Terry Papillon ’80
Terry Papillon was one of two Virginia Tech faculty members awarded an Outstanding Advising Award by the National Academic Advising Association. Professor of classics and director of the University Honors program, he was named winner of the Outstanding Advisor Award – Administrator. The organization’s annual awards program honors individuals and institutions that are making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising.
Academic advising facilitates student success at Virginia Tech, providing one of the first opportunities for students to be actively engaged with a faculty or staff member who is concerned about their academic achievement. Each year, Virginia Tech nominates its university advising award winners for consideration of an award from the National Academic Advising Association. Awards will be presented at the 2014 National Academic Advising Association Annual Conference, held in Minneapolis. The National Academic Advising Association has more than 10,000 members, representing all 50 states and several countries outside the United States.
Papillon came to Virginia Tech in 1992, teaching ancient Greek, Latin, classical civilization, mythology, and rhetoric. He regularly leads study abroad programs in Greece. He received the Diggs Teaching Scholar Award in 1997 and the Sporn Award for excellence in teaching introductory subjects in 2000. He joined the University Honors staff in 2005 and became director of the program in 2009. Most recently, Papillon received the university’s 2014 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Advising.
“Terry is much more than a traditional advisor or teacher, he also develops students as people, helps them realize their dreams, and believes in their potential sometimes before they believe in it themselves,” said a former University Honors student and now current University Honors Assistant Director Amber Smith.
“I learned from Dr. Papillon that there’s an incredible amount of power in informing, and reminding, students what they are capable of accomplishing and showing them how it is possible,” said Cassidy Grubbs of Powhatan, Va., a senior majoring in English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. “I largely attribute my success to his message to ‘think big’ – and, perhaps more importantly, our frequent conversations in which he pushed me to critically examine my opinions on education and to articulate what I wanted to pursue certain opportunities.”
Papillon received his bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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