Born February 22, 1925 in Nacogdoches, Edwin Willmer Gaston, Jr. was an author, scholar, teacher, and former newspaper editor and publisher. With a B. S. (1947) and M. A. (1951) from Stephen F. Austin State University and Ph. D. from Texas Technological University (1959), he first joined the staff at SFA as Assistant Director of College Information (1950-53). He successively became Assistant Professor of English (1955-1959); Associate Professor (1959-1963), and Professor (1963-2007). From 1964 to 1965 he was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He served as Head of the English Department at SFA from 1965 to 1969 and became Dean of the Graduate School there in 1976. Gaston died in October 2007 at the age of 82.