The Dr. Dolores “Dr. B” W. Barnett Endowed Scholarship has been established at Northwest Mississippi Community College by her sons, Dr. Charlie Barnett of Batesville and Gene Barnett of Huntsville, Alabama, according to Sybil Canon, associate vice president of Development and Special Projects.
“Dr. B,” as she was affectionately called, worked in the field of education for 54 years, with 49 of those years being in the South Panola School District. She died in May 2016 at the age of 84.
In an article that appeared in The Panolian on May 20, 2016, former South Panola School Superintendent, Dr. Keith Shafer, was quoted as saying, “Dr. B was the constant who served a string of superintendents in various capacities for more than 50 years. She jokingly would say she trained a bunch of superintendents in her time. The likes of Dr. David Cole, Dr. Tommy Wren, Dr. C. L. Stevenson, myself, and Tim Wilder would probably all agree.”
“Dr. Dolores Barnett was an English / Language teacher who diligently worked her way through the ranks of education to finish her career as the director of Federal Programs for the South Panola District. Dr. B managed a school-wide Title 1 district to efficiently and effectively use over a million-dollar budget each year to support and supplement the efforts of the district. As an adjunct professor for the University of Mississippi, Dr. B taught classes on the main campus, at Booneville, and at the DeSoto Center until 2012. Dr. Barnett became the champion of young school leaders who decided to seek a terminal degree from various universities. She willingly worked with a number of them by investing her time in reading and reviewing dissertation drafts. She was not shy about using the red ink to help each candidate complete the task to be called ‘Doctor,’” Shafer said.
In establishing the scholarship, Dr. Charlie Barnett commented that his mother had served on several advisory councils and educational boards, including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He explained that his mother was active and working right up until the time of her death. Barnett said that he and his brother chose Northwest to be the place to honor their mother because of their family’s close ties to the college.
“My mother, my brother, and I all started our higher education journey at Northwest, and I had the privilege of working there for a number of years. We are all committed to Mississippi community colleges and felt this would be the best place to establish a scholarship,” Barnett said.
Northwest President Dr. Gary Lee Spears expressed gratitude to the Barnett family for the scholarship. “It is our honor to have a part in honoring this excellent educator. Her influence is far-reaching, felt not only by thousands of students, but also by the administrators and faculty with whom she worked for more than 50 years. Our Foundation and our college are honored that we will be awarding scholarships in Dr. Barnett’s distinctive name for generations to come,” Spears said.
The first scholarship will be awarded in the 2017-18 academic year. The recipient of the scholarship will be screened by a committee at South Panola High School who will then be recommended to the Scholarship Selection Committee of the Northwest Foundation. The recipient must be a South Panola High School graduate with a 3.0 grade point average and have plans to major in education
For more information on this scholarship or the Northwest Foundation, contact Canon at srcanon@northwestms.edu or call 662-560-1112.
Courtesy of LaJuan Tallo, Assistant Director of Communications/Public Information
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