Sharon D. Raynor, an assistant professor of English, has been named the Johnson C. Smith Mott University Professor for 2010-2013.

School officials said Raynor was chosen based on her “demonstrated expertise in literature, effective and dedicated teaching, inspirational influence among students and peers, significant research activities which advance the art and science of teaching, and service to the university.”

The three-year appointment carries with it course-release time and a travel and research stipend.

Raynor has served as interim director of JCSU’s Honors College (2008-2009), chair of its English and foreign languages department (2005-2008) and as a lecturer in the English department at East Carolina University (1997-2004).

Since 1999, she has written and directed two oral history projects sponsored by the N.C. Humanities Council: “Breaking the Silence: The Unspoken Brotherhood of Vietnam Veterans,” and “Soldier-to-Soldier: Men and Women Share Their Legacy of War.”

She also co-authored "The Yancy Years: The Age of Infrastructure, Technology, and Restoration" and was the 2007 recipient of the Johnson C. Smith University Par Excellence Teaching Award.

Raynor is a native of Clinton, N.C., and holds a doctorate degree in literature and criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She received both her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and her Master of Arts degree in multicultural literature at East Carolina University.

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Janine Davis, founder of Girl Talk Foundation, has been selected to receive an education/mentor award by the Queen City chapter of National Woman of Achievement.

The award will be presented May 22 at the group’s “Profiles of Prominence Banquet and Scholarship Awards.

Davis started Girl Talk in 2003 after visiting several middle and high schools, where girls opened up to her with their issues. She organized an all-girls rap session later that year to focus on the needs of teen girls. Nearly 200 attended.

Davis took the rap sessions a bit further by staring an organization that seeks to build self-esteem and teach leadership skills in young girls. Since its founding, Girl Talk has served nearly 4,200 teens. The nonprofit also has collected more than 3,500 prom gowns for girls in need.

The award ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center, 2921 Tuckaseegee Rd., Charlotte.

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