By Emily Blackner
News Editor
Whether hiking the hills of England or standing behind a podium in Daly, Dr. Richard Gillin puts students first. The long-time Washington College professor has been recognized as one of the country’s 300 best professors by the Princeton Review.
The Princeton Review initially considered 42,000 professors for inclusion in its list. Student input, such as that gleaned from RateMyProfessors.com, was heavily consulted during the process, which culminated in a publication, “The Best 300 Professors,” released April 3.
Dr. Gillin first became aware of the recognition last fall after being contacted via email by the Princeton Review.
“I thought they were selling something,” he said. “They eventually called me and explained. At first I didn’t really understand it; I thought it was something general.”
It soon became clear that this honor was greater than that.
“I was surprised and delighted,” Dr. Gillin said. “I didn’t see this coming, and it’s kind of exciting at my stage in life.”
Dr. Gillin, the Ernest A. Howard professor of English literature, specializes in works from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the Victorian era. He said that his favorite subject to teach is romanticism.
Dr. Gillin earned his bachelor’s degree from William Paterson College in 1966, a master’s from St. John’s University in 1968, and a Ph.D. from Bowling Green University in 1971. He came to WC in 1973.
During his early career, Dr. Gillin earned several grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to allow him to travel to various universities over the summer to do academic research.
However, his first love is teaching; in the 1980s he even used one of the NEH grants to come up with a reading list for a post-colonial literature course he was interested in designing.
“I’ve always appreciated the ability to work in the classroom to develop new courses,” he said. “It’s one thing that’s pretty unusual about Washington College; when I first came here the then-president said we want you to unpack your things and stay here and teach.”
Often, Dr. Gillin will read something in a journal or in the news that he will incorporate into his lessons. Just last year, he designed a new course, “Ireland and Irishness in Film,” which he taught during the spring semester.
However, his most famous course might be the Kiplin Hall Summer Program which began 15 years ago.
“Then-President Toll and a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors, Jay Griswold, were aware of a program through the University of Maryland with Kiplin Hall. They asked me if I could come up with something to use those facilities for WC,” he said. “My wife and I felt comfortable in England, and we were so enthusiastic we came up with something within two weeks. I think they were expecting it to take several months at least.”
The Kiplin Hall trip involves hiking through landscapes in England and Ireland where notable poets like Coleridge, Shelley, and Wordsworth lived and worked.
“It’s the best classroom in the world for romanticism,” Dr. Gillin said. “From the beginning, we knew that this was something wonderful. Students talked about it in such glowing terms.”
Dr. Gillin partially credited his wife Barbara Gillin, also a WC English professor, with the program’s success.
“My experience at Kiplin wouldn’t have worked without my wife. She keeps it well-organized and clearly focused,” he said.
Initially, the Gillins planned to take 12 students on the trip, but as the program’s popularity grew they found themselves frequently going over that number. This year, renovations at Kiplin Hall have allowed a record 20 students to sign up.
These students and others will be happy to know that Dr. Gillin currently has no plans to retire.
“I’m happy to be a part of WC and be able to simply teach,” he said. “I have been encouraged all along by administrators and the culture here in general. I hope to stay on as long as I’m healthy.”
To celebrate receiving this award, Dr. Gillin said that his daughters are planning a family dinner. He has also gotten phone calls from many of his former students, colleagues, and even old classmates congratulating him.
“It reminds me to keep my own ego in check,” he said. “This is an award for everybody. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have such excellent students at WC over the years.”