FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2015
For More Information:
Glenville State College
Public Relations Department
(304) 462-4115
GLENVILLE, WV - Glenville State College's newest Faculty Award of Excellence recipient is Associate Professor of English Dr. Jonathan Minton. He received the award at the 141st Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 9.
"I work with a truly exceptional faculty and staff, so I feel completely honored to receive the Faculty Award of Excellence. I am grateful beyond words," said Minton. "I was indeed surprised when President Barr asked me to join him onstage at Commencement. In fact, when he was describing the person receiving the award as being 'a poet,' my first thought was that one of my colleagues writes poetry, and I didn't even know it."
In nominations for the recognition a former student said that he created 'an ideal learning environment' while another colleague called him 'a great classroom teacher who is affable, empathetic, and always finds time to help a student in need.' A staff member also observed that he 'goes out of his way to engage students in the classroom with topical and pop culture references.'
Minton has been a faculty member at GSC since 2005. In addition to his teaching duties, he also serves the campus as a Faculty Senator, is an advisor to the Trillium, GSC's literary magazine, Honors Program Director, Faculty Marshal, and member of several campus committees. Off campus he edits the online literary journal Word For/Word.
"I've been a long-time faculty advisor for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Guild, along with Melissa Gish and Charles Schmidt. They do all the real work. I handle our banking account and some of the paperwork. I'm also an advisor for Sigma Omega Beta. They are a terrific fraternity. And I am the director of GSC's Honors Program. We're about to begin our third full year and I am very proud of our Honors Students," he said.
"There are so many things I love about teaching at GSC. The college has been very good to me. Plus, I get to spend my time thinking about, researching, and writing about literature. And then I get to share this with intelligent young adults. I literally have the greatest job in the world," he concluded.
Minton is originally from North Carolina, where most of his family still lives. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature at North Carolina State University. He lived in Buffalo, New York for a time where he received a Ph.D. in Poetics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has also spent time in Detroit, Michigan and Helena, Montana and, as he puts it, has gotten very used to harsh winters. Following the ceremony he was surprised to learn that his parents, Allene and Eddie, were in the audience on commencement Saturday. They had made the trip from North Carolina unbeknownst to him.
Each spring the campus community is invited to nominate an outstanding faculty member for this award. Faculty Award of Excellence recipients must be full-time and have taught at GSC for at least two years to be eligible. Names of the honorees are displayed on a permanent plaque in the Heflin Administration Building.
