Dr. Tamara K. Baldwin

Dr. Tamara K. Baldwin graduated from Richland High School (Essex, Missouri) in 1975. Two weeks out of high school she attended her first two classes at Southeast Missouri State University. One of them was a mass communication class (Survey of Mass Communication), and she made a B in the class. In 1978, she graduated from Southeast with a B.S. in Secondary Education in English with a minor in Journalism. In 1980, she graduated with a M.A. in English from Southeast. She was an adjunct professor in the Department of English from 1980 until 1983, when she joined the newly created Department of Mass Communication as an instructor and advisor to the yearbook, the Sagamore. She received her Ph.D. in Journalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1991. She became chairperson of Southeast’s Department of Mass Media in January 2009 and served as chairperson and full professor of the department until her retirement in August 2012.

Dr. Baldwin created the UI 382 course entitled History and Philosphy of American Mass Media and the MC 304 Diversity in Communication course for the department. She is delighted that both classes are required for Mass Communication majors because she believes a firm grounding in the history and philosophy of American mass media is important and that a commitment to diversity is crucial for mass media practitioners today. Her love of her students and of teaching—which she considers the best job in the world—prompted the creation of a scholarship. She is married to Dr. Henry Sessoms, professor emeritus of English, and is the daughter of Billy and Rebecca Baldwin of Charter Oak, Missouri.