AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DR. RUFUS O. JIMERSON
Presently, I am an Area Coordinator for the African American, Native American, Latino and Hispanic, and International
Asian Studies Associations. I recently served as an Assistant Professor of Education at Lindsey Wilson College, founded by
the United Methodist Church, in Kentucky. I have served as an Assistant Professor of Education at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
since August 2004. In that capacity, I served as Lincoln’s Director of Student Teaching, PDE Teacher Certification Officer,
and Title II Coordinator. From 2003 through 2004, I served as the Supervisor of Student Teaching in the Philadelphia and Harrisburg
areas, and Associate Professor of Education at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania. Previously, I taught Afro-American History
at Bethune-Cook-man University, West Palm Beach, Florida. From 1989 through 2001, I taught courses in the social sciences,
education and history at Pensacola Junior College. In 1997, I was promoted from
an Assistant to Associate Professor. Two years earlier, I was nominated to PJC’s
Academy for Teaching Excellence. In 2001, I departed after disputes respecting the institution’s commitment to equal
opportunity, funding and treatment of minority students and staff members. During
my tenure at PJC, I fulfilled my commitment to the local and larger community by lecturing on the following subjects at Whiting
Field, Sauley Field, the University of West Florida at the regional conference of the Florida African-American Student Association,
semi-annual state conferences of FAASA, AT&T Headquarters in Somerset, New Jersey, local schools, churches, radio (WRNE),
and cable outlets (WBQP and C-Span), etc:
1. Ancient
African Civilization
2. Presence
of Africans in the New World Before Columbus
3. History
of African-Indian Struggle for Freedom and
Sovereignty
4. Black
Cowboys, Outlaws and Lawmen
5. History
of African-Americans in the Military
6. Social
Problems Facing the Underprivileged in this Society
My academic preparation consisted of earning degrees at the following institutions of higher education in years specified
below:
·
Doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision,
Rutgers
The State University of
New Jersey, 1987.
·
Master’s in School Business Administration, Kean College
of New Jersey, 1981.
·
Master’s in Educational Administration and Supervision,
Teachers College, Columbia
University, 1978.
·
Master’s in Teaching American History, Rutgers – The State
University of New Jersey,
1977.
·
Bachelor’s in American History and Secondary Education, New Jersey
City University, 1975.
In addition,
I have earned lifetime certificates in New Jersey as:
·
School Business Administrator, 1981.
·
Principal/Supervisor, 1981.
·
Program/Department Supervisor, 1979.
·
Social Studies Teacher, 1975.
Previous employers include Essex County Community College and Irvington Adult High School, in the evenings. In 1986,
I worked as an Administrator and Director of Computer-Assisted-Instruction at Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City,
New Jersey. Earlier, I worked as a secondary school teacher in both the public and private schools in the New York City metropolitan
area encompassing Northeast New Jersey. In addition, I acquired invaluable administrative experience as Program Coordinator
for Local History Project sponsored by Newark Public Schools and New Jersey Historical Society, and Assistant Director/Department
Chairmen at the Youth Consultation Society.
The following honors and awards have been bestowed:
1. Invited to present two papers, the Second
Afro-Seminole War: Recognition, Deceit, and the Defeat of the Afro-Seminole Alliance, 1837-1842, and Fear of Failure Syndrome
in African American Students before the annual conference of the National Association of African American Studies, National
Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies, National Association of Native American Studies, and International Association
of Asian Studies, February 12th through 17,th 2007.
2. Awarded two mini-grants, valued at slightly more then
$3,000 by the Faculty Research & Publication and Faculty Development Committees at Lincoln University. The purpose of the awards is to complete a grant proposal. My $550,000 grant proposal is being review by
distinguished faculty members and holds endorsements from six of the largest school districts in this region.
3. Acknowledgement from the Senior Editorial Board of the
NAAS & Affiliates that two papers presented in the 2005 conference: The Legacy of Fort Negro: The Black-Indian Resistance
Against Slavery and Beyond Fort Negro: Slavery, Encroachment and Resistance, have been selected for publication in their Journal
of Intercultural Discipline for its winter 2006-2007 edition.
4. Invited to and presented two papers, By Any Means: The
Second Seminole War and The Impact of High-Stakes Testing on African-Americans, before the annual conference of the National
Association of African American Studies, National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies, National Association of Native
American Studies, and International Association of Asian Studies, February 13th through 18,th 2006.
2. Invited to and presented two papers, The Legacy of Fort Negro:
The Black-Indian Resistance Against Slavery and Beyond Fort Negro: Slavery, Encroachment and Resistance, before the annual
conference of the National Association of African American Studies, National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies, National
Association of Native American Studies, and International Association of Asian Studies, Houston, Texas, February 14th
through 19th, 2005.
3. Elected to the Board of Directors of the Pleasant City
Heritage Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida, December 5, 2004.
4. Certificate
of Accomplishment, Innovations in Classroom Management, Lock Haven University, September 2003.
5. Certificate
of Participation, Mentoring Preservice Teachers, Lock Haven University, January 2003.
6.
Certificate of Participation, Provost’s Seminar on Multicultural Teaching and Learning, The University of West
Florida, February 2001.
7. Presenter
of a research paper on “The Legacy of Fort Negro: African-Seminole Resistance to Slavery in the Deep South” before
the Gulf Coast History and Humanities Association’s Annual Conference, October 1999.
8. Plaque and
Letter From the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, as Guest Speaker at the Black History Month Program, Pensacola,
Florida, February 13, 1995.
9. Training Wings for Presentation Celebrating Tuskegee Airmen,
Whiting Field, Milton, Florida, February 2, 1995.
10. Teaching Excellence Nomination for Sustained
Record of
Outstanding Classroom Teaching, PJC’s Academy
for Teaching
Excellence, April 12, 1994.
11. Outstanding Presenter at the 16th Annual Presidential
Conference
of the Florida African-American Student Association,
West Palm
Beach, Florida, October 18-20, 1991.
12. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fellowship, Rutgers
– The State
University of New Jersey, 1983-85.
13. Minority Institutes Fellowship,
Teachers College, Columbia Uni-
versity, 1977-78.
14. Summa Cum Laude,
New Jersey City University, 1975.
Professional affiliations include the following:
1. Contributing Member of the Association for Supervision
and Curriculum
Development.
2. Contributing Member of the National Alliance of Black
School Educators.
3. Appointed by Ivory V. Nelson, President of Lincoln Uni-versity,
to the Faculty By-Laws v. CBA Committee.
4. Contributing Member of Lincoln University’s Research
and Publication Committee, 2004-2007.
5. Member of the National Association of African American Studies, National Association of Hispanic and Latino
Studies, National Association of Native American Studies and the International Association of Asian Studies, February 24,
2005.
6. Elected to the Board of Directors of Pleasant City Heritage Gallery,
West Palm Beach, Florida, December 5, 2004. This non-profit community-based 501 (c) (3) organization honors pioneers of one
of the oldest African American community in South Florida and their living legacy beyond these perimeters.
7. Philadelphia/West Chester Pre K-16 Advisory Council on Teacher Quality Enhancement Initiatives in Literacy and
Mathematics, 2003-2006.
8. Participating
Member of the Florida Association of Community Colleges, 2000-.
9. Member
of the Association for Supervision and Curricu-lum Development,
1999-.
10.
Presenter and Member of the Gulf Coast Historical and
Humanities Association, 1999-.
11. Major
Contributor/Panelist on the "Black History Forum" aired on WRNE 0980 AM radio; Channel 12, WBOP-TV, and the University of
West Florida's local C-Span access, Pensacola, Florida.
12. Executive Committee and Member, PHI DELTA
KAPPA, Northwest Florida Chapter 1312, 1990
to 2001.
13. PJC's Microcomputer Resource Committee, 1990-2001.
The G. I. Bill for honorable service in the Navy funded the first five years of my higher education during the
Vietnam Conflict (1967-71). Undergraduate work began in the south at Southern University (a historical black university) in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August 1971. I also received an extension of benefits to the first master’s program and a second
award for service in this conflict that financed his studies through three master’s degrees and into the doctoral program. Professional Education Grants, assistantships, internships, etc., were used to meet
the other graduate expenses.
Phone # (267)
970-4032
E-mail: rojimerson@yahoo.com
Web Site: https://rojimerson.tripod.com/
Mailing Address: 1400 Village Boulevard, Apt. 925, West Palm Beach, FL
33409
