For USC Sumter professor Dr. James Privett, history has repeated itself, over and over and over again. His dedication to not only his field of study, but also to his students, has earned Privett praise and loyalty from students who credit him for their own academic success.
On Thursday, November 2, 2006, Governor Mark Sanford proudly announced that Dr. James E. Privett was his choice for the 2006 Governor’s Professor of the Year Award at a special press conference held at the South Carolina State House.
Only two winners are chosen from the pool of nominees and finalists, and Privett is certainly an excellent choice. Privett is Professor of Chemistry and Physics and Chair of the Division of Science, Mathematics and Engineering. He has established an outstanding record in teaching, professional development and service to his campus and state that is evident year after year.
Professors are often judged by their published materials, research accolades and other academic and professional achievements, but it is the students who reap the benefits of their knowledge and in Privett’s case, it is the students who have selected him as USC Sumter’s Student Government Association Teacher of the Year seven times. In addition, he won the Distinguished Teaching Award for South Carolina Regional Campuses twice (1990-91, 1991-92) before it was discontinued after 1992. He was presented with the Hugh T. Stoddard, Sr., Award in 1991 as the overall outstanding faculty member at USC Sumter. In 1994, his outstanding teaching was recognized with a certificate from the South Carolina House of Representatives. In November 2005, the South Carolina Science Council honored him with the Dori Helms Award, which is given to the individual who has made significant and lasting contributions to the education of science teachers in the state of South Carolina.
Privett joined USC Sumter’s full-time faculty in 1990 after having taught evening classes at the university in a part-time capacity while employed as a high school chemistry and physics teacher. A native if Indianapolis, Indiana, Privett earned his M.S. degree in organic chemistry and his Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry from Purdue University. Before coming to Sumter, he taught at Purdue University, Franklin College, Defiance College, Briar Cliff College and Riyadh University, Saudi Arabia. Privett has taken 52 graduate credits in the area of Educational Research and Measurement at USC Columbia to help him continue to improve his teaching and has attended a variety of workshops to help him prepare teaching materials. Privett has also written a textbook for each course that he teaches.
Privett’s honors and contributions to the USC Sumter campus continue to grow year after year. His colleagues are enormously proud of his accomplishments and are in awe of his ability to teach complex subjects through simplified methods. He is a wonderful representative not only for the USC Sumter campus, but for the entire University of South Carolina system.
The University of South Carolina Sumter announced Monday, October 30, 2006 the return of intercollegiate athletics to the campus.
In August, USC Sumter Dean C. Leslie Carpenter sought comments and suggestions from both internal and external audiences regarding sports on campus. After studying many successful intercollegiate athletics models for other two-year institutions such as USC Sumter, Dean Carpenter made the decision to pursue a sports program beginning in Fall 2007.
Athletic programs flourished at the USC Sumter campus in the 1970s with successful programs ranging from baseball and basketball to golf and tennis. “We firmly believe that the return of competitive sports at USC Sumter will not only positively affect our enrollment, but will have many other benefits for the institution, our students and the community we serve,” Dr. Carpenter said.
For more information please contact Misty Hatfield, director of marketing and public relations, at 803-938-3728, hatfieldm@uscsumter.edu or Bruce Blumberg, athletic director at 803-938-3838, bruceb@sc.edu
Reese Publishes Book of Poetry
“Poetry should... should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.” ~John Keats
University of South Carolina Sumter English professor Michele Reese is certainly making a name for herself in the world of creative writing. Once again, this amazingly gifted poet has captured the subtle details of life and thoughts and turned them into extraordinary poems in her first published book Following Phia.
“I’ve been writing practically my entire life,” said Reese, who joined the USC Sumter faculty in 2002. “I went to a Montessori school and we worked on poetry in kindergarten. My first published poem was when I was in the seventh grade.”
In June, Reese reached a major milestone in her personal and professional career with the printing of a compilation of poems dating back more than ten years. Throughout Following Phia, Reese pays homage to some of her favorite poets including Elizabeth Bishop and John Keats. “I use a lot of allusions to Greek mythology in my poetry,” Reese added.
Poet Lynne McMahon commented that Following Phia is, “The employment of myth, the summoning of the body’s strength and fragility, the fears and delights of holding a newborn, the nostalgia for the lost island world of the mother, and love, most enduringly love—all these elements are woven into the lovely verses of Following Phia. ‘Wanting to be mothered, not wanting to be lost’ one poem nakedly concludes, echoing the primal desire, one that finds its most potent image in the exotic lost mango, which burns in memory and bursts on the tongue, a pleasure mixed ruefully and memorably with pain.”
Reese initially thought she would pursue journalism and poetry. “At the University of Southern California, I double-majored in English and print journalism. Journalism, while enjoyable, took too much time away from poetry.”
Reese’s next educational move was to get an M.A. in English, Creative Writing-Poetry, at the University of Southern Mississippi. Then it was on to the University of Missouri in Columbia for a Ph.D.
Five years later—after she earned her Ph.D., taught at Auburn University for a year, and settled into a faculty position at USC Sumter—Reese learned that two of her poems would appear in the Summer 2003 issue of The Paris Review, a prestigious literary journal. The Paris Review receives more than 20,000 submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry per year and only 10 to 15 of those are published in each issue. The works of Jack Kerouac, Philip Roth, E.L. Doctorow, William Faulkner, Ezra Pound, and Henry Miller have all appeared in the magazine. Reese has also published poems in Mid-America Poetry Review and Poet Lore.
At USC Sumter, Reese teaches the composition sequences, American and world literatures, and creative writing. She is also the Director of the South Carolina Center for Oral Narration. Interestingly enough, Reese dedicated her first book to her infamous Pooh Bear, a long-time companion who has been present for all of the milestones in Reese’s life, including her wedding.
Following Phia was published by WordTech Editions and is available at barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, Waldenbooks and the USC Sumter bookstore.
Celebration of the Spoken Word: Storytelling presents Dr. Thom Bristow
Arts and Letters Building, Lecture Hall, USC Sumter
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Time: 12:00 PM
Sponsored by the Division of Arts and Letters and the South Carolina Center for Oral Narration
Cost: Free
Contact: Michele Reese, 938-3755 or mnreese@uscsumter.edu
Celebration of the Spoken Word: Storytelling presents Dr. Thom Bristow, "The Carolina Talespinner" tells traditional and original stories that weave the lessons of life with ample doses of humor. Bristow is a South Carolina native who believes that the key to human survival is a good sense of humor. Using a high level of energy, he plays the tenor guitar and the strum while bearing messages from the turkeys of the world and introducing a country character, Persimmon Plumbottom, who makes penetrating social commentary. Dr. Bristow seeks to touch the soul and the funny bone. He is a Family Therapist and an educator who uses stories in therapy and in teaching.
