Fellowship given to UNLV English professor

     By Sonya Padgett
     View staff writer
      As a professor, John Bowers knows the impact a teacher can have on a student's life.
      In fact, it was a teacher's influence in college that led to Bowers becoming a leading scholar in medieval literature -- and winning recognition along the way.
      Recently Bowers, chairman of UNLV's department of English, was awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
      The fellowships were established in 1925 to honor professionals in various fields, including artists, scholars, writers, researchers and scientists. They are awarded to men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or outstanding creative ability in the arts.
      And Bowers has demonstrated that capacity throughout his career, first as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, then as a professor.
      "This is a very prestigious award for Dr. Bowers," said Jim Frey, dean of UNLV's College of Liberal Arts. "He is one of UNLV's top scholars and teachers whose work is widely known for its high quality. This is a well-deserved award."
      This year the foundation awarded nearly $6.1 million to 182 U.S. and Canadian fellowships out of 2,785 applicants. Recipients will receive approximately $34,000.
      For Bowers, the award is icing on an already sweet cake: his job.
      "I think being a college professor is the greatest job in the world," said Bowers, 51. "You get paid for doing what you love."
      Already the author of three books, Bowers will use his fellowship to take a one-year sabbatical from UNLV to work on his latest book exploring the early development of English literature.
      He plans to spend a month in New York, then travel to London in the spring to conduct research for his book. Afterward, he will vacation in Thailand to work on his tan, eat good food and visit a Buddhist monastery.
      Bowers came to UNLV 12 years ago after teaching at Princeton and California Institute of Technology. As chairman of the department for the past three years, Bowers has worked to make UNLV's English department one of the best.
      "I think this is a fabulous English department," Bowers said. Under his tutelage, the department started a graduate-level creative writing program, hiring nationally recognized poets and writers. "I've been very proud that I've hired a fourth of the faculty."
      But teaching is Bowers' first love.
      As an undergraduate at Duke University, Bowers first realized he wanted to be a college professor. It was a teacher's enthusiasm for his own work that sparked Bowers passion for the profession and convinced him to specialize in Medieval literature.
      "I decided I loved what I was doing and wanted to continue doing it," Bowers said. "I don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't teaching. That's the sort of impact teachers can have. You never know where the positive influence ends."
      Bowers has been a positive influence on several of his own students. Some have gone on to be published writers or respected scholars.
      But while he's happy to help his pupils choose their path in life, just as a teacher did for him, Bowers is quick to point out his influence plays only a small part.
      "A teacher is a catalyst," Bowers said. "We can't take the credit for successes."
      Born and raised in Richmond, Va., Bowers was exposed to history as a young boy and developed an interest in the past and its influence on the present. His father was a doctor by trade and Civil War enthusiast; his mother a homemaker.
      Both parents were officers during World War II; Bowers' mother was a Navy lieutenant and his father an Army captain. They often regaled Bowers and his siblings with stories of the war.
      "(Growing up) I was very interested in history," he said. "I went to high school where Edgar Allen Poe was a student. If you're a Southerner, you have a sense that your life is a result of a vast historical event. In the South, it's the Civil War."
      With such a background, it's no surprise that Bowers, the second of five children, decided to study Medieval literature.
      He said the past should not be overlooked, because much can be learned from it.
      "Cultures like ours have the tendency to lose touch with the past," he said. "It's very important to maintain contact with those legacies. I hope that we will continue studying the great writers in interesting and innovative ways to keep their cultural contributions alive for future generations."