Blythe Taylor has been teaching remotely for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, since January of 2023. She resides in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. She grew up in Rocky Mount, Oxford, and Raleigh, NC. Post college and seminary, she served as the associate pastor at Wingate Baptist (Wingate, NC) and St. John’s Baptist (Charlotte, NC). 

She holds certifications in intentional interim ministry, spiritual direction, life coaching, strengths, emotional intelligence, facilitation and consulting. Some of these led her to create her own life coaching business which inspired her second career in higher education. She served at Wingate University (Wingate, NC) and Barton College (Wilson, NC) in roles from success coaching/academic advising, to leading academic support initiatives and ultimately as assistant provost for integrative learning. 

She is honored to work with the other lecturers and is inspired by being part of the spirit of UT.

Education

• Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, May 1994
• Master of Divinity with foci in homiletics, education, and spirituality from The Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond in Richmond, Virginia in May 1997
• Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies with a focus in Communication Teaching from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, December 2018
• Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Renewal, Contemplative Practice, and Strategic Leadership from Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles, California, Candidate May 2028

Research Interests

• Communication autoethography to unify communities
• Pilgrimage as justice-making