Fresno State students were actually the ones who inadvertently introduced Arts and Humanities Associate Dean Honora Chapman and William Skuban, a professor in the Department of History, now married five years.
They met at a History Graduate Student Symposium in spring 2004, but they had heard about each other over the previous two years because students in Bill’s Latin American history courses would sing “Dr. Skuban’s” praises to Nora when she taught their mutual students in ancient Greek classes.
In Greek mythology, Eros (also known as Cupid) is the god of love, and in the true tradition of an arrow shot from Cupid’s bow, a romance was in the works.
“For five years, we team-taught Honors 101 in the Smittcamp Family Honors College, which was great fun,” said Bill.
Bill was assistant director of the Honors College in 2006-07, and Nora was director from 2009-14, while Bill was serving as chair of the History Department.
While not quite the epic story of a Greek legend, it was still fated to be. Nuptials were planned.
Honora’s son Will Chapman, a history major, had been studying abroad in spring 2012 with USAC in Prague and then joined Nora in Rome, where they had a three-week adventure with 24 Fresno State students and several faculty, and then on to Dublin.
Nora and Bill were married in the summer of 2012 in the Gallery Chapel at Trinity College Dublin, when Nora was a Visiting Research Fellow.
A love for history runs in the family.
“In spring 2013, we even taught Will in Honors 101,” said Nora. “He was very patient with us, as he also had already taken Honors Latin from me and several history courses from Bill.”
They now happily live in Fresno.
“We love living in the Fresno High neighborhood, where quite a number of other Fresno State professors live, in good walking distance to Gazebo Gardens, Ampersand and Kuppa Joy, and a very short drive to the Tower,” Nora said.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 
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