9 October ICC's Humanities Teacher of the Year October 9, 2017 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0 Shawn Whittington of Tupelo, art instructor, has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s recipient of the Mississippi Humanities Council 2017 Teacher Award. Whittington will present “Personal Reflection on Working with At-Risk Students,” at 6 p.m., Oct. 24, in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium at the Fulton Campus. A native of Ft. Worth, Tex., Whittington grew up in Greenwood. As a teenager, he pursued his interests, not only in drawing and painting, but also in music and acting. At the age of 17, he secured the role of “Sarty Snopes” in the PBS film, Barn Burner, based on a short story by William Faulkner and filmed in Oxford. He worked alongside actor Tommy Lee Jones. He attended The University of Southern Mississippi, The Art Institute of Houston, Tex. and Delta State University where he earned the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1992. Between undergraduate and graduate school, he lived and worked in many locations, including Houston, Tex.; Athens, Ga. and New Orleans, La. During these years, he learned the art of ‘plein air’ painting, cooked in restaurants, took painting commissions as well as participated in numerous one-man and group exhibitions. He has traveled extensively, including such destinations as Zaire and Tanzania, Africa; Machu Pichu, Peru; Costa Rica; Paris; Florence; Rome; China and Japan. Whittington has worked in the permanent collections of The South Arkansas Arts Center, The Arkansas Museum of Natural History, Cottonlandia Museum and The Alluvian Hotel and Spa in Greenwood. In 1996, he was asked to participate in an invitation-only show at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He has designed work for CD covers as well as provided the cover illustration for the book, The Undoing of Adam, by C. Baxter Kruger from Jackson. While enrolled in the M.F.A. program at Ole Miss, he received the award of excellence in the 2007 Mississippi Collegiate Competition. Since moving to Tupelo in 2008, he has represented ICC in various venues throughout the area, including The Tupelo Artist Showcase in conjunction with the Tupelo Civic Ballet. Whittington joined ICC, working part-time in August 2007 and full-time in 2008. In addition to teaching, he serves as the gallery director for ICC and editor of the ICC art and poetry journal, The Calliope. In 2014, Whittington married Haylee You from Beijing, China. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (662) 862-8050. Related Articles Megan Eidt selected as 2025 ICC's Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award nominee Megan Lewis Eidt of Tupelo has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award nominee for 2025. Eidt will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning. Since 2004, she has taught history at ICC, where her activities have included former two-term president of the Tupelo Campus Faculty Association and former adviser to the ICC Political Science and Humanities Clubs. Her professional memberships include ICC Faculty Association, National Council on Public History, Atlanta History Center and American Historical Association. Eidt earned the bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi; master’s degree from Mississippi College; and additional coursework from the Center of Bi-Lingual and Multi-Cultural Studies in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Her other activities include member of the Tupelo First United Methodist Church and supporter of both the Tupelo Community Theatre and the Lee County Humane Society. Eidt’s honors and awards include recognition as an ... Morris selected as ICC's Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award nominee Keith Morris of Tupelo has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award nominee for 2022. He will present “Little Boxes” at 6 p.m., Mar. 28, in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium at the Fulton Campus. Morris will be honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony Mar. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson. “I teach alongside such talented, hardworking folks,” Morris said. “I feel honored to receive this award, not just for myself, but as a simple representative of my team.” Morris earned the bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and master’s degree from Mississippi State University. Since 2008, he has served as an English instructor at ICC, where he has co-created World Literature I and Drama Production IV and created Writing for Publication. He is poetry editor for “The Calliope” and sponsor for both Sigma Kappa Delta and Film Club. Morris is a poetry judge for SKD’s Hedera Helix literary journal and for ICC’s entries for the Mississippi Community College Creative ... ICC Humanities Teacher of the Year Griffie schedules Jan. 31 presentation Judith Griffie of Amory, recipient of Itawamba Community College’s Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award for 2023, will present “What are you saying to yourself? Exploring self-talk and its impact on personal functioning,” at 6 p.m., Jan. 31, in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center at the Fulton Campus. Griffie will be honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony, Mar. 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. Griffie earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University. Since the fall of 2009, she has served as a full-time psychology instructor, transitioning into that position from adjunct status which began in 2005. Previously, she was a mental health therapist with the Region III Mental Health Center initially serving children through crisis intervention and later providing mental health services to adults and the elderly. At ICC, her activities have included serving as an adviser for the Beta Tau Sigma Chapter (Tupelo Campus) of Phi Theta Kappa, for which she received the Regional Hallmark Paragon Award in 2012. Griffie is a member of the ICC ... ICC's Ward selected Humanities Teacher Award nominee Nathan Ward of Mooreville has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award nominee for 2021. He will present “Crossing the Bar: Attaining Student Success,” at 6 p.m., Jan. 26, in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium at the Fulton Campus. Limited seating will be available, but livestream will be provided. He will be honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Public Awards ceremony, Mar. 26, in Jackson. “This is an unexpected, but completely appreciated honor,” Ward said. “ICC demands success on every level, and it is hard for me to imagine working anywhere else.” A 1998 graduate of ICC, Ward earned both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Mississippi. Since 2007, he has served as an English instructor at ICC, where he also has been a supplemental instruction technician since 2018. His employment history includes New Albany High School, Tupelo High School, the University of Mississippi and adjunct English instructor at ICC. Ward serves as Sigma Kappa Delta faculty sponsor at ICC. He is a member of ... Dr. Anna Morgan Named ICC’s 2026 Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award Nominee Itawamba Community College has selected Dr. Anna Morgan, piano instructor, as its nominee for the 2026 Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award. Morgan will be recognized at the Mississippi Humanities Council Public Humanities Awards Ceremony on March 20, 2026, in Jackson. The annual event honors exceptional faculty in traditional humanities disciplines across Mississippi’s colleges and universities. Morgan, a Mantachie resident, joined ICC in 2017. Before returning to Mississippi, she taught PreK through fifth grade elementary music in Tennessee, laying an early foundation for young students’ musical development. She holds a doctorate in music education from William Carey University and a master’s degree in piano performance from Middle Tennessee State University. In addition to her teaching role, Morgan serves as pianist for the ICC Choir, supporting student musicians and contributing to the College’s longstanding choral tradition. She also remains active in the regional arts community as manager of the North Mississippi Youth Orchestra and pianist and organist at Baldwyn First Baptist Church. Her service beyond the arts includes previous work as a board member for the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society. Morgan will be featured alongside honorees from ... ICC's Colburn to be honored at Mississippi Humanities Council Awards ceremony Christy Colburn of Amory has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award nominee for 2024. Colburn will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony in March 2024 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning. In her 25th year as a music educator, Colburn serves as associate band director at ICC. Her responsibilities include conducting the concert band, applied woodwind studio, mixed woodwind ensemble, Rush Hour Saxophone Quartet, CenterStage show choir and color guard director/choreographer and teaches music appreciation. As needed, she also coaches the Indianettes and the spring pom squad. A graduate of Aberdeen High School, Colburn earned the associate’s degree from ICC and both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Mississippi. She was color guard captain and choreographer and started the first winter guard at ICC while a student. She held multiple leadership roles while at the University ... Comments are closed.