Meet a Colleague: Paul Youngman Paul Youngman serves as Dean of the College and professor of German.

W&L News Office
December 10, 2025

Q. How long have you worked at W&L?
According to Workday, I’ve been at W&L for 13 years and five months, give or take.

Q. What is your favorite course to teach, and why? 
I enjoy teaching German 111 because a new language opens worlds.

Q. If you chose a different path, what other career would you have?
I would have stayed in the Army.

Q. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Norwich, New York and Rochester, New York.

Q. What was your favorite subject in school?
German, of course.

Q. What three words describe you best?
Energetic, timely and reliable.

Q. Name one person from history you would like to spend a day with and why.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe because he was a fascinating renaissance man.

Q. Who is the most famous person you have met and where did you meet them?
Robin Williams in an ice cream shop in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A 60-minute meeting that lasts 61 minutes.

Q. What do you like to do away from work?
Yoga and pilates.

Q. What is your least favorite chore at home?
I love all chores!

Q. What is the most adventurous thing that you have ever done?
Jumping out of airplanes for a living.

Q. What is your all-time favorite food or food dish?
Raclette.

Q. Where would you choose to build your dream home?
Right here in Lexington, Virginia.

Q. What is your all-time favorite book?
“Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy.

Q. If you could choose one series to binge-watch, what would it be?
“The Sopranos.”

Q. What song or artist could you play on repeat?
The Bee Gees.

Q. Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
I had open heart surgery in 1974.