Benoit, Mississippi, native Jerome Petty serves Coahoma Community College as an adjunct
instructor of Public Speaking. He has built 21 years of experience educating a varied
age range of students in Mississippi and Arkansas. Having dedicated much of his life
to advancing the youth, Petty is being honored as Coahoma’s 2021 Humanities Teacher
of the Year.
Alongside his service to Tiger Nation, he maintains ties with Mississippi Valley State
University, where he received his bachelor’s in Communication and Media Studies. Petty
currently holds the title of director for the MVSU Upward Bound II program and taught
theater and English to participants of the program from 2007 until 2012. From 2017
to 2019, he was the academic coordinator. Last year, Petty secured two $10,000 STEM
grants for the program, one from the Teaching Through Technologies (T3) Alliance and
the other from NASA. The educator is credited for his help in getting a STEM lab,
podcast studio, and photography studio funded for Upward Bound II. He has provided
guidance to student leaders of the university as an advisor to Mr. MVSU and the Student
Government Association.
Petty received his master’s in communication studies and theater from Arkansas State
University.
An advocate for progressing first-generation scholars from low-income backgrounds,
he has collaborated with MVSU on numerous freshman experience and student leadership
projects and partnered with Mission Mississippi to give young scholars insight into
the world of business.
Petty has served as a music teacher for West Bolivar Elementary School, a Government,
Economics, and Law instructor at Leflore County High, and a Public Speaking instructor
for Arkansas State University from 2010 until 2012. Multifaceted, he has delivered
uplifting messages in motivational speaking engagements for the College, MVSU, and
Mississippi Delta-based youth organizations. Out of dedication to serving, he's taken
the lead as chair of programs contributing to the growth, knowledge, and survival
of young males in underprivileged environments with his fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi.
Now a resident of Itta Bena, Mississippi, he aims daily to "aspire to inspire before
he expires." He and his wife Kathy Petty have four children, Ke'Ralos, R'Gnae, M'Chos,
and Trentis. Petty regards himself as an avid disc golf player and enjoys writing
and producing theater shows. He credits a host of achievements to successful communication,
dedication, and a supportive team of staff, colleagues, mentors, and supervisors whom
he salutes without hesitation.
Petty believes exponential growth occurs when individuals can see things through the
lens of potential, not as they are. The change-embracing instructor cites Eleanor
Roosevelt in offering a treasured inspirational quote, "The future belongs to those
who believe in the beauty of their dreams." He hopes to leave the world in better
shape than he found it by continuing on his mission of adequately educating students
and connecting them to a world of knowledge. In his opinion, education today depicts,
impacts, and influences the future.
Yearly, the Mississippi Humanities Council chooses an exceptional faculty member from
each higher learning institution in the state who teaches in the Humanities field
to receive the Humanities Teacher of the Year Award. Previous recipients have presented
at a reception hosted by the College and joined other awardees at a banquet in Jackson,
Mississippi. CCC President Dr. Valmadge T. Towner and Dean of Academic Affairs Dr.
Rolonda Brown take on the honor of recommending an instructor deserving of the title.
