Nick Knight has served as professor of English literature at the University of Missouri-Rolla since 1977, following positions at both Wesleyan University and the Wethersfield School of Law.

He has been lauded for excellence in teaching, receiving the 1990 Outstanding Teacher Award and the 1989-90 Faculty Excellence Award from his peers, as well as holding a finalist position in a 1982 search for the leading undergraduate teacher in the United States.

A Renaissance specialist, he fostered his interest in English literature as an undergraduate at Amherst College, later earning the M. A. degree at the University of California-Berkeley and the Ph.D. degree in English at Indiana University. Postdoctoral work in law at the University of London led to appointment as a Ford Foundation Fellow in 1971, where he taught courses in both literature and law.

Having chaired the Faculty Policy Board for Joint Centers for the Aging Studies for the University of Missouri from 1977-1981, Dr. Knight currently continues his work in the field of gerontology as director of the University of Missouri-Rolla's Center for Aging Studies.

His interest in Shakespeare took him to England and thence to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC in 1996, where he authenticated two of the Bard's autographs. He recently published Autobiography in Shakespeare's Plays and served as Chair of the English Department (2001-2002) at UMR.

He and his wife Diane were awarded the 2001-2002- State Arts Advocacy Award by the Missouri Citizens For the Arts.

updated 9/7/05