Joan Mathis named 2011 PJC Distinguished Alumna

Published or Revised September 09, 2011

Joan Mathis, longtime Paris Junior College English instructor and 1958 PJC graduate, has been selected as the 2011 PJC Distinguished Alumna. Mrs. Mathis will be honored during the annual homecoming festivities Nov. 11-12. Her selection was recently announced at the PJC Alumni and Friends Association board meeting. "Joan Mathis is a superb example of a student taking advantage of all that PJC offers local students and then giving so much back to the institution, making a positive effect on generations of other PJC students," said Dr. Pam Anglin, PJC president, during the announcement of the selection committee's recommendation. "As a part of the Distinguished Alumna presentation," Dr. Anglin continued, "it is the desire of the PJC Alumni and Friends Association to enhance an endowed scholarship Mrs. Mathis began some time ago honoring her parents, the late Berlin and Katherine Reese. In the future this will be known as the Berlin and Katherine Reese and Joan Reese Mathis Endowed Scholarship." After her father worked with Sen. A.M. Aikin to desegregate PJC, the first black student enrolled in 1954. Mathis attended and then graduated from PJC in 1958. She began her professional career at PJC in 1975 teaching developmental English, English composition and American literature, and has served as coordinator of the Writing Lab since she was named to the position in 1985. One of her favorite memories of attending PJC involved her speech instructor, Christine Goolsby. "I was determined that I was not going to make my speech, and she was just as determined I would do an excellent job," Mrs. Mathis remembered. "She invited me to her office and said, 'You will speak, and I will record, then we will listen, and we will record repeatedly until the speech has been perfected.' And that's what we did." "Mrs. Fuller and Mrs. Williams were also wonderful English teachers, and I enjoyed their literature classes and studying poetry tremendously. The growth I have seen at PJC has been amazing. When I attended, the Administration Building held most of my classes, and the library was located in the corner now holding the Business Office." "All of my siblings also attended PJC," Mrs. Mathis said. "As a child, we called PJC 'Harvard on the Hill.' We thought PJC was for the wealthy and did not believe it was for my family or me. I'm sure there are potential students right now who feel that way about PJC, but they must know there are people here who are eager and willing to help them. I've heard others say the same. My brother Michael Reese still applauds Mrs. Carolyn Karrer, his former history teacher, who helped him revise his history notes, guiding him in successfully completing the course. More people recognize that this is a place to go to improve your life. The word is out now." Mrs. Mathis currently serves on the board of directors of the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce, is secretary of the PJC Alumni and Friends Association, and is an active member of the St. Paul Baptist Church. She has also served on the boards of the Habitat for Humanity and the Paris Education Foundation, volunteered with The Boys and Girls Club, is a two-time president of Church Women United, serves on the Racial Diversity Task Force and the NAACP. Professionally, she a member of the Two Year College English Association and has served that group as an officer, board member and Southwest region chair and has spoken at numerous conferences. Mathis has also served as president of the PJC Faculty Association, on two Southern Association of Colleges and Schools committees, and several times as creative writing judge for the University Interscholastic League. This year marks her 49th year in public education from teaching in elementary school to being a master teacher at PJC. A popular instructor and favorite of many students, Mrs. Mathis was recently named as a 2010-2011 Minnie Stevens Piper Professor. She received the honor for her teaching excellence and was one of 10 outstanding professors selected from public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities in Texas. Mrs. Mathis summed up her philosophy toward teaching with a quote she learned from a teacher at Paris High School in the 1960s, which has been very meaningful to her: "That our teachers should practice being friendly, firm and fair." Donations for the Reese/Mathis Endowed Scholarship Fund may be sent to the Office of Institutional Advancement/Alumni Affairs, Paris Junior College, 2400 Clarksville Street, Paris, TX 75460. Those interested in becoming a sponsor of the Luncheon or who would like to purchase tickets for the may call 903-782-0276 for more details.