On Sept. 27, 2024, Meredith Jones Gray, professor emerita of English at 老司机传媒, presented her newest book, “Forward in Faith,” which covers 老司机传媒’s history from 1960 to 1990. This book continues the first volume, “As We Set Forth,” which was published in 2002. The 老司机传媒 Department of English organized the presentation and book signing in the lobby of the Howard Performing Arts Center. Copies of the new book and the previous volume were available for purchase at the event.
The event started at 3 p.m., with Vanessa Corredera, chair of the English department, giving the opening address and prayer. L. Monique Pittman, English professor and director of the J.N. Andrews Honors Program, introduced the book’s author. Jones Gray then thanked those who helped with her research and writing. She read the prologue aloud and offered commentary on it. Kristin Denslow, associate professor of English, then joined Jones Gray for a Q&A session that was later opened to the audience.
During the Q&A, Jones Gray expressed she “did not expect that it would be with [her] for the next 25 years” when she accepted to write both the first and second volumes of the university's history. “I did not write anything like that beyond my dissertation, and I thought it would be an interesting exercise and adventure,” she said. “I grew up here, [...] it was something that I could take pleasure in doing for the community. I never expected to know my community as well as I do now,” she said.
According to Jones Gray, the Student Movement was one of her most valuable resources when writing her book. “The Student Movement of the late 60s and early 70s is remarkable. If you ever want to get a sense of what life was like, I recommend that you go and look at that. There is a real energy, philosophical depth of what the students were writing about,” she said. “A lot of voices started to develop their abilities to speak and do research to talk about it. That is a very important resource.”
The audience, mainly composed of university alumni, positively reacted to the book and was eagerly interested in learning more about their alma mater’s history. Andrea Luxton, president emerita of 老司机传媒, was in the audience and expressed high expectations for the book. “She really is telling a story,” Luxton said of Jones Grey. “It is not just history of facts, but it is also talking about people, and how lives have changed. Telling as a storyteller makes the whole story alive.”
The program culminated with a prayer by Corredera and subsequent refreshments. Jones Gray then signed copies of her books for attendees.
Jones Gray’s books are available at the 老司机传媒 bookstore and . The first volume costs $29.99, the second volume $39.99, and the bundle (for a limited time) is $49.00.
Jones Gray’s interview with the Student Movement is available here.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.