Rev. Dr. Carolyn L. Gordon will deliver this year’s Taylor Religious Heritage Lectures on Monday, September 18th, and Wednesday, September 20th, at 11:00 a.m. in Turner Auditorium within Chowan’s historic McDowell Columns Hall. She is the Associate Professor of Mass Communication, Acting Chair and Coordinator of the Convergent Media Graduate Program at Mississippi Valley State University. She also serves as the Associate Pastor of the Mt. Gaza Missionary Baptist Church in Stringtown, Mississippi.

Before relocating to MVSU, Dr. Gordon taught at Fuller Theological Seminary as the Associate Professor of Communication and served as the Chair of the Preaching and Communication Department. Dr. Gordon has also served as the Director of Ministries in Higher Education for the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, and a communications Forensics Coach at James Madison University. She has also taught communications in the Junior Statesmen Summer Program at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Gordon holds several certifications and is trained in missional church development and formation, leadership development, organizational communication, and social media strategic planning.

Dr. Gordon is the former national Vice President for the Baptist Women in Ministry organization. Dually ordained by both the Southern and National Baptist Conventions, Dr. Gordon is both a nationally and internationally known preacher, teacher, and conference speaker. She made history in 2010 when she traveled to Tanzania, Africa to attend the first-ever Global Preaching Summit. She was the only female homiletician in the world, invited.

A Kansas City native, she has served as a consultant for both profit and non-profit organizations. She has also served on several boards including the Center for Urban Renewal of Kansas City, Missouri, the Alliance of Baptists and Global Women International. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the TB Maston Foundation.

Along with teaching, training and development, Dr. Gordon is also a communication practitioner. She is a former columnist for The Beacon newspaper (A Courier-Life publication). She has produced several television shows including, “Another Day” for KYFC-TV in Kansas City, Missouri and “A Point of View” for BSU-TV in Bowie, Maryland.

Currently, Dr. Gordon is a feature writer for the Center for Congregational Ethics, hosts a weekly radio show “Consider This” for the university’s radio WVSD 91.7 FM, and is a contributing author and vocal talent for the fan-fiction book and video recording of “The Death of Cliff Huxtable…” by Diva Blue Productions.

Dr. Gordon holds several honors. Last year she was awarded an Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship. In 2012, the City Council, along with Mayor Robert A. Spiegel, officially proclaimed February 24th as Dr. Carolyn L. Gordon day in the City of Palm Desert, California.

Please make plans to join Chowan University this fall for the annual Taylor Religious Heritage Lectures.

About the Taylor Religious Heritage Lectures

Established in 1994, the Taylor Religious Heritage Lectures are funded by a generous endowment given by Dr. and Mrs. Hargus Taylor in order to provide strong Christian role models for generations of Chowan students and community members. Chowan is grateful that these lectures bring religious leaders of diverse expertise and rich experience to our campus.

For more information on the Taylor Religious Heritage Lectures, please contact Rev. Mari Wiles, Minister to the University, at wilesm@chowan.edu or (252) 398-6268.