Dr.
Scott Yarbrough
2002
Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient
Dr.
Scott Yarbrough grew up in Perry, Florida, in the northern
part of the state, the eldest of three boys. He was
graduated from Florida State University twice, first in
1987, with a bachelor of arts in English and minor in education,
and again in 1990, with a master of arts in English-Creative
Writing. As a break from school, he took a job in
state government, working for the Department of Professional
Regulation in Tallahassee until 1992. Then for his
doctoral studies, he turned to the University of Alabama,
where he completed his PhD. in English, specializing in
the novel, American literature, and Southern literature
and writing his dissertation on William Faulkner. He
taught at Alabama for a year as an instructor before coming
to Charleston Southern.
When
asked why he chose Charleston Southern, he says after a
dozen years as a student and instructor at big state schools,
he was tired of them. He was ready to change to a
small liberal arts school; the Christian environment also
contributed to his choice.
Dr.
Yarbrough was meant to be an English professor. He
has always loved reading and writing. When he was
six, he would redraw and rewrite comic books to include
himself and his brothers. By fifteen, he was sending
short stories to national magazines, hoping for publication. Initially,
he decided on graduate studies to help his writing career,
but as a teaching assistant, he discovered the joy of teaching
and "absolutely loved" it. His vocation as college
professor allows him to indulge in his avocations: reading,
writing, and teaching. It also put him into a position
to meet his wife, Leigh, who works in the textbook industry.
Dr.
Yarbrough's classes are lively. He doesn't believe
in letting students "volunteer" during discussions; he
calls on students by name for their ideas and opinions. He
says his method "can be dismaying to the unprepared students,
but helpful to the shyer students who are slow to raise
hands or jump into class discussion." His intent
is not to intimidate but to encourage, person to person,
not as lofty professor to ignorant student. He says
it hasn't been that long since he was in the same situation
as his students. He adds, "I love teaching English
at the college level, and I think many of them can sense
this. Of course, I still reserve the right to tease
them about bad taste in music, books, movies and haircuts."
The
Excellence in Teaching Award is not the first time Dr.
Yarbrough has been recognized at CSU. In 1997, he
received the Faculty Merit Award. When asked who
influenced him most in his teaching, he cites mentors from
high school through graduate school. In particular,
his creative writing professors at Florida State—Dr.
Ralph Berry, a fiction writer, and Dr. David Kirby, a poet—showed
him that scholarly writers can also be creative writers: "Both
had such an amazing enthusiasm for language and literature
that it couldn't help but rub off." He also credits
Dr. Diane Roberts and Dr. Don Noble at Alabama.
Dr.
Yarbrough's students know that he loves teaching literature,
film, and creative writing. What they may not know
is that he's also had some success in publishing fiction
and poetry. When he's not writing, he likes to be
outdoors-- mountain biking, fishing, hiking, or just taking
his Golden Retriever, Sadie, for a walk. He says, "I
listen to music of every variety and read books of every
variety to such a degree that some think it makes me a
nuisance. " Don't get him started on college football.
