Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Psychology Walter Thomas Snipes (April 10, 1932-) was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He married the former Pansy Ruth Hilton on July 26, 1953. The couple has two children, Beverly Ruth Snipes Teague and Steven Thomas. Beverly has three children and Steven, who is also married, has two children. In 1960, Snipes received his B.S. degree in education from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. He then attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where he earned his M.Ed, in education in 1962. After receiving this degree, he went to the University of Georgia in Athens to study child and developmental psychology and was awarded a doctorate in education from the university. For a number of years, Snipes continued his studies through graduate courses at Appalachian State University, and, in December 1981, he completed a postdoctoral year at the Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology in La Mirada, California. Snipes began his teaching career in 1956 as a public school teacher in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he taught grades five through eight. From 1960 through 1962, he taught sixth grade in Warner Robbins, Georgia. In 1962, he also became a teaching assistant at the University of Georgia in Athens and remained in this position until coming to Appalachian State University in 1964 as an assistant professor of psychology. In 1966, Dr. Snipes became chair of the Department of Psychology, and he became an associate professor in 1967. Snipes spent the summer of 1970 in Fort Kent, Maine, where he was a visiting professor of psychology at the University of Maine. After returning to Appalachian State in the fall of 1972 as a full professor in the Department of Psychology, he again assumed the position of department chair. During the summer of 1975, Snipes was a visiting professor at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, and, in the fall of 1981, he left Appalachian State once more to accept an assignment as a visiting professor of psychology at Biola University, La Mirada, California. Upon his return to Appalachian State at the end of the year, he continued to teach in the Department of Psychology until his retirement on May 31, 1988. In the same month, the Student Senate awarded him the Outstanding Teaching Award in the College of Arts and Sciences. Elected to the Faculty Senate at Appalachian State in 1967, Snipes served a three-year term and was reelected in 1970. He also served as vice president of the campus chapter of the American Association of College Professors from 1966 to 1977. He was on the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee from 1976 to 1978 and was the chair of the committee from 1977 to 1978. A member of the Calendar Committee from 1979 to 1981, Snipes became chair of this committee in 1980. He was also a faculty sponsor of the Alpha Chi Honor Society, was a Triple T fellow (1970-71), and was director of the NCATE Self-Study (1969-71). Snipes served his department, as well as the larger university community; his departmental memberships included the School Psychology Committee, the Departmental Personnel Committee, the Curriculum Committee (chair), and the Education Psychology Committee (chair). He was also on a number of thesis committees and is the author of a number of publications. In addition to his university campus activity, Dr. Snipes was involved in a great deal of off-campus professional activity. His professional involvement included acting as consultant to the comprehensive school improvement project from 1965 to 1967 and as consultant to vocational rehabilitation from 1971 to 1975. From 1975 until 1979, he served as secretary-treasurer for the North Carolina Psychological Association, and he was a consultant to the Newton-Conover city schools from 1975 until 1991. Snipes has also served as consultant to many counseling centers, including the Christian Counseling Center, Burlington, North Carolina (1975-77); Boone Christian Counseling Center, Boone, North Carolina (1977-78); Trinity Assembly Counseling Center, Charlotte, North Carolina (1982-86); and First Assembly Counseling Center, Concord, North Carolina (1985-98). Dr. Snipes is a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the North Carolina Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. He is also a member of the American Psychological Association (divisions two and seven), the Southeastern Psychological Association, and Psi Chi. A clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists, Snipes is certified by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists. He is also licensed as a practicing psychologist by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Psychologists and as a certified school psychologist (Level III) by the North Carolina Board of Education. Currently residing in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Dr. Snipes is in private practice in marital and family therapy. Sources: Appalachian State University files and long association. -Dr. Richard D. Howe
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