Thomas Gardner,  a professor in the Department of English, was reappointed to a second 10-year term as an Alumni Distinguished Professor by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

His teaching and research focus on poetry, primarily that of 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century American writers with a particular emphasis on the way a poem enacts the movement of the mind and emotions.

During his first term as Alumni Distinguished Professor, Gardner directed numerous independent studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels and garnered praise from his students, who described his classes as “life-changing” experiences.

His recent research contributions include a critical book, John in the Company of Poets: The Gospel in Literary Imagination, and two books of lyric essays, Poverty Creek Journal and Sundays.

Gardner joined the Virginia Tech community in 1982.

The Alumni Distinguished Professorship is a preeminent faculty appointment, reserved by the Board of Visitors for recognition of faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary accomplishments and academic citizenship through substantive scholarly contributions across all three of Virginia Tech’s mission areas of teaching, research or creative activity, and engagement.