Academics at MBC
Faculty
Amy
Tillerson, Director, (PhD, Morgan State University; MS,
Virginia Tech; BA, Virginia Tech) is assistant professor of history. Her
PhD major is in African American history with two minors in U.S. twentieth
century and African diaspora history. Tillerson offers courses
in African American history and U.S. twentieth century history. Her
current research examines the activism of Black women in Prince Edward
County, Virginia. Her work presents a gender and social class
analysis of roles Black women played in their church and community
through their club work and organizations, as they successfully challenged
obvious structures of power to exhibit agency and influence. Tillerson
is involved with several civic organizations in the Staunton community
including the local NAACP and the Friends of Fairview committee.
Robert
Allen, PhD
Associate Professor of Music
Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott
My educational journey began at the Seven Hill Schools, a private college
preparatory program in Cincinnati, Ohio. I attended Howard University
and graduated from Morris Brown College receiving a BA in Spanish.
My undergraduate interests in language, anthropology, and ministerial
studies prompted me to study in the Dominican Republic at Universidad
Católica Madre y Maestra. During this study abroad experience,
I became intrigued by the continuity of culture that was evident among
people of the African Diaspora. I attended Payne Theological Seminary,
receiving the Master of Divinity degree. While a seminary student,
I led a missionary tour to Guyana, South America for the African Methodist
Episcopal Church Department of Missions. My interest in African cultural
continuities inspired my thesis research entitled: Ain’t
Got Time to Die: the African Spiritual Inheritance of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church. As a member of the Mary Baldwin
College philosophy and religion faculty, I teach African American Religion
and Community and Practice, two courses that support the African American
studies minor. I have also taught religious studies courses as a part
of the May Term study abroad experience in South Africa and have supervised
ministerial practicums for pre-seminary students.
My work at Mary Baldwin College is shared between the philosophy and religion department and Student Affairs. For the past ten years, I have served as the Director (Dean) of African American and Multicultural Affairs and the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. My work as a retention specialist has helped to transform the diverse face of Mary Baldwin College. Prior to coming to Mary Baldwin, I served as the Director of Minority Affairs at Monmouth College and taught in the religion departments at both James Madison University and Virginia Tech University.
My ministerial career has spanned 28 years. As an ordained African Methodist minister, I have served three congregations: Bethel A.M.E. Church - Harrisonburg, Virginia, Ebenezer A.M.E. Church - Roanoke, Virginia, and Christ Our Redeemer A.M.E. Church - Staunton, Virginia. I planted Christ Our Redeemer in 2000 to address the spiritual needs of college students and to offer opportunities for ministerial supervision for students interested in campus ministry. My work as the coordinator for the Virginia Annual Conference Women in Ministry resulted in programming designed to mentor and support female clergy. I currently serve as the registrar and a member of the teaching faculty for the Virginia Annual Conference Board of Examiners (African Methodist Episcopal Church).
I participated in the 1999 spring voyage of Semester At Sea traveling throughout the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Asia with my husband and son. I am an avid supporter of civic engagement and cross-cultural learning. I spend my summer hiatus playing in my garden and the school year nurturing students, helping them to become their best selves.
Amy McCormick Diduch earned her MA and PhD in economics
from Harvard University and her BA in economics from the College of William
and Mary. Her research interests are in the fields of labor economics
and public finance. She recently published an article entitled “Global
Strike Patterns, Macroeconomic Variations and Industrial Relations” in
the International Review of Comparative Public Policy. Dr. Diduch
is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Robert Grotjohn
Robert Grotjohn, professor of English, earned the PhD and MA at the University
of Wisconsin at Madison, and the BA at the University of Minnesota at Morris.
He teaches classes in composition, poetry, fiction, and American literature.
His particular research interests include poetry and multi-ethnic literature.
He has presented papers and published critical essays and reviews on poets
such as Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Harryette Mullen, Lawson Fusao Inada,
Kimiko Hahn, Walter Lew, Mitsuye Yamada, Arthur Sze, Lyn Hejinian, and Gertrude
Stein. At MBC, he has developed multicultural literature offerings with courses
such as Asian American Women Writers, African-American Literature, African
Novels, and Novels of Miscegenation. He believes that a comfortable pair
of running shoes is the perfect complement to any outfit, and, if he had
a motto, it would be “I think I like a speckled ax best” (see
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography).
Edward A. Scott
Edward A. Scott was born in Pittsburgh, Pa December 16, 1949. He received
his BA in philosophy from Slippery Rock State University in 1971. He
completed work for his MA and PhD at Duquesne University in 1973 and
1986 respectively. He took his first teaching job in philosophy in
1977 at an urban satellite for the Community College of Allegheny County.
He has taught at the University of Calabar in Nigeria (79-81), Carlow
College in Pittsburgh (81-82), Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce,
Ohio (82-86) and Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois (86-90). He
has been associate professor of philosophy at Mary Baldwin College
in Staunton, VA since 1990. He has served both James Madison University
(philosophy) and Virginia Tech (Black studies) as an adjunct professor.
Most recently he has served as chair of the Department of Philosophy
and Religious Studies and Assistant Dean of the College. He was appointed
the Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College
by President Fox prior to the beginning of the 2006 – 2007 academic
year.
Scott’s primary interests are the history of philosophy, hermeneutics, phenomenology, aesthetics, and African American thought. His dissertation was a study of the intellectual career of Paul Ricoeur: On the way to Ontology: The Philosophy of Language in the Hermeneutic Phenomenology of Paul Ricoeur.
In addition to his academic involvements, Scott is a member of the Staunton City School Board, a member of the Board of Advisors for the local branch of the Salvation Army, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Shakespeare Center. He is also devoted to the ordained ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, currently pastoring Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Staunton, VA.
In his writing and public presentations and addresses, Scott pursues a richer understanding of the intersection between sacred and profane realities as this is made evident in literature, music, politics, and religious experience. His abiding conviction is that the blues and jazz constitute daring exemplars for the manifestation of this intersection.
Scott is husband to Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott and father to Jacob, Naima and Ellington Scott.
Carey Usher
Originally from South Carolina, Carey Usher came to MBC in 2001 after
completing her graduate work at University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Her dissertation research examined effects of neighborhood context
and social capital on physical and mental health. Current research
extends this study, focusing on social capital and community investment
in high poverty areas. Her research and teaching interests include
medical sociology, community and urban sociology, and research methodology.
She is a strong supporter of single-gender education, having completed
her undergraduate degree at Converse College. Her community service
includes work with Habitat for Humanity, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank,
the Staunton City Council as a member of the Landscape Advisory Board,
and the Virginia Cooperative Extension as a master gardener. Her service
to these organizations involves building resident investment in and
appreciation of community environment and greenspace.
In her spare time, Dr. Usher likes to read, drink coffee, garden, knit, and spend time with her family and pets. She lives in Staunton with her partner, Bryan, their son, 2 stepsons, 2 dogs, and six cats.
