SMC Vice President Bowles Receives Award From State Organization

03/30/10

SPARTANBURG, SC - An SMC administrator was recently honored with a prestigious award presented by the South Carolina Women in Higher Education (SCWHE).

Dr. Ann Bowles, SMC vice president for academic affairs, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Martha Kime Piper Award.

The Piper Award is named for the first woman president of a public higher education institution in the state, and is given annually to recognize a woman with a record of advancing and supporting women in higher education and the education of women in South Carolina.

"There are no words to express my gratitude to [SMC president] Dr. Colleen Keith, supporters who wrote letters, and the [SCWHE] Executive Board for the tremendous honor of the Martha Kime Piper Award.  To see my name added to the list of recipients still evokes tears and absolute humility," says Dr. Bowles.

 In 2009, Dr. Bowles, a Spartanburg native, celebrated her 30^th anniversary as a higher education administrator, beginning with a position as a counselor and advancing in positions of increasing responsibility to her current position at SMC.

She is currently in her fourth year as SMC's vice president for academic affairs. She previously served at SMC in the 1990s as director of special programs and new college. Prior to returning to SMC, she served as chief academic officer at North Greenville College.

Dr. Bowles received an Associates in Arts from North Greenville College in 1972; a Bachelor's of Arts in Guidance and Counseling from Limestone College in 1974; a M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from the University of South Carolina in 1979; and was awarded her PhD in Higher Education Administration in 1992 from the University of South Carolina.

She is a 1970 graduate of Byrnes High School and was the first woman to serve on the Spartanburg District 5 Board of Trustees.

Throughout her career, Dr. Bowles has actively worked to advance and support women in higher education. As a role model, mentor and quiet supporter, she has helped many women to accept positions of responsibility, both on and off campuses and her work with students has resulted in many young women developing a vision for their future beyond what they may have experienced in their past.

She is or has been a member of the Business and Professional Women of Spartanburg (and serves as Scholarship Committee Chair, on the Publicity Committee, and as a member of their Education Foundation); as a member of the Spartanburg District Five Board of Trustees; is an active member of First Baptist Spartanburg where she served as Past President of Sanctuary Choir, served on the Church Music Committee and the Education Foundation Committee; and is a past member of South Carolina Higher Education Assessment Network.

Dr. Bowles has been a member of and actively participated in the SCWHE throughout her career. She has served on its conference planning committees and its Executive Board, as well as having served as the organization's secretary.

 The SCWHE is a partner of the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education (OWHE), which provides the national direction for women's leadership development and career advancement.  The mission of the SCWHE is to improve higher education in South Carolina by promoting women's leadership and participation.

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 99th academic year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment.  More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

For more information, contact Brian Fulkerson, director of public information, at (864) 587-4254.