William Whisnant Obituary

Dr. William Terry Whisnant August 16, 2024

KINGSPORT - Dr. William Terry Whisnant of Kingsport, TN, and formerly of South Hill, VA, passed away on August 16, 2024.

Terry grew up in Drexel, NC, and served his country as a member of the U.S. Army stationed in Vietnam. He then pursued higher education, receiving his associate's degree at Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC), his bachelor's degree and a master's degree in humanistic psychology at the University of West Georgia, and his doctorate in educational psychology at Virginia Tech.

His long and decorated career as a student-focused teacher started when he served as a peer mentor while a student himself at WPCC, continued through his dissertation research on student stress and coping, and spanned 31 years as Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Southside Virginia Community College. He taught and mentored thousands of students, changing lives. Many remember the core principle of psychology that he made them memorize on Day 1 of his classes: "A person sees the world not as it is, but rather as he or she is." His students remember him as a "terrific professor" who had the "keenest and most contagious sense of humor," noting that "like Barnum, he mesmerized with wit, insight, and joy." Terry was unique as a person, and this shone through his teaching. His students did not just know, they learned how to do.

Terry also prioritized helping other faculty achieve teaching excellence through cutting-edge training. For a time, he served as assistant director for the Center for Community College Education at George Mason University. He also founded and served as president of Horizon Seminars and The Virginia Master Teacher Seminar. In many seminars across the years, hundreds of faculty members learned from Terry how to improve their teaching, which translated into thousands of students having better college experiences across the country.

Terry's excellent work garnered many awards and honors, including the Association of Community College Trustees' Faculty Member Award, the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development's Excellence Award, the Virginia's Community College's Dana Hamel Award for Leadership, and the Virginia Community College Association's Lifetime Award (an organization for which he once served as President).

Outside of academia, Terry was a broadly curious, lifelong learner who consumed every book worth reading, and who enjoyed his family and friends, skiing, camping, canoeing, golf, tennis, photography, and especially walking. He was at home in the mountains and completed over 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail. He also cared deeply for his community, serving for years in the Rotary Club of Kingsport.

If the measure of a man's life is his positive impact on others, then Terry's life was special indeed. His kindness and concern for others was boundless. To know Terry was to love and be loved by "T" (which he would humbly write on his nametag at every event, social or work-related). To know T was to have a funny, insightful, generous friend for life, a master storyteller who would have you on the floor with laughter, and a sage mentor who could help you do the right thing. In other words, his friends were very lucky.

In addition to his many friends, former students, and colleagues, Terry has left behind his beloved and devoted friend, confidant, and wife of 31 years, Summer Miller Whisnant of Kingsport, TN. He is also survived by his brother John David Whisnant of Palo Alto, CA; daughters Gretchen Maria Whisnant and Husband Clayton Powell, of Morganton, NC; Jennifer Haley Bisson and Husband Darrin Bisson of Newton, NC, and granddaughter Haley Nicole Lambert of Statesville, NC.

Friends are invited to a gathering in his honor on Saturday, September 7 at 5:00 PM at 101 Chippendale Square in Kingsport, TN.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Terry's name to the Southside Virginia Community College Foundation, 109 Campus Dr., Alberta, VA 23821.

On-line donations may be made at https://southside .edu/give.