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ITTA BENA, Miss. 鈥擯rofessor Dr. Jo A. Baldwin has been selected by 91快播鈥檚 Office of Academic Affairs as the 2018 Humanities Teacher of the听Year.听
Each year, the Mississippi Humanities Council recognizes October鈥檚 designation of Arts and Humanities Month by bestowing Humanities Teacher Awards to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at colleges and universities across the state.听
Affectionately known by the campus community as 鈥淒r. Jo鈥, Baldwin is an English professor and director of the writing center at MVSU, where she teaches composition, literature, and creative writing and serves as Associate Editor of Fiction for听鈥淰alley Voices:听 A Literary Review.鈥澨 She听is a published听writer of mainly听short stories and book reviews.听
鈥淲hen I was told that I had received the听Humanities Teacher of the Year Award, I smiled and have been smiling ever since,鈥 Baldwin said.听
As part of the nomination, Baldwin will give a presentation at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Cliff E. Williams听Auditorium听of MVSU鈥檚听Business Education Building.听
The topic of Baldwin鈥檚 presentation will be 鈥淪tudent Introductions and My Social Trinity.鈥澨
Baldwin intends to connect with students on the first day of class with her introduction list.听Her lecture, entitled 鈥淢y Social Trinity鈥, is designed to inspire students to 鈥渂ecome persons鈥 rather than just exist as human beings.听She believes personhood comes from practicing the听鈥淕olden Rule鈥澨齛nd in willing service to others.听
In addition to her position at Valley, Baldwin is an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) and is the pastor of Baldwin Chapel AMEC (named in her honor), located at 312 Tipton St. in Kosciusko.听
Mindful of the separation of church and state, Baldwin said she is aware of the history of HBCUs and the power of the gospel to meet suffering and adversity head-on with the determination to manage and eventually overcome all kinds of hardships.听
鈥淎t the risk of telling my age,鈥 she said, 鈥淚 attended college 25 years ago and earned a bachelor鈥檚, three master鈥檚 and a Ph.D.鈥澨
Baldwin holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), a master鈥檚 degree in Creative Writing from UWM, a master鈥檚 in Speech/Theatre from Marquette in Milwaukee, a Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. in English from UWM.听She was the first black American to earn a Ph.D. in English from UWM.听
Baldwin is the author of a homiletics text entitled 鈥淪even Signature Sermons by a Tuning Woman Preacher of the Gospel鈥. Published by the Edwin听Mellen听Press, the book explores 鈥渢uning,鈥 as a form of preaching in the black tradition.
She also authored an award-winning theology book entitled听鈥淏ible Verses Given to Me:听A Memoir鈥, published by the AMEC Sunday School Union in Nashville.听
As a preacher of the gospel, Baldwin said she was told by a prophet that her anointing is reflected in her hair and her hands and that every time she moves to a higher level spiritually her gray hair will grow.听
For more information about MVSU鈥檚 Humanities Teacher of the Year Award, contact the Office of Academic Affairs at (662) 254-3875.