Dr. Norma Kirkland, Dr. Tamara Burk, and Dr. Christine Hait

Columbia College is pleased to announce that three faculty members have received awards for their dedication to outstanding teaching, engaged scholarship, and generous service.

Dr. Christine Hait

Dr. Christine Hait is an Associate Professor of English.  She received her B.A. and M.A. from Texas A&M University and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  Dr. Hait teaches a variety of courses including composition, American literature, honors film seminar, and introduction to mass communication.  She has published essays on American women writers Katherine Anne Porter and Kay Boyle, serves on the executive committee of the Katherine Anne Porter Society, and is co-founder of the Kay Boyle Society.  She recently completed her term as historian and member of the board for Sigma Tau Delta, the international English Honor Society.  She served as chair of the faculty and received the Faculty Excellence Award and the Outstanding Honors Faculty Award from the Honors Students Association. She enjoys spending time with husband Stephen Hait and daughter Ana Sofia Hait.

Dr. Norma Kirkland

Dr. Norma Kirkland is an Associate Professor of Music.  A native of South Carolina, Dr. Kirkland received her B.A. from Newberry College, MMED from the University of Georgia, and Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of South Carolina.  She has 17 years of public school teaching experience and directs the music education program at Columbia College.  Dr. Kirkland recently completed a six-year term on the board of the SC Music Educators Association and served as president-elect, president, and vice-president of the College Division.  She also completed research regarding the National Standards in Music on the state and national level.  Dr. Kirkland is passionate about preparing quality music teachers to be future leaders in music education for South Carolina. She enjoys travel and relaxing with her husband, John Farley.

Dr. Tamara Burk

Dr. Tamara L. Burk is Associate Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, Director of Leadership Studies, and an Associate Professor of Communication.  She received her BA and MA in Communication Studies from the University of Maine, an Ed.S. in Higher Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership from The College of William and Mary in Virginia.  Dr. Burk teaches multiple courses in both Communication Studies and Leadership Studies.  Her research interests include first-year students, peer mentoring and leadership, instructional development, and curricular programming.  Her second book, Instructional Development and Classroom Communication: A Case Study of First-Semester College Students in the Liberal Arts Curriculum was published in 2005 by University Press of America.  Dr. Burk is married to Dr. Kirt Moody, an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Columbia College, and they are the proud parents of their six-year-old son, Roscoe.