Category: Grady Ballenger Series

Dr. Richard Stewart, Chief Historian of the U.S. Army Center of Military History

Richard W. Stewart was appointed as the Chief Historian of the U.S. Army Center of Military History in 2006. Prior to assuming this post, he was the Chief of Histories Division, Center of Military History, from 1998 to 2006. His Bachelor’s Degree in history is from Stetson University, Deland, Florida (1972) and he has a Master’s degree in history from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1980). He received his Ph.D. from Yale University, New Haven, CT in 1986 with a dissertation topic on The English Ordnance Office: Arms and Politics 1585–1625. Dr. Stewart has also attended the National War College in 2005–2006 and received his Masters of Science in National Security Strategy from that Senior Service College. Before coming to the Center in 1998, Dr. Stewart was the Command Historian, US Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina from 1990–998, and Historian, Center for Army Lessons Learned, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas from 1987–1990. A retired Colonel in military intelligence, USAR, with 30 years of commissioned service, he has deployed as a combat historian to Operation Desert Storm (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), Operations Continue Hope/Support Hope in support of Task Force Ranger in UNOSOM II (Somalia), Maintain/Restore Democracy (Haiti), Joint Guard/Joint Force (Bosnia), DESERT SPRING (Kuwait and Bahrain), and after 9/11 to Afghanistan in support of Task Force Dagger during Operation Enduring Freedom. He is married to the former Lynn Jones, currently an archivist at the Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland, and has two sons, Mr. James Stewart of Laurel, Maryland, and Second Lieutenant John C. Stewart currently serving in Afghanistan.

2012

Dr. Elizabeth Paul, Provost, Stetson University

Dr. Elizabeth L. “Beth” Paul joined Stetson University as provost and vice president for academic affairs in July 2009, serving as the university’s senior academic officer. Dr. Paul also holds the rank of full professor with tenure in the Department of Psychology.  Prior to her arrival at Stetson, Dr. Paul was vice provost and professor of psychology at The College of New Jersey, a public residential college, where she had served since 1992, holding positions as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, chair of the Department of Psychology and interim vice president for student life. Her academic experience also includes faculty positions at The College of New Jersey and Wellesley College and as a research associate at Harvard University.

While at The College of New Jersey, she worked with the Bonner Foundation of Princeton, N.J., on its national efforts to engage students in meaningful service and learning with the community. Stetson is the only Bonner school in Florida, and Dr. Paul will continue to be involved with Bonner through Stetson’s Bonner Scholars Program.

Dr. Janet Sturman, Professor of Ethnomusicology at The University of Arizona will be the keynote speaker.

Dr. Sturman, an ethnomusicologist and pianist, joined the University of Arizona School of Music faculty in 1995. She received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Columbia University in New York City, her M.A from Hunter College – CUNY, and her B.M. from Wittenburg University in Springfield, Ohio. Prior to teaching at the U. of Arizona she taught at the Louisiana Scholars’ College where she served as Assistant Professor of Humanities and directed the College’s Fine and Performing Arts Concentration.

She is the author of Zarzuela: Spanish Operetta, American Stage (University of Illinois Press, 2001). Her research centers on the role of music in the maintenance, creation, and projection of ethnic and social identity. Her special interest in American multicultural practice has led to studies of music in the American Southwest, as well as Spanish and Latin American expressions. Additional interests concern the role of technology and the entertainment industry in shaping musical expression and cultural responses to music.

Her scholarly publication includes articles and reviews in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Current Musicology, The Yearbook for Traditional Music, Ethnomusicology, The World of Music, Interdisciplinary Humanities, and Louisiana Folklife. Her editorial work includes serving as review editor for The World of Music Journal from 1995-2001. An active member of several professional organizations, including the College Music Society, the International Council for Traditional Music and the Society for Ethnomusicology, Dr. Sturman is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Society for Ethnomusicology and for the College Music Society.

2010

Jill K. Jinkins, CPCU, ASLI – President & CEO of Insurance House Holdings, Inc.

A property and casualty insurance industry expert with more than 28 years of experience, Jill K. Jinks spent seven years with the Chubb Group before joining Insurance House in 1985 as a casualty underwriter.   She rose quickly within the company and assumed the position of commercial lines manager. In 1996, Jinks succeeded her father as president of Insurance House. 

The next year, Insurance House Holdings Inc. was formed with Jinks as president. In 2000, she added the role of CEO, overseeing the Insurance House Holdings corporate parent, which owns and manages Southern General Insurance Company, Southern General Underwriters Insurance Company and Insurance House Inc.    Insurance House and its companies operate in the southeastern United States.  The firm provides specialty insurance products for difficult to insure accounts. It is listed as one of the largest privately owned companies in Georgia, with over $140,000,000 in gross revenue and is now ranked as one of the top 10 MGA’s in the country.

An Atlanta native, Jinks’ leadership extends to an active role in the insurance industry. She served as president of the Georgia Association of Property and Casualty Insurance Companies (GAPCIC) and is a past president of the Georgia Chapter of Certified Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU). She is equally active in her community and lends her professional expertise as a trustee to Stetson University and a past chairman of the board of advisors at its business school. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Stetson Board of Trustees and is Chair of the Investment Committee. She is a former trustee to the Georgia State University Educational Foundation and a past director for Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Education Foundation. She also volunteers her time to the Atlanta Track Club by serving on the organizing committees for the annual Peachtree Road Race and Atlanta Marathon/Half Marathon.

Jinks’ other interests include tennis and yacht racing.  She holds a U S Coast Guard Captain’s license as at 50 ton, near coastal master.  She is a member of the women’s team that won best in fleet in the prestigious Antigua Sailing Week Regatta in 2005 in the highly competitive bareboat division.  Her tennis team consistently competes for the City Championship honors in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association’s AA-2 division.

Jinks received a bachelor of business administration from Stetson University, cum laude in 1979, a master’s of business administration from New York University in 1986, and a master’s of science from Georgia State University in 1990.  She is CPCU and a certified associate in surplus lines insurance (ASLI). She is a resident of Atlanta.

Stetson has honored Jinks by naming her a Distinguished Alumnae and she was selected to Gamma Iota Sigma last year.

2009