It's always exciting to see a member of the Paine College family receive well-earned recognition for their tireless educational efforts. We had an opportunity to celebrate just such an achievement earlier this month, when Paine College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Cheryl Evans-Jones was selected to receive the 2019 Soul Awakening Education Professional of the Year Award from Perry Broadcasting of Augusta.

Along with other award recipients, Dr. Jones was honored at the MayFest awards ceremony on Saturday, May 11 in Augusta, Georgia. We are proud to join with everyone at Perry Broadcasting in saluting her outstanding achievements as an educator.

Of course, Dr. Jones is no stranger to awards, having previously been honored with the Evelyn Berry Teacher of the Year Award and the Vulcan Materials Company Teaching Excellence award. Clearly, her peers and students at Paine College are not the only ones who recognize her dedication and educational talent.

That talent has been readily apparent throughout her career at Paine – where she has been an integral part of our campus family for the last 26 years. Since joining the faculty in 1993, she quickly advanced from Assistant Professor of Psychology to Associate Professor, and then earned tenure. Over the years, her role at Paine has grown in importance, and everyone at the school has benefitted mightily from her efforts. For more than two decades, Dr. Jones has played a vital role in the college's accreditation efforts. She has served as the Accreditation Liaison to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), as well as Director of the Institutional Self-Study for the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).

She was appointed Paine College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs more than four years ago, in March 2015 after filling that role in an acting capacity since September of the previous year.

Those words are just as true today as they were in 2015. Dr. Jones has spent her career shaping students' minds and preparing them for success in the marketplace and in life. At the same time, she has been a vital part of the Paine College faculty and family, helping to shape and prepare our historic college to continue its mission of educating tomorrow's leaders.

We are confident that we speak for everyone here at Paine College and members of the community when we congratulate Dr. Jones for this well-deserved honor. We are all better for her efforts as an educational leader and are proud to see others recognize what so many of us have long known. Congratulations, Dr. Cheryl Evans-Jones - 2019 Soul Awakening Education Professional of the Year!