Jessi Barker Shrout, EdD, MS, CT (ASCP) is an associate professor of biology at Brenau University. She was awarded the Ann Austin Johnston Outstanding Faculty Award for excellence in teaching in 2019. Dr. Shrout earned her Doctorate in Education in Leadership in Higher Education from Brenau. Her dissertation was titled, “The experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming students at a women’s college in the Southeastern U.S.” She earned her Master of Science in Cytology and Bioscience from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, and her clinical certification in Cytotechnology (CT) from the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Her master’s thesis “β2microglobulin mRNA expression levels are prognostic for lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer patients” was published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Dr. Shrout earned her Bachelor of Science with Honors from The Women’s College of Brenau University in 2004. As an undergraduate biology major, she worked as a teaching assistant for chemistry and physics courses and served as a member of numerous campus organizations and honor societies. She also minored in Dance and was a member of the Gainesville Ballet Company. From her undergraduate experience, she developed a love and respect for the history and future of women’s colleges, an interest which continued through her doctoral research.
Dr. Shrout is deeply invested in student success and is constantly looking for ways to improve her students’ experience. This interest in enhancing the quality of education at Brenau led her to apply for the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship offered by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She was accepted into the fellowship and completed the program in the 2018-2019 academic year. Now, in her eighteenth year on faculty at Brenau, Dr. Shrout is more eager than ever to be a part of the innovation and improvement happening at her alma mater.
Dr. Shrout lives in Cumming, GA with her husband, two daughters, two cats, a dog named Ginny Weasley, and a snake named Salazar Slytherin.