In her office in Virginia Hall, Debra Dobkins, Ph.D., is surrounded by pink walls – her signature color – and built-in bookshelves stacked with various books. Each one has a purpose in her classes throughout the past 27 years, complete with her own notes and annotations.
“The very best part of my 27-year experience here has been reading and talking about fascinating poems, plays, novels, any kind of literature, with smart students,” Dobkins says. “Those classroom moments have been the best.”
Dobkins most recently has served as Assistant Vice President and Dean of The Women’s College, but as a professor of English, Dobkins says she is drawn to literature because it asks the big questions.
“The point is how we enrich ourselves as human beings, grappling with the understanding of other humans and our place in the community.”
Dobkins has taught at Brenau since 1998. She was named Dean of The Women’s College in 2012, and Assistant Vice President and Dean of The Women’s College in 2022.
But first, she opened the Writing Center.
“I contacted Jim Southerland, who was the head of the Humanities Department for more than 40 years and asked for an informational interview,” Dobkins says. “It kind of makes me laugh now. I was specifically interested in the women’s college up the road, and while they had no jobs posted, he agreed to see me. I told him about my background, and he said, ‘You know what? We really need to start a writing center.’”
Armed with her degrees and background in library administration, she opened and sustained Brenau’s Writing Center while teaching. From there, she helped reestablish academic and writing standards for all Brenau students. She founded a study abroad program in 2001, taking students to prestigious Cambridge University in England.
“Our students got to live there for a month, taught by Cambridge professors and lived in historic colleges,” Dobkins says. “For many of them, it was their first time traveling internationally, or at all. I think it opened their horizons in ways they couldn’t have imagined.”
“Debra and I have worked together for the good of The Women’s College throughout our shared tenure at Brenau, and I have personally appreciated her tireless efforts to serve the university and our students,” President David L. Barnett, Ph.D., said. “I am grateful for her service to Brenau and the legacy that she leaves in our Women’s College. It is meaningful and fitting to have her featured at this year’s colloquium.”
Dobkins leaves a lasting legacy on The Women’s College, but this is only a temporary parting, as she has been named a Professor Emerita.
When her office is packed up, her book collection is distributed, and regalia is tucked away, Dobkins says she will spend her time with family, gardening, and traveling.
“And, though I don’t really think I’m capable of this, I’m hoping to read without a pen in my hand,” Dobkins says. “I’m not sure about that goal. I tried the other day and had to go fetch a pen.”