Matthew Cowin, Staff Writer
Dr. Terry Papillon is a current professor of Rhetoric and Classics at Sewanee. In an interview with The Sewanee Purple, Papillon discussed his story and its responsibilities, traditions, and joys in the realm of education.
Prior to formal education, Papillon describes an interest in mathematics and science.
“My dreams to become a theoretical mathematician and scientist were some of the most important parts of my youth,” Papillon said.
These academic interests began to shift toward language and music as he began his education at Saint Olaf College, in his home state of Minnesota.
“To complete the language requirement at Saint Olaf College, I decided to take Ancient Greek to later become a Lutheran Minister. I also completed half of a music major with interest in trumpet and guitar, but fully majored in Classics with love of the Greek language,” Papillon said.
His interest and studies in Classics generated the opportunity to pursue a Doctorate of Philosophy in Classical Philology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Papillon received early teaching experience at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by The University of Minnesota Duluth and Marquette University. His longest and most rewarding tenure during this time was at The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he served as Professor of Classics (1992-2014) and directed the Honors Program (2008-2014).
“I really flourished at Virginia Tech and thought I would retire there. I knew I’d only leave for another place if it were a small liberal arts college like Saint Olaf,” Papillon said. After an offer from provost John Swallow to come to Sewanee and serve as Academic Dean, Papillon accepted the administrative position and opportunity to re-immerse himself in the liberal arts.
“[The faculty and I] worked mainly in growing the student body, adding majors and minors, and advising multiple education standards. Some of these developments included the new Data Science major and an additional G7 Experiencing Meaning learning requirement,” Papillon said.
Papillon’s early experience in student-teaching in both large and small universities built foundations for strong student and faculty relations as Dean. After nine years, Papillon stepped down as Dean in the spring of 2023 to take a sabbatical in Berlin.
Despite his successes as Dean, Papillon mentioned his excitement to return to teaching.
“I’ve loved returning to the classroom as a full-time professor. It was tradition that the Dean, Vice-Chancellor, and Provost teach one course – but we couldn’t do that during Covid,”Papillon said.
Papillon articulates the necessity of providing opportunities to apply education to the real world.
“We educate students to take their meaning of life, adjust to it as it changes daily, and be who they want to be in the world,” Papillon said.
As for the future, Papillon continues to enjoy teaching and his various interests outside the classroom.
“I’m still a member of Societas Isocratia, an international research society on Isocrates focusing on public scholarship and bibliography. Playing the trumpet, reading poetry, and spending time with my four grandkids also fill my time well,” Papillon said.
Components of his academic expertise, ability to work with colleagues and grow student minds and broad teaching experience at multiple universities all play a part in Papillon’s rewarding tenure on the Domain.