WILSON, N.C. — August 16, 2019 — Dr. James A. “Jim” Clark, Professor Emeritus of English and former Dean of the School of Humanities, will be the featured speaker at the 118th Opening Convocation at Barton College. The annual campus event is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 3:30 p.m. in Howard Chapel.
A distinguished tradition at Barton College, Convocation signifies the official opening of the academic year, and provides a particularly meaningful milestone for freshmen as they are ushered into the Barton Experience. The combination of learning inside the classroom and the growth outside of the classroom is known as the Barton Experience.
A renowned literary scholar, Dr. Clark served as the Elizabeth H. Jordan Professor of Southern Literature at Barton from 2007 until 2019. His books include “Notions: A Jim Clark Miscellany” Dancing on Canaan’s Ruins” and “Handiwork”; and he edited “Fable in the Blood: The Selected Poems of Byron Herbert Reece.” His poems and short stories have been widely published in a lengthy list of journals and magazines. In 2006 and 2007, Dr. Clark served as the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for eastern North Carolina, and he has been recognized with a number of additional honors, including the Randall Jarrell Scholarship, the Harriette Simpson Arnow Short Story Award, and the Merrill Moore Writing Award, among others.
Dr. Clark is also recognized as an accomplished musician, and his readings often include music and songs performed on the guitar, banjo, and mountain dulcimer. With the help of Barton colleague Phil Valera and others, he has recorded and released five CDs.
Dr. Clark was named the Jefferson-Pilot Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year at Barton College for 2002-2003. In 2015, he served as President of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, and, in 2017, he was Chair of the North Carolina Writers Conference.
For more information about Opening Convocation, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs at 252-399-6343.
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