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BPC professor helps lead Clemson seminar

Dr. H. Lee Cheek Jr.

MOUNT VERNON—Brewton-Parker College has a deep commitment to share the institution’s gifts and grace with the larger community.

Dr. H. Lee Cheek Jr., chair of the college’s Social and Behavioral Science Division, recently served as a senior lecturer at a national seminar hosted by Clemson University. The gathering was devoted to introducing high school and college teachers from all over the country to the life and political thought of John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), former U.S. Vice-President, Secretary of State, Secretary of War and senator.

Cheek was joined on the lecture by Dr. William Cooper, Boyd Professor of History at Louisiana State University, and Dr. Clyde Wilson from the University of South Carolina, who edited The Papers of John C. Calhoun. According to Cheek, “the seminar allowed me the opportunity to reach out to a broad spectrum of teachers and encourage them to integrate primary sources into their teaching.”

The weeklong seminar was sponsored by Clemson University’s School of Education, and was funded by a grant from the Watson-Brown Foundation. The seminar’s director, Dr. Susan Pass, noted that bringing such prominent scholars like Cheek, Cooper and Wilson to campus brought much “prestige” to the gathering.

Cheek received a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University, a M.Div. from Duke University, a M.P.A. from Western Carolina University, and a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. Cheek taught at Brewton-Parker College from 1997-2000, and he rejoined the Brewton-Parker faculty in 2005, where he teaches a wide variety of classes. In 2000, and again in 2006,

Cheek was awarded Brewton-Parker College’s “Professor of the Year Award” by the student body. From 2000 to 2005, he served as associate professor of political science at Lee University. In May of 2002, Cheek was given Lee University’s Excellence in Scholarship award; and in May of 2004, he received Lee University’s Excellence in Advising award.

Cheek has also served as a congressional aide and as a political consultant. His books include Political Philosophy and Cultural Renewal (Transaction/Rutgers, 2001, with Kathy B. Cheek); Calhoun and Popular Rule,  published by the University of Missouri Press (2001; paper edition, 2004); Calhoun: Selected Speeches and Writings (Regnery, 2003); and Order and Legitimacy (Transaction/Rutgers, 2004). He has also published numerous journal articles in publications like the Journal of Politics, Methodist History, International Social Science Review, Hebraic Political Studies, and is a regular commentator on American politics.

Cheek’s current research includes completing an intellectual biography of Francis Graham Wilson, a study of the American Founding, and a book on Patrick Henry’s constitutionalism and political theory. Cheek is also the founder and director of the Wesley Studies Society. He currently serves on the editorial board of Humanitas and The University Bookman, and has served as a Fellow of the Wilbur Foundation, the Center for Judicial Studies, and the Center for International Media Studies. He lives in Vidalia, with his wife, Kathy B. Cheek, who is the Artistic Director of the Savannah Conservatory of Dance.