MC history and political science professor Pinnen receives 2025-26 Carol C. West Faculty Advocate Award

Christian Pinnen, MC's 2026 Carol C. West Faculty Advocate Award recipient, says his faculty advocacy efforts are just beginning.

Christian Pinnen spends most of his time either in the classroom or conducting research. That is what he appreciates most about his profession.

So, when the professor of history and political science at Mississippi Christian University learned he was the recipient of the 2026 Carol C. West Faculty Advocate Award, it came as quite a surprise.

“This is a very different honor than an award primarily earned by one’s academic credentials,” Pinnen said. “To even be considered, a faculty member has to do something that’s outstanding in the estimation of many of their peers.”

The award is named for the late MC Law professor, Carol C. West, a distinguished and beloved faculty member on the campus in downtown Jackson. The award is presented annually to a Mississippi Christian University faculty member who best exemplifies the qualities and character of the late professor, including integrity, collegiality and commitment to service.

“When I came to MC (in 2012), my mentors spoke of Dr. West with praise and admiration for the person that she was and what she did for MC,” Pinnen said. “To receive an award in her name is quite meaningful to me.”

Kristi Melancon, MC professor and department chair of English and World Languages, said like West, Pinnen embodies an ethic of care with each of his students and each of his fellow faculty members.

“He teaches students new perspectives and an appreciation of historical lessons that they can apply to their lives, and he challenges his fellow faculty members to be lifelong learners, committed to their academic fields and scholarly pursuits,” said Melancon, who codirects the University’s African American Studies program with Pinnen.

“As the chair of the Professional Policies Committee for the Faculty Senate, Dr. Pinnen ensured that documented processes were followed and that all voices were invited into the conversation as we provided feedback to the administration on our updated tenure and promotion policies. His strong work ethic, ability to collaborate and diligence in inviting new voices into our conversations make him exceedingly worthy of the Carol C. West Faculty Advocate Award.”

In that role, Pinnen worked hard to help establish and maintain a collaborative role between MC’s faculty and administration.

“The faculty carry much of the academic workload and provide the product that MC is selling,” he said. “Faculty members need to speak constructively with the administration, student affairs and other departments to help facilitate an even better experience for our students.

“We have been overseeing some big changes at the University that affect all faculty. Faculty need to be heard adequately and equitably if we want these changes to occur in a collaborative environment where everyone can participate. That’s really important at universities.”

A native of Germany, Pinnen became fascinated with the U.S. and its history and arrived at the University of Southern Mississippi on a postgraduate fellowship. While pursuing his Master of Arts in history and his Ph.D., Pinnen became intrigued by the pre-antebellum period of Natchez.

He earned his M.A. and his Ph.D. in history at USM, then became attracted to MC by its student-focused mission.

“The faculty at MC are academics and are excellent at their individual fields,” he said. “I like the Christian context, which allows us to focus on the individual student’s personal growth as well as academic growth, and to implement elements of justice and fairness to all God’s children, to bring everyone to the body of Christ.

“That provided an opportunity to teach students in a different way than I would have been able to do at a state school.”

He joined the Department of History and Political Science at MC and rose through the ranks as an assistant professor, associate professor and professor, teaching U.S. history, history of the Old South, Latin American survey, the American Revolution and American slavery. His research focuses on race and slavery in the Spanish-American borderlands and capitalism in early America.

Pinnen was included among a dozen noteworthy participants in the second cohort of the Bright Institute at Knox College, a prestigious fellowship program that supports the teaching and research efforts of professors of American history before 1848 at small liberal arts colleges across the U.S.

He has authored two award-winning books. “Complexion of Empire in Natchez: Race, Law, and Slavery in the Lower Mississippi Valley” received the Best Book in Mississippi History Award from the Mississippi Historical Society in 2021. “A Borrowed Land: A History of Colonial Mississippi,” co-authored with Charles Weeks, was a Mississippi chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution selection for the Best Book Award in 2023.

A three-time Professor of the Year selection by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Pinnen received MC’s Pittman Young Faculty of the Year Award in 2017 and was named the institution’s Humanities Teacher of the Year for 2019-20. He also received the 2024 Distinguished Professor of the Year Award.

Pinnen credits his wife, Sydney, with longstanding support of his career. The couple and their two children, Annabel and John Christian, attend Saint James Episcopal Church in Jackson.

Pinnen doesn’t perceive receiving the Carol C. West Award as a sign that his faculty advocacy efforts have drawn to a close. In some ways, he said, they are just beginning.

“It’s an indication of a responsibility,” he said. “It’s not a ‘one-off.’ Receiving this award makes you want to work even harder to justify your selection going forward.”