Author, university professor, and radio personality Deborah Smith Pollard, Ph.D., first attracted national attention when she was named “Gospel Announcer of the Year” during the 20th annual Stellar Awards, called “The Grammys of Gospel Music.”

Pollard is a recognized expert on contemporary gospel music with a knowledge base that is the result of her dual career: Associate Professor of English Literature and Humanities at University of Michigan-Dearborn and award-winning gospel radio announcer Sunday mornings, 6-10 AM, on FM 98 WJLB, Detroit’s top rated station for young adults. She has published both academic and popular articles on various aspects of gospel music.

Her book, When the Church Becomes Your Party: Contemporary Gospel Music (Wayne State University Press), with chapters on praise and worship, gospel musical stage plays, the changing dress code in gospel music, women gospel announcers (dj’s), and holy hip hop, has been named a “2009 Michigan Notable Book” by the Michigan Library Association.

Pollard, who earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Michigan State University, has lectured extensively on gospel music. Besides teaching a popular class on that subject on her campus, she has presented her research at conferences, museums and universities in several of the United States, including Hawaii, as well as in Johannesburg, South Africa, and in four cities in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Kobe.

A Research Associate for the Michigan State University Museum, Pollard is co-creator with that institution of “Lest We Forget: Legends of Detroit Gospel Music,” a traveling exhibit with a sound station, that has been viewed by thousands in libraries, educational institutions, festivals, and community centers. A virtual tour can be found at http://museum.msu.edu/museum/tes/index.htm.

For more than two decades, she produced two of the country’s largest free outdoor gospel festivals, Detroit’s McDonald’s GospelFest and the Motor City Praisefest. Besides hosting an Emmy Award-winning gospel music TV program on the city’s NBC affiliate for 9 years, Pollard also co-produced two TV specials (2006 and 2007) with proceeds benefiting Coats for Kids, a project co-sponsored by her radio station and the Salvation Army. For the last three years, her radio program has partnered with Ebenezer AME Church and Savon Foods to provide Thanksgiving baskets for families in the metro Detroit area.

Because of her success in the classroom and in media, she is often invited to serve as a MC and motivational speaker in a variety of settings where her message is that each day brings new opportunities to create, re-create, and excel.