South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities
A Voice for Independent Higher Education in South Carolina
Melita Heyward, chair of the Allen University Business department, is the university’s 2021 SCICU Excellence in Teaching award recipient. She joined the Allen faculty in 2014 and was appointed business department chair in 2019. Heyward earned an MBA and a Bachelor of Science degree in computer information systems, both from Francis Marion University. Heyward brings …
T. Hunter Strickland, Ph.D., assistant professor of Literacy Education, is the 2021 Excellence In Teaching award winner for Anderson University. He received a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Education with a focus on English Education from the University of Georgia. Strickland also earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English Education, both from the University of …
Emmie Jannell Davis, English instructor in the Communication and Arts department, is Benedict College’s recipient of the 2021 SCICU Excellence in Teaching award. Davis holds a M.Ed. and B.A. in English, both from South Carolina State University. Davis’ course load includes Oral Communications and Advanced Speech Communications. She is a dedicated professional educator who consistently …
Charleston Southern University congratulates Thomas Keating, professor of Theatre, upon his selection as the university’s recipient of the 2021 SCICU Excellence In Teaching award. Keating holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Columbia University (New York) and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from The University of Georgia. He is also a member …
Michael Fairwell, instructor of Mass Communication, is the 2021 SCICU Excellence In Teaching award winner for Claflin University. Fairwell holds a Master of Media Arts with concentrations in television and film and a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and mass communications, both from the University of South Carolina-Columbia. For more than a decade, Fairwell …
Dr. Jennifer Heusel, associate professor of Communication, is Coker University’s recipient of the 2021 SCICU Excellence In Teaching award. She holds a Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Public Culture and American Studies and an M.A. in Art History and African American and African Diaspora Studies, both from Indiana University-Bloomington. Heusel earned a B.A. in Art History from …
Dr. Brennan Davis, assistant professor of education, is Columbia College’s 2021 recipient of the SCICU Excellence in Teaching award. She holds a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy and an M.A.T. in English, both from the University of South Carolina. She earned a B.A. in English at the College of Charleston. Before joining the Columbia College …
Dr. John Crutchfield, a 20-year member of the Columbia International University faculty, is the 2021 SCICU Excellence in Teaching honoree for CIU. He serves as professor of Bible in the College of Arts and Sciences. Crutchfield holds a Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Ohio). His dissertation at Hebrew Union College, entitled “Circles …
Dr. Angela Esco Elder, assistant professor of history, is the 2021 Excellence In Teaching recipient for Converse College. Her history degrees include a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A., all from the University of Georgia. Elder’s 2017 dissertation, “Married to the Confederacy: The Emotional Politics of Confederate Widowhood,” was awarded dissertation prizes from the Southern Historical Association …
