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| Bill Dragoin, 1939 - 2023 |
Bill Dragoin, a retired Professor of Psychology and former Chair of the Psychology/Sociology Department, passed away on December 23, 2023. Our department and his former students from nearly 30 years of service at GSW will miss him. He will be remembered for his leadership and sense of humor. In addition, he made scholarly contributions to the field of evolutionary psychology by exploring the impact of evolution upon human sexuality. Everyone who knew him should take the time to read the very well-written biography from the obituary page of the Aldridge Funeral Home.
Here are a few stories and thoughts about Bill Dragoin from his colleagues at Georgia Southwestern State University.
Tom Johnson - retired Professor of Sociology
Bill Dragoin was the Chair of the Psychology/Sociology Department when I came to GSW in 1976. I was immediately impressed with his kindness, energy, and friendliness. He had a large network of close friends both within the college community, as well as the larger Americus community. He steered the Department through almost 30 years of growth and development, and did it with the respect and love of his faculty. While he had a mischievous sense of humor, Bill was also a scholar. He had a boundless curiosity, and his scientific contributions were impressive. He loved to read, and would often share his books and ideas with me. I became Chair for a while after Bill retired, and it was then that I came to understand the myriad responsibilities that came with the job - which magnified my admiration for how fluidly he juggled these responsibilities.
Bill loved his children - the scholarly Regina, and the rascally Anthony, both inheriting aspects of Bill's character. And he loved his two wives - the lovely Camille, with whom he shared his children, and the equally lovely Carlanda, whom Bill luckily found during his widowerhood. His was a life very richly lived.
Rick Burns - retired Professor of Psychology
We all know that Bill enjoyed a practical joke, and he enjoyed a good story, especially if he was telling it. Here is a story about one of his jokes: In the late 70s when Bill and I were young men working as professors in the department at GSW, I had a bout of pneumonia and was in the hospital in Americus. Bill came to visit and brought a nice flower pot with a dead plant of some sort to my room. We both had a good laugh. But I took the dead plant home, and a few days later discovered that a small green leaf had sprouted in the barren soil of the pot. It was the leaf of a Christmas cactus. I tended the Dragoin leaf, which flourished. Today, 46 years later, that original leaf still grows in the bay window of my dining room, and the cuttings from that plant grow in the homes of my friends, and my children, and my grandchildren.
Gary Fisk - Professor of Psychology
The first time I met Bill Dragoin was very memorable. My wife and I were touring GSW during a weekday in late Spring, 1999. Bill was busy cleaning out his office in anticipation of retiring in a few weeks. To make conversation, I asked Bill about his retirement plans. He got a twinkle in his eye, then enthusiastically responded "Sex, drugs, and rock and roll!" It was unexpected and quite funny. This short story illustrates his wit and enthusiasm for life.
Bill and I kept in touch during his retirement. When he moved to a new home, he gave me numerous scholarly books, including some classic psychology works. At parties, he shared entertaining stories about his times at GSW and adventures with other faculty members like Mike Urda. Bill would also send me email messages occasionally with discussion about a new visual illusion or interesting psychological phenomena. He was a wonderful colleague who will be missed.
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