2020 Mentorship Awardee
Dr. Joseph Jones
Philander Smith University
Dr. Jones received his B.A. in Political Science from Philander Smith College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Clark-Atlanta University. He held academic appointments at Clark-AtlantaUniversity, Johnson CSmith University, Philander Smith College, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. In addition, he was the Founding Executive Director of the Social Justice Institute at Philander Smith College and the 14th President of Arkansas Baptist College. Dr. Jones's research areas are in African American political thought, Comparative Politics,International Relations, and Historical Methods. Dr. Jones has written and published on issuesrelating to public diplomacy, the political thought of W.E.B. DuBois, the politics of education with a focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities; the politics of hip-hop music; Black Politics with an emphasis on the Obama era, and most recently, citizen insecurity in western democracies. He currently published a book entitled, "The Purgatory of Consciousness: Black Politics in the Age of Obama" in 2019 and will release another called "Black, Not Historically Black: Towards the Pan-Black College" in the fall of 2021. Dr. Jones held academic fellowships at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and AfricanAmerican Research at Harvard University and the Black Panther Party Research Project at Stanford University. Moreover, he served as an American Council on Education Fellow in 2013-2014 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Additionally, he received numerous awards
and, recognitions including the Fannie Lou Hamer Community Service Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientist in 2012 and the Bobby E. Wright Courageous Award from the National Association of Black Psychologists in 2017 for his work towards social justice.
As a professor, Dr. Jones is a master teacher wholly devoted to the success of his students. He holds his students to a high standard by not accepting mediocre or thoughtless work. As a student of Dr. Mack Jones and Dr. Marvin Haire, he continues to provide rigor in his classes, while nurturing the minds of his students. His service-learning classes are designed to intersect theory and praxis be showing students how politics works in the real world. Beyondthe classroom, he encourages students to study abroad, apply for internships, and, more importantly, become involved in local politics. Dr. Jones follows in the tradition of Dr. Jewel Prestage by ensuring his students are grounded as scholars whose responsibility it is to give back to their respective communities. He has mentored dozens of students who have gone on to be lawyers, politicians, activist, nonprofit professionals, and academics. He actively remains a part of their lives by coaching, counseling, and calling his students to check in on them. In the same tradition of Dr. Prestage, he approaches mentorship as a lifelong process that does not end with a degree.
Dr. Jones is proud that his intellectual pedigree points back to Dr. Jewel Prestage and her husband. As a scholar who has committed his entire professional career at black colleges, he remains committed to these vital institutions. He is grateful for elders like the Prestages’ andplans to continue their work by freeing minds for the sake of social justice and liberation for his people and others on the margins.
and, recognitions including the Fannie Lou Hamer Community Service Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientist in 2012 and the Bobby E. Wright Courageous Award from the National Association of Black Psychologists in 2017 for his work towards social justice.
As a professor, Dr. Jones is a master teacher wholly devoted to the success of his students. He holds his students to a high standard by not accepting mediocre or thoughtless work. As a student of Dr. Mack Jones and Dr. Marvin Haire, he continues to provide rigor in his classes, while nurturing the minds of his students. His service-learning classes are designed to intersect theory and praxis be showing students how politics works in the real world. Beyondthe classroom, he encourages students to study abroad, apply for internships, and, more importantly, become involved in local politics. Dr. Jones follows in the tradition of Dr. Jewel Prestage by ensuring his students are grounded as scholars whose responsibility it is to give back to their respective communities. He has mentored dozens of students who have gone on to be lawyers, politicians, activist, nonprofit professionals, and academics. He actively remains a part of their lives by coaching, counseling, and calling his students to check in on them. In the same tradition of Dr. Prestage, he approaches mentorship as a lifelong process that does not end with a degree.
Dr. Jones is proud that his intellectual pedigree points back to Dr. Jewel Prestage and her husband. As a scholar who has committed his entire professional career at black colleges, he remains committed to these vital institutions. He is grateful for elders like the Prestages’ andplans to continue their work by freeing minds for the sake of social justice and liberation for his people and others on the margins.