Biographical Sketch
Re: Women’s History Month Assembly/Benedict College
March 22, 2005
Janeen Witty began her career as a public school teacher in Chesapeake, VA following her graduation from Hampton University with a degree in English.
She found her true calling during her second year of teaching when she encountered her new teaching assignment of a class comprised of 23 boys and 3 girls. It was during that year that she gained an appreciation for and interest in the academic success of African American male students.
Dr. Witty earned her master's degree and doctorate in human development and family studies with concentrations in educational research from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She was a recipient of the Patricia Roberts Harris doctoral fellowship which permitted her to pursue her graduate studies on a full-time basis. Upon completion of her doctorate at age 27, she continued her dissertation research on academic success and resiliency of African American male middle school students as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Prior to joining the Benedict College family in 1998, Dr. Witty was associate professor and coordinator of the graduate program in early childhood education at Norfolk State University. During her tenure at Norfolk State, she co-founded Spartan Academy, a Saturday program for African American elementary school and middle school male students in math, science and technology.
Dr. Witty was appointed director of teacher education in 2000 and dean of the school of education in 2002. During her years here at Benedict, she has secured a number of externally funded grants to advance initiatives in teacher education. She provided leadership for the College's initial NCATE accreditation and has assisted with other accreditation processes here on campus in addition to serving on numerous committees.
Dr. Witty serves on numerous community and professional committees and boards. Most notably, Dr. Witty serves as a trainer/facilitator for the NCATE/AACTE institutional orientation each semester in Washington, DC; she is a member of the national committee on Professional Development for AACTE (American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education); at the state level, she is currently vice-chair of the Professional Review Committee for the South Carolina Department of Education; and locally, she is currently volunteering as an Action Team Leader for the Richland School District One strategic planning committee.
She is married to John H. Tucker, Jr. of Columbia, SC and is the proud, first-time aunt of five-month old Jordan P. Witty who lives in her hometown of Virginia Beach, VA.
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