Dr. Tim Summerlin's educational background began in 1968 when he received his BA in English from Abilene Christian College. From there he would travel to New Haven, Connecticut where he would attend Yale University and receive his MPh in English in 1971 and his PhD in English in 1973. Some additional education includes a year of study of academic administration through the American Council on Education's Fellows Program from 1988-1989 and completion of the University of Tennessee's Executive Development Program in 1995. 

He has thirty eight years’ experience in higher education, two decades as a faculty member teaching courses in English composition, literary surveys, and upper level/graduate coursework in American literature, and literary criticism and the Bible as literature. In addition, he has one edited book published, nineteen articles, book chapters or critical reviews; fifteen professional papers presented; numerous workshops and panels and four years' service as a journal editor. 

The constant of his professional career is higher education. After a quarter of a century in public higher education, he made a conscious decision to move to the independent college world, the world of his undergraduate education and that of his family. With that being said, he was made President of Schreiner University in 2001 and has never looked back. He has found the rewards of building great relationships with those who value education both inside and outside of the academy to be great. Family - both immediate and extended - abides as a fundamental value to him and a powerful contributor to his well-being and sense of purpose. 

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife of 43 years, Mary; his children, Sam, Sarah and Beth; and his 3 grandchildren, Karly, Maggie and Charlie. He also has a passion for traveling, whether overseas (usually tending to include Italy) or long hauls around this country.