Jim Everett Honored as 2011 Distinguished Professor of the Year

Jim Everett followed in his father’s footsteps when he moved up the leadership ranks of the United States Air Force, and now his career is flying high as an award-winning English professor at Mississippi College.

A professor at MC since 1996, Everett picked up another top honor recently. The director of Graduate Studies in the English Department for more than a decade, the Auburn University alumnus was named MC’s Distinguished Professor of the Year for 2011.

“Dr. Everett is a gifted colleague who has served the institution in countless ways,” said English Department Chairman Jonathan Randle. “His insights and expertise are highly prized by fellow faculty members in the English Department and by students.”

Everett’s many accomplishments were noted at Mississippi College’s spring commencement exercises in early May.

“Jim Everett is one of those professors who makes MC a very special place to learn and grow,” said Ron Howard, MC’s vice president for academic affairs.

A  Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force who’s now retired reserve, Everett brings a strong work ethic to the table when he’s meeting with students at his office at 313 Jennings Hall or teaching in a classroom on the Clinton campus.

A former aerospace studies management instructor who once taught servicemen, Everett today is a well-published English scholar who’s a frequent participant at academic conferences around the nation.

In short, Everett personifies the qualities of teaching, scholarship and service that make the Mississippian an excellent choice for MC’s distinguished professor of the year award, Howard said.

Everett holds four degrees from Auburn University and a fifth, his doctorate in English, from the University of Washington in 1994. His doctoral thesis was devoted to the topic of Victorian travel writing. His first degree from Auburn came in 1976.

Other awards that Everett has received include the Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year award in 2005. He’s the son of a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. His good humor and unassuming nature make his latest honor at Mississippi College much more meaningful to friends and co-workers, colleagues say.

Dr. Everett and his wife, Bonnie, are Clinton residents.