September 15, 2006                                                                       

SMC Names New Faculty

Spartanburg Methodist College has added three full-time professors to its full-time faculty: Chris Dinkins, Professor of English; Mary Jane Farmer, Professor of Psychology; and Jamie Norton, Professor of Chemistry.

Dinkins comes to SMC after having served on the adjunct faculty at Wofford College. He has taught a variety of classes from English Composition to Shakespeare. A native North Carolinian, Dinkins earned his B.A. in English and Religion from Wake Forest University, and earned his M.A. degree in English at the University of Virginia. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Renaissance Drama from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. His wife Christine is a professor of Philosophy at Wofford College. They reside in Spartanburg.

Farmer is a native of the Philippines who has resided in Spartanburg since 2003. She is known as “Jing” by her colleagues and friends. Her father is retired Col. Vicente Labador and her mother is Juana Labador, who has retired as Barangay Captain in her town in the Philippines. Farmer received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from St. Louis University (Philippines); her Master of Arts Degree in Education with a major in Psychology from the University of the Cordilleras (Philippines); and earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy from St. Louis University. She taught for 12 years at the Philippine Military Academy, the renowned West Point of Asia. While in the Philippines, Jing met and married Greg. In 2000, they moved to the U.S., first residing in Michigan where she taught at the Henry Ford Community College and at the Monroe County Community College. Greg is a Physical Therapist for Carolina Home Health. They have a five-year-old daughter, Allana. Farmer is actively involved in the Praise and Worship team of her church, Piedmont Community Church at Boiling Springs, S.C.

Norton comes to SMC from Greenville Tech, where she taught Chemistry courses and labs. She has also taught Freshman Chemistry labs and Introductory Chemistry at Clemson University. Norton’s interest in Chemistry goes back to her high school Chemistry classes. After working in industrial research and development for Cognis and Ethox, Norton decided to take her Chemistry experience into the classroom. Norton earned a B.S. Degree in Chemistry from USC Aiken and a M.S. in Environmental Chemistry from Clemson University. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Clemson. Norton is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Electrochemical Society. She resides in Greenville with her husband Vance and 10-year-old daughter Jasmine.