Q & A with Dr. Steven Elliot-Gower
Background: Dr. Steven Elliot-Gower grew up in Rochester, England. He lived and worked in London before going to college. He came to America in 1983 to pursue graduate school. He explained that Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, cut funding for education in England in the 1980s, and there were “limited opportunities to do graduate work there.” After working and staying in America at the University of Georgia for 25 years, he took the GCSU position for the director of the Honors & Scholars Program and associate professor of political science in 2008. Elliot-Gower serves as faculty adviser to the Honors Residential Learning Community, the Georgia College chapter of Amnesty International and Eta Sigma Alpha.
Q: What inspired you as a younger student to pursue your current career path?
A: Like a lot of people, I was inspired by really great teachers who knew their material inside out and had a passion for sharing it with others. I have always liked to be around university campuses. I like teaching, as well as the cultural and sports events. I can’t quite imagine working anywhere else.
Q: What do you enjoy more — teaching, counseling or talking with students?
A: I am not sure I really enjoy counseling. But I do enjoy discussions. I try to bring a lot of discussion into my classroom. I tend not to lecture, but rather I like to provide students with a base of knowledge and go from there. I think students learn a lot through the Socratic Method by coming to their own conclusions.
Q: So, what led you to GCSU specifically?
A: Before I came to Georgia College I had been at the University of Georgia for 25 years. I originally came there as a graduate student in 1983, and I joked that I was a “refugee of Thatcher-ism.” UGA was where I did my early teaching. I did a lot of things there, worked with the Research Center and Strategic Planning. The last eight years I was the assistant honors director. I guess one day, I realized I was getting into some kind of rut, and I looked around at UGA for something interesting and challenging that I could do. I realized there wasn’t anything. So I started looking outside the institution, and one of the new positions I discovered was the honors director at GCSU. So I applied, and I was lucky enough to get in.
Q: What are your personal interests outside of GCSU?
A: I love to read, which is a little predictable I suppose. In fact, one of the great things about being at a liberal arts college is that there is almost an expectation that you read widely, and that you read outside your discipline. I read fiction but also magazines like The New Yorker. I also spend a lot of time with my kids. They are 14, 12 and 10. They always have a lot going on with baseball and trapeze.
I also have a long time interest in theatre, whether with directing or behind-the-scenes work. I am getting a little involved with the Georgia College theatre program. I think they are a really strong program here.
Q: So you like to read. Have you ever written any of your own books?
A: I have not written my own book, but I have written chapters in books. I used to do a lot of research into weapons proliferation and the strategic implications of technology, so I wrote some chapters on that. I was recently published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a piece. Right now I am working on pieces on international education, Guantanamo Bay and women in higher education.
Q: What are some future aspirations you have?
A: My most immediate aspiration is to build a first-class honors program here at Georgia College that attracts the very best students statewide and nationwide.
Q: Any personal or random aspirations you have — like climbing the pyramids in Egypt, riding a gondola in Venice or riding a motorcycle down the Great Wall of China?
A: You know — I don’t know if I have any single aspiration like that, but I do aspire to make the most out of everyday. To live as full a life as possible, this doesn’t necessarily mean climbing Mount Everest, but rather, taking advantage of those things around you- like a beautiful day.
Q: What is something a lot of people don’t know about you?
A: That I am 50-years-old. There are a lot of sweater vests in my closet, but people warned me to stay away from them, so that is where they have stayed.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Feb 20 2009. Filed under Spotlight.
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