Salyers Named Teacher of the Year by Mississippi Humanities Council

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 12:03pm | By: Dr. David Tisdale

One of Dr. Candice Salyers’ students says the University of Southern Mississippi dance professor moves with such grace that “she’s like an angel who floats around the classroom” making her students feel “welcome and accepted but also pushes you to be the best you can be.” 

The Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC) shares this sentiment that Salyers is indeed heaven-sent, naming her MHC Teacher of the Year.

The MHC Teacher of the Year award features a public lecture by the recipient, which is set for Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in Gonzales Auditorium in the Liberal Arts Building on the Southern Miss (LAB room 108) Hattiesburg campus where Salyers will present “Women Directing Humanity: Models of Women’s Leadership in Creative Approaches to Social Change.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

“I’m grateful to the Mississippi Humanities Council for actively recognizing ways that teaching, learning and research enrich the life of individuals and communities in Mississippi and beyond,” said Salyers. “I am honored to receive this award and excited to share stories of women leaders in the arts who contribute to a greater sense of shared humanity around the world.”

A member of the Southern Miss School of Performing and Visual Arts faculty since 2018, Salyers’ work explores dance practices as humanitarian service and integrates performance, feminist theories, disability studies and environmental philosophy, proposing that site-specific dance can contribute to unique ways of embodying ethical citizenship. She also serves as director of the university’s Evelyn Gandy Center for Women & Leadership.

Seana Rains, a senior dance education major from Poplarville, Miss., says she knew she wanted to pursue a career in performing and teaching dance after taking Salyers’ Intermediate Modern Dance class.

“Dr. Salyers is the most kindhearted, caring person and she never fails to inspire me every day,” Rains said. “I’ve grown so much as a dancer and a human from every class I’ve taken with her. As an advocate for all things peace and love, she is more than deserving to receive this prestigious award.”

Salyers has also been honored with an Alma Bucovaz Award for Urban Service, Choreographic and Performance Fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Mississippi Arts Commission, and a grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for feminist nonfiction writing. Her performance work has been presented in the U.S., UK, Estonia, Spain, Morocco, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Salyers and the Southern Miss School of Performing and Visual Arts.