Dr. Todd Peppers, Henry H. & Trudye H. Fowler Professor in Public Affairs, spent his extra time during the COVID-19 lockdown researching topics that were later created into an article for the October 13, 2021 issue of the Journal of Supreme Court History, titled “‘Destructive to Judicial Dignity’: The Poetry of Melville Weston Fuller.” This article features a collaboration with Mary Crockett Hill ’91, assistant professor of English and communication studies and director of the “Roanoke Review.” Hill and Peppers’ article explores the career and life of Supreme Court Justice Melville Weston Fuller, who was appointed by President Grover Cleveland. Setting this article apart, Hill and Peppers wrote about Fuller’s penchant for writing poetry, an important aspect of his legacy that is often overlooked. From this collaboration, Hill notes, “At a place like Roanoke, there is this sense of community and a focus on liberal arts that derives faculty and students to know things far beyond their field or ways of thinking.” Peppers adds, “A benefit of teaching at a small, liberal arts college is that it fosters and encourages opportunities for interdisciplinary partnerships.”
