Williams Baptist University has honored two professors who are retiring after decades of service to the institution.  Prof. Jerry Gibbens and Dr. Paul Rhoads have been awarded Professor Emeritus status.

Gibbens has served on the WBU English faculty for 53 years, while Rhoads has been a psychology professor at Williams for 34 years.  Both have served as chairs of their respective academic departments, and Gibbens has also been the longtime chair of the Division of Arts & Sciences.

“These two gentlemen have made incredible impacts on countless lives during their service at Williams,” WBU President Dr. Stan Norman said.  “They have been an integral part of this university and helped mold its history.  They are deserving of all the accolades we could ever bestow on them.  May God bless them both with a long and wonderful retirement.”

The honors were recommended by Norman and faculty colleagues, and they were approved this month by the WBU Board of Trustees.

The professor emeritus title signifies faculty who have provided noteworthy and longstanding service to WBU.  Any member of the faculty who retires after at least 20 years of full-time service to Williams, with a minimum rank of assistant professor, and who has rendered “distinguished and meritorious services” to the university, may be appointed professor emeritus.

Williams is a private, Christian university in Walnut Ridge, Ark.