Wesleyan Magazine Spring 09

Magazine

Administration Ruth A. Knox ’75

President of the College

Vivia L. Fowler

Dean of the College/Vice President

for Academic Affairs

Patricia M. Gibbs

Vice President for Student Affairs

f rom t h e

President

C. Stephen Farr

Vice President for

Enrollment Services

Richard P. Maier

Vice President for Business

and Fiscal Affairs/Treasurer

Deborah J. Smith ’76

Vice President for Institutional

Advancement

Wesleyan Magazine Staff Susan Welsh, Editor

Director of Communications

swelsh@wesleyancollege.edu

Brandi Vorhees, Art Director Mary Ann Howard, Staff Writer

Welcome to the Winter 2009 issue of the Wesleyan Magazine! As our cover suggests, we are celebrating the inspiring leadership of Wesleyan women in ministry and service to others - from the pulpit and the pew. Founded with a philosophy of servant leadership as a cornerstone of our mission, the College continues to build on that historic legacy. Our Wesleyan experience, now as always, is defined by academic excellence in the liberal arts, faith and intrinsic values, and a commitment to serving the world community. That experience has influenced countless Wesleyan women to serve as both clergy and lay leaders in churches and ministries throughout the country and beyond. You will enjoy learning more about those we highlight in this issue.

Cathy Coxey Snow ’71

Director of Alumnae Affairs

csnow@wesleyancollege.edu

Melissa Landrum

Assistant Director of

Alumnae Affairs

mlandrum@wesleyancollege.edu

Wende Sanderson Meyer von Bremen ’80

Class Notes Editor

Printing Panaprint Photography Cover by Grant Blankenship.

Special thanks to Neal Carpenter at inWard Studio, Roger Idenden, Grant Blankenship, Jason Vorhees, plus alumnae and friends for providing photos.

Wesleyan Magazine is published twice a year by the Wesleyan College Office of Communications 4760 Forsyth Road Macon, GA 31210-4462 phone (478) 757-5134 fax (478) 757-5104 Contents may be reprinted with permission of the editor.

We also bring you examples of current students in ministry and service to others, including through our Wesleyan Disciples program. In their own words, these young women tell us about the impact this thriving program is having on their personal growth and spiritual development as they lead Sunday Chapel and Bible study and organize community projects on and off campus. We hope you’ll connect with these students and then help spread the word of our successful campus ministry programs. Encourage a young woman in your congregation or community to visit campus and feel the excitement herself!

As we expand and enrich the spiritual life at Wesleyan, we are determined as well to create a permanent home for our faith based programs once again. Many of you remember the first Pierce Chapel that was an integral part of our original campus on College Street.

Since our move to Forsyth Road more than 75 years ago, chapel services have rotated among several locations including the Benson Room of the Candler Alumnae Building where we meet now. With the encouragement and support of alumnae, students, faculty, and friends alike, the College has set as a priority the design and construction of a new Pierce Chapel, named for Wesleyan’s first president Bishop George Foster Pierce and honoring the many members of his family who have continued to lead and serve the College. We are in the early stages yet, but more news will follow soon.

Other exciting reports include Wesleyan’s success with the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship Award Program, our campus-wide commitment to sustainability, and a new Master of Education degree program. We also feature several wonderful students who have taken a non-traditional route to Wesleyan and whose talents add considerably to campus life. If you’re looking for Class Notes, don’t worry –– you’ll find lots and lots of those online!

Be prepared for this issue to take a bit longer to read than usual. The reason is that we’ve combined the feature articles and content of our Wesleyan Magazine with the donor information of our Annual Report, all in an effort to use our precious resources wisely without sacrificing the fun of sharing great stories about Wesleyan in a timely manner.

Instead of a spring magazine, fall magazine, and annual report, we published a larger summer issue and now a larger winter issue that includes our year-end results. So, we use the second half of this combined publication to thank each of you who supported Wesleyan College this year through gifts to scholarships, endowment, special projects, and the Annual Fund. We do thank you!

Despite the economic challenges that affect us all, your loyal support continues to be unwavering –– and we are grateful beyond measure for the generosity of so many. You are helping us enrich and expand our academic and co-curricular programs, to be sure. Just as important, you are helping to ensure that every qualified woman, young and not so young, can enjoy a Wesleyan experience that will inspire her to become a leader in service to her church, profession, and community –– as every Wesleyan woman should. Thank you for that priceless gift.

This issue is filled with love, hope, and our very best wishes to you all!

C o n t en t s We s le yan Magazin e W int er 2 0 0 9

2 8 12 15 18 24

Wesleyan Women in Ministry From pulpit and pew, engaged in service to the world

Preparing New Disciples Campus ministry creates broad witness

Helping Ugandan Mwana One Wesleyanne’s journey to Humble School

Phi Kappa Phi Success Wesleyan’s small chapter is getting big attention

Leading the Way to Green Wesleyan commits to campus-wide sustainability

No Time Like the Present Nontraditional students raise the bar

28 The Art & Teaching of Meg Campbell 30 Forbes 15th Best Value Ranking 34 New Master of Education Program 38 Alumnae Club News 43 2009 Annual Report

Photo by Grant Blankenship Pictured: the Reverend Harriette James Simmons ’64, 2interim rector of Christ Church in Macon.

Wesleyan women in ministry

T

hroughout the last two millennia, few issues have been as controversial in religious circles as the role of women serving as pastors and preachers. As Western culture shifts its view of women, awareness of women’s rights spreads across the world. Modern culture continues to influence biblical interpretation, inviting serious debate about how women

serve the church. While denominations and local churches redefine their roles for future leaders, many Wesleyan alumnae are already fully engaged in ministry and serve with passion, despite challenges, from pulpit and pew.

They view ministry as a vocation, both a career and a calling. And they claim women must use their unique gifts to minister as pastors, missionaries, teachers, historians, and counselors.

Although women make up the majority of most congregations, relatively few women actually serve in positions of authority. It is estimated that half of all persons in seminary are women, yet only ten percent of all clergy in the United States are women and only three percent of congregation leaders are women. The United Methodist Church recently celebrated its fiftieth year of ordaining women into ministry. In 1976, eleven women were ordained in Philadelphia before the Episcopal Church changed its laws to permit female ordination. The Unitarian Universalist religion is the first major faith group with a majority of female clergy.

However, according to researcher Bruce A. Robinson with the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, many Christian faith groups still refuse to consider women for ordination, including the Roman Catholic Church, all Eastern Orthodox churches, a minority of provinces within the Anglican Communion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and many fundamentalist and other evangelical Protestant denominations. Clergywomen who face opposition must challenge interpretation of scripture. Opponents of female ordination cite St. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:2: “I permit no woman to teach or have authority over men; she is to keep silent.” Proponents also point to St. Paul’s words, in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In a report published in 2002, Women’s Path Into Ministry: Six Major Studies, religious researcher Dr. Edward C. Lehman, Jr. argued that women’s ordination is one of the most significant recent developments in American religion, fostering change in churchgoers’ attitudes toward women in leadership and expanding the concept of ministry beyond the local congregation.

Drawing upon research conducted between 1982 and 1998, Lehman claimed that women have successfully navigated seminary education and, at the same time, introduced many changes in theological education. Despite female success in seminary, some denominations still resist or refuse to accept women as pastoral leaders.

Lehman contends that the position of those who discriminate against women in the church is incompatible with core Judeo-Christian values of justice, freedom, and other-centered love. Ironically, he says, secular institutions such as politics, industry, business, law, education, and sports are doing a better job of applying those values than are churches that subordinate women as a matter of policy.

As more church members recognize that discrepancy between Christian values and exclusionary policies, church structures will continue to open up to women.

Although Lehman predicted that evolution could take a generation or even a century to occur, many Wesleyan women are working to speed the process. Though they admit gender discrimination exists, they are not deterred and claim ministering skills and gifts are not gender-specific.

Many Wesleyan women in ministry credit their alma mater for preparing them to pursue advanced degrees, formal training, and leadership roles. Paige Getty ’93 realizes that, perhaps because of the progress made by her older female colleagues, she 4

has never felt particularly oppressed or mistreated. At Wesleyan she was nurtured just enough, and challenged even more, so that she could confidently recognize her gifts for ministry. Paige earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard University in 1999 and currently serves as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, Maryland.

When Ann Godwin Denham ’57 was growing up in the Methodist Church, women could not be ministers and were excluded from full ordination. Although she had never seen a woman in the formal role, Ann was inspired by tales of her great grandmother, who rode a mule with her two young daughters to speak at camp meetings on the frontiers of Tennessee.

As a teen, Ann talked openly about her dream of becoming a preacher.

“One of my male friends at church warned me: no man will marry you,” she recalled. “Wow, I thought. Of course I would marry; these were the fifties, after all!” Ann married after her junior year at Wesleyan. Four years and three babies later, she returned to school and finished her degree. In 1963 Ann graduated from Northeastern while her husband earned a doctorate from Harvard. After relocating to Tennessee, Ann, then in her late thirties, enrolled in divinity school at Vanderbilt University. She was fairly well accepted though she was the only woman in the pastoral program and there were no women on the faculty. Ann was the only woman in her graduating class of 1971. She has been told she is the second woman in Tennessee to become an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church.

Ann was ordained, but never served as pastor. “Jobs were hard to come by.

Still, I’ve always known myself as called to preach,” she said. “I see preaching now as a willingness to share knowledge, self, and life.” In 1982, Ann surrendered her ordination and was confirmed as a Catholic. Today she volunteers at her parish, serves on committees, teaches scripture, organizes fundraisers, and leads retreats. She co-authored a book with Gert Wilkinson, Cloister of the Heart: Association of Contemplative Sisters. Though some Catholic policy concerns Ann, she’s found her home. Catholics, she said, are hungry for scripture. Now that women are giving Gospel Reflections at mass, she feels her gift for preaching has been given back to her.

Over the years, female scholars pursued religious study and earned degrees that could not advance their careers. Today, though most congregants still prefer male clergy in the pulpit, women hold a great

number of leadership positions in many churches. Jennifer Stiles Williams ’93 currently serves as the minister of relational evangelism at St. Luke’s in Orlando, the largest United Methodist Church in the Florida conference.

As her career advanced, she served twice in churches in which she was both the first woman and the youngest pastor.

“The challenges for women in ministry are very different from those faced by our male colleagues,” Jennifer said. “From the pitch of your voice to being a voice of authority in issues of finances, from being pregnant in the pulpit to things as silly as rethinking the wireless microphone because you don’t have a belt.” Jennifer has helped grow the membership of several churches in small communities, and admitted that a bit of notoriety surrounds her because of the interest people have in the novelty of a woman pastor. She feels that in a church now where there are two main preaching voices, a male and a female, many members find themselves going to two services because they enjoy different perspectives on the same scripture.

According to Jennifer, there is something unique and distinctive about the gifts of women in ministry. She sees women leading with less hierarchy in a flat system of staff and laity. “This leadership is pivotal in postmodern emerging church ministries and is attractive to younger generations in our culture looking for a different definition of church. People are looking for a different, more accessible voice to help them experience a faith journey, and hearing a woman pastor may offer them an entry point into the church.

And honestly,” she said, “the story of the birth of Jesus during a candle lit Christmas Eve service just has a different feel when it’s preached by a nine-month pregnant woman, weeks away from birthing her first son.”

Jennifer’s first encounter with someone opposed to women ministers was at a Bible study in Macon while she was a Wesleyan student. A man from another denomination told Jennifer, whose father was a minister at the time, that while women teaching Sunday School was fine, women leading congregations went against God’s ordinances and would be punishable in hell. While Jennifer was in college, both her mother and her sister became pastors and were ordained into The United Methodist Church. Jennifer said, “I had never actually known a woman pastor before my sister entered seminary in the 1980s, but ironically, I also never even considered this was an issue for people.”

Jennifer claimed the pioneering efforts of Bishop Charlene Payne Kammerer ’70 encouraged her to explore in depth what

“What is that old adage? We make our plans and God laughs?” Ann Godwin Denham ’57 it means to be a woman in leadership.

Kammerer attended Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned both the Master of Christian Education and Master of Divinity and discovered her calling to preach, leading to her ordination as deacon in 1975 and elder in 1977 in the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. In 1991, she received the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Kammerer is a Wesleyan woman of many “firsts,” including being the first woman ordained as a United Methodist minister in Florida; the first woman in the United States to be appointed as Minister to a University or Dean of a Chapel, serving in that capacity at Duke University in 1983-84; and the first woman to be a District Superintendent in Florida, where she served the Tallahassee District from 1987 until 1993. In 1996, she made history again when she became the first woman elected bishop in the nine-state Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Kammerer served eight years in the Western North Carolina Conference and currently serves in the Virginia Conference, where she displays courage, conviction, and compassion as the spiritual leader for hundreds of thousands of United Methodists.

In May of 2007, Kammerer returned to Wesleyan to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity and delivered a powerful commencement address. “When The United Methodist Church made it difficult for me to be ordained because of my gender,” she said to the graduating seniors, “I had to fight to not let the church rob me of my calling. Over and over again, as the church has appointed me to serve, my very presence has opened doors that had long been closed to women. I cannot imagine not being in ministry, for it is my vocation. It is who I am. It has never been easy –– being a wife, minister, mother, and grandmother, in that order –– but it has been extraordinarily fulfilling. Part of my journey has been to mentor other women who themselves have felt called to ordained ministry, but didn’t know anyone who was living that life. I have known several Wesleyan women, who were in my congregations or in campus ministry where I served, who are now ordained and serving in many ways. This brings me great joy.”

As more women become ordained across the country, some leaders claim to experience wider understanding and acceptance from their local congregations.

The Reverend Harriette James Simmons ’64 is currently serving as interim rector of Christ Church, the oldest church in Macon.

Established in 1825, this Episcopal church has a congregation of approximately seven hundred. Before Harriette decided to enter seminary, she married, had four children, sold real estate, and worked in a bank. She was baptized, confirmed, and married in the Episcopal Church.

Throughout her adult life, she had always been involved with her church and, for years, her friends encouraged her to pursue seminary.

“I knew for a long time I should do this,” she said. “I was just scared to.” When her youngest daughter was ten years old, Harriette woke up one morning with the resolve to try. So she, her husband, and their youngest daughter moved to Suwanee, Tennessee, where she enrolled and spent two years at the University of the South. “My husband joked that I must be having a mid-life crisis!” said Harriette. “But he has been enormously supportive.”

In 1994, Harriette earned a Master of Divinity from Emory University. Within a year, she was serving as priest at Christ Church. In 1997, Wesleyan presented Reverend Simmons with the Alumnae Award for Distinguished Service to the Church. She moved to Augusta in 2002 and served as associate rector at St. Paul’s and rector at St. Augustine’s before returning to Macon in 2008. According to Simmons, women’s involvement in the church is increasing. She feels that God sent her to Christ Church to accomplish several important goals: increase attendance, re-engage inactive members, re-claim former members, and make sure everyone is happy.

Like Harriette, many Wesleyan women in ministry have serious goals to grow membership and manage large budgets.

When Reverend Jenny Jackson-Adams ‘62 entered the field of ministry, she followed the footsteps of her father, grandfather, and great grandfather who were all Methodist ministers. She is well

respected for her leadership and vision, and earned recognition from former President Jimmy Carter who praised her ministry in a chapter of his book, Living Faith (Random House,1996). Currently, she is the senior pastor of Perry United Methodist Church, a fast growing church with approximately 1,400 members. Prior to entering the field, Jenny taught history and anthropology and worked in radio and television advertising and broadcasting. In 1989, Reverend Jackson-Adams served as pastor of Morningside UMC in Americus, Georgia. Under her leadership, membership increased 300% and the operating budget tripled.

According to a 2006 New York Times article reporting research from Duke University Divinity School, men and women usually hold similar positions in their first decade after ordination. However, in their second decade in ordination, seventy percent of men have moved to larger congregations compared to only thirty-seven percent of women. As a result, women tend to leave church positions at a higher rate than men and the attractiveness of ministry as a career choice may be lessened. But even when leadership positions are available, according to Jennifer A. Johnson ’92, many women clergy must balance career ambitions with family responsibilities.

In 2007, Jennifer was named associate pastor of children’s and family ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Ashland, Mississippi. Although Jennifer served as pastor of two churches in Mississippi prior to moving to Ashland, she considers her current role as associate pastor to be “her dream job” because it allows her to concentrate on her particular mission of working with young adults.

When Judy Johnson Whitwer ’59 attended seminary, women were expected to go into mission work or Christian education, and that’s what she did. She served as director of Christian education at First Congregational Church in Norwood, Massachusetts, before she married her husband, Reverend Ken Whitwer. “In the 70s women were becoming more accepted in ministry,” she said. “Women have been in ministry in our denomination since the 1860s, so the IDEA of ordained women was not new but there weren’t Continued on page 42

Photo by Grant Blankenship

The everyday ministry of Annie Mae In 1933, Annie Mae Leonard (Mitcham ’90) was a third grader in a one-room schoolhouse in Butler, Georgia. Her teacher, a loving and caring woman, would let Annie Mae lay her head on her shoulder and she’d tell Annie she was going to grow up to be somebody.

“That’s what she said. Just like that. I remember the place, the time. I was only eight years old and I remember it to this day,” said Annie Mae. “That encouraged me, and that’s why I’ve always tried to encourage children.”

Annie Mae understood that when you give love away, you get love in return.

She credits the Lord for the blessing of that understanding and, over the years, has encouraged countless children to achieve their fullest potential. They grow up, become successful, and tell her that she made the difference –– that they are successful because she told them they would be. And because she told them to never give up.

Annie Mae Leonard married Wilbur “Chef” Mitcham in 1944, and immediately they began a family. Annie knew it was important to set an example, so while their children were in school, she took correspondence courses, went to night school, and earned a high school diploma from the Dudley M. Hughes Vocational School. Annie and her husband reared and educated ten children.

Inspired by Annie’s strong spirit, her children worked hard to earn scholarships that helped them graduate from top universities like Vanderbilt, Mercer, Ft. Valley State, and the University of Philadelphia with degrees in engineering, medicine, and education. Her youngest daughter, Dr. Julia Mitcham Daniley, earned a doctorate degree in education and is assistant principal at Northeast High School in Macon. “My mother has been an inspiration to not only her own children, but to all people,” she said. “I am blessed. It took me some time to decide what I wanted to do with my life and she never took her hands off me. For that, I am thankful!”

When her youngest child graduated from college, Annie enrolled at Mercer University and studied there for two years before transferring to Wesleyan.

Annie Mae was the oldest student in her classes and admitted that was a little uncomfortable at first, but she wasn’t intimidated. “I knew why I was there,” she said. Believing there was “no resting time,” Annie Mae went to school in the mornings and worked as a teacher’s aid at Danforth Primary School in the afternoons. In 1990, at the age of sixty-four, Annie Mae Leonard Mitcham graduated from Wesleyan College with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies.

Annie Mae grew up the youngest of twelve children. Her mother reared her family working as a maid and taught Annie that in order to be successful, one had to accept Christ as her personal Savior and put him first in everything she does. At the age of thirteen, Annie Mae did just that. She was baptized in an outdoor pool at Hopewell Baptist Church. “That’s when the Lord came into my heart and told me he loved me,” she said. “When you feel loved, all that low self-esteem and selfishness just goes away. And then, you can start giving love.”

Annie Mae kept reading the Bible, which she now calls her weapon, and continued to grow in her faith. “My goal was to come out of college prepared to teach religious training at Memorial Baptist Church,” where she has been a member for sixty-five years.

own prison ministry by corresponding with youth who have taken the wrong path. “I tell them that what they did was wrong, but with faith in God, they can be forgiven,” she said. She encourages young people “to keep the faith, grow, and move forward. Then, reach back and get one…bring another one along.”

Annie Mae Mitcham is not an ordained minister. She thinks she can be more effective with her everyday ministry, spreading love and care to children and elderly friends. With passion, she volunteers at church, always reminding others who and why to worship. Annie Mae’s work ethic, strong belief in education, and spirituality have been passed down to twenty-six grand children and several great grandchildren.

Granddaughter Shynita Dudley is a junior at Wesleyan and part of the Pioneer Teachers Program, working toward a degree in early childhood education.

Shynita credits her grandmother for her academic success thus far. “I grew up knowing education was a priority, but that spirituality was ultimate,” said Shynita. “My grandmother has had a remarkable influence on my life and it is an honor to follow in her footsteps at Wesleyan.”

Today she teaches Sunday School to high school seniors and serves as a trustee and a Sunday School advisor at Memorial Baptist Church. Located on Norris Street in Macon and built in 1924, Annie’s church “is like a second home to her family and is a congregation of one hundred members.” All ten Mitcham children were baptized at Memorial Baptist.

Annie also volunteers at Progressive Christian Academy (a private elementary school in Macon) and The Tubman African American Museum, and conducts her

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

W is e Photos by Neal Carpenter

8

Preparing new

“Being surrounded by smart, driven women with a passion for God has made me so much stronger in my faith.

The women in my Bible study challenge what I know, hold me accountable to my faith, and provide a shoulder to lean on in rough times. I’ve realized that in order to speak about my faith and teach a Bible study, I have to be where I need to be with Christ first.” Wesleyan Disciple Taylor Bishop Leaders of the Methodist Church were instrumental in the 1836 founding of Wesleyan, the very first college in the world to grant degrees to women.

Today Wesleyan remains deeply committed to her long-standing affiliation with The United Methodist Church and continues to build on the ideals of the church through dynamic programs for Wesleyan women. Complementing Wesleyan’s outstanding academic program, faith and service organizations like the Methodist Wesley Foundation, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Gospel Choir, Catholic Newman Club, Inter Varsity, Lane Center Servant Leaders, and Episcopal Canterbury Club invigorate our campus. One program, Wesleyan Disciples, is particularly exciting.

Wesleyan Magazine Summer 2009

In 2005, under the inspiring leadership of beloved chaplain Reverend Bill Hurdle, the College developed Wesleyan Disciples, an innovative student program designed to create a broad Christian witness on campus. The program began with just six students who were all committed to spiritual formation, intentional Bible study, servant leadership, and the practice of a healthy lifestyle. Wesleyan provided minimal scholarships to these students who agreed to make a special commitment to the Christian faith and to community-wide servant leadership.

Immediately successful, the program grew to fourteen students by its second year. Currently, the group boasts twenty-eight members, and generous donor support has allowed scholarships to double to $1,000 for each year a Disciple serves. The interdenominational, inter-racial, and international group leads spiritual life on campus and serves in the Realizing Our Dream of Pierce Chapel After many years of anticipation, the College has set as a priority the design and construction of Pierce Chapel, named for Wesleyan’s first president Bishop George Foster Pierce and honoring the many members of his family who have continued to lead and serve the College.

While the first Pierce Chapel was an integral part of campus life at the original conservatory on College Street, our chapel services have rotated among several locations at the Rivoli Campus for more than 75 years, including the Benson Room of the Candler Alumnae Building currently.

Alumnae, students, faculty, and friends alike have championed for a signature facility to house the College’s chapel services, Chaplain, and rapidly growing faith-based programs. The new Pierce Chapel will be designed with a capacity of about 300-350, giving us the ability to use the space on occasion as a music performance venue for organ, piano, and choral concerts and recitals that call for a more intimate setting than the much larger auditorium in the Porter Family Memorial Fine Arts Building. The design and construction of the Pierce Chapel will require $5,000,000.

Wesleyan’s renewed and increasingly effective emphasis on faith and shared values reflects both our historic roots and our purpose for the future, and this aspect of Wesleyan’s mission should have a permanent home in Pierce Chapel. To learn of naming opportunities available in Pierce Chapel and other ways to support our dream, please call Debbie Smith in the Office of Institutional

community, honoring their commitment to theological study and servant

Advancement at (478) 757-5131.

Sunday night worship services with an average attendance of forty or

10

leadership. Each student Disciple assumes major responsibility for the planning and leadership of all Christian worship services during the year, especially Sunday Chapel. In addition, she agrees to be involved in a study session that has a Biblical emphasis once each week and to be an active participant in designated service opportunities throughout the year.

“Through Wesleyan Disciples, I found a core group of Christian friends that I can rely on and who empower me,” said Florence Priester. “Although we come from different places and different churches, we all have the same desire to be strengthened spiritually, to explore the Scripture, and to serve as leaders on the campus and in the community. During Bible studies, we try to have a lot of open discussion and we try to ask and answer questions that go beyond just the surface of a story or text. Studying and discussing with fellow Wesleyan Disciples in Bible studies has caused me to think more deeply about the Bible and about my own spiritual journey. When I first joined the group as a freshman, I never dreamed that I would one day be a leader of the group! I feel that God has led me to find an inner strength that I didn’t know I had.”

According to Wesleyan Chaplain Bill Hurdle, the Disciples make a major spiritual impact on the campus. “It is rewarding to watch these students grow both in terms of their spirituality and in the ability to witness publicly in their own way,” he said. “This transformation is spilling over into the lives of many others. This year, the Disciples planned and led nearly thirty

more students. These same students led more than fifty hours of Bible study. While they were accomplishing the foregoing, they logged over one thousand hours of volunteer service, both on and off campus.”

Miriam Oakes became a Disciple during her first year at Wesleyan and values Sunday Chapel as an opportunity to get away from the stress of school. “As Chapel Music Chair, I find the worship aspect particularly close to my heart, and I absolutely love getting a chance to worship with my sisters,” she said. “Wesleyan Disciples has helped my spiritual growth in

Methodist Scholarship Opportunities Wesleyan is proud of its long relationship with The United Methodist Church and offers several scholarships for Methodist students. The Wesleyan College United Methodist Student Scholarship of $1,000-$5,000 per year is awarded to incoming students of Methodist faith and is renewable for eight semesters. Also, Wesleyan connects students with other scholarship, grant, and loan opportunities available through Methodistaffiliated organizations. Nominate a prospective student for one of these scholarships:

ways that I am continuing to discover. Having the opportunity to lead the worship has given me the chance to grow in God more than I ever thought I could. It has given me perspective about how God reaches people and how he reaches me; he has taught me how to speak his word through music, and not to be afraid of it.”

Taylor Bishop joined Wesleyan Disciples last year as a first-year student

The Mary Knox McNeill Scholarship is one of Wesleyan’s most prestigious award programs.

It provides two $16,000 scholarships annually to first year students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement along with a commitment to faith and community service. Each scholarship recipient actively participates in the Wesleyan Disciples Program.

and is already taking a leadership role in the planning of Sunday Chapel services. This semester, she’s also taking a Readings of Religion class and loves it. “My favorite book of the Bible is Colossians. It’s a call to action!

A call to love! It holds such a powerful message! I’ve never felt a call to the ministry. But this past summer, I was given the opportunity to lead the youth at my home church in Moultrie and it truly was one of the most enriching and life changing experiences to date...so who knows what God has in store for my life,” she said.

“I value the deep connection that everyone in the group has. The feeling that twice a week, you can pour your heart out to women who know exactly what you’re going through,” said Taylor. “During Bible study or before chapel, it’s a perfect time to share what’s going on in your life with friends who want to hear it. I love the sense of family I have among the Wesleyan Disciples, not to mention that every single woman in the group is loads of fun!”

Many have connected on a personal level with Wesleyan Disciples, according to Hurdle. “The program was immediately successful with students and has unlimited potential to train Christian leaders who will set high examples among their peers,” he said. “Because of our student Disciples, Wesleyan is inspired by the possibility of expanding the faithbased programs on our campus and we hope that members of The United

The Margaret Pitts Endowed Scholarship awards financial support to Methodist women who have held leadership positions in their churches and schools. Margaret Pitts was a devout Methodist who was generous with both her resources and time to Methodist causes throughout her long life. This scholarship has been funded through the generous support of the William I.H. and Lula E. Pitts Foundation, which was established by and named for Margaret Pitts’ parents.

The Era Monk Bryan Scholarship honors the memory of Era Monk Bryan, class of 1897, and the seven generations of her family serving the Methodist Church as ministers. This scholarship is awarded annually to one or more students who are active members of a United Methodist Church congregation and are planning to pursue a career in either clergy or lay service in The United Methodist Church.

The W. Stiles and Eula May Booth Scholarship was inspired by Christ’s instructions to “feed my lambs.” The fund benefits a junior or senior student in the Wesleyan Disciples program who is involved and participates in a local chapter of the United Methodist Women.

Methodist Church will help spread the word about Wesleyan Disciples, raise scholarship funds, and recruit more students.”

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

Helping Ugandan Mwana

By Loving Example One Wesleyan missionary’s journey to Humble School “On my first trip to Africa, I realized something – looking at pictures in National Geographic and being there are entirely different things. Twelve of us were on a mission trip in June 2009 to conduct training for local pastors and a Vacation Bible School for area children. Our first day was a normal workday in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Men on motorcycles waited on street corners.

Open-air markets sold a variety of produce and meat, purchased daily due to lack of refrigeration. The mode of dress was primarily American, although many women wore traditional garb, carrying children in slings on their back and all manner of bundles on their heads.

The ‘bush’ was a bleaker picture. Rarely were roads paved and potholes dropped twelve inches or more. Vehicles were scarce and every available square foot was used to grow potatoes, sugar cane, and beans.

People walked for miles to get water.

Children played in front of the places where they lived – some clothed, some not – as women cooked on open fires and washed clothes in a dishpan. ‘Wealthy’ people had doors and windows in their houses, which sat next to mud huts with thatched roofs.

Everywhere we went, children ran wildly to the van in which we rode, calling out Mazoonga or ‘white man,’ a term synonymous with ‘money.’

In this environment, thousands of African children are orphaned each year by HIV/ AIDS, civil war, or poor health and nutrition.

Also in this environment, Humble School was born.”

Sally Anderson Hemingway ‘79 12

The Humble United Methodist School was

their plans to develop a secondary school.

will be relatively easy for the scholarship

the vision of a group of United Methodists

Being acutely aware of my renewed

recipient to assimilate into life at Wesleyan

in the United States who dreamed of a

enthusiasm for all things Wesleyan,

College,” said Hemingway.

partnership with The United Methodist

the seed of a Humble School graduate

Church in Uganda to create a place where

attending Wesleyan on a full scholarship

“The people of East Africa need to

orphaned children could grow up in safety,

was planted in his mind.”

know they aren’t adrift in the world, that

be cared for and given a balanced diet and medical care, and receive an education.

they’re a part of the larger connection,” In 2009, Wesleyan announced its decision

said

Hemingway.

“We

are

now

to offer a full-tuition scholarship to one

developing a plan to endow a room

The small school was started in 2004 to

female student who has completed her

and board scholarship to accompany

serve children from war-ravaged areas

secondary education at Uganda’s Humble

the full tuition scholarship. Some have

and those from homes affected by HIV/

School and who meets the College’s

already heard

AIDS. “Humble” is an acronym for

basic admission requirements. Wesleyan

and have volunteered their time and

“Helping Ugandan Mwana by Loving

anticipates that a student from Humble

resources to make this happen. The

Example.” “Mwana” is the Ugandan

School might be ready to enroll in the fall

seedling continues to grow. There is

word for children. Today, Humble School

of 2012.

no better place for a young woman

boasts brick buildings with concrete slab

about the scholarship

from Humble School to study and be

floors, windows with curtains, real desks,

“We know the value of opening our arms

equipped to return to Uganda armed

and bunk beds with mattresses and

and campus to the world, and we know

with the passion and skills necessary to

sheets. They have their own well and an

what an international campus means to

make a difference. Encouraging hope and

indoor kitchen. Most importantly, they

the students of Wesleyan,” said Dr. Vivia

instilling confidence is one of the things

have dedicated teachers and dormitory

Fowler, vice president for academic affairs

the Wesleyan family does best. From this

“mothers” who daily instill solid principles

and dean of the college. “We realize that

point forward, Wesleyan’s partnership with

of order and responsibility and oversee

there are many students around the world

Humble School will serve as a beacon of

chores and personal care. Plans are now

for whom higher education is not within

hope to Humble students. Wesleyan saw

underway to develop a secondary school

their means, and we are honored and

the need and reached across the world in

for graduates from the primary school who

proud to do this.”

generosity and faith.”

would benefit from further education.

This scholarship will give one student the

Pictured below: Sally Anderson Hemingway

Wesleyanne Sally Anderson Hemingway

opportunity for post-secondary education

‘79 traveled to Uganda to present Wesleyan’s

‘79, who serves as assistant to Wesleyan

that she might not otherwise have. In

new scholarship program to administrators

President Ruth Knox, and her husband,

Uganda, between 9,000 and 12,000

of the Humble United Methodist School.

the Reverend Tim Hemingway, had the

students per year qualify to join post-

vision to support a student from the

secondary education, but only about

Humble School. When the Hemingways

twenty-five percent actually enroll due

approached

administrators

to the cost and limited slots available

with the idea, the College embraced

at Makerere University, Uganda’s only

the opportunity and developed a new

government-funded institute of higher

scholarship program.

learning.

“This came together in a convergence of

Wesleyan

events that fit together so perfectly, the

students for more than one hundred

only explanation can be that God did it,”

years. Fifteen percent of the College’s

said Sally. “At the South Georgia Annual

current student body is made up of

Conference in June 2008, my husband

international students, with nearly twenty

was very moved by a performance of the

countries represented. “With our high

Humble School Choir, and he learned of

percentage of international students, it

Wesleyan

has

hosted

international

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

of a Student Missionary At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, Wesleyan Junior Eliza Cato would like to think she remained optimistic, experienced the fullness every experience had to offer, and improved someone’s life along the way. Her daily goal, or rather her life goal – the very purpose for her existence – is to benefit the people with whom she comes in contact. No drama, no ulterior motive. She’s not pushing an agenda. This human service major claims she simply wants to help people live better lives.

When Eliza graduated from high school in Wilmington, North Carolina, her mother encouraged her to travel before she started college: take six months…see some things.

So at just eighteen, she left the comforts of her home and set out to volunteer with an organization called Youth With A Mission, an international, interdenominational Christian family of ministries spreading God’s love through words and actions in almost every country of the world. Two years later, Eliza had traveled through France, Switzerland, Japan, and Australia and touched the lives of homeless people, refugees from Sudan, and children in need of love and attention.

Soon after her return to the United States, Dr. Susan Wyllys Wallace ’72, a family friend, encouraged Eliza to consider Wesleyan.

Eliza toured the campus, decided it was a good fit, and applied. Soon after Eliza applied, she was admitted and awarded 14

the Presidential Scholarship. Though she didn’t know it when she enrolled, Eliza later discovered that her great-grandmother, Addie Mae Henson, is a Wesleyanne who graduated in 1916.

A day in the life of Eliza on campus includes class, hanging out, and involvement in a wide variety of activities.

She has served as a Wesleyan Disciple and is actively engaged in service projects like developing a book-loan service for students and organizing a major community free-cycling event to increase awareness of consumption, recycling, and other environmental concerns.

As a Wesleyan student, Eliza’s call to mission work has strengthened. During summer break, she volunteered with a humanitarian group working in India. Her work included taking rice and bandage kits into leper colonies and helping victims with general first aid care. Because there are so many leper colonies in India, the group can only make rounds once or twice a week and victims must learn to change their own bandages.

According to Eliza, the disease is still a critical concern in India and victims are relegated to the colonies. “They are sequestered, shunned. They can’t go out and can’t get jobs. They are stigmatized. It is very sad,” she said. “They crave human contact so (in addition to offering food and first aid) I’d just hang out with them.”

Leprosy is not very contagious and there is a cure, but the fear of being exposed as a leper and labeled an outcast often keeps people from seeking medical attention. Despite the challenges of a day in the life of a student missionary working with underprivileged adults and children stricken with leprosy, Eliza’s experiences in India solidified her desire to help people in poorer countries by providing clean water, food, information on disease prevention, and basic human needs.

According to Eliza, every situation can offer so much more than you expect …if you are open to it. She credits Wesleyan for helping students remain open to experience a wide variety of transformational experiences. “People at Wesleyan are like a family,” she said, “and each of us takes a personal interest in helping one another succeed and grow – it’s a supportive community where people actively create an environment for young women to flourish.”

A day in the life of Eliza, she hopes, will always include travel so that she may experience different cultures and connect with a wide variety of people.

“I desperately want to continue doing humanitarian aid and raising awareness about social issues. That’s the one thing in my life that I have been passionate about.”

Wesleyan’s

Phi Kappa Phi Success Let the love of learning rule humanity This spring, eight students were inducted into the Wesleyan College chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, one of the nation’s most selective academic honor societies.

Recent history suggests that one of the eight has a great chance of receiving one of the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship Awards.

Every year, hundreds of students vie for one of the fifty-seven Phi Kappa Phi $5,000 Fellowships awarded to members throughout the country entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each college chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for the societywide awards. Other valuable scholarships also are available through Phi Kappa Phi’s national awards program, including a limited number of study abroad grants and three Fellowship Awards valued at $15,000 each. For many years, the society awarded forty Awards of Excellence of $2,000 each.

Wesleyan College has the rare, but distinguished, honor of graduating an unusually large number of Phi Kappa Phi Award recipients over the last ten to fifteen years. Because the Graduate Fellowship competition is open to all of the honor society’s chapters, Wesleyan students compete against students from hundreds of universities and colleges of all sizes across the nation. Since 1996, Wesleyan has claimed eleven recipients of the prestigious awards and fellowships, an extraordinary distinction for a college of Wesleyan’s size.

“During the early 90s,” said Wesleyan Associate Dean and Registrar and Phi Kappa Phi Member Pat Hardeman ’68, “the faculty members of our chapter made a concerted effort to encourage students to compete for the Graduate Fellowship Awards. As more students became interested in advancing to graduate school, we became intentional about raising awareness of the awards

program and encouraging highly qualified students to prepare thoughtful and thorough applications. We really mentored students through the process.

And as a small close-knit community, when a student received the award we all celebrated the achievement. Of course, that inspired others to work even harder on their applications.”

In 2006, Wesleyan’s success in the Fellowship Award program was recognized by the organization’s national headquarters and featured on their website. At the time, Phi Kappa Phi National Headquarters Executive Director Perry Snyder said, “I know of no other college of Wesleyan’s size that has fared so well in the competition.” Since 1996, only a small number of colleges and universities in Phi Kappa Phi’s Category I (5,000 students or less) have claimed recipients of the award. Wesleyan College is the smallest of those, but is competing with (and out-ranking) the category’s larger universities like University of Tulsa, US Military Academy, and Elon University, each of which have almost eight times Wesleyan’s enrollment.

“We would expect to see that success rate at a large research university with a student enrollment of 30,000 or more,” Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

remarked Roy Blackwood, National Director of Fellowships for the honor society. “Wesleyan’s extraordinary record is directly attributed to the quality of its student body and the involvement of its faculty and staff.” According to Blackwood, the Fellowship committee wouldn’t notice a college’s size because it is not a factor in determining the awards.

But, he noted that it is an interesting factor when comparing a college’s success rate in the award arena, serving as a strong indicator of the academic climate of Wesleyan College.

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and largest honor society and recognizes academic excellence in all fields of higher education. Its chapters are on more than 300 campuses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Each year, approximately 30,000 members are initiated. The Wesleyan chapter was established in 1969. Although chapters previously had been established at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia, Wesleyan was the first to establish a Phi Kappa Phi chapter at a college in Georgia. The honor society’s name was inspired by the Greek words that form its motto: Philosophìa Krateìto Photôn or “let the love of learning rule humanity.” Its mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

As of Fall 2009, Wesleyan’s chapter includes eight seniors (Jessica Albrecht, Lisa-Marie Brandt, Nakisha Duncan, Helen Likins, Alexandra Radu, Nur-Taz Rahman, Rhea Walsh, and Kaleigh Watkins) and nine faculty and staff members (Chapter President Nadine Whitney, Treasurer/ Secretary Betty Shewfelt, Past President Teresa Smotherman, Glenna Meyer, Jim Ferrari, Pat Hardeman, Ruth Knox, Mathew Martin, Cathy Snow, and Susan Allen).

Since its founding, Phi Kappa Phi has initiated more than one million members.

According to members at Wesleyan, the achievement is more than a line on a résumé. The group is a global community of scholars and professionals comprised of the best and brightest from all academic disciplines. Membership in the honor society is earned and is by invitation only.

Those who qualify include: juniors who have completed seventy-two credit hours and rank scholastically in the top 7.5% of 16

their class; seniors and graduate students who rank in the top 10% of their class; and faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Members must be of sound character and enrolled at a college or university with a chapter.

“Phi Kappa Phi membership held me to a high standard and motivated me to achieve higher goals as a college student,” said 2009 Fellowship Recipient Chen Chen ’09. According to Chen, the society rewards those who demonstrate great intellectual curiosity and academic potential. “It is not a coincidence that Wesleyan students have been awarded Phi Kappa Phi scholarships consistently for the past decade. Wesleyan’s small class sizes encourage interactions between students and professors, and this helps develop our critical thinking skills –– skills that are crucial in any academic field. In that sense, I feel like what I learn is not as important as how I learn it.”

2002 Fellowship Recipient Chenny Quan Gan ’02 claimed membership in Phi Kappa Phi not only helped her achieve higher goals but also put her in touch with like-minded Wesleyannes, who were academically motivated and goal-driven.

“We were mentored by outstanding members of the faculty, who also were society members, and encouraged to pursue a vision for ourselves and for the future within a nurturing environment.

Beyond Wesleyan, Phi Kappa Phi remains a valuable network for me, a way to keep in touch with scholars around the country and around the world,” she said.

The Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship Award helped Gan complete two master’s degrees in music at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro –– one in piano performance and the other in piano accompanying. She later earned a Doctor of Musical Arts, and now performs and teaches internationally. “I chose to take the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship to UNCGreensboro,” said Gan, “where I met some of the most important teachers of my life – teachers who have broadened my vision and helped me clarify my goals in my field. Over the years they have become valuable mentors, close friends, and supportive colleagues, and I still contact them regularly. Furthermore, the Fellowship made graduate studies easier and helped to alleviate some of the financial stress of living in a new city,

allowing me the time and freedom to focus on my studies.”

Phi Kappa Phi’s ongoing commitment to excellence is reflected in its scholarships and awards programs. The Society has awarded approximately $12.7 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, more than $800,000 is awarded each year to outstanding students, members, and chapters through the society’s various awards competitions.

Phi Kappa Phi sets high standards for its award recipients. Selection committees evaluate applicants based on many factors, including academic recognition and awards, campus and community involvement, leadership experiences, and quality and scope of proposed programs.

According to 2000 Fellowship Award Recipient Melissa Graham Meeks ’00, “Wesleyan’s success with the Phi Kappa Phi award program is not surprising given the faculty’s commitment to grooming students for graduate study and professional life through intensive practice in researching, writing, discussing, and presenting ideas. Few faculty labor alongside and on behalf of their students like Wesleyan faculty.”

“Winning the national award certainly helped my application to a prestigious graduate program,” said Meeks. “Most of my graduate school colleagues came from larger institutions with much broader reputations like the University of Chicago and Brown University. The Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship helped me make the case that a woman from a small, private liberal arts college in Macon, Georgia, could be successful. Plus, the Fellowship funded a significant portion of my first-year of graduate school.”

Phi Kappa Phi helped 2005 Fellowship Recipient Erin Rooney Riggs ’05 earn a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University. She graduated magna cum laude from Wesleyan in 2005 with a degree in biology, and earned departmental honors in natural sciences and mathematics. Now, she is working with Emory University’s Department of Human Genetics as a pediatric genetic counselor.

Wesleyan’s success in the Fellowship arena extends to other areas as well.

One Wesleyan student, Lindsay Beth Rosenquist Burns ’06, received the Phi

Kappa Phi Study Abroad Scholarship that sponsored her 2005 research in Berlin, Germany. After four weeks at an intensive language school, she interned for six weeks in the law department of a German lobbying firm, translating legal documents for the European Parliament.

“Studying abroad in Germany was a great experience, and the Study Abroad Scholarship was a great help financially,” said Burns. “One of my professors informed me about the scholarship and helped me through the application process.

My professors helped me take advantage of many great opportunities. In fact, I still continue to receive help through Wesleyan’s professors, most recently with my letters of recommendation for law school, but also for numerous other applications throughout the years. This individualized attention coupled with amazing opportunities is the combination that drew me to Wesleyan College in the first place. Wesleyan had a number of great opportunities, especially in comparison to its size, but also due in part because of its size. Wesleyan’s size provides students with a close relationship to professors as well as other classmates, which is simply priceless.”

Other Wesleyan graduates and Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Award recipients are Virginia Dicken ’03, Hannah Leah Callender ’01, Janet Ruth Fallon ’97, and Sherry Virginia Neal ’96. Award of Excellence Winners include “Lois” Huei-Yu Chen ’07 and Yuliya Rumenova Ivanova ’07.

2007 Award of Excellence Recipient Yuliya Rumenova Ivanova ‘07 was accepted to one of the world’s most competitive master in finance programs at Carnegie Mellon University. The international student from Botevgrad, Bulgaria, was a 4.0 summa cum laude graduate who majored in economics and business administration and minored in math and finance. Currently, she is pursuing an MBA at the University of Iowa.

One year later, Yuliya‘s classmate also won the Award of Excellence. “Lois” Huei-Yu Chen ’07 double-majored in economics and international relations (with a French minor) and was accepted to master’s programs in public policy at several prestigious universities including London School of Economics and Carnegie Mellon University.

She decided to pursue her graduate studies in London.

“Eleven Phi Kappa Phi recipients in fourteen years is an impressive record! But of course, I’m not surprised,” said Gan. “It is what Wesleyan is all about, giving extraordinary young women the tools and confidence they need to achieve extraordinary things. I’m proud to stand in the ranks of Wesleyan alumnae who have achieved this, but I know there will be many more to come.”

Recent Phi Kappa Phi Award Recipients: 1987 HOnORaBLE MEntiOn: Meredith Gay Garrett ’87 – doubled majored in biology and chemistry; earned a doctorate of medicine from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; completed her surgical residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; currently practices medicine in the Washington, DC area and is Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons.

1996 FELLOWSHiP: Sherry Virginia Neal ’96 – majored in biology; graduated from UGA School of Law; returned to Wesleyan and taught business law as an adjunct professor; currently practicing law at Neal & Wright LLC in Atlanta specializing in domestic adoption; serves with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.

1997 FELLOWSHiP: Janet Ruth Fallon ’97 – created an interdisciplinary major in environmental economics; graduated from Washington and Lee University School of Law; currently in private practice.

2000 FELLOWSHiP: Melissa Graham Meeks ’00 – majored in English; earned a Master of Arts in English and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition at UNC Chapel Hill; currently a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

2001 FELLOWSHiP: Hannah Leah Callender ’01 – majored in mathematics; earned a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Mathematics at Vanderbilt; currently researching in the area of mathematical biology to create mathematical models of cell signaling pathways.

2002 FELLOWSHiP: Chenny Quan Gan ’02 – double majored in music and studio art; earned a Master of Music in Piano Performance and a Master of Music in Piano Accompanying at UNC Greensboro; earned a Doctor of Musical Arts at University of Southern California; has released three CDs; currently performs and teaches internationally and has plans to open a music school in Germany.

2003 FELLOWSHiP: Virginia Dicken ’03 – majored in psychology; currently working on a graduate degree in Psychology at Southern Illinois University.

2005 Study abroad Scholarship: Lindsay Beth Rosenquist Burns ’06 – majored in international relations; interned domestically in the field of community development in California; earned a Master of Arts in Political Science & Community Development and a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies from Illinois State University; currently in law school at the University of Wisconsin (Madison).

2005 FELLOWSHiP: Erin Rooney Riggs ’05 – majored in biology; earned a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University; currently working with Emory University’s Department of Human Genetics as a pediatric genetic counselor.

2007 aWa aW RD OF ExCELLEnCE: Yuliya Rumenova Ivanova ’07 – majored in economics and business administration management; native of Botevgrad, Bulgaria; currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Iowa.

2008 aWa aW RD OF ExCELLEnCE: “Lois” Huei-Yu Chen ’07 – doublemajored in economics and international relations, with a minor in French; currently working on a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management at the London School of Economics.

2009 FELLOWSHiP: Chen Chen ’09 – majored in chemistry with a music minor; currently pursuing a graduate degree in chemistry at Stanford University in California.

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Photos by: Neal Carpenter

Leading the way to

sustainability “Global warming is a defining challenge of our time. Human activities are largely responsible for the problem, and working together humans have the capacity to solve the problem.

That means taking serious action today to stop adding global warming pollution to the atmosphere. Wesleyan College is committed to leading the way.” – Ruth A. Knox, 2007 In 2007, Wesleyan College President Ruth Knox committed to reducing and eventually neutralizing the College’s global warming emissions and accelerating the research and educational efforts to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. The pledge came with Knox’s signing of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), joining the leaders of 400 other institutions across the country. To date, 656 colleges have signed.

The ACUPCC is the first such effort by any major sector of society to set climate neutrality – not just a reduction – as its target. This undertaking by America’s colleges and universities is inspired by efforts like the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, and other collective efforts by states and businesses.

climate action measures proposed by the Sustainability Committee. The CAP will frame the energy and climate action measures in the appropriate context – that is, historical campus emissions, a campus-wide greenhouse gas reduction target, and forecasted emissions trajectory – and provide return on investment analysis of the major measures being implemented.

A crucial first step in developing the long-range plan required the College to estimate its impact on the environment by measuring the energy consumption of the campus community.

Compiled and summarized in a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, the data collected only represents a one-year period but provides an essential foundation for determining Wesleyan’s strategy for achieving environmental sustainability.

In 2007-2008, according to the inventory, Wesleyan produced 6,989 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, with electricity (at 5,688 MT eCO2) accounting for 81% of our overall emissions. Emission source categories associated with Wesleyan’s operations are purchased electricity, stationary sources, transportation, agriculture, and solid waste disposal.

Since joining the ACUPCC, Wesleyan has been developing a comprehensive long-range Climate Action Plan (CAP) to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on the campus and to ensure that the curriculum includes related educational and research efforts. Immediately, the College formed a Sustainability Committee comprised of faculty, staff, and students to work collaboratively toward developing the longrange CAP and initiating various short-term plans.

Although long-range strategic plans for sustainability are still being finalized, College administrators agreed to take some steps soon after signing the ACUPCC, like purchasing only Energy Star certified products where those ratings exist and attempting to renovate one of the major academic buildings, Taylor Hall, as a LEED Certified green building.

Some of the work on that historic facility, which was built in 1928, has already been completed, including replacing its original windows with modern, energy-efficient ones.

Wesleyan’s CAP will include energy efficiency work that the College currently has underway or planned, plus additional

During 2007, Wesleyan officials met with several firms who specialize in energy efficiency and selected one, LincHays,

Wesleyan Wesleyan Magazine Magazine Fall/Winter Winter 2009 2008

to help the College map out a strategy for upgrading lighting, HVAC systems, and other equipment to lower our energy consumption.

“During the past year,” according to Vice President for Business and Fiscal Affairs Rick Maier, “the College completed the first phase of a comprehensive energy efficiency project, spending more than $3 million to make repairs to chillers throughout the campus and install new air conditioning units, lighting, stateof-the-art DDC controls, and a new steamer in our kitchen, resulting in reduced energy use, lower repair expenses, and a significant improvement in comfort, efficiency and reliability for the residence halls and academic buildings within its scope. The second phase of the LincHays project will cost approximately $2 million more, and Wesleyan is working diligently to raise the necessary funds to complete this important work. We are especially thankful for Cal Hays and Todd Pierson at Linc/Hays, who donated a new energy-efficient dishwasher for the dining hall that allows water to be heated without the use of the old boiler. A generous gift!”

Members of the Sustainability Committee continue to meet with consultants, including energy experts, local recycling firms, and foresters, all in an effort to find partners who are most

likely to help us develop a plan that works and that we can reasonably expect to implement. “We have secured estimates and proposals for solar support systems to reduce our reliance on electricity and metering systems to measure the energy usage of each building,” said Dr. Venus Dookwah-Roberts, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and chair of the Sustainability Committee. “Various consultants have visited our campus to help audit our energy consumption and offer advice about alternative energy saving measures, such as geothermal energy, wind energy, solar energy, and water conservation.”

Currently, 100% of the College’s electricity supply comes from Georgia Power. While exploring solar power is worthwhile in the long-term because of Macon’s geographic location, shortterm reductions in energy consumption are anticipated through improved infrastructure and education. Options for obtaining greenhouse gas emission offsets from our natural acreage and planting pine trees will also be explored. Recently, Wesleyan received a $16,000 grant from the 2009 Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program to be used in evaluating how our forested acreage could provide carbon offsets for the rest of the campus. A community-wide event, Tree Hug & Measure, was organized during November to inventory and measure the trees in the College’s arboretum.

Initiatives inspired by the Pre In addition to the College’s strategic plans to reach carbon neutrality, many faculty, staff, and student-organized initiatives continue to gain momentum and increase awareness about sustainability issues both on and off campus. Go Green! with Wesleyan by supporting the following initiatives: Monthly Wesleyan Market Event In April of 2008, Wesleyan invited the community to experience its newest event, the Wesleyan Market. Held monthly during spring, summer, and fall, the fun outdoor community event features a variety of locally grown and produced items ranging from flowers and organic produce to baked goods and work of local artists. Music, fun, and educational events also are offered. Vendors vary monthly, but generally offer fresh produce, pecans, preserves, perennials, shrubs, artisanal cheeses, eggs, barbeque, Brunswick stew, whole bean coffee, cakes, cookies, breads, honey, pollen, hand-made soaps, sea salt, herbal teas, boiled peanuts, and fresh shrimp. The Wesleyan Market exemplifies Wesleyan’s commitment to take an active leadership role by adopting innovative programs to encourage students and members of the greater community to live greener lives. The event helps to increase access to locally grown produce and products. Hundreds of community members attend the event each month.

20

Forest Stewardship Council certification During 2009, Wesleyan’s Office of Communications developed relationships with new printing partners whose business practices support the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Purchasing FSC-certified paper and print products contributes to conservation, responsible management, and community level benefits for people near the forests that provide our paper.

Carrying the FSC-certification logo on print products tells the world that Wesleyan supports the highest social and environmental standards in the market where we use paper. In June, Wesleyan printed its largest publication, the admission Viewbook, using FSC-certified paper. No extra costs were incurred, and options for other large publications to be printed under the FSC guidelines are underway.

Anthony Homes Community Garden Faculty and students of Wesleyan’s Environmental Concerns Committee revitalized a children’s garden for the community residing in Macon’s Anthony

Homes Housing Development. Originally, the volunteer group broke ground and established the garden during a massvolunteer service initiative called WOW! A Day for Macon and was featured on 13WMAZ’s Saturday Evening News. Twice each year, during the WOW! A Day events, the Environmental Concerns Committee works with members of the community to maintain the children’s garden.

Purchasing Local Produce Wesleyan Dining Services, along with its parent corporation ARAMARK, is taking an active eco-friendly leadership role on campus by adopting innovative programs to encourage students to live greener lives. Nationally, ARAMARK has been researching new programs designed to help clients reduce their carbon footprint. During spring 2008, according to Director of Dining Services Laverne Fender, “Wesleyan began buying locally grown produce in every instance when it’s available. By buying local, we’re helping the farmers in our area financially. The produce gets to us much faster, thereby

“A significant component of Wesleyan’s ongoing commitment to sustainability includes goals to maintain the beauty of the College’s landscaping and natural forest,” said Knox. “To care for the priceless green space that we are blessed to have, Wesleyan is developing a long-term plan for our landscaping, including how to replace trees that we lose, anticipate losses (like the aging cherry trees), and maintain what we have.”

Although the official institutional Climate Action Plan is still a work-in-progress, just signing the Climate Commitment inspired departments across campus to incorporate new business practices that conserve energy and reduce waste, such as new online admission applications and eMarketing strategies to recruit new students, direct deposit of employee payroll and financial aid, online student handbooks and paperless academic catalogue DVDs, and new software to restrict excessive use of campus printers.

As a community, the campus evaluated its recycling practices and adopted procedures to encourage greater participation, like placing sorting receptacles for paper, plastic, and aluminum in the library, all administration and academic buildings, and on each floor in every student residence hall. Recycling efforts at Wesleyan are studentled with removal duties assigned to our physical plant staff. During 2008, the campus community recycled twelve tons of material.

In May of 2009, Wesleyan adopted a Responsible Purchasing Policy as one of the tangible actions required for compliance with the ACUPCC. This policy guides departments and vendors to purchase environmentally preferable equipment and services whenever available and financially possible and applies to a wide spectrum of products including appliances, HVAC equipment, electric motors, office equipment, lighting and signage, cleaning chemicals and paper, and consumer electronics. Under the policy, departments agree to research options and allow certifying organizations such as Energy Star®, EPEAT™, and Green Seal® to help guide purchasing decisions.

Follow Wesleyan’s lead and Go Green! with us. A new website section offers news and resource links related to the Climate Commitment. The information is designed to inspire students, staff, faculty, alumnae, and other website visitors to implement creative approaches to reducing individual carbon footprints.

Educational information and links on the Carbon Footprint 101 page define terms like carbon footprint, offset emissions, and carbon neutrality. Visitors can calculate their carbon footprint and set goals to lower their impact. Find it under News & Info at www.wesleyancollege.edu.

residents Climate Commitment making it much fresher. And, we’re aiding in the reduction of diesel fuel and gasoline usage.” Dining Services introduced a new brand of coffee in the dining hall that is eco-friendly as well.

Water Conservation in the Dining Hall In August of 2008, students returned to campus to find a new “Tray-less Dining” policy in the Anderson Dining Hall in an effort to conserve water and reduce chemical use. Diners now carry plates and glasses to their tables without using individual serving trays. The Dining Services staff measured the water consumption required to wash the trays and reported their findings to the campus community. According to ARAMARK, during the academic year nearly 4,750 meals are served each week in the dining hall. When each diner used a tray, the dining staff used 792 gallons of water per week to wash just trays. By eliminating trays in the dining hall, we save 25,344 gallons of water and $1,859 per year in chemicals. Nationally, Tray-less Dining also has helped decrease the amount of food waste that occurs. Current plans are being developed to compost food waste.

Green Seal Certified Cleaning Products Wesleyan’s custodial partner, National Management Resources Corporation, is committed to helping maintain clean, sanitary, and safe environments for our campus community. National strives to use cleaning products that are biodegradable, packaged using recycled materials, and sold in a concentrated form. National values the guidance of Green Seal, an independent non-profit organization that certifies products that have a minimal impact on building occupants and the outdoor environment while still delivering high performance. All of the paper products used in campus restrooms –– toilet paper and paper towels –– are Green Seal certified and 100% recycled.

Also, one of the main all-purpose cleaners used, a hydrogen peroxide based cleaner, is a Green Seal certified product.

National now is purchasing vacuum cleaners that are equipped with high efficiency particulate filters. Recently, they transitioned to using microfiber cleaning cloths and are in the process of implementing a microfiber dust mop and damp mop system. Because these new microfiber cleaning cloths can be used with little or no cleaning products, they

are better for the environment. Many of these specialty cloths can be cleaned and reused, so there is less to throw away.

Printer Management System In March 2009, the Computer and Information Resources Department implemented a new printer management system to cut paper and printer toner waste. The new software program tracks the copies made by each student and restricts excessive use of our campus printers. Students are allotted a defined number of copies per month and given the option to purchase additional copies if necessary. The CIR department measured print usage and waste across campus and discovered that, as a community, we were printing over 90,000 pages each month in the residence halls, academic center, and library, which equated to roughly 30 feet of stacked paper. The initial goal for the new system is to reduce usage by at least 20% over the remainder of the 2009 academic year. Computer Resident Assistants were trained on the new Printer Management System and spent several weeks helping students, faculty, and staff members configure their computers to work with the new system.

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

Springing up & crumbling at will Under the direction of Wesleyan Professor of Art John Skelton, studio art students have been creating beautiful stacked-stone sculptures inspired by the environmental art of Andy Goldsworthy. A British sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist living in Scotland, Goldsworthy produces site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. His art involves the use of natural and found objects to create both temporary and permanent sculptures that draw out the character of their environment. Although Goldsworthy’s art often includes flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, and twigs, he is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing.

Much environmental art is ephemeral and will disappear or transform.

Often environmental art is designed to inhabit a particular site and can not be moved. Such art may involve “distributed ownership” and is a collaboration between the artist and others, such as scientists, educators or community groups. In a general sense, it is art that helps improve our relationship with the natural world. For his ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials. Like Goldsworthy, the Wesleyan students take their fragile work right to the edge of its collapse, a beautiful balance.

22

New Yellow Ribbon Bill

m e ets t h e n e e d s of mi l i ta ry veter a n s Elyse Jones was nineteen years old in 2002 when she

To qualify for the new program, the student must have

was called to active duty in the United States Air Force

served at least thirty-six months of active duty after

and almost gave up her goal of attending college. Seven

September 10, 2001, or be honorably discharged from

years later, she exited the Air Force as a Staff Sergeant

active duty for a service-connected disability having served

and became a first-year student at Wesleyan. Now, she is

thirty continuous days after September 10, 2001, or be a

working toward her dream of becoming a dermatologist

dependent eligible for Transfer of Entitlement under a

or biology professor and credits the new federal Yellow

Post-9/11 GI.

Ribbon Bill for opening doors that might otherwise have been closed.

Wesleyan will contribute $8,750 each year for students who qualify, and has designated a maximum of

“I love the small, private setting of Wesleyan,” she said. “I

ten undergraduate scholarships for the 2009-2010

couldn’t have made a better choice.” Wesleyan, too, made

academic year. Veterans Affairs will match Wesleyan’s

a wise choice when College administrators decided to fund

contributions, resulting in full tuition scholarships for

the new program, matching federal financial support for

as many as ten qualifying students. Currently, only two

students who have qualifying military service.

Wesleyan students are receiving grants through the Yellow Ribbon Program but several more are

This year, the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement

awaiting VA approval.

Program was added as a provision to the Post-9/11 Veterans

Educational Assistance Act of 2008. As a result, beginning

According to First-year Wesleyan Student Whitney Kimble,

August 1, 2009, Wesleyan and other private colleges

the Yellow Ribbon GI Bill is very important to her family,

around the country voluntarily agreed to work with The

as she might not have been able to attend a private

United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) to fund

college like Wesleyan without the grant funding. Whitney’s

tuition expenses for Iraq and Afghanistan war-era veterans.

father served in Iraq and Afghanistan while the family was

stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

In the past, the VA has helped fund tuition and fees for veterans attending private colleges, but only up to an

The program allows career service members to share their

amount that matched the tuition at the most expensive

education benefits with immediate family members such

public college in the state. Now, institutions that voluntarily

as a spouse, children, or any combination of spouse and

enter into a Yellow Ribbon Agreement choose the amount

child. A spouse may use the benefit immediately while

of tuition and fees that they will contribute and the VA

a child may use the benefit after the career service

matches that amount, often resulting in a full scholarship

member has completed ten years of service in the

covering the entire cost of tuition. VA does not limit the

Armed Forces.

dollar amount it will match; however, the amount cannot exceed 50% of the student’s unmet charges.

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

L

no time like the

present

At fifty-eight, Susan Middleton was restless. “At the time, my older brother reminded me of my age,” she said, “and suggested that I might want to take time to consider what I wanted to do with the next twenty, possibly last highly productive, years of my life.”

She spoke with friends, community leaders, and colleagues hoping for insight, feedback, and maybe even advice. She spent time at a retreat center to pray and reflect, hoping to become more open to the opportunities she had in her life.

At fifty-nine, Susan decided to retire early from her successful law practice and pursue a life-long dream, the teaching and study of music. She opened a small business called Sue-Sue’s Primo Piano and began teaching beginning piano students. Motivated by a desire to be better prepared for her students, Susan auditioned for Wesleyan’s music department and was accepted. “When I arrived for my first piano lesson with Professor Eikner,” she said, “I was returning to the formal study of music after a forty-three year hiatus.”

Enjoying every moment, she is thriving and on track to graduate with a second bachelor’s degree in 2012.

“Wesleyan is a competitive yet non-competitive environment,” she said. “I don’t know any other way to describe it. You’re challenged to do your very personal best but, at the same time, you’re part of a collaborative team. The longer I’m here, the more fun it is.”

Many adult women arrive on campus as accomplished professionals. Some wish to advance their careers while others come here to study subjects purely for the love of learning. The College’s Encore Day Program is designed for women who are returning to college and wish to take part in the traditional college experience. Wesleyan attracts scores of adults interested in starting a college career, continuing an interrupted college program, or just taking interesting courses for personal growth and enjoyment. Wesleyan even offers on-campus housing for non-traditional students.

“Wesleyan students aren’t all eighteen to twenty-one.

Some are thirty. Some are forty-five. Some are sixty-plus.

Our nontraditionally aged students don’t exist on the fringes of the college experience,” said Vice President for Enrollment Steve Farr. “Older students are full members of our community. They bring extraordinary experiences, aspirations, goals, and maturity to our campus. Our 24

classes are small, focused, and personal. And often, adult students raise the benchmark for their classmates and encourage spirited discussion and debate.”

Susan Middleton said she spent her entire professional life using her left brain for logical analytical thinking. Now, she is using her right brain, letting the artist inside come alive and thrive. Fellow Encore Student Shirley Blunk is also continuing her education for personal growth, hoping to fulfill her dreams and creative aspirations. After earning an associate degree in 1975 and working one year toward a bachelor’s degree at the University of West Florida, she ran out of college funds and joined the military. In October, Shirley retired from Robins Air Force Base after thirty-two years of combined federal service.

Shirley served eight years active duty with the Air Force and, after an honorable discharge, became a civil servant at the base. From July 2002 until retirement, Shirley was the management assistant for the band of the United States Air Force Reserve, which consists of fifty full-time professional musicians who are assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command. The band travels in excess of 100,000 miles per year performing more than 400 concerts. Shirley played clarinet, bagpipes, and sang with the AFRC Band for eight years while in active duty with the Air Force during the 70s and 80s. She performed clarinet with the concert band, served as a vocalist or bagpiper for retirement ceremonies, and even performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as a tenor drummer.

“Over the years,” said Shirley, “I yearned to complete the bachelor’s degree in music education that I had once begun. Although I am a clarinetist, I’m taking advantage of the music track at Wesleyan, in which I can continue training in other instruments and voice. I’m currently studying piano with Professor Edward Eikner and voice with Dr. Nadine Whitney.”

Over the last three years, Shirley taught private music lessons and became serious about completing her music degree. She auditioned for and received a scholarship from the music departments of both Mercer University and Wesleyan. It was Wesleyan’s 9-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio that influenced her decision to enroll and begin classes in August. “It is exciting to continue where I left off years ago,” Shirley said. “My perspective is better now than it was in my youth. I have a greater appreciation for learning and skills development. I am learning more about myself as I face these present challenges.”

“Every time I am on the Wesleyan campus it is pure magic for me. I have returned to my art, and what I experience when I’m in class is genuine, grateful, innocent joy.” – Susan Middleton For Shirley, continuing an education after a fulfilling career seems like a luxury, though she considers it more of an opportunity to get better equipped for the next chapter in life. Like Susan, Shirley enjoys the freedom of knowing that she doesn’t necessarily have to begin a whole new career.

Wesleyan Encore Student Starling Thornsberry agreed, “Yes, it is a luxury! I am truly motivated to absorb every ounce of information and be the best I can be – maybe because I feel that life is very short and I need to make the most of everything I do.”

Starling earned an Associate of Science in 1984 and a Bachelor of Science in nuclear medicine in 1986. She worked as a nuclear medicine technologist for ten years and then put her career on the back burner to devote time to her children. She has always been creative, helping others with decorating projects. She developed an appreciation for art, started painting, and realized she wanted formal training. When her children were old enough to be in school all day, she felt it was the perfect time to go back to school and pursue something she truly enjoys doing.

Accomplished Artist Betty Bivins Edwards graduated from The Women’s College of Georgia, now Georgia College, in 1967 with a major in math and a minor in art. After teaching math for three years, she recognized her real passion was art. She began doing handcrafts and became a professional

artist in 1981. Soon afterward she decided she “needed more education and sought to study under Wesleyan’s internationally known art faculty.” Betty is not working on a second degree. Instead, she audits classes.

“I love coming and taking classes,” she said, “because it is one of the best things to do to keep your mind fresh!” Betty appreciates the opportunity to audit classes, which many colleges and universities don’t allow, because she can further her knowledge and hone her skills but still work on her paintings at home.

All four women agree that older students bring a great deal to the classroom because of their life experiences, former academic preparation, and exposure to many diverse situations. They enjoy studying with younger students and hope to inspire them to continue to learn throughout their lives. Susan Middleton thinks older, seasoned, and perhaps “spicy” women bring an energy and enthusiasm that springs from a grateful heart and a sense of “WOW, I never knew I would be able to do this.”

“Every time I am on the Wesleyan campus it is pure magic for me,” said Susan. “I have returned to my art, and what I experience when I’m in class is genuine, grateful, innocent joy.”

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

The Women of the House: One Hundred Years, One Georgia Family “The key would not turn. My cold hand and numb fingers could not lock the front door of Mother’s house, and I stood shivering on the front porch, shaking as much from frustration and grief as from the chill of a gray January afternoon in Middle Georgia.

I remembered the frequent tantrums of my childhood when I had lain down on the floor of the porch and kicked the banisters as hard as I could. Now I could only mutter, ‘Damn the perversity of inanimate objects.’ Instantly I knew that I was quoting Grandmother’s expression. I kneed the heavy door as I turned the knob and pushed. The old door, with a familiar grudging screech, allowed itself to be reopened, and I stood again beneath the high paneled ceiling of the wide front hall.” Jane Anne Mallet Settle ‘47

So begins The Women of the House: One Hundred Years, One Georgia Family

by Jane Anne Mallet Settle ’47. The nonfiction trilogy is a collection of true life stories about three women from three generations of one Georgia family. Being a fourth generation “woman of the house” and a witness to many chapters, Settle spent two decades sifting through a wealth of papers, letters, and photographs of the three women she writes about - greatgrandmother Janie, grandmother Hattie, and mother Mary (Wesleyan class of 1917) – whose stories, Settle writes, are “twined tenaciously like honeysuckle in more than a hundred years in Middle Georgia.”

In all, five generations have lived in the McKibben-Lane-Mallet house on Third Street in Jackson, Georgia. A sixth generation has only visited. The house was built in 1892 by Janie McKibben, the first woman of the house. Almost immediately after the house was complete, her daughter Hattie, the second woman of the house, married A.W. Lane and moved to Macon where they reared their family.

When Janie died in 1913 Hattie inherited the house in Jackson. For several years she and her family, who still lived in Macon, rented out part of the house and only rarely visited. Hattie’s daughter Mary Lane was a student at Wesleyan and worked as a substitute lecturer. In 1922, Mary, the third woman of the house, married Jacksonnative Hugh Mallet and Hattie gave the 26

newlyweds the house as a wedding gift.

Jane Anne Settle writes, “The woman who owned our Middle Georgia homeplace the longest and left the most of herself in it was my mother, Mary Lane Mallet…the third woman of the house.”

Jane Anne’s older sister Marcia and from the McKibben-Lane-Mallet house. The house, which Settle owns, occasionally hosts community functions and welcomes family members who are visiting in Jackson.

Accepting the house with gratitude and joy, Mary and Hugh immediately began planning its renovation. The Mallets had five children before Hugh died in 1939 at age forty-seven. After growing up in the house her great-grandparents built, Jane Anne followed in her mother Mary’s footsteps and enrolled at Wesleyan, earning a bachelor’s degree in English in 1947. While at Wesleyan, Jane Anne worked in the president’s office typing personal letters to prospective students. World War II was in full swing and times were tough so Jane skipped fall semester of her sophomore year, took a job, and earned enough money to pay for a full year of college. Continuing the tradition, her younger sister Emily graduated from Wesleyan in 1949.

Jane Anne Mallet Settle provides a uniquely detailed and well documented account of the happiness three women and their families found in friendships, marriages, children, and promising careers––a happiness that helps them survive hardships from the Civil War through the Great Depression, the loss of young children, and sudden widowhood before middle age. The foundation of their strength is an intangible, inspiring life philosophy passed from one generation to the next and symbolized by a tangible link –– “Heritage,” the Jackson, Georgia, family home in which their lives were set for more than one hundred years. Though they all had the house in common, the three women of the house were distinctly different. “We built it, lived in it, continued to change it. We have taken pride in it, cared for it and neglected it, been shackled to it, ignored it, laughed at it. We have cried and found sanctuary in this house.”

Jane Anne married John “Chuck” Settle in 1947 while they were both students at Emory. They moved back to Jackson and began their family. Chuck worked as an accountant with the Defense Department and the family moved several times, living in Germany, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.

They reared two daughters: Janie is an educator in Tennessee and Nancy is a lawyer living in New York. The Settles still live in Jackson, just down the street from

The Women of the House is available at Violetpress.com and through the Wesleyan College Bookstore. Forty-eight photographs help Jane Anne Mallet Settle tell the fascinating story.

Kimball Art Center celebrates American Icon Neva Langley Fickling Neva Jane Langley Fickling enrolled at Wesleyan College in the fall of 1951 just before she was crowned Miss America 1953.

She won not only the talent competition for her performance of Toccata by Khatchaturian for piano but also the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. To date, Neva is the only Miss America in history to have the distinction of winning all three categories. Last year, the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Macon honored Neva through an exhibit of the gowns she wore during her reign. This year, the exquisite gowns toured to Park City, Utah, where they were on display in the Main Gallery of the Kimball Art Center.

The Kimball Art Center, in collaboration with the Deer Valley Music Festival, presented the national exhibition of Neva’s Miss America evening gowns designed by Ceil Chapman, Philip Huitar, and other noted designers of that era. Twelve gowns worn during Neva’s competition and reign as Miss America, including the white beaded gown she wore at Eisenhower’s first Presidential Inaugural Parade, were displayed. A Grand Opening Reception included a Salon featuring conductor and pianist Gerry Steichen and celebrated soprano Lisa Vroman, performing in Neva’s honor. Other events included a Ladies Luncheon, fashion show, and a Ladies and Girls Tea where guests had the opportunity to meet Neva.

Neva Langley Fickling’s beauty and grace continue to inspire others as she has dedicated her life to family, friends, and community. After her reign as Miss America and graduating cum laude from the Wesleyan Conservatory of Music in 1955, Neva performed and promoted music and the arts around the world. Some noted performances include those with the Utah Symphony, Macon Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Pops Orchestra, and Benevento (Italy) Symphony Orchestra. The Neva Langley Fickling Recital Hall at Mercer University was named in her honor.

She was recently named Woman of the Year by the Georgia Girl Scouts and holds many other distinctions.

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

Photo by Neal Carpenter

The Queen

of Funk Just as whimsical and unique as the artist herself, the creations of Meg Hogan Campbell ‘72 are a vast repertoire of clay, pottery, sculpture, collage, and watercolor inspired by nature and other random things that she claims to be seeing for the first time.

While well known in Middle Georgia for her work with clay, Meg recently returned to painting and collage to explore new connections among different media and techniques. In addition, she’s exhibiting new work in Wesleyan’s Cowles Myles Collier East Gallery and sharing her talent with Wesleyan as an adjunct professor of ceramics.

In the abstract, Meg is an artist.

Throughout her career, she considered herself to be trained in the abstract expressionist style with its emphasis on spontaneous, subconscious creation – no rules. Recently, she’s realized that she is an artist in the Bauhaus tradition, the

teaching of the pure arts along with the study of crafts. Bauhaus was built on the idea that design did not merely reflect society but hopefully improved it as well.

“I’m aiming for depth and zing, and I also like extremely simple art. I like to make people laugh,” she said. “I like creations that show the observer something different every time they look at it.”

Born and reared in Macon, Meg’s artistic development began early under the influence of her mother, Jane Morgan Hogan ’49. “She refused to buy us coloring books,” laughed Meg. “If we wanted to color a picture, then we had to first draw the picture ourselves.”

Meg attended the University of Georgia for three years before transferring to Wesleyan to graduate with the class of 1972. She has earned bachelor’s degrees in both art and English and also holds a teaching certificate. Today she works from the

basement in her home while a studio in her back yard is under construction.

Meg built on her own quirky sense of humor to produce a large body of work, a series of clay houses -- homes of alter ego “The Queen of Funk.” Meg’s tiny heroine appears inside each house doing interesting things that Meg herself dreamed of doing but was afraid to do. With sculpture, she said, you can make a statement if you want to. So with a roll of clay, some scoring, and a few pinches she creates unique works that reflect her personality.

“Why do I do this?” she asked. “Because I’m one dimensional. Art is just about all I like to do! I’ve spent my whole life doing something that nobody knows how to identify, which is kind of fun. Anyone can recognize art if they’re trained to recognize it. Anyone can be taught technique, style, history, application, and method, but an artist is born an artist.“ Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

15thBestCollege Buy. Academic Rating of97.

Quality of Life Rating of86.

Financial Aid Rating of 84.

Admissions SelectivityzRating of 88.

Green Rating of 83.

Wesleyan out performs...

Top 10 College of Of Distinction.

Forbes claims Wesleyan is America’s 15th Best College Buy Wesleyan College is among America’s Top 100 Best Colleges, according to new rankings from Forbes magazine. It is one of only two institutions from the state of Georgia to appear in the Top 100. Forbes magazine collaborated with Dr. Richard Vedder, an economist at Ohio University, and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), to create their own “America’s Best Colleges” list. This year marks the publication’s second annual listing. Wesleyan also appeared on the inaugural list in 2008.

In addition to its America’s Best Colleges list, this year Forbes also released a Best Value Rankings, comparing school quality to cost.

Wesleyan College appears 15th in the nation among colleges and universities offering high quality education at an affordable price.

According to the magazine’s editors, “We essentially computed a ranking that took account not only quality (as indicated by the main ranking of 600 schools) but also costs. Where does a student get the most ‘bang for the buck?’”

To produce the Best Value Rankings, CCAP divided each school’s overall quality score by its average net (after allowance for scholarship grants) tuition rate from the 2003-2004 to 2006-2007 academic years. Wesleyan is one of only 23 schools in the nation to place in the top 100 of both the Best Colleges and Best Values lists.

For its main America’s Best Colleges list, the CCAP report ranked 600 undergraduate institutions based on the quality of the education they provide and how much their students achieve once they’ve graduated. Colleges in the report represent the 30

top 15 percent of more than 4,000 institutions nationwide. The data compiled by CCAP show that students strongly prefer smaller schools to large universities. The median undergraduate enrollment in the top-50-ranked schools is less than 3,000, and none had incoming first-year classes greater than 2,000 students last year.

“Small liberal arts schools shine in our rankings,” notes Forbes, “probably due to both the quality of their faculty and the personal attention they can provide.”

The report focused on seven areas, weighted by importance: • • • • • •

•

Number of alumni in the 2008 Who’s Who in America (12.5%) Salaries of alumni from PayScale.com (12.5%) Student evaluations from Ratemyprofessors.com (25%) Four–year graduation rates (16.66%) Students receiving nationally competitive awards (8.33%) Faculty receiving awards for scholarship and creative pursuits (5%) Four-year debt load for typical student borrowers (20%)

According to the magazine, “a good college is one that meets student needs. While some college rankings are based partly on school reputation as evaluated by college administrators and on the amount of money spent, we focus on things which directly concern incoming students: Will my courses be interesting and rewarding? Will I get a good job after I graduate? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree?”

Princeton Review gives Wesleyan an Academic Rating of 97… & other recent national recognition The Princeton Review’s The Best 371 Colleges, 2010 Edition Wesleyan College offers students an outstanding undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The New Yorkbased education services company features the College in the new 2010 edition of its annual book, The Best 371 Colleges, as a Best Southeastern College and gives high ratings for academics and classroom experience.

Wesleyan Ranks High in Princeton Review’s The Best 371 Colleges • • • •

• •

Ranked 16th in the nation for “Class Discussion Encouraged” Ranked 16th in the nation for “Best Classroom Experience” Ranked 4th for low beer usage in “Got Milk?”

Ranked 4th for low hard liquor usage reported in “Scotch & Soda, Hold the Scotch” Ranked 5th on “Stone Cold Sober Schools” list Ranked 9th for low marijuana use in “Don’t inhale”

The editors of The Best 371 Colleges also offer numerical school ratings in several categories on a scale of 60 to 99. In its profile on Wesleyan College, The Princeton Review gave the college an Academic Rating of 97, Quality of Life Rating of 86, Financial Aid Rating of 84, Admissions Selectivity Rating of 88, and a Green Rating of 83. The school’s profile also quotes extensively from Wesleyan students surveyed for the book. Among their candid comments: “Wesleyan students come from all kinds of backgrounds, countries, ethnic groups, and religions;” “students

are strong-willed [and] outspoken and passionately love the work they do;” “students maintain a balance between their academics, extracurricular activities, and community service;” “you get oneon-one time with your professors;” and “most classes are done discussion-style, with many diverse viewpoints presented.”

The Princeton Review’s America’s Best Value Colleges, 2010 Edition In addition to its inclusion in The Best 371 Colleges, Wesleyan is featured in Princeton Review’s new 2010 edition of America’s Best Value Colleges. The guide profiles 165 colleges chosen for their excellent academics, generous financial aid packages and/ or relatively low costs of attendance. In its narrative profile on Wesleyan College in the book, The Princeton Review’s editors commend the school for its “tight-knit community” and state, “it’s a serous place for women who are serious about broadening their horizons.”

According to Princeton Review Vice President Robert Franek, “We considered over 30 factors to identify our ‘best value’ colleges.

They covered four areas: Academics, Tuition GPA (the sticker price minus average amount students receive in scholarships and grants), Financial Aid (how well colleges meet students’ financial need), and Student Borrowing. The 90 public and 75 private colleges we chose for this edition offer a terrific education, plus they have impressive records of meeting students’ needs for financial aid. We highly recommend them as America’s best college education deals.”

Wesleyan outperforms Top 10% on NSSE According to the seventh annual report of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Wesleyan College outperformed the top 10% of colleges and universities nationally in all five categories studied: active and collaborative learning, enriching educational experiences, level of academic challenge, student-faculty interaction, and supportive campus environment. Among first-year student respondents and senior respondents, Wesleyan scored higher than the top 10% of all NSSE U.S. institutions on the benchmark.

Additionally, the report’s overall findings demonstrate positive indicators of a private college experience and of a single gender educational experience over a co-educational public educational experience. Released annually in November, the NSSE project is sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is a national effort to improve collegiate quality. The survey findings provide comparative standards for determining how effectively colleges are contributing to learning. The NSSE report is based on information from about 260,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students at 523 four-year colleges and universities.

Wesleyan named a “College of Distinction” Wesleyan College has been named a “College of Distinction” by Student Horizons, Inc. and is one of 300 colleges highlighted in its guidebook. Through its publication and website, the organization profiles teaching-centered colleges and universities throughout the United States that consistently excel at engaging students, fostering vibrant campus communities, and producing successful graduates. An independent committee of high school counselors and college admissions professionals selected Wesleyan for inclusion in the inaugural edition of the Colleges of Distinction Guidebook. Selection to the prestigious group is based on four distinctions, or established pillars of a solid undergraduate education: student engagement in the educational process, great teaching, vibrant learning communities, and successful outcomes. The organization examines issues that students encounter as they enter an institution, while they are on campus, and beyond. Most importantly, Colleges of Distinction examines whether students are enriched by their experiences at their institutions. Looking at the total college experience, the organization expanded upon the criteria identified by the national Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE). Other criteria areas include: selectivity rate, graduation rate, retention rate, faculty to student ratio, class size, alumni giving rate, student involvement, experimental learning opportunities, rate of employment after graduation, and rate of graduate school acceptance.

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

Meet Professor Eyler Since joining the faculty in 2006, Wesleyan College Associate Professor of Accounting Dr. Kel-Ann Eyler has received accolades that continue to add up. This year, she was awarded the Accounting Educator of the Year Award from the Georgia Society for CPAs (GSCPA). Each year, the GSCPA Educational Foundation presents the prestigious award to one educator who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to educating accountants.

Inaugurated over twenty years ago, the award program encourages colleges and universities throughout Georgia to maintain a high level of education for accounting students and raises awareness in the business community about the importance of a solid accounting education. The statewide award also recognizes recipients for outstanding leadership in professional organizations; writing, speaking and research in the business field; and motivating students to excellent performance in their scholastic and professional careers. The award presentation was made during the GSCPA 2009 annual meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Dr. Eyler earned a B.S. from the University of Virginia and an M.P.A. and Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Prior to joining the Wesleyan faculty in 2006, Eyler had served as an adjunct accounting instructor for Wesleyan’s Executive MBA program since 2001. During that time, she also held a position on the faculty at Brenau University as associate professor of accounting. Eyler’s twenty-five years of teaching experience, plus several years in public accounting and industry, strengthen Wesleyan’s business department.

Dr. Eyler also serves as the President of the Georgia Association of Accounting Educators (GAAE), board member of the Georgia Society of CPAs (GSCPA) Educational Foundation, and Co-Chair of the GSCPA College Outreach Task Force. She has been a frequent speaker at venues that include Mary Persons High School in Forsyth, Southwest High School in Macon, Accounting Career Awareness Committee High School Honors Luncheons, the GSCPA High School Residency Program at Georgia Southern University, the FBLA Field of Dreams program in Warner Robins, and GSCPA High School Educators Conferences in Atlanta.

Eyler often infuses her curriculum with real world examples as well as enriching service-learning components. In the past years, for example, she encouraged her students to spend some evenings and Saturdays during February, March, and April volunteering with the Macon Housing Authority and Wesleyan’s Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The accounting students successfully complete a Basic Tax Preparation online course through the IRS so that they are able to help prepare 1040EZ tax returns for eligible participants in the VITA program.

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ThanK you

Each year, alumnae and friends make significant gifts to the Annual Fund to help meet the operating needs of the College. Every gift counts in this important tradition of collective support of Wesleyan’s commitment to excellence in education. No matter the size, each gift is significant in building the Wesleyan experience for our students, and every student benefits from these thoughtful gifts.

Stock up on:

all shades of purple! Shop the campus bookstore for a wide variety of Wesleyan logo merchandise. Sweatshirts and t-shirts in all class colors, plus other fine gifts are available online. The bookstore will ship items to alumnae and customers off campus for a standard shipping fee of $6.00. Contact the campus bookstore: (478) 757-5233. Shop 24/7 online: under News & Info at www.wesleyancollege.edu.

Wesleyan has truly been blessed by your love and support. Thank you for being a part of our success!

Special Events & Meetings at Wesleyan Host your next meeting or event at the world’s first college for women.

Wesleyan’s meeting space varies from elegantly appointed parlors and ballrooms to high tech conference spaces. Our central Georgia location is ideal for meetings, reunions, special

events, camps, and conferences.

On-site catering, expertly provided

by Aramark Food Services, can accommodate anything from a simple coffee and pastries bar to casual themed buffets or elegant seated dinners. Call our Director of Auxiliary

Services at (478) 757-5233 to book your next event or request more information about Wesleyan’s facilities. View available spaces online under the Community section at www.wesleyancollege.edu.

We look forward to helping make your next event special!

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

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New Master of Education in Early Childhood Education: Convenient, affordable, accelerated & designed around an educator’s schedule Wesleyan College is excited to announce its newest graduate program, the Master of Education in Early Childhood Education.

Approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in October, the Master of Education (M.Ed.) has been designed by Wesleyan faculty to meet the needs of teachers in the middle Georgia and surrounding area and will add a significant component to Wesleyan’s graduate programming. The College is already accepting applications and the first cohort class will begin June of 2010.

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Early Childhood Education degree program at Wesleyan College was designed to prepare educational professionals with the theory and practice necessary to become leaders in the field of education. The program’s focus on advanced curricula, issues, trends, teaching methods, research, and leadership skills transitions already accomplished certified teachers into highly skilled practitioners of the policies, procedures, and principles of early childhood education.

This teacher education program offers courses in arts integration, mathematics, science, reading, literature, social studies, child development, and educational research. The Wesleyan M.Ed. Program is specifically designed around an educator’s academic calendar, offering course schedules convenient to a busy lifestyle so that working professionals can earn a graduate degree without disrupting their career momentum. Summer courses

meet during the day, while fall and spring courses meet during the evening. Unique hybrid course components offer added flexibility through partial online teaching and learning.

This summer - to - summer program can be completed over fourteen months of coursework and requires a total of thirty-four semester hours divided into four semesters. Students progress through the program in highly selective cohorts, working in teams along the way to create unique personal and professional support structures that augment the learning process. Cohorts limited to twenty-five students ensure that M.Ed. candidates work closely with highly respected faculty and benefit from the individual attention offered through Wesleyan’s distinctive seminar-styled teaching philosophy.

M.Ed. candidates travel to other cities to observe pedagogy and curricula in various classrooms and compare the events in these classrooms with their research. The program’s capstone project requires M.Ed. candidates to complete a comprehensive research project that allows them to reflect on the knowledge and skills gained during the coursework and field work, deepen their understandings of teaching and learning, and delve into previously published research in the field of education. 2010 program fee of $14,000 includes tuition, textbooks, netbook computer, and field trips. More information is available through the Wesleyan Office of Graduate Admissions (478) 757-5263 or (888) 665-4050.

Wesleyan Magazine Winter 2009

A Message from Susan: When I think of Wesleyan, I think of these three words, Sisterhood, Support, and Service. These words will guide me in my term as President of the Alumnae Association and will guide all of the members of the Alumnae Board of Managers as we continue our current activities and programs and as we develop new programs. These are the words that I want all of us to keep in mind as we think about how each of us can help Wesleyan to become an even greater college community.

The bonds of sisterhood are strong among Wesleyannes. When we meet a Wesleyan sister, we feel a kinship in shared traditions, experiences, and loyalties. As alumnae what can we do to nurture and strengthen the bonds of sisterhood even more?

We can gather for social occasions and meet with faculty, staff, or administrators who will update us on what is happening at Wesleyan today. We can participate in a WOW Day of service in our local communities, working together as Wesleyan sisters to make a difference in the lives of others.

We can reach out to our youngest sisters, the current students at Wesleyan, and mentor them through the E-Link program or provide internships for them. We can help recruit students for the College by representing Wesleyan at college fairs and hosting events in our homes for high school students who are interested in coming to Wesleyan. We can recognize outstanding young women in our local high schools through the Wesleyan First Award. We can bring students of any age to Wesleyan for a visit - our daughters, our granddaughters, and those of our neighbors and friends.

When we participate in activities that strengthen the bonds of sisterhood, we are providing support for Wesleyan.

As active alumnae volunteers, in any of the activities I have mentioned, we are supporting the students and programs of the College through our gifts of time, resources, and money.

We also participate in service for Wesleyan when we recruit students, get to know current students, and increase Wesleyan’s visibility in our communities.

Sisterhood, Support, and Service –– three words that mean so much to the College’s future. What do we hope to accomplish as we promote all of these? We want current students to enjoy their years at Wesleyan, be successful academically, and be prepared to represent Wesleyan well when they enter the professional world, continue their education, raise their families, and serve in their communities. We also want to ensure Wesleyan’s future by helping young women choose Wesleyan, by providing students with an exceptional educational community, and by encouraging current students to become loyal and supportive alumnae who will want to contribute to the College and be prepared to secure her future for new generations of Wesleyannes.

We are fortunate to have members of the Board of Managers who are so enthusiastic and full of ideas to support our alma mater. They are already making a difference as they put our plans into action. Won’t you join us in our efforts?

We will be delighted and so grateful to have your help! With the collective energy and enthusiasm of all alumnae, we will accomplish great things for Wesleyan.

Susan Woodward Walker ’70 President Wesleyan College Alumnae Association 36

We l com e to Wesleyan College Alumnae Association

National Officers ( 2009 - 2012 ) President

Susan Woodward Walker ’70 Franklin, Tennessee Advanced Degree: M.S., Old Dominion University.

Occupation: Homemaker and Volunteer.

Alumnae Activities: Former Vice President for Development, Alumnae Weekend Chair, and President-Elect, WCAA; Class Reunion Chair; Loyalty Fund Chair and Vice Chair; Class Liaison; Society for the Twenty-First Century; AAR; Wesleyan First Award Committee Chair and Presenter.

President Elect

Ashley Garrett ’90 Athens, Georgia Advanced Degree: M.A., Auburn University.

Occupation: Computer Education Manager, Athens Regional Medical Center (ARMC).

Alumnae Activities: Former Secretary, Vice President for Publications and Public Relations, Vice President for Educational Enrichment, WCAA; Atlanta Wesleyan Alumnae Club; Loyalty Fund Chair; AAR; Society for the Twenty-First Century.

Vice President for Admissions

Flo Williams Douglas ’67 Milledgeville, Georgia Advanced Degree: M.Ed., Georgia Southern University.

Occupation: Homemaker; Summer Campground Host in Teton National Park.

Alumnae Activities: Former Alumnae Weekend Chair, WCAA; Macon Wesleyan Alumnae Club; Class Reunion Chair; Former Golden Isles Club Coordinator; Prospective Student Party Coordinator; AAR.

Vice President for Development

Carol “Moon” Burt ’64 St. Simons Island, Georgia Advanced Degree: M.Acc., University of Georgia; C.P.A. Occupation: Retired CPA and Restaurant Owner.

Alumnae Activities: 2009 Alumnae Award for Distinguished Service to Wesleyan; Loyalty Fund Chair; Class Liaison; Class Reunion Co-Chair; Coordinator eRep Project; Candlelighter; Society for the TwentyFirst Century; Golden Isles Alumnae Group; AAR.

Vice President for Education Enrichment

Jeri Ellis Crowell ’78 Macon, Georgia Advanced Degrees: M.A., Mental Health Counseling and Ed.D., Counselor Education and Supervision, both from University of Cincinnati, LPC, NCC, RTC. Occupation: Assistant Professor, Fort Valley State University and Licensed Professional Counselor.

Alumnae Activities: SAR in Cincinnati, Ohio; Class Liaison; Reunion Committee; Candlelighter; AAR.

o t he B oa rd of M anagers Vice President for Publications and Public Relations

Wende Sanderson Meyer von Bremen ’80 Macon, Georgia Occupation: Realtor, REMAX Properties Plus.

Alumnae Activities: Class Treasurer, Reunion Committee; Candlelighter; Commencement Reception Committee; Macon Alumnae Club; AAR.

Secretary

Treasurer

Christine Saunders ’05 Jonesboro, Georgia Advanced Degree: J.D., The University of Georgia School of Law. Occupation: Attorney Alumnae Activities: Secretary, Atlanta Alumnae Club; Candlelighter; Alumna Hooder; AAR .

Melanie Filson Lewis ’93 Fayetteville, Georgia Occupation: Change Consultant, Bank of America.

Alumnae Activities: Class Liaison; AAR; Atlanta Wesleyan Alumnae Club; Alumnae Christmas Coffee Hostess.

Alumna Trustee (2009-2013)

Priscilla “Pris” Gautier Bornmann ’68 Alexandria, Virginia Advanced Degree: M.S., Purdue University; J.D., American University.

Occupation: Attorney.

Alumnae Activities: Washington, D.C. Metro Area Alumnae Club; Society for the Twenty-First Century; Class Liaison; Vice Chair, Campaign Major Gift Committee, Forever First Campaign; AAR; Career Mentor; Internship Hostess.

Member-at-Large for Nominations (2009-2010)

Kathy A. Bradley ’78 Register, Georgia Advanced Degree: J.D., Mercer University.

Occupation: Assistant District Attorney, Ogeechee Judicial Circuit, Georgia.

Alumnae Activities: Past President, Alumna Trustee, WCAA; Steering Committee, Alumnae Campaign for Endowed Teaching Chairs; AAR; Second Vice President, East Georgia Alumnae Club; Class Liaison; Editor, Class Newsletter; Class Reunion Chair; Wesleyan Inaugural Delegate; Presidential Search Committee; 2003 Alumnae Award for Distinguished Service to Wesleyan; Society for the Twenty-First Century.

Member-at-Large for Student Relations (2009-2011)

Parrish Smotherman ’06 Macon, Georgia Occupation: Middle School Spanish Teacher, Stratford Academy.

Alumnae Activities: Macon Young Alumnae Club, Hall Programs Chair, Alumnae Weekend Volunteer; Candlelighter; AAR.

Alumna Trustee (2007-2010)

Mary Catherine “M.C.” Collins O’Kelley ’72 Snellville, Georgia Occupation: Flight Attendant, Delta Airlines.

Alumnae Activities: Past President, WCAA; Past President, Atlanta Alumnae Club; President, Society for the Twenty-First Century; Class Liaison; Member, Presidential Search Committee; AAR.

Member-at-Large for Alumnae Weekend (2009-2012)

Alumna Trustee (2008 -2011)

Glennda Kingry Elliott ’65 Macon, Georgia Advanced Degree: MFS, Master of Family Studies, Mercer University.

Occupation: Social Worker; Retired as Coordinator of Senior Services, The Medical Center of Central Georgia, Director of Golden Opportunities (older adult program) and Geriatric Care Manager.

Alumnae Activities: Past President, Macon Wesleyan Alumnae Club; First Vice President, Finance and Nominating Committees, WCAA; Reunion Chair and Co-Chair; Class Liaison; Presidential Inaugural Gala Committee; Candlelighter; AAR; Macon Club Christmas Coffee Hostess; Society for the Twenty-First Century.

Carol Bacon Kelso ’73 Thomasville, Georgia Occupation: Caterer and Local Cooking Show Host; Community Volunteer.

Alumnae Activities: Class Reunion Co-Chair; Reunion Committee; Class Liaison; Alumnae Office Volunteer; Candlelighter; Tallahassee Alumnae Club; Wesleyan mother to PK ’06; AAR.

Past President

Jody Bethea Riggs ’88 Chattanooga, Tennessee Advanced Degree: C.P.A. Occupation: Senior Financial Advisor, Riggs & Associates, a financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Alumnae Activities: Former Treasurer, PresidentElect, and President, WCAA; Former President, Chattanooga Alumnae Group; AAR; Wesleyan First Award Presenter.

Now is the time to Nominate! The nomination committee of the Board of Managers of the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association continues to update our database of alumnae leaders. Identifying women who will be good candidates for future service on the board and establishing a large, diverse, and willing pool of volunteers who will serve the board and association in various endeavors is our on-going goal. If you are willing to serve or would like to nominate a Wesleyanne to serve on the Board or on board committees, please contact Kathy Bradley, member-at-large for nominations at kathy.sandhill@gmail.com or click on get involved under the alumnae section of the website (www.wesleyancollege.edu) to download a nomination form.

Alumnae Connections Alumnae club meetings and activities focused on the importance of alumnae/student connections, alumnae involvement in student activities and leadership programs, and alumnae service opportunities that strengthen the bonds of Sisterhood and provide new avenues of Support for and Service to the College. Bringing young women to visit Wesleyan is where it all begins. In February, the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association (WCAA) and the Office of Admission are partnering in a new initiative to bring more young women to campus. Mark your calendar for FEBRUARY 27, 2010, and return to the college during STUNT weekend with a prospective student for Welcome to Wesleyan Weekend. And, don’t forget Alumnae Weekend dates, April 16-18, 2010. See you there!

Georgia Atlanta

Atlanta Club President Lisa Bridges Hines ’98 welcomed members to a Fall Luncheon held at Mary Mac’s Tea Room to meet Wesleyan College Alumnae Association President Susan Woodward Walker ’70, who spoke to the group about “Sisterhood, Support, and Service.” The Club’s annual planning retreat took place in August.

Macon

Macon Young Alumnae were invited to participate in WOW! A Day for Macon (Wesleyan’s community service day) in September. The group also helped the alumnae office host a Student Tailgating Party in October at the Mathews Athletic Center before the Wesleyan vs. Agnes Scott soccer game. Melissa Landrum, assistant alumnae director, coordinated plans for the event. Parrish Smotherman ’06, Lauren Hamblin ’06, Amy Fletcher ’06, and Maria Kristina “M.K.” Stanley ’06 served as tailgating hostesses.

Illinois Chicago

In August, Chicago area alumnae enjoyed a brunch at The University Club, where they met with President Ruth Knox ’75, WCAA President Susan Walker, Alumnae Admissions Program Director Tracy Ward Tilley ’89 and with students, faculty, and trustees participating in the

2009 Wesleyan Leadership Institute. Leslie Bradberry Mastroianni ’88 and Rebecca Sage ’90 served as alumnae hostesses for the event.

Leslie also coordinated plans for the group to tour the Modern Art Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. Leadership Institute founding Trustees Alexis Xides Bighley ’67, Diane A. Lumpkin ’63, and Lynda Brinks Pfeiffer ’63 were on hand to mentor students.

Wesleyan College Alumnae Association Alumnae Office

The WCAA welcomed new students to Wesleyan, including new international students who received special “goodie” bags. The WCAA also welcomed the Class of 2010 back to campus at the annual Senior Midnight Breakfast held in August. WCAA President Susan Walker spoke to seniors about staying connected to the college and participating in Wesleyan traditions such as Candlelighting. In September, the Board of Managers of the WCAA held its annual retreat in Young Harris, Georgia, at the home of Alumna Trustee Glennda Kingry Elliott ’65, to discuss goals and plans for the upcoming year. The alumnae office sponsored a reunion planning session in October. House Party serves as a venue for class reunion leadership committees to meet and finalize plans for Alumnae Weekend 2010. Plans for local club WOW Days (Women of Wesleyan service days) are underway. For more information on how to start a WOW Day in your community and help raise awareness of the College in your city, contact the alumnae office at 478.757.5172 or contact csnow@wesleyancollege.edu.

WELCOME TO WESLEYAN WEEKEND Have you thought about bringing your daughter, granddaughter, cousin, niece or neighbor to visit Wesleyan? Now’s your chance. The Board of Managers of the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association, along with the Admission Office, is planning a fun overnight visit during Wesleyan’s most exciting weekend – STUNT! Make plans now to bring someone to Wesleyan to show her what we have to offer. You and your visitor will stay in Jones Dorm on STUNT night and enjoy lots of Wesleyan hospitality. Expect to see more details later, but for now mark your calendar for February 27, 2010, and invite someone to Wesleyan!

Pictured left: Jody Bethea Riggs ’88, WCAA past president, and her daughter, Mary Katherine Riggs, at Wesleyan.

club facebook 1. “Reving it up.” (From left) Macon Young Alumnae hostesses, Amy Fletcher ’06 Maria Kristina Stanley ’06 and Lauren Hamblin ’06 tailgate with Rev. Hurdle at the Wesleyan vs. Agnes Scott soccer game.

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2. Students sample tailgating treats provided by the Alumnae Office and Macon Young Alumnae.

3. Students tailgate at the Mathews Athletic Center.

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4. Chicago Brunch Bunch. Chicago area alumnae enjoy meeting at The University Club.

5. Their Kind of Town. 2009 Leadership Institute participants at the Art Institute of Chicago.

6 . PKs strike a pose at Senior Midnight Breakfast.

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7. More Senior Midnight Breakfast smiles.

8. Members of the WCAA Board of Managers enjoy retreat in Young Harris, GA. 9.

Giving Back. The WCAA Board kicks off a WOW board service project with Wesleyan’s Lane Center that provided personal supply kits for the homeless.

10. Soon to be Golden. Members of the Class of 1960 plan for their 50th reunion in April 2010.

11. Celebrating 55 Years of Sisterhood.

Members of the Class of 1955 make reunion plans at House Party.

12. 1970 Reunion Co-Chairs Brenda Witham McGinn and Diane Dennington Abdi enjoy House Party.

13. (From left) Susan Allen, Charlotte Battle Everbach ’52, recipient of the Atlantic Center for the Arts’ Spirit Enrichment Award, and Ruth Knox celebrate in New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Sympathy The Wesleyan College Alumnae Association extends sympathy to: Celetta Clarke Grice ’36 of Marshallville, GA, on the death of her sister, Josephine Clarke Clay ’40, of Wheaton, IL, on July, 11, 2009.

Martha Zachry Thwaite ’39 of Atlanta, on the death of her sisterin-law, Mary Lou Thwaite Scribner ’30 of Highlands, NC, and Hyannis Port, MA, on February 7, 2009.

Florence “Flippy” Sitton Denton ’45 of Macon, on the death of her sister, Katherine “Kitty” Sitton Pettit ’45, of Columbia, MD, on May 13, 2009.

Mary Frances Webb Nall ’45 of Thomaston, GA, on the death of her sister, Sarah Webb Bryan ’41, of Northampton, PA, on October 9, 2009.

Beth Quillian Johnson ’48 of Chattanooga, TN, on the death of her sister, Joe Anne Quillian, M.D. ’50, of Chattanooga, TN, on July 17, 2009.

Anne Johnson Kalinin ’48 of Pine Mountain, GA, on the death of her husband, Alexander Boris Kalinin, on July 24, 2009.

Anne Whipple Alderman Murphey ’48/’49 of Macon, on the death of her daughter, Amelia Anne Alderman, M.D. ’75, also of Macon, on August 7, 2009.

Mary Lane Edwards Hartshorn ’49 of Saint Augustine, FL, on the death of her husband, David L. Hartshorn, on August 23, 2009.

Patricia “Pat” Pope Chilton ’50 of Marietta, GA, on the death of her husband, Warren Rembert Chilton, Jr., on September 10, 2009.

Doris V. Manning ’60 of Asheville, NC, on the death of her brother, Charles Manning, of Apopka, FL, on May 7, 2009.

Holly Lowe Singleton ’69 of Stone Mountain, GA, on the death of her sister, Susan Lowe Borucki ’71, of Cumming, GA, on August 8, 2009.

Betty “BeBe” Banks Jarrell Oetjen ’53 of Madison, AL, on the death of her mother, Elizabeth “Betty” Banks Jarrell ’26, of LaGrange, GA, on May 15, 2009.

Linda Vogel Pfleger ’61 of Lorida, FL, on the death of her husband, James “Jim” Pfleger, on May 2, 2009.

Ruth Norman Solomon ’74 of Macon, on the death of her mother, Carolyn Pharr Norman ’42 in September 2009.

Dr. Sandra Combs Lewis ’61 of Macon, on the death of her father, Robert M. Combs, Sr., on June 27, 2009, at 102 ½ years of age.

Jackie Spradlin Stallings ’53 of Newnan, GA, on the death of her husband, Emmett Stallings Jr. (Jay), on August 20, 2009.

Jo Anne Fagan Hanft ’62 of St. Simons Island, GA, on the death of her aunt, Josephine Clarke Clay ’40, of Wheaton, IL, on July 11, 2009.

Carole Coleman Bruley ’54 of Sea Island, GA, on the death of her cousin, Avalo Donovan Hill ’51, of New Smyrna Beach, FL, on March 30, 2009.

Martha Clower Thomas ’64 of Stone Mountain, GA, on the death of her mother, Nell Clower, on April 22, 2009, at age 99.

Barbara Brown Dean ’55 of Eastman, GA, on the death of her husband, Donald Fay Dean, on June 19, 2009.

Myra Boyette ’65 of Atlanta, on the death of her mother, Sallie Touchton Boyette, of Valdosta, GA, on June 9, 2009.

Mary “M.C.” Webb Lockhart ’55 of Stone Mountain, GA, on the death of her cousin, Sarah Webb Bryan ’41, of Northampton, PA, on October 9, 2009.

Trudie Parker Sessions ’65 of Macon, on the death of her mother, Mary Eda Hale Parker, of McDonough, GA, on September 21, 2009.

Eleanor Gravely Fleming ’57 of Quincy, FL, on the death of her husband, Walter “Walt” Saunders Fleming, on May 11, 2009.

Carol Clay LaPides ’60 of Atlanta, on the death of her husband, H.B. “Tony” LaPides, on June 18, 2009.

Gloria Boyette ’60 of Valdosta, GA, on the death of her mother, Sallie Touchton Boyette, also of Valdosta, on June 9, 2009.

Rita Parker McGarity ’75 of McDonough, GA, on the death of her mother, Mary Eda Hale Parker, also of McDonough, on September 21, 2009.

Sharon Webb ’76 of Stow, MA, on the death of her aunt, Sarah Webb Bryan ’41, of Northampton, PA, on October 9, 2009.

Celetta Grice Callaway ’77 of Cypress, TX, on the death of her aunt, Josephine Clarke Clay ’40, of Wheaton, IL, on July 11, 2009.

Wendy Coffman Cook ’78 of Lilburn, GA, on the death of her husband, David William Cook, on June 15, 2009.

Deena Harrell Cherry ’80 of Warner Robins, GA, on the death of her mother-in-law, Sandra M. Holton, of Macon, on May 5, 2009.

Lynn Hays Davis ’68 of Macon, on the death of her mother, Susanna Hicks Hays, of Lizella, GA, on March 28, 2009.

Robyn Miller Schopp ’91 of Forsyth, GA, on the death of her husband, Daniel Wright Schopp, on September 8, 2009.

Dale Parker Craig ’69 of McDonough, GA, on the death of her mother, Mary Eda Hale Parker, also of McDonough, on September 21, 2009.

We send apologies to Betty Jo Cochran Ridley ’63 of Clarkesville, GA, who was listed as deceased incorrectly in the last magazine, and to her sister, Lynn Cochran Thompson ’61.

Marriages

The Wesleyan College Alumnae Association extends congratulations to: Gloria Anne Dixon, M.D. ’49 of Birmingham, AL, who married Charles Yarborough. The couple resides in Birmingham, AL. Janet Wilson ’92 of Memphis, TN, who married Stephen Haynet in December 2008.

Katherine “Katie” Murphy ’05 of Culloden, GA, who married Patrick Thompson on April 12, 2008.

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Serena Ingram ’05 of Stockbridge, GA, who married Matthew Roy on June 28, 2009, in Jekyll Island, GA. The couple resides in Stockbridge, GA. Paige Carter ’06 of Warner Robins, GA, who married David S. Tyo on June 28, 2008. The couple will be stationed at Fort Lewis, WA, in September 2009.

Stephanie Dunbar ’06 of Woodstock, GA, who married James Alexander Lee on September 12, 2009, in Dahlonega, GA, at Forrest Hills Resort. Rev. Bill Hurdle officiated.

The couple currently resides in Canton, GA. Melanie Reed ’06 of Rex, GA, who married Arthur Lee Williams III on October 4th, 2009. The couple resides in Marietta, GA.

Angel Feightner ’08 of Warner Robins, GA, who married Andrew James Poe on May 16, 2009. The couple resides in Las Vegas, NV.

Births & Family Additions The Wesleyan College Alumnae Association extends congratulations to:

Ruth Powell Storts ’93 and Brian of Midland, GA, on the birth of a daughter, Carter Brooks Storts, on September 18, 2009. Big brother Owen Storts is thrilled.

Merry Alicia Barton ’95 of Monks Corner, SC, on the birth of a daughter, Anastasia Grace, on July 1, 2009.

Aimee Morris Lashley ’96 and Derek of Macon, on the birth of a son, Ethan Cade Lashley, on October 21, 2009. Big brother Camden is thrilled, as is proud great grandmother Margaret Duckworth Sewell ’49.

A Special Thank You from Miss Julia

95 years & Counting . . .

Julia Munroe Woodward ‘34, affectionately known to Wesleyannes everywhere as “Miss Julia,” extends her heartfelt thanks to members of her Wesleyan Family who celebrated her 95th birthday by sending cards, notes, emails, phone calls, and other thoughtful expressions of love and good wishes.

Miss Julia celebrated her 95th birthday surrounded by family throughout the July 4th weekend, beginning with a Friday evening supper at the Sawano Country Club. Her actual birthday party was held on Saturday in her childhood home in Quincy, FL, where her 80 immediate family members honored her with a luncheon followed by birthday cake and ice cream and a pool party later that evening.

All of her 35 great grandchildren attended! On Sunday, her family attended church together where the congregation sang “Happy Birthday.” (According to the preacher, more than half the attendees were Woodwards!) The family shared lunch together before bidding Mother/Grandmother/Gigi a fond farewell with wishes for many more happy birthdays.

Natalie Puckett Evans ’02 and Dave of McDonough, GA, on the birth of a son, Gabriel “Gabe” Scott Evans, on October 12, 2009.

Kelsey Rourk Simons ’04 and Christopher of Vancouver, WA, on the birth of a second son, Arthur Britt Simons, on October 6, 2009. Arthur joins big brother Oliver Simons.

In Memoriam 1926 1929 1930

1931 1937 1940 1941

Elizabeth “Betty” Banks Jarrell Mary Fiske Magruder Lillian Williams Darling Mary Lou Thwaite Scribner Mary Hester “Hessie” Richardson June Patten Sammons Josephine Clarke Clay Eugenia “Genie” Davis Ash Margaret Cobb Foley Sarah Webb Bryan 1942 Carolyn Pharr Norman 1944 Wilhelmina “Wena” Hunt NeSmith Martha Mozelle Niblack 1945 Dimple Brison Brown Dorothy Lowe McKee Katherine “Kitty” Sitton Pettit Barbara Kroog Shackelford 1946 Ruth Jones Ten Hagen 1947 Lois Wheeler Eschen 1948 Betty Lane “Duck” Merritt Peggy Porter Harrison 1950 Joe Anne Quillian, M.D. 1951 Avalo Donovan Hill 1952 Betty Banks Deal Vivian Boggs Crowley Rosa Lee Peterson 1960 Sylvia Jean “Arkie” Clark 1968 Nancy McCowell Jordan 1971 Susan Lowe Borucki 1975 Amelia Anne Alderman, M.D. Anne Freeman Haigler 1995 Traci Lynn Freeman 2004 Gwendolyn Michelle “Wendy” Bloodworth-Scott

Kudos to Rudo & Natalia

After taking a year off before graduate school, Rudo Mudiwa ’09 wanted to become more involved with Wesleyan and give back in whatever ways she could. As a former student participant in the Summer Leadership Institute, Rudo had the opportunity to meet with Wesleyan alumnae. She said her exposure to the diverse and vibrant pool of alumnae that she encountered during that time led her and friend Natalia Pszenny ’09 to create an online forum as a way for all students to hear from alumnae and to get advice from them, particularly career-oriented advice, on an ongoing basis. According to Rudo, “an online forum seemed to be the best medium since it doesn’t take up too much time for alumnae to be involved, and would foster a sense of community.

Students can post questions about careers, graduate school, and other ‘grown-up’ issues, to which alumnae on the site can choose to respond.” We say, “Kudos to Rudo and Natalia” for taking the lead and fast forwarding their alumnae volunteer efforts by providing a round-theclock password protected career service that will connect alumnae with current students. Check out The Wesconnect Forum at http://wesconnect.lefora.com. or access it through links on the alumnae or career development office pages on www.wesleyancollege.edu.

Notes in between are

going GREEN!

Please enjoy reading all class notes submitted to the college since our last magazine online at www.wesleyancollege.edu. Our next magazine with full class note coverage will include notes submitted from October 2009 to April 30, 2010.

To submit class notes online go to www.wesleyancollege.edu and click on update my information under the alumnae section or mail to: Alumnae Office, Wesleyan College, 4760 Forsyth Rd. Macon, GA 31210.

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many women serving.” Judy was encouraged by her husband and was ordained in 1970 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Judy is retired now but, because she believes no one ever actually retires from ministry, she still serves in several capacities as a volunteer.

Ordained or not, paid or not, many Wesleyan women claim successful careers in ministry and have embraced leadership roles that advance Christian education. According to Marynell Sampley Waite ’40, one of the reasons for the establishment of Wesleyan College was to develop church leaders as teachers and missionaries. As the historian of the South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church, Marynell dedicated nearly thirty years to the preservation and celebration of Methodist history. In 1974, she became the first woman (as well as the first lay person) to chair the Conference Commission on Archives and History. As a member of the commission, Marynell worked to develop the historical center and library that became the foundation of the Methodist Museum.

During the 1960s and 1970s, when the traditional roles of women in the church were being redefined, Wesleyan Pioneer Courtney Knight Gaines ’51 helped lead the transition. She was appointed to the Conference Board of Missions and later to the Conference Board on Ecumenical Affairs, positions that were previously unavailable to women. Throughout her years of service to the church, Courtney has inspired countless others. Virginia Harris Howard ’45 also has served The United Methodist Church in many capacities, lending support to children and providing assistance to senior citizens. Friends affectionately refer to her as “the bag lady,” recognizing her efforts to raise money for large-print devotionals for housebound seniors. Church members donate aluminum cans to the project and Virginia hauls them home in bags. She pulls off the tabs, crushes and cleans the cans, and packages them to be sold to recycling centers.

As a newlywed, Angela Wilkerson O’Kelley ’43 and her husband helped found Belvedere United Methodist Church in Decatur, Georgia. In 1960, she helped found the Belvedere pre-school and, for fourteen years, served as its director. This was just the beginning of Angela’s life-long service in major roles as a pastor’s wife. Anne Carlton Blanchard ’47 spent twenty years as a math teacher, but she has spent fiftyfive years as a dedicated and largely unpaid worker in the churches served by her late husband, Methodist Minister Richard Blanchard. From 1961 to 1974, Anne au42

thored dozens of articles for Roundtable, Workers with Youth, and New Creation, all nationally circulated publications. Her work has appeared in thirty-five different books and magazines and consists of worship materials, articles on recreation, plays, and study books. One of Anne’s dramatic works, The Vineyard, has been produced for network television.

Not all women in ministry are called to serve in a traditional church setting. In Nashville in 1984, Lucy Neeley Adams ‘56 began telling the story behind hymns for a radio program she created, The Story Behind The Song, that aired on Christian radio stations throughout Tennessee. Later she wrote articles for the local newspaper and, in 2000, published 52 Hymn Story Devotions through Abingdon Press. The volume includes fifty-two stories surrounded by scripture and prayer. Each devotion closes with the words of the hymn’s first verse. Today, Lucy lives with her husband, a retired Methodist preacher, in North Carolina and writes stories of religion and faith for the local newspaper, The Enterprise Mountaineer.

Award-winning Journalist Betty Thompson ’47 also used her writing to minister, serving the General Board of Global Ministries for thirty-five years. As the director of public relations, she served as the chief spokesperson for the global mission agency of The United Methodist Church. Betty began her career as the public relations director of her alma mater.

As a Wesleyan undergraduate, she edited the College paper and was a correspondent for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Macon Telegraph. She is author of three books: Turning World, The Healing Fountain, and A Chance to Change.

Betty was the first woman to be appointed an editor-at-large of the distinguished weekly The Christian Century. In 1994, she received the Lipphard Award for distinguished service to religious journalism. Recognizing integrity and courage, the award is the highest honor given by the Associated Church Press. Also in 1994, The United Methodist Association of Christian Communication named Betty “Communicator of the Year.” In 1998, The World Association for Christian Communication designated her a life member. In 2001, she was inducted into the Methodist Communicators Hall of Fame. Generously, Betty has decided to donate her papers to Wesleyan.

Other Wesleyan women minister through their work with church-affiliated organizations or they serve as disciples by infusing Christian principles into other careers.

Kiera Sheedy Camron ’98 served as the executive director at Open Door Women’s Clinic in Tallahassee where women with unplanned pregnancies go for help and advice. As a Dominican Sister of Hawthorne and the home administrator at Rosary Hill in Hawthorne, New York, Sister Mary Joseph (Ruth Powers ’75) has given her life to God and cared for hundreds of terminally ill cancer patients. Ruth’s vocation is not a career but a way of life motivated by intense love of God. Fann Dewar Greer ’66 is a pastoral psychologist with Tidewater Pastoral Counseling Services in Norfolk, Virginia. Organized in 1974, the counseling practice serves more than 1,500 clients annually in eight centers. The staff are ordained or licensed clergy representing a wide variety of denominations who have specialized training and certification through the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.

For many other Wesleyan women in ministry, the call to service requires world travel and great sacrifice. Sally Johnson Jackson ’75 has been a missionary in Guatemala for twenty-two years, raising her children in this work as well. Sally’s daughter, Tamalyn Jackson Guiterrez ’98, serves as director of a major human development project for the poor in Guatemala. Another Wesleyanne, Eloise Terrell Gray ’80, took her fifth trip to Kenya in August. Her ministry, Touching the Heart of God, works with underprivileged children providing food and education.

Christine Morana ’06, along with ninety-nine other young adults, is serving NET (National Evangelization Teams) Ministries. This year, she will spend nine months traveling across the country and holding retreats for nearly 8,500 teens in grades six through twelve. NET’s goal is to challenge young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the church.

“Ultimately, we’ll be touching lives oneon-one with the Gospel message,” said Morana. “We’ll just start igniting the fire in them.”

Morana has been preparing for this work her entire life, and claims to be fulfilling the role that she has been called –– in heart, mind, body, and soul –– to perform.

Though the Catholic Church has allowed only men to serve in the role of priest, Christine views disciples such as Martha, her sister Mary, and Mary Magdalene as women who also played an important role in community. “Although gender does make us different,” she said, “the significance of our roles and the love with which we serve are of equal importance.

Our ministry would be ineffective without one gender or the other.”

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Wesleyan College 4760 Forsyth Road Macon, Georgia 31210-4462

UPCOMinG EvEntS The Norman McLean Master Class with world-renowned pianist Martin Katz Sunday, January 24, 2010 from 3-5PM Wesleyan College, Burden Parlor Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5259

Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra with Mezzo-soprano Nadine Whitney Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 4 PM Wesleyan College Auditorium For tickets call (478) 757-5259.

Senior Voice Recital Featuring Kathryn Quirk, soprano Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 7 PM Wesleyan College, Burden Parlor Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5259

American Folk Music Concert presented by Grammy Award Winner Art Rosenbaum; Wesleyan Auditorium.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 from 7-9PM Three groups will perform soulful blues, stirring mountain ballads, and traditional instrumental folk music. Free! (478) 757-5189

Festival of New Works February 4, 5 & 6, 2010; all shows at 8PM. Wesleyan Grassmann-Porter Studio Theatre Festival of New Works showcases original plays written by students. Tickets: (478) 757-5259

Wesleyan’s Annual Spring Recital Monday, April 19, 2010 at 7PM Wesleyan College Porter Auditorium Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5259

Sing My Troubles By, a documentary film

by Neil Rosenbaum & discussion with Art Rosenbaum about Southern folk singers.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 6PM View the film about Athen’s own Art Rosenbaum, 2009 Grammy award winner.

Taylor Hall Peyton Anderson Amphitheater Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5189 Paintings by Art Rosenbaum & Photographs by Margo Rosenbaum Thursday, January 28 - February 27, 2010 Porter Fine Arts Building Galleries Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5189 Making Music with Pianist Martin Katz Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 11:15AM Wesleyan College, Burden Parlor Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5259

STUNT! Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 7PM Wesleyan College Porter Auditorium $5 tickets available at the door.

Senior Studio Art Majors’ Exhibition Thursday, April 22 – May 15, 2010 Cowles Myles Collier East Gallery Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5189

Wesleyan Art Students’ Exhibition March 17 – April 18, 2010 Cowles Myles Collier East Gallery Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5189

Macon Symphony Orchestra Masterworks #4 “Maestro’s Magic” Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 7:30 PM Wesleyan Auditorium For tickets call (478) 301-5300.

Ninth Annual Georgia Undergraduate Art History Forum, sponsored by The Georgia Undergraduate Art History Consortium.

Friday, March 19, 2010; 9AM- 5PM Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5189

Senior Voice Recital Featuring Hannah Gibson, mezzo-soprano Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 7PM Wesleyan College, Burden Parlor Free & open to the public; (478) 757-5259

Faculty Recital: Dr. Michael McGhee, Wesleyan College Organist Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 4PM Wesleyan College Porter Auditorium Free & open to the public. (478) 757-5259

New Directions: Student-Directed One-Act Plays April 29, 30, May 1, 2010; all shows at 8PM. Wesleyan Grassmann-Porter Studio Theatre For tickets call (478) 757-5259.