Dr. Jennifer Lynn Gross is both a Professor of History and Gender Studies advisor for students at JSU. Gross grew up in Anniston, but attended the University of North Caroling to earn her BA in History and the University of Richmond for her MA in History. She graduated from the University of Georgia with both her PhD in History and her graduate certificate in Gender Studies.

Gross has been teaching at JSU since 2001, having started after earning her PhD. She is teaching U.S. History (HY201, HY202), American Women’s History (HY436/HY535), and American Civil War & Reconstruction (HY453/HY553) at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Gross enjoys her American Women’s History classes the most, as the students are the most receptive and engaged, exploring history while also having fun. Gross’s favorite part of teaching is watching her students begin to understand the importance of learning history. “For so many students, high school history was something they hated because it was all memorizing names and dates for a test. I love to facilitate the intellectual awakening in students where they can see the connections between the past and what’s going on in the world around them today.” The talent and engagement of her colleagues is the best part of the History and Foreign Languages department itself for Gross.

Gross is currently preparing for Women’s History Month at JSU and the celebrations she helped plan, including, but not limited to, an essay contest for the local schools. She takes great pride in having created this essay contest and hopes to organize one for Black History Month in the future. Gross is also an active scholar and is becoming increasingly invested in the application of her scholarship to her residence. “I just finished an essay that explores the removal of Anniston’s Confederate monument and juxtaposes that with the ongoing efforts to commemorate the Freedom Riders and the role Anniston played in that history,” she shared. “I’m also finishing up final edits on a book about the experience of widowhood in the post-Civil War South.”

In her spare time, Gross is always completing DIY projects with her partner. She also sews, reads, and watches her teenagers’ sporting activities (when she isn’t attempting to get them to take part in a DIY or two).

Gross’s advice to students is as follows: “College is a time for you to explore new things and figure out what you want to spend the rest of your life doing. Keep an open mind and decide for yourself what’s important to you.”