Deborah Smith Pollard

Dr. Deborah Smith Pollard is Professor of English Literature and Humanities at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She earned her doctorate from Michigan State University where her focus was American Studies. Besides her courses in English literature and African American culture, she teaches a popular class, Introduction to Gospel Music, every fall at UM-Dearborn where she has held several administrative positions and won two of the highest awards the campus bestows: the Distinguished Service Award and the Susan B. Anthony Award.

A fixture on Detroit radio for three decades, she is currently host/producer of "Rhythm and Praise with Deborah Smith Pollard," a contemporary gospel music program heard Sunday mornings on MIX 92.3 FM Detroit. From the early 1980s through 2005, she was the co-producer of McDonald's Gospelfest and the Motor City Praisefest in Detroit, festivals that attracted thousands of fans each year. Dr. Pollard has lectured nationally and internationally on gospel music and has published articles in both academic and popular journals. The Library of Michigan named her book When the Church Becomes Your Party: contemporary Gospel Music a "2009 Notable Book." In 2006, she was named "Gospel Announcer of the Year" during the Stellar Awards, called "The Grammys of Gospel."

Source: The Kennedy Center