In 1998, he helped Reinhardt start its four-year degree programs. He left Reinhardt in 2003 to teach at Berry College. However, Epling came back to Reinhardt in 2006 and has been here ever since. He say he plans on teaching here as long as he can teach.
He has seen many different changes since he has been at Reinhardt. New buildings have been built, such as the FPAC building. New dorms have been constructed. The growth of athletics has had a large impact on Reinhardt. The football program was introduced and the team has had a new field house built for them since Epling has been at the school. He says his favorite sport is college football, so he is a big booster for the team.
So, who is the man behind the professor in the classroom and the coach on the field? What made him who he is? Epling had what he considers a normal childhood in a middle-class family in a working-class neighbor-hood in Atlanta with many extended family members, like cousins, aunts, and uncles, nearby.
In high school, he played baseball, basketball, and some football. He had to stop playing after the tenth grade because he had to go to work to help support himself and his family.
He remembers that his favorite car was a 1969 Chevelle Super Sport. He chose that car because it was a nice car at the time they came out.
However, once he became a young adult, Epling had to face some extraordinarily painful situations. When he was only 21 years old and an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, he lost three of his family members, including his mother, in a car wreck. This devastating event was one of the most difficult challenges he has been through in his life.
"He is a passionate and patient professor."
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