Jean E. Dawson graduated from Winthrop College with a B.S. in health/physical education in 1973. Upon graduation, she began her teaching career as an orthopedic teacher at Abbeville County School District from 1974-1976. During this time she was involved in the preparation and participation in the Special Olympics of South and North Carolina. She moved from Abbeville to Dixie High School as a teacher of health and physical education along with coaching duties. While coaching at Dixie, her team won the state volleyball championship along with four upperstate and five conference championships. She was named Conference 1-A "Coach of the Year" in volleyball and softball. In her spare time, she coached a successful women's basketball team. While at Dixie High School, she completed her M.S. in physical education at University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
In 1983 Ms. Dawson left Dixie High School to take the position of Assistant Professor of Health and Physical Education at Erskine College. She left Erskine to pursue a graduate degree from Georgia State University, which she completed in 1989. In 1989, she was named assistant professor at DeKalb College, where she continues to teach and serve as an associate professor and the assistant department chair at what is now Georgia Perimeter College. She has won numerous awards including being named Health Educator of the Year by Southern District AAHPERD, Georgia Health Educator of the Year, and Teacher of the Year by Abbeville County School District. She has made numerous presentations at the state, district, and national levels. She remains active in the profession.
While at Winthrop, Ms. Dawson played volleyball for three years, basketball, field hockey, and tennis for one year. She was chosen to run the High School Play Day during her junior year and served as president of the Student Section of SCAHPERD. While president of the Student Section, she helped organize a student convention at Myrtle Beach under the guidance of Drs. Bobb, Griffin, Taylor and Ford. She lived for four years in Bancroft Hall where it was a 30 second walk or a 15 second "break neck" speed trip to Peabody.
Jean Dawson is an avid golfer and more importantly a good golfer. She was invited to participate in the Top 60 Georgia Women's Amateur Golf Tournament and won the Georgia Women's Golf Amateur Tournament (Four Ball) with Sue Schoeder in 2001.