At the heart of Ohio University is love—for this singular place, for knowledge and wisdom, and for the people who ignite a thirst for such. People like retired Professors Samuel and Susan Crowl whose work inspired former students to create an endowed professorship that would ensure their legacies live on and ignite a love for learning and discovery in the Bobcats who followed them.
“I just feel so honored to have a professorship that’s named after somebody who is really somebody to live up to,” says Paul Jones, a scholar of 19th-century American literature and OHIO’s second Samuel and Susan Crowl Professor in English Literature.
The professorship has allowed Jones to more fully pursue his professional passion. He is penning his third book, and his scholarly work has taken him from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Kyoto, Japan, to research and present his findings.
The title has also inspired Jones to carry on the legacy of colleagues who inspired countless OHIO students over the years. Specializing in Edgar Allan Poe, Jones uses the famous author as a means of encouraging students to read and learn new things.
“I’m glad I can make people excited about American literature and get them to read,” Jones says. “I’m in touch with a lot of former students who tell me they still think of my classes.”