New book by Princeton Review names four Furman professors among nation’s “best”

GREENVILLE, SC – Furman University is home to four of the country’s best undergraduate professors, according to a new book, The Best 300 Professors, published by The Princeton Review.

Furman professors Dr. David Bost (modern languages and literatures),Dr. Charles Brewer (psychology), Dr. Timothy Fehler (history) andMargaret Oakes (English) were among 300 winners selected from 42,000 ofthe nation’s most beloved professors, representing more than 60 fieldsfrom 122 colleges and universities.

The top rankings were based on thousands of student surveys collected by The Princeton Review and RateMyProfessors.com, the highest-trafficked college professor ratings site in the United States.

Here is more information about each of the professors.  For moreinformation, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at864-294-3107.

Spanish professor David Bost came to Furman in 1981.He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina atCharlotte and master’s and doctorate degrees from Vanderbilt University.He is the current faculty chair and administrative director of theLilly Center for Vocational Reflection. He served as chair of theDepartment of Modern Languages and Literature from 1997 to 2007.

Psychology professor Charles Brewer received hisbachelor’s degree in psychology from Hendrix College and his master’sand doctorate degrees in experimental psychology from the University ofArkansas. He joined the faculty at Furman in 1967 and served as chair ofthe Psychology Department from 1972 until 1984. In 2003, the AmericanPsychological Foundation named its teaching award the Charles L. BrewerDistinguished Teaching of Psychology Award to honor his contributions toeducation in psychology.

History professor Tim Fehler also serves as directorof Undergraduate Research and Internships.  He earned his bachelor’sdegree from Baylor University and his master’s and doctorate degreesfrom the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His scholarly interestsinclude early modern Europe, poverty and social welfare, Germany, theRenaissance and Reformation, and the British Isles.

Margaret J. Oakes is an associate professor of English and specializes in English Renaissance literature, including such authors as George Herbert, William Shakespeare and Margaret Cavendish. Prior to coming to Furman in 1996, she practiced securities regulation law in Chicago. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois (B.A. and J.D.) and earned her doctorate at Stanford University.