VSU professor earns Governor�s Award

Dr. Patricia Marks, professor of English, is the first Valdosta State University recipient of the Governor's Award in the Humanities. She is one of 10 people who received the award at the annual Governor's Awards in the Humanities Luncheon held recently in Atlanta.

"It's quite an honor to get the award and it was very unexpected," Marks said.

Every year the Georgia Humanities Council nominates people who contribute to the humanities.

According Dr. Tom Dasher, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, recipients are chosen for their life-long contributions to the humanities. They are also chosen for their embodiment of the mission of the Georgia Humanities Council�to build community, character and citizenship in Georgia.

Marks was one of four keynote speakers at the fall Georgia Humanities Council Leadership Conference. She presented the paper "The Stewardship of the Imagination" that highlighted the importance of music, art and literature in education.

She has also taken part in activities sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). In 1995, Marks received a summer study grant that focused on the connection between Pre-Raphaelite art and Victorian literature. In 1993, she took part in a summer seminar program at the University of California, Berkley. Marks was also an NEH Fellowship in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania from 1977-78.

Marks received a bachelor's degree from Douglas University and a doctorate from Michigan State University.