SALISBURY — Veteran journalist Kimberly Harrington of Lilesville has joined Livingstone College as assistant director of public relations.

Harrington is an award-winning journalist with 23 years of experience in journalism and six years in public relations and marketing. She has been a staff writer and editor for numerous community newspapers in North Carolina and South Carolina.

“I consider this a full-circle moment,” Harrington said. “Livingstone was my first introduction to a historically black college as my sister attended there when I was in junior high school. It is where I became enamored with the idea of college life.”

Harrington’s career started at her hometown newspaper, the Anson Record in Wadesboro. She was news editor of the Richmond County Daily Journal in Rockingham, city editor of the Enquirer-Journal in Monroe and, most recently, editor of the Pageland Progressive Journal in Pageland, South Carolina.

She was a columnist for the Charlotte Post while working as director of marketing and public relations for Sandhills Regional Medical Center in Hamlet.

Harrington has won awards for her writing, design and photography from press associations in both Carolinas, including a 2016 first-place award for breaking news.

A community volunteer in her spare time, Harrington serves on the HOLLA! (Helping Our Loved Ones Learn and Achieve) board of directors in Wadesboro. She is gala chairman for the Richmond County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Foundation in Rockingham. She is a former member of the Richmond County United Way board of directors and a former Richmond County Chamber of Commerce ambassador.

A graduate of Winston-Salem State University, she is the daughter of Sarah Harrington of Lilesville and the late T.C. Ratliff.

State Alexander, executive assistant to the president and director of public relations at Livingstone College, said Harrington’s wealth of experience, skillful writing and infectious energy have already made her a key addition to the college in advancing its mission of being a holistic learning environment.

“She comes already familiar with the school’s history being of the AME Zion denomination and having been exposed to the campus previously,” he said. “We are fortunate to find someone of this caliber with a familiarity of the school to fulfill this role.”

“I am excited to start a new challenge and work alongside a team to further develop efforts that will take Livingstone College to a new level of excellence,” Harrington said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to promote all that is great about this historic institution and let everyone know what I’ve known for a long time — you can get life out of a stone.”

Livingstone College, affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, is a private historically black institution with a commitment to quality instruction. Through a Christian-based environment suitable for learning, it provides liberal arts and religious education programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to develop their potential for leadership and service. For more information, visit www.livingstone.edu.