Dr. Kendra Hamilton (right) with Presbyterian College president Dr. Anita Gustafson.

Dr. Kendra Hamilton, an associate professor of English and director of Southern Studies at Presbyterian College, has long believed in the transformative power of storytelling—whether in the classroom, in her writing, or among rows of collards and squash in a community garden.

That belief and her dedication to teaching, research, and service to the community earned her the title of Presbyterian College’s 2025 Professor of the Year, an honor announced during the college’s annual Honors Day Convocation in April. Hamilton will also serve as a featured speaker during the college’s 142nd Commencement on May 10.

Champion of Southern culture and student research

Since joining the Presbyterian College faculty in 2014, Hamilton has become known for her dynamic teaching style and her ability to make history and literature come alive—often through the lens of her own Southern upbringing and scholarly focus on the Gullah Geechee culture.

She teaches courses in Southern and African American literature, weaving South Carolina history and culture into every discussion. As director of the Southern Studies program, she mentors students exploring topics ranging from Reconstruction politics to cultural foodways.

Hamilton also received the prestigious 2024 Freymeyer Award, named for sociology professor emeritus Dr. Bob Freymeyer, a champion of student research. It’s a fitting distinction for someone who continues to center student discovery in her work.

One of Hamilton’s most visible contributions to public scholarship was her leadership in “The Textile Mill Memory Project,” a three-year initiative funded by a $100,000 grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. The project documented the century-long legacy of Clinton as a prototypical mill town, preserving oral histories, digitizing archives, and capturing images of once-thriving industrial communities.

Scholar, author, and cultural historian

Hamilton’s research and writing reflect her deep connection to South Carolina’s Lowcountry and its people. In June 2024, she published Romancing the Gullah in the Age of Porgy and Bess, a nonfiction work that uncovers the literary and cultural legacy of the Gullah Geechee Coast—from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to the Saint John’s River in Florida.

“This book is about Gullah Geechee culture, which has been very much romanticized and also very much misrepresented and misunderstood,” Hamilton said. “The book reveals hidden histories and gives new insights into things people think they may have already known.”

A Charleston native, Hamilton first encountered the material that inspired the book when a friend gave her a first edition of Porgy, the novel that later inspired George Gershwin’s world-famous opera Porgy and Bess.

“I showed the book to my dad, saying, ‘Can you believe this?’” she recalled. “My dad said, ‘Oh, sure there was a book. And Porgy was based on a real person, and your grandmother knew him.’ That chance remark led me to an alternative history that was hiding in plain sight.”

The book was the result of decades of work, first sparked during her Ph.D. studies at the University of Virginia, where her dissertation explored literary appropriations of Gullah language and culture. That academic journey followed earlier degrees in English from Duke University and an M.F.A. in Poetry from Louisiana State University. Her poetry collection The Goddess of Gumbo was published in 2006 and her work has appeared in acclaimed journals such as Callaloo and The Southern Review.

A life rooted in service—and soil

Hamilton’s contributions extend well beyond scholarship and the classroom. Shortly after arriving in Clinton, she helped launch the Clinton Community Garden, an initiative born from a racial reconciliation event organized by the Southern Studies program.

The idea for the garden took root during a meeting between Hamilton and local ministers Rev. Dr. Blake Harwell and Rev. Steven Evans, following the Nat Fuller Feast commemorating the end of the Civil War. They wanted to keep the momentum of community building alive—literally.

“Blake wanted a way to keep the positive energy of that event going,” Hamilton said. “He and Steven settled on the idea of a garden as a way to bring beauty, satisfy community needs, and demonstrate what a grassroots, interracial, intergenerational coalition might look like.”

With the support of local leaders and the city of Clinton, and a design provided by Hamilton’s husband, professional horticulturist Marc McVicker, the garden was soon growing tomatoes, squash, kale, collards, and more. The produce is shared with neighbors in need, with any surplus donated to local food banks.

“We allow people to glean according to their need,” Hamilton said. “But gardens grow best when people lay their hands on them every day. People walk through the garden, sit in the garden and soak the atmosphere up, work in the garden just about every day during the growing season.”

For Hamilton, gardening is not just a hobby—it’s a metaphor for education.

“It’s sort of like the ‘Parable of the Sower.’ We just keep sowing seeds, keep sowing seeds—and hope they don’t fall on rocky ground or get scorched by the sun,” she said. “Always looking for that good soil that can bring forth grain.”

A legacy of leadership

Hamilton’s sense of civic duty extends back to her years in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she served on the city council from 2004 to 2007. She was also a driving force behind the redevelopment of the historic Jefferson School into a museum and cultural center and co-founded several food heritage and gardening initiatives.

At PC, her leadership continues to inspire students and colleagues alike. From building inclusive spaces in the classroom to creating real-world learning opportunities in Clinton and beyond, Hamilton’s work has reshaped how the college connects with its Southern roots.

As commencement nears, Hamilton is preparing to address the Class of 2025. Though the details of her speech are under wraps, those who know her expect it to be grounded in scholarship, rooted in community, and, like a good garden, full of life.