courses in mythology, gender, sport, religion and the Roman city. He also organizes study abroad in Greece and has directed the ASCSA summer session. Outreach extends past the academy and into the community, where Dr. Winters is involved in efforts to engage with high school programs, not just through outreach but even through service-learning projects, and with military students connected to the local US Army Post, Ft. Campbell. This dedication to student learning has deep and lasting effects on students and colleagues alike. Says one student, “Dr. Winters doesn’t just teach his students, he instills in each of us a desire to be better people.” But he also inspires better people to reach for surer knowledge: “It’s like it is his mission,” writes another student, “to make sure everyone leaves the room feeling confident and complete in their knowledge of every concept no matter how big or small.” Dr. Winters’ effect on his student finds a parallel in his effect on his institution. Cited as a mentor par excellence as well as a fearless promoter of Classics and the humanities, a colleague comments that, “Tim has taken it upon himself to lead the faculty towards a new way of thinking about their school and purpose.”
An impressive range of teaching publications, pedagogical expertise and service to his community of teachers, energetic, wide-ranging and innovative pedagogies, dedication to the larger goals of a solid education in Classics, and fearless program development: these, worthy of recognition through the SCS Award in Excellence in Teaching at the College Level, remind us all that (in the words of a colleague) we can “humbly learn what a dedicated and energetic Classics professor can accomplish both for our discipline and for our society at large.”
Peter Anderson