The EMory & Henry College Magazine / Spring 2015
Alumni celebrate environmental studies anniversary
RADIO STATION JUICED BY SOLAR new mural for outdoor program scholarships makING a difference in women’s lives Saliba presents retrospective Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 1
President’s Message Dear Friends, In 1991 I was serving my first year as president of Texas Wesleyan University. One of our trustees was a member of one of the first families of Texas, a descendant of an oil and cattle fortune. Texas Wesleyan had endured 14 years of unbalanced budgets, and its student body had dwindled to 1,300 from a high of 1,750. Wesleyan’s future was tenuous and we had plenty of challenges ahead. I convinced the trustees, however, that we could balance the budget and keep it balanced in three years. Unfortunately, the wealthy trustee decided to leave our Board and accept an invitation to join the board of the alma mater of his mother, his sister and one of his nieces—Sweet Briar College. Wesleyan’s budget was not balanced, Sweet Briar’s was, and he wanted to be at a college that seemed more sustainable. As you read this issue of the award-winning Emory & Henry magazine, I hope you will be grateful for the progress we have made in our program in environmental studies. Today, the dream to sustain life on this fragile planet is more difficult than one might think. The question we have to ask ourselves today as so much of the world economy is in transition is this: “Is what we are doing sustainable?” I’m not just talking about environmental sustainability; I’m talking about the sustainability of small, traditional, values-based liberal arts colleges in rural America. There is no “business as usual” anymore in higher education. All institutions are scrambling to meet the demands of the government, the public and those who seek a college diploma, while not losing sight of mission and purpose. Well, my Texas friend joined the board of Sweet Brian College, and in two years the school’s budget was unbalanced. Meanwhile, Texas Wesleyan had balanced its budget for the first time in almost two decades. Sadly, we’ve all read about the announcement of the closing of Sweet Briar, a venerable institution with successful and notable graduates, an unusually beautiful campus and an endowment of more than $80 million. Sweet Briar trustees, nevertheless, believed that the College’s path was unsustainable. What a wake-up call this has been for other small colleges in rural America. Several questions come to mind. First, how can we help Sweet Briar at this very difficult time? Second, what are the warning signs of which we should be aware? And third, how can we find ways to strengthen what we do at Emory & Henry? I hope you know that we are engaging all of these questions. During this past year, much of this community—including students, alumni, employees and members of the Board of Trustees—have been working passionately, creatively and vigorously to draft and reach sustainable goals by the year 2020. So as we envision what Emory & Henry will be like in five years I hope you will lend your voice and your support to efforts that will define the future of our great College. The landscape of higher education is occupied by institutions that are strong, struggling or on the brink. This a defining moment for assuring that Emory & Henry College, “the brave outpost of the liberal arts in Southwestern Virginia,” will thrive for years to come. Sustaining our efforts on this hallowed ground is an honorable task to which we all must be dedicated. I look forward to our journey together. Sincerely,
Jake B. Schrum President
2 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
What they say... Dynamic Community Engagement
The Carnegie Foundation continues to include Emory & Henry in its Community Engagement Classification, joining a select group of institutions nationwide that have been recognized for exemplary practices of community engagement and support. This decision follows a comprehensive national review and re-classification process that began in 2013. Emory & Henry was originally admitted to the classification in 2008. Emory & Henry, which is home to the Appalachian Center for Civic Life, was recognized for its “excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement,” according to Anthony S. Bryk, president of the Carnegie Foundation. In each academic year, an average of 95 to 98 percent of E&H students are engaged in some form of civic involvement or service. The Appalachian Center for Civic Life, which strives to integrate education with service and citizenship, is home to an expansive list of programs and initiatives that allow students to achieve tangible outcomes for human gain and address the root causes of social inequalities. w
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 3
Top Study Abroad Program
The independent ranking group Best College Reviews has selected the Emory & Henry study abroad program as one of the top 50 in the nation for all colleges and universities. The ranking highlighted the college’s vast number of options open to Emory & Henry students with access to more than 70 study abroad programs in 35 countries. Emory & Henry provides semester abroad opportunities throughout the world, including locations in Europe, Asia, Central and South America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and its own semester abroad program with community service in Ireland. “We have seen time after time that spending a semester abroad is an experience that changes the lives of the students who participate,” said Dr. Celeste Gaia, director of international education at the college. Faculty and staff members lead students in many Emory Abroad experiences. During the semester, classes meet regularly to study a topic related to the locations to be visited. This spring, E&H employees will lead trips to Trinidad & Tobago, Greece, Dominican Republic, England, France, The Netherlands, Sweden and Belize. w
College consortium provides grant for solar systems The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV) has been awarded more than $807,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to help 15 of their members, all private nonprofit colleges in Virginia including Emory & Henry, develop comprehensive plans for implementing solar power on their campuses. The three-year program will help the colleges navigate the complex legal, regulatory, and technical challenges associated with installing solar systems, leverage group purchasing power to achieve price reductions for hardware and installation services, and create a learning network accessible by other organizations considering solar power. Consulting services will be provided to CICV by Optony, Inc., a global consulting firm focused on solar energy. The SunShot Initiative presents an opportunity for the colleges to work together to effectively make progress in an area that is challenging when working individually, particularly for smaller schools that may be limited in the resources they can commit to installing solar. w
Emory & Henry College Executive Council President Jake B. Schrum Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty David Haney Vice President for Business and Finance Rick Gaumer Vice President for Operations Dirk E. Wilmoth Vice President for Enrollment Management Dave Voskuil Vice President for Institutional Advancement Joseph P. Taylor Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Pamela L. Gourley Director of Public Relations Dirk S. Moore Director of Athletics Myra Sims Executive Assistant to the President Mark R. Graham ’85
Emory & Henry College Alumni Association Board of Directors Allison Mays '95, President Jenny Poston Bishop '93, Immediate Past President Scott SIkes '99, Vice-President Andy Zimmerman '90, Second Vice-President Brooklyn Sawyers '02, Tenn. Monica Gonzalez ’98, Tri-Cities (Tenn.) Beth Deskins ’85, New River Valley Catie Neal ’10, Shenandoah Valley Speedy Williams McClure ’95, Washington County Kathy Cox ’92, Smyth County Margaret Turman Kidd ’98, Richmond Pat Shrader ’93, North Carolina Ann Rector Shupe ’69, Piedmont Jon Crutchfield ’91, Roanoke Valley Pam Buchanan ’90, Northern Virginia Robert Beauchamp ’89, Mountain Empire Ralph and Kari Kemper Tudor ’86 & ‘82, Tidewater Stewart Whitmore Plein ’82, West Virginia Chuck Alexander ’89, D.C./Maryland Will Garrison ’10, 2010s Rep. Bobbie Frentz ’03, 2000s Rep. Erick Long '91, 1990s Rep. Steve Galyean '82, 1980s Rep. George Whitley, ’77, 1970s Rep. 1960s Rep. Sally Sprinkle Bentley ’54, Gold Club Cyndi Jennings ’91, At-Large Cindy Barker Blevins ’84, At-Large Shalonda Carter ’09, At-Large Doug Dalton ’94, E-Rep.
THE / ALUMNI PRESIDENT
/ REPORTS
Dear Fellow Alumni: It is with a great deal of honor that I assume the role of president of the Emory & Henry Alumni Association. I am keenly aware of all the great volunteers who have served in this role before me, and I am thrilled to follow in their footsteps while blazing new paths. If you’ll consult the alumni and friends webpage at alumni.ehc. edu you will find that the E&H Alumni Association is really busy! You’ll see photos of recent events and you can check out the list of upcoming events so that you don’t miss any great opportunities. In 2015 you’ll have great chances to get insight into history as alumnus Chris Kolakowski (’99) offers a private tour of the MacArthur Memorial and alumnus and former president Charlie Sydnor (’65) gives us a private tour of the Virginia Holocaust Museum. You have the opportunity to be on campus for memorable events like the presentation of our distinguished alumni awards and a concert that will be part of the Crooked Road’s Mountains of Music Homecoming event. And you’ll have a chance for pure fun at a Tennessee Smokies baseball game and a float on the Clinch River! Emory & Henry gives us many chances for lifelong learning, for keeping up with innovations on campus, and for interacting with friends old and new. Check out the list of events often as new events get added routinely. But most importantly, be aware of all the great opportunities to stay involved with our great alma mater. We look forward to seeing you soon! Sincerely, Allison Mays (’95) President, E&H Alumni Association Front Cover: Photo of Bartlett Crowe Field Station and graphic © Can Stock Photo Inc /tolokonov
The Emory & Henry Magazine Editor/Art Director Jamie Smyth, Associate Director of Public Relations Alumni Editor Monica S. Hoel ’85, Alumni Director Contributors: Dirk Moore, Senior Writer Rhonda Widener, Class Notes Manager Dave Grace, Photographer Tim Jackson, Writer
Joe Matthews, Writer Leah Prater, Photographer Brent Treash ’01, Photographer, Writer Carolyn Wilson, Writer
CONTENTS
The EMORY & HENRY Magazine SPRING 2015
COVER story: Environmental Studies turns 15: Alumni look back p. 6-9
DEPARTMENTS ON THE CAMPUS p. 10-13 feature p. 10 Radio station juiced by solar
p. 22
IN THE CLASSROOM p. 14-17 feature p. 14 Saliba presents retrospective ADVANCEMENT p. 18-21 feature p. 18 Scholarships making a difference in women’s lives
p. 18
SPORTS p. 22-24 feature p. 22 Coaches walk dedicated ALUMNI ROUNDUP p. 26-31 feature p. 26 Outdoor Program gets paint: alumnus creates new mural p. 28 Alumni Association News CLASS NOTES & ALUMNI FEATURES p. 32-40 IN MEMORIAM p. 39-42
The Emory & Henry magazine is published regularly for alumni, parents and friends of Emory & Henry College. Send news, letters or change of address to the following: Emory & Henry Emory & Henry College PO Box 950 • Emory, Virginia 24327-0950 Phone: 276-944-6126 • E-mail: alumni@ehc.edu Website: www@ehc.edu The Emory & Henry magazine © 2015 Emory & Henry College 4 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
p. 10
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 5
p. 26
p. 14
p. 33
COVER
Environmental Studies Program at E&H Celebrates 15 Years By Tim W. Jackson Fifteen years ago, Dr. Ed Davis, professor of geography, and Dr. Melissa Taverner, associate professor of biology, discovered that Emory & Henry students weren’t getting all the coursework needed for certain environmental careers. Meanwhile, the National Research Council published a report in 1995 saying that too few policy-makers knew their science, and too few scientists knew their policy. So Davis and Taverner reached out for help to create a program that provides a basis for sound decision-making through knowledge of both scientific and policy-related aspects of the Earth’s ecosystems. “We got support from the chemistry, biology, earth science and geography programs,” Davis said. “We also included the Political Science Department. Dr. Taverner and I worked on it for two years, and when it was approved, we had sophomores and juniors wanting to major in it.” Now, the Environmental Studies Program averages about six or seven graduates per year, ranging up to 17 in 2013. As of May 2015’s graduation ceremony, the program will have graduated 105 E&H students. Four faculty members currently participate in the program. Dr. Sara Bier, geologist, teaches environmental geology and hydrology classes. Dr. Steven Hopp, ornithologist, teaches wildlife monitoring and sustainable agriculture in Appalachia. Dr. Laura Hainsworth, environmental chemist, is the chair of the program and teaches the introductory course, college chemistry, as well as environmental monitoring. And Davis remains a strong part of the program, teaching the environmental policy and courses on planning. One of the first students in the program was Milissa England Cheves (’00), who now works for the Williamsburg-based engineering and architectural firm of DJG, Inc. “The Environmental Studies Program at Emory & Henry exposed me to a large array of possible environmental professions,” Cheves said. “While at Emory & Henry I never thought of a career in engineering but was happy after I graduated that my environmental studies degree prepared me for a career in land development.” Another early student in the program was Katy Dowe Treash (’02), who now serves Washington County as an environmental health specialist with the Virginia Department of Health. “I entered into Emory & Henry College as a biology major,” Treash said. “Then there was Introduction to Environmental Studies class, which I took to satisfy some kind of biology credit requirement. Maybe it was the content of the class or maybe it was Dr. Ed Davis’ humor and infectious passion for the subject matter, but I was hooked and my path started to come into focus. At that point I decided to double major in biology and environmental studies.” Stacy Fowler Horton (’03) said that she wanted to study the environment ever since learning about macroinvertebrates in high school. “As a student, I naturally leaned toward the science side of the Environmental Studies Program,” Horton said. “As an academic, I craved research projects, both field research and book research, because I loved writing, learning about new concepts, and trying to understand how everything fit together. Oral presentations were often required as part of these projects and, being more of an introvert, this was definitely an area where I grew because it forced me out of my comfort zone.” Horton is currently employed with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Division 6 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
of Soil and Water Conservation as a conservation district coordinator (CDC). “As a CDC, I serve as a regional liaison between the Commonwealth and seven local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), primarily in relation to the implementation of the Commonwealth’s Voluntary Agricultural Best Management Practices program.” Martha Whitaker Chapman (’04) said that the Environmental Studies Program was the highlight of her academic career. Growing up on a farm, she always had an interest in the environment. “Our drinking water came from a natural spring so having clean water was an important topic for my family. The Environmental Studies Program helped me to understand more about the natural world around me, not just water but air and land. By the time I finished the program, I knew I wanted to work for an organization that would help change our impacts on the environment. The Environmental Studies Program helped me get to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality were I serve as the TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) coordinator for the DEQ Southwest Regional Office. Now not only do I get Katy Dowe Treash takes soil samples, part of her job as environmental to work to protect and restore water quality across Southwest health specialist. Virginia, but I still get to play in the creek!” One important aspect of the program is the internship requirement. Cheves said that her internships with the Department of Conservation & Recreation and the United States Department of Agriculture exposed her to the inner workings of city and state government. “Though I do not work for the government directly, I routinely interact with state and local governments within my current job,” she said. “I also gained priceless contacts within the Virginia state government that I still rely on today.” Treash said that her internship the last semester of her senior year led to her first job after graduation with the Holston River Soil and Water Conservation District in Washington County. “My internship made me appreciate the cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships that can be fostered between local agencies and citizens to protect and promote our natural resources,” Treash said. Alex Sneed (’07) also had an internship that led to a full-time job. “I was fortunate enough to complete an internship working as a water quality monitoring specialist for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality,” Sneed said. “After completion of my degree, the Department hired me to continue those duties as a full-time employee and I have held several other positions with the agency since then. Looking back, the internship was the — Katy Treash most vital part in securing the employment I have today.” Add Chapman to those whose internship led directly to her first job. “I did my internship with the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable (UTRR), a nonprofit organization focused on protecting the health of the Clinch, Powell and Holston rivers,” Chapman said. “Soon after graduating, I went to work for UTRR helping to implement a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.”
“Maybe it was the
content of the class
or maybe it was Dr.
Ed Davis’ humor and infectious passion for the subject matter,
but I was hooked and my path started to come into focus.”
continued Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 7
Internships certainly help prepare the students for their futures, but the program is also known as having a very hands-on curriculum. “Students have access to a wide variety of instruments in the analytical chemistry and biology labs,” Hainsworth said. “More importantly, though, is the fact that they have access to the Bartlett Crowe Field Station. This property—about 15 minutes from the main campus—was a gift to the College from Dr. Charles Bartlett, a former geology professor, and his wife, Jean Bartlett. We have established permanent forest plots for use in ecological studies, deployed a research-grade weather station, and set up an air sampler for collecting samples of atmospheric particulate matter. Our students regularly visit the property to collect water quality data, study wildlife and habitats, and learn about hydrology.” Most program majors are also part of the Emory & Henry Greens, who serve as a resource of all things “green” around the campus community. “Many environmental studies majors have been in the Greens,” Davis said. “This group hosts speakers and films about pollution and endangered species, and they have been key to many green changes on campus, such as getting the administration to adopt a local food policy, so that the food service must buy 10 percent of its food from within 150 miles. They have installed bird boxes in the college woods, supported recycling and composting, and even presented their own Lyceums on important environmental topics like climate change.” “I remember Dr. Davis asking me to get involved with the campus environmental club,” Horton said. “I remember when we received funds to purchase recycling bins and how exciting it was to move from simple cardboard boxes to actual collection containers for recyclables!”
Caudill finds passion and inspiration for a future in environmental engineering Emory & Henry ventures into solar power have helped illuminate a path to Jake Caudill’s future. Caudill was raised in an environmentally conscious family in nearby Meadowview, Va. His family lived a simple life with a simple philosophy to minimize waste. After deciding to enroll at Emory & Henry, Caudill found himself talking to environmental studies professor Ed Davis about opportunities available for him to become involved on campus. Eventually, Caudill was chosen to be a representative on the planning Jake Caudill is taking the path to environmental engineering. group for a proposed solar array to power the transmitter for the College’s radio station, 90.7 FM. Caudill worked closely with Nick Safay, the vice president of operations and development at EcoLogical Energy Systems in Bristol, Tenn., the group responsible for building the array. “I had a very basic understanding of what solar power was, but just a few months with Nick Safay was like a master’s course in the advantages and possibilities of solar power in our region,” Caudill said. Caudill has spent much of his first year educating K-12 students about environmental issues at the Sugar Hollow Park Great Outdoors Learning Dome (GOLD) in Bristol,Va. This experience with GOLD has inspired Caudill to begin development of a region-wide educational program that aims to show the positive environmental impact of solar power. “I have a passion to educate the surrounding communities about the advantages of renewable energy and in particular solar power,” Caudill said. “As I continue to talk about this project around campus, the faculty and staff at the College have been open to helping me, and they are continually sharing their connections to make this project a reality.” In the meantime, Caudill says he wants to continue to partner with the Emory community to reach the College’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2020. “Jake has a great passion for doing the right thing, particularly protecting the Earth for future generations, said Davis. “We might credit his Boy Scout training, and just growing up in the outdoors, and maybe his Sunday School teachers. The end result is a perfect fit for us: his combined interests in science and stewardship make Jake just the kind of person to make a big difference in the world, so we wanted him on our Environmental Studies team, and we are very glad he chose Emory & Henry.” After graduation, Caudill hopes to pursue advanced education in the field of environmental engineering. “What I ultimately want to do is look out on a piece of property or an existing building and answer the question of what can we do with that real estate to minimize our carbon footprint.” w 8 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
The program’s alumni still recall fond memories of their time at Emory & Henry. Horton remembers being recruited by Dr. Taverner to take a field study course in Costa Rica. “At the start, I recall being very apprehensive,” Horton said. “Looking back, I am so glad that I went. What an amazing two weeks! Professor Greg McConnell did such a great job preparing us with a semester-long course and teaching us so many things in the field. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.” Chapman said that her best memory is of the Environmental Monitoring class. “We got to pick a location to do water quality monitoring through the semester and then develop a presentation showing the results,” she said. “My partner and I chose to monitor Big Tumbling Creek in the Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area. We gave our presentation to folks at the Holston River Soil and Water Conservation District and staff from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. I was nervous! In the end, I went on to work closely with most of the folks in that room who still kid me about being so nervous. Now giving presentations about water quality is one of the main things I do.” v Tim W. Jackson is a freelance writer and editor living in Weaverville, North Carolina.
Alex Sneed has been employed by the Department of Environmental Quality since 2007.
“I was fortunate to complete an internship working as a water quality monitoring specialist for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The internship was the most vital part in securing the employment I have today.”
— Alex Sneed
Mark your calendars!
Environmental students have the added benefit of use of the Bartlett Crowe Field Station (discussed in story above) as their outdoor classroom. Here, Davis discusses how to monitor air polution with students Ben Wassum and Caroline McCray.
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 9
There will be an environmental studies reunion on Saturday, Sept. 5. Details and announcement to come later. In the meantime, if you have questions, call Ed Davis or Monica Hoel.
feature
ON CAMPUS-
ON CAMPUS / news
White speaks at E&H Founders Day: Spirit of generosity makes ‘magic’
Emory & Henry boasts first solar powered FM radio station in the Southeast
Construction has been
completed on an array of solar panels that will power Emory & Henry College’s radio station, WEHC 90.7, making it the first solar powered FM station in the Southeast.
Two rows of 96 panels
were assembled on the southfacing slope below the station’s transmission tower, which is located near Exit 26 along Interstate 81. The panels now produce 75 percent of the power needed to run the transmitter, which currently broadcasts to a five-county area in Southwest Virginia.
With this new energy source,
WEHC becomes the second radio station on the east coast to be juiced by solar energy.
“This makes a big statement,”
said Dr. Teresa Keller, professor of mass communications at the college and director of the radio
of the expense met by the College and the other half coming from a grant from the Jesse Ball DuPont Foundation. Ecological Energy Systems of Bristol, Tenn., installed the panels.
station. “With solar panels aligned
Leader in Energy Efficiency
along the interstate powering the
College’s radio station, Emory &
of several major construction
Henry will be conveying to a very
efforts at the College to
large audience the benefits and
improve energy efficiency.
accessibility of renewable energy,”
Prior to this project, the College
said Keller, who has led efforts to
undertook more than $50
develop and expand the radio
million in construction and
station.
renovation of buildings, all
aimed at achieving significant
The cost of the panels is
estimated at $80,000, with half
The solar array is the latest
energy efficiency in design. w
“Emory & Henry is a leader in energy efficiency,” said Dr. Ed Davis, chair of the Geography Department at Emory & Henry. “From recycling to building design to renewable energy, we are moving forward aggressively with our plans to be a carbon neutral community and to be an example to our students and our region when it comes to the environment.”
Emory & Henry cultivates a pervasive spirit of generosity, and those touched by it act on behalf of others without thought of reward or recognition, according to Delilah White, a 2005 E&H graduate who has dedicated her life’s work to generous acts and nurturing the generosity she finds in others. White serves as the founder and president of VETWorkx Consulting, which helps military veterans find jobs and deal with other challenges in their lives. She also serves as the project and communications manager for the Center for Principled Problem Solving at Guilford College. In 2013, White demonstrated her own sense of generosity when she donated a kidney to a colleague, Belvie Morant, thus saving her life. The two women worked at the time at Danville Community College as career coaches and outreach specialists focused on providing education and career training access to under-represented and underserved populations throughout southern Virginia. Some 500 people gathered Thursday, March 26, in the sanctuary of Emory & Henry’s Memorial Chapel to observe Founders Day and celebrate the founding of the College. White encouraged others to perform continually important acts of generosity. Emory & Henry students, she said, acquire the habit of generosity “simply by living, learning and growing in a generous environment.” In acknowledgment of the four community members who founded Emory & Henry College and to recognize those persons and institutions making significant contributions to the region today, the College presented citations as part of the Founders Day ceremony. David L. Lester, who serves as chief financial officer, co-managing member or director for many of The Nicewonder Group of Bristol, Virginia’s assets. He was honored for his business entrepreneurship and civic leadership in the region. B. Fielding Rolston, a retired senior vice president for human resources and communications at Eastman Kodak Company in Kingsport, Tenn., was recognized for his B. Fielding Rolston
David L. Lester 10 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 11
Delilah White and Belvie Morant
extensive leadership in the realm of education, notably as chair of the Tennessee State Board of Education and Emory & Henry Board of Trustees. The E&H Alumni Association also honored the following individuals for their outstanding achievements: Carl and Ruth Looney Humanitarian Award: Dr. W. Mark Handy, E&H Class of 1986, a family medical practitioner in Abingdon, Virginia. Distinguished Achievement Award: Dr. James B. McNeer, E&H Class of 1961, retired president of Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Virginia. Fred Selfe Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award: R. Dean Newman, E&H Class of 1962, owner operator of Newman Sales and sponsor of many E&H tailgates. A.L. Mitchell Young Alumnus of the Year Award: Eric W. McClure, E&H Class of 2000, American stock car racing driver competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. James A. Davis Faculty Award: Dr. Rebecca Buchanan, Emory & Henry professor of Health and Human Performance. w
James B. McNeer
W. Mark Handy
Eric W. McClure
R. Dean Newman
Rebecca Buchanan
E&H to Launch First Marching Band in ODAC Emory & Henry will bring its colors and music to football games and other events beginning this fall when it launches the first marching band of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The band, under the direction of Dr. Matt Frederick, the College’s director of bands and professor of trumpet, will begin with 60 musicians joined by a color guard. The band is projected to grow to 100 playing members over the next five years. Comprised of music majors and non-music majors the group adds to the performance opportunities for student musicians at the College. It will be the first marching band in the ODAC and, according to Frederick, “aims to raise the bar for marching bands in our region.” “I’m very proud to be a part of this endeavor, and the energy and support from the campus community has been truly overwhelming,” he said. “When Emory & Henry College started sponsoring the Chilhowie Apple Band Festival, it became clear to us that the students of this region shared a clear passion for marching band.” The festival last fall saw 1,600 students competing. The College also sponsors summer music camps for color guard, drum majors, and middle and high school students. Katherine Bordwine is a senior triple major (political science, sociology and history) from Saltville, Va. She has been a part of the pep band since she began at Emory & Henry. “The pep band and concert choir were definitely driving factors for why I decided to attend Emory & Henry. I had been to a few of the games and seen the awesome work that the pep band was doing and I knew that I wanted to be a part of it,” said Bordwine. “The marching band has already opened so many doors for me. I am not
Gaumer appointed new finance VP
really a talented musician, but being around the people in the band pushes me to play better, work harder, and Emory & Henry’s 1950s help the men and women marching band. that will be on the field with me. We are all looking forward to being part of the marching band.” An important goal of the band is to enhance the football game atmosphere on the E&H campus. Emory & Henry football game days enjoy some of the largest crowds in Division III football, and the addition of a marching band adds to the excitement of the day while providing students from all disciplines with the opportunity to participate in a popular form of musical entertainment. The last time Emory & Henry had a marching band was in 1958. The pep band has provided music from the stands since then. “For us in athletics, I think it’s going to add a lot more to our game-day experience,” said Myra Sims, E&H athletic director. “It will also allow us to have pep bands at men’s and women’s basketball games.” Frederick said, “This is an exciting time for Emory & Henry because of the ability we have to begin and grow this new musical ensemble that will be a great benefit to almost every major on campus and will have a very positive impact on campus and community life here.” w
Members of the new Emory & Henry Marching Band: Front row (l-r): Jessee Wright, Rachel Bedsaul, Sean Collier, Elise Bartz, Emily Jones, Jessica Myer, Allison Vermillion, Samantha Walls, Lauren Griffin, Beth Stevens, Kirsten Hines. Second row (l-r): Chris Gillenwaters, Caleb Peters, Tamasin Swoap, Rachael Sharp, Allison Johnson, Jordan Bennett, Lauren Sapp, Shelby Carico. Third row (l-r): Julian Bright, Laken Brooks, Jon Ross, Andrew Siva, Dakota Miller, Heather Wolfe, Stephanie Edwards, Hayden Hale, Dawnna Metcalfe, Ian Clarke, Matt Hawkins, Conner Carriger.
“In the Name of God: World Religions and Civil Rights” was the theme for Emory & Henry’s 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day celebration. During a time of great unrest in our world, especially related to religious ideology, this year’s event provided participants with accurate information about the beliefs of a variety of world religions, especially in the areas of civil rights. The keynote address, “Muhammad Ali, Islam and Civil Rights in Multi-Religious America,”was
delivered by Dr. Martyn Oliver, professional lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University. By examining the role that American Muslims played in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Oliver emphasized how religious scripture can be used to justify social strife or to inspire civic progress. More than 550 students, staff and faculty attended the day-long celebration which also included presentations by faculty and students and breakout sessions for continued discussion. w 12 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Wright hired to assist during development of new program E&H professor Charles Goolsby has won the “Artist: Achievement in the Arts” award from the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire. The selection was based on artistic excellence, perseverance and a deep commitment and sustained contributions to the arts and the cultural community. An awards ceremony May 16 will recognize the winners. AAME is the parent organization of A! Magazine.
E&H staff and students receive advertising awards Dirk Moore, E&H director of public relations, won the first-ever Silver Medal Award given by the American Advertising Federation of Southwest Virginia. This prestigious award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in advertising, honors Moore for his 21 years of experience at Emory & Henry and his community leadership in Glade Spring, Va. Other awards were given to the college’s public relations staff: Jamie Smyth, associate director of public relations; Kevin Call, assistant director of electronic communications; and Leah Prater, assistant for print and web. Executive assistant to the president, Mark Graham (’85), and admissions staff members, Dave Voskuil, Matt Crisman, Anthony Graham and Alex Veatch (’10) also won awards, as did E&H students Lauren Sapp, Kelsey Hubbard, Christina Druen, Kali Gentry and Taylor Banner. w
Thompson granted service award Glen Thompson, a member of the facilities staff at Emory & Henry College, has been granted an award of service excellence by the Virginia Association of College and University Housing Officers (VACUHO). To earn this award, Thompson displayed superior performance and dedication to Emory & Henry’s campus community. Thompson is active in the recycling efforts at the college. The recipients of this award are nominated by the chief housing officer of the institution at which they work, and then chosen by the VACUHO Governing Council. The council is comprised of representatives from colleges and universities all over Virginia that are members of VACUHO. w Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 13
Sharon Wiley Wright has been hired as the College’s associate chaplain. Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in history and religion from Emory & Henry in 1994 and a master of divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2000. While serving as a US2 with the United Methodist Church from 1994 through 1996, she served at the University of Puget Sound as a campus minister. Wright was ordained an elder in the Holston Conference in 2002. As part-time associate chaplain she will assist with the work of the Office of Spiritual Life as Mary K. Pope Briggs,’86, college chaplain, directs “Defining Moments,” a program recently funded by the General Board of Higher Education’s Sharon Wright Young Clergy Initiative. w
Campbell brings education and management experience to job An experienced administrator with extensive work history in higher education and arts management has been named the director of the new Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts at Emory & Henry. Lisa Campbell has begun work to prepare for the opening of the Center, which is currently under construction with the grand opening scheduled for September. (See related story on page 18.)
Campbell most recently served as director of the Center for Student Affairs at Discovery Park at the University of North Texas in Denton. Previously she served as creative services manager for arts and cultural programming at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. She has also been director of diversity and outreach for the School of Fine Arts, coordinator of audience development and special events at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and executive director of the Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts in Cooksburg, Penn. Campbell holds a master of arts degree in higher education administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a bachelor of arts degree in theatre from the same institution. w Lisa Campbell
ON CAMPUS
ON CAMPUS
Campus comes together to discuss religion and civil rights
Rick Gaumer has been hired as Emory & Henry’s vice president for finance as Dirk Wilmoth moves to the vice president for facilities position. Gaumer has held positions ranging from controller to CFO and professor. He holds the Certified Public Accountant license in Wisconsin, the Certified Rick Gaumer Fraud Examiner certification from the ACFE, and the Chartered Global Managerial Accountant designation from the AICPA. w
Saliba to Provide Retrospective on Five Decades
Retrospective
feature
CLASSROOM
IN THE CLASSROOM / happenings
Dr. Samir Saliba, who has served Emory & Henry for 51 years and whose
leadership at the College helped shape its mission and many of its most important programs, will provide a retrospective on the institution during his time at the institution.
The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. on April 22 in the Board of Visitors
Lounge of the Van Dyke Center. It is part of a tribute organized by the College to honor Saliba, who has served the longest number of consecutive years of any faculty member in the College’s history.
Saliba joined the E&H Political Science Department in 1964 after studying
for his Ph.D. in political science from Tulane University, which he received in 1966. He attended Tulane as an undergraduate with the goal of receiving a degree in public health, but professors there quickly keyed in on his passion for global politics.
By 1971, Saliba had become chair of the Division of Social Sciences. A
year later he was appointed dean of the college and shortly thereafter began his stint as interim president. He has accumulated numerous honors, most notable the 1997 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia and the 2001 Outstanding Educator of the Year Award, a national recognition from the United Methodist Foundation.
In 1991, he was designated the Hawthorne Professor of Political Science,
and in 1995, he was named the Meyung Professor of International Studies. In 2010, Peter Walters, a member of the E&H Class of 1970, established in honor of his former professor the Samir N. Saliba Endowment for International Studies.
A prolific scholar, Saliba has co-authored with Harold J. Berman, one of the leading pre-law textbooks, “The Nature and Functions of Law,” which is now in its seventh edition. His scholarship has focused largely on Middle Eastern studies, although much of his research also has been devoted to such topics as Sino-Soviet relations, European affairs, and third world politics. v
Dr. Saliba in his office in McGlothlin-Street Hall 14 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Wheeler wins recognition at Theatre professor named finalist for education council’s Kennedy Center Professor Daniel Wheeler, chair of the Emory & Henry “Rising Star” award College Theatre Department, has been recognized by Dr. Kelly Bremner, an Emory & Henry College theatre professor, has been named a finalist for the 2015 “Rising Star” Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. Bremner, who has been selected as a finalist for the award for two consecutive years, has been repeatedly recognized for her success as a theatre director and producer and for her mentorship of students who have won major regional and national theatre competitions. A member of the E&H faculty since 2010, Bremner has directed numerous plays that have enjoyed large audiences and critical acclaim, including numerous Meritorious Achievement awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In much of her work, Bremner seeks to connect theatre Kelly Bremner productions to audiences in ways that will lead to positive social action. For example, in 2012, the E&H Theatre Department under her leadership was selected to produce the Virginia version of a nation-wide election-year production of “44 Plays for 44 Presidents,” which was tied to a nationwide voter registration drive. “I hope my students come here with a sense of personal pride in their theatre work, but I hope they leave with a deep understanding of the way in which choosing theatre as a career is to choose a way of acting, not just on the stage, but on behalf of others,” said Bremner. w
the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) by a Meritorious Achievement Awards in recognition for his design work on the fall 2014 show, The Spitfire Grill. Wheeler, who has been with Emory & Henry for five years, has designed for numerous productions in the LA/ Hollywood area. As a professional scenic artist he has painted numerous theatrical productions and painted commercially for companies such as Disney, Lexus, Infinity and Mattel. Seven students also attended the festival to compete, participate in workshops, rehearse and perform in new play readings, and see shows from the faculty and students from colleges throughout the southeastern United States. Adde Plemmons, Osama Ashour and McKinley Hughes competed in the prestigious Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. Ashour was selected for the semi-final round of 32 out of a field of 210 students for the second year in a row. Collin Helou was invited to share his lighting design from the Mainstage Production of Medea. The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival is a national theatre program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide. w
A scene from The Spitfire Grill production at Emory & Henry
Fishell prepares for summer fellowship with national media Nathan Fishell, a junior from Richmond, Va., has been named a summer fellow by the International Radio and Television Society, enabling him to work for a national media outlet in New York City. His recognition marks the second consecutive year that an E&H student has been awarded this highly competitive fellowship, which attracts applicants from top communications programs in the country, including programs at Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Florida, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fishell will be working with the sales division of Katz Media Group, one of the nation’s leading fullservice media sales and marketing firms in the nation. A subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, Katz Media Group is based in New York and has 19 regional offices. Today the company represents nearly 4,000 radio stations and 700 television and digital multicast stations. In addition, Katz represents more than 4,000 Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 15
online publishers across audio, video, display email and mobile channels. “I love talking to people, hearing their stories, and ultimately helping businesses reach their goals through advertising sales,” said Fishell. He worked as a sales intern at WTVR-TV, CBS 6, in Richmond Nathan Fishell during summer 2014 and has since been included in the station’s sales activities over school breaks and as his time has allowed. He learned of the IRTS award while traveling with the WTVR sales team to a Baltimore sales meeting. “I’ve learned so much from the sales team at WTVR that I will carry with me on this exciting opportunity in the nation’s media hub,” Fishell said. “They keep reminding me to stay humble and put in the time and effort to learn from some of best in the business.” w
Teagle grant to help fund Aristotle Center Emory & Henry College has been awarded a $25,000 planning grant from The Teagle Foundation in support of an effort to produce evidence-based pedagogical curricular innovations to bridge the gap between the sciences and the humanities in undergraduate education. The funds, which are to be used in 2015, will help in the construction and marketing of The Aristotle Center for Science in the Humanities, an online resource that will include, among other features, an online global forum to enhance professional development and pedagogical strategies for college educators and information about curriculum development grants for professors. Two E&H professors – Dr. Brynn Welch, a professor of philosophy, and Dr. Adam Wells, a professor of religion – are leading the effort to develop The Aristotle Center. The Aristotle Center will function as a central, easily accessible repository for educators and institutions looking to incorporate scientific advances into broader humanistic discussions at the undergraduate level. Welch and Wells also will spend 2015 traveling to other schools to build a consortium of faculty and administrators to help shape the future of the Center. They also will be developing plans for a series of conferences at Emory & Henry. w
Equine degree program joins E&H curriculum The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has agreed to include an equine studies degree within the scope of the accreditation it has granted for Emory & Henry College. With this approval, Emory & Henry now has integrated fully the equestrian program that was once at Virginia Intermont in Bristol, Va., into its curriculum and athletic life. Prior to this approval only students transferring directly from Virginia Intermont could graduate from the equine studies program. Now any qualified current or new E&H student can graduate with a B.A. or B.S. in equine studies. w
Ramirez honored An Emory & Henry professor of Spanish has been honored by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, becoming the latest on a long list of E&H faculty members to receive state or national recognition for teaching excellence. Dr. Alma Ramirez has been awarded the 2014 H. Hiter Harris Rising Star Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Ramirez’s teaching is marked by a desire to prepare students for success in a multi-lingual, diverse world. “I know this sounds perhaps overly idealistic, even cliché. Still, I am driven by this purpose, because, as an Hispanic woman in rural Southwest Virginia, I confront the challenges of cultural difference almost daily,” said Ramirez, professor of foreign languages. “At the same time, while I work with young people from this area, I am moved by the enthusiasm that they demonstrate to transport themselves and others across this divide.” Since coming to Emory & Henry in 2010, Ramirez began a Spanish club and honor society. In addition, she has worked on projects such as a migrant health fair, which she organized and which provides the local Hispanic community access to free medical exams and information about local and regional services. She also has promoted the Pulsera Project, a non-profit organization that empowers young Nicaraguan artisans through the sale of hand-woven bracelets. Her research has been published in significant journals, such as Hispania, and she has made numerous conference presentations. This past summer, she attended a seminar on globalization at the National Humanities during a summer when she also did fieldwork in Mexico. w
The Emory & Henry College Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in Marion has been granted candidacy status, clearing the College to admit students for the program and begin classes in August. The action from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) reverses a decision announced in November to deny candidacy for the program. This latest decision now places the College back on course toward earning final accreditation, which would come after the graduation of the first class of students in 2018. Following the decision to deny candidacy, Emory & Henry filed a request for an expedited reconsideration.
Prior to the November decision to deny candidacy, Emory & Henry had successfully recruited 32 students – the maximum number of students for each class – to study in the three-year program. To date, 30 of those students will be joining the program this fall. College officials have informed those students of the decision by CAPTE, announcing at the same time that classes will now begin in August. Emory & Henry is moving forward with plans to add occupational therapy and physician assistant programs at its Marion campus., according to Lou Fincher, director of the Health Sciences Program. w 16 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Music!
The Emory & Henry College Music Department will host a Band Academy for middle and high school students during the summer of 2015. Participants in the Band Academy will learn from E&H faculty and other leading professionals in the area. The middle school camp will be held June 9-11, and the high school camp will be June 15-18. Emory & Henry also will be offering a Drum Major Academy Day and a Color Guard Day on May 2, 2015. This is the first and only band camp program in Southwest Virginia. “This is an exciting opportunity for instrumental music students from across the region and beyond to come together, learn from one another and make some great music,” said Dr. Matt Frederick, E&H director of bands. w Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 17
For the second year, Emory & Henry College will be extending the popular outdoor experience enjoyed by E&H students to high school juniors and seniors, giving a greater number of young people the opportunity to bond with nature while working with others. The Emory & Henry Summer Adventure Program is a 12-day experience from Saturday, June 20th through Wednesday, July 1, 2015. During that time students will hike the Channels State Park, backpack and boulder in the Grayson Highlands State Park, navigate rivers on stand-up paddle boards, bike the Creeper Trail, raft the Noli Gorge and hike to the summit of Mount Mitchell. In the evenings they will make camp in the back country or at area campsites. While undertaking these outdoor adventures, students will learn such skills as preparing a backpack, cooking outdoors, bouldering and navigating in the wild. Students also will maintain a journal and undertake other projects that encourage reflection on the experience. The E&H Summer Adventure Program will only accept up to 20 students, and six instructors are dedicated to the Program, which means the student-to-instructor ratio will always be at least 4 to 1, guaranteeing plenty of personal attention and guidance. Instructors are qualified back country leaders, but they are most importantly caring, fun people. To register or for more information, go online: ehc.edu/summer-adventure. w
Scholarship...
Voted best summer camp in Southwest Virginia by readers of Virginia Living magazine, the annual Emory & Henry College Summer Scholars Institute is scheduled for June 14-19, 2015 on the E&H campus. Now in its 36th year, Summer Scholars is a one-week residential camp for academically enthusiastic and talented rising sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth graders. Summer Scholars Leadership Program is also available for rising 10th, 11th and 12th grade high school students. This advanced program provides skills and tools to aid students in becoming better prepared for leadership roles in high school and college. Scholars attend daily classes with experienced instructors in E&H academic buildings, stay in a campus residence halls, and are assigned an adult mentor who will guide them during their stay. Previous year’s classes have included drama/theatre, foreign language, leadership, myth-busters, arts, science and wellness. At the time of application, students may request specific subject matter of interest to them and influence the course offerings for this year’s camp. Some school systems may provide scholarships to the camp. For more information email tlawson@ehc.edu or call 276-944-6214 / 276-971-7666 or go online: www.ehc.edu/summer-scholars. w
Sports... The Athletic Department is offering a variety of sports camps this summer, including football, boy’s and girl’s basketball, soccer and volleyball. The College’s new equestrian program will also host two riding camps. For information about all of these camps, go to: .w
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM
DPT program granted candidacy status following setback
SUMMER AT E&H
Adventure...
feature
ADVANCEMENT
Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation: More than three decades of hope through scholarship for young women
No
received as much as $7,000 in one year,” Blevins said. one knows the financial challenges of college Emory & Henry is among more than 200 accredited more than the student who is faced with paying educational institutions to receive the scholarship hundreds of dollars for one textbook or learning the cost of grants that assist more than 10,000 students each year. a study abroad trip that all of his or her friends are taking. According to Blevins, the need-based scholarships Without financial aid, many of these students could must be awarded to Christian women who live in one never afford the college of their dreams. of the specified states: Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Nearly twenty years after her graduation from Emory Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina & Henry, Scarlett Cortner Blevins, ’98, has not forgotten or South Carolina. the importance of financial assistance while a student. “I Thirty-four E&H students received the scholarship was able to afford Emory & Henry because of the grants I grants during the 2014-15 academic year. “We try received. Now, I want to help students afford an education, too,” said Blevins, who as director of financial aid at Emory to divide the grant money among deserving female students in all of the specified states. But, the majority of & Henry assists more than half of the student population our student body comes to us from Virginia, Tennessee, with some sort of financial needs. North Carolina and South Carolina,” Blevins said. “We One of those resources paving the way for student also renew the scholarships for those students who success is the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, a received the awards as first-year students and who still scholarship program established for Mrs. Whitehead before her death in 1953. She was a generous philanthropist qualify for it.” Members of the Centralized Student Assistance and accomplished businesswoman whose passion was office at Emory & Henry select the students to helping others in need. receive the grants based on family income. “They are More than 30 Emory & Henry students will benefit considered as soon as the students apply for financial from a $212,000 scholarship grant made available by the aid,” Blevins said. Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation for 2015-16. The new Lettie Pate married Joseph Brown Whitehead, an scholarship reflects an $8,000 increase from last year’s attorney from Mississippi, in 1894. Her husband was an award to the College. entrepreneur responsible for obtaining exclusive rights Blevins said the increase likely will enable the College to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in the United States. to help more students than in previous years. The couple resided in Chattanooga, where they raised For at least the past three decades, Emory & Henry two sons, Joseph Brown Whitehead Jr. and Conkey Pate College has been the recipient of grants from the Lettie Whitehead. Pate Whitehead Foundation, Mrs. Whitehead which devotes most of its donated to charities in resources to awarding More than 30 Emory & Henry Virginia and Georgia scholarship assistance and was a trustee of each year to deserving students will benefit from a $212,000 Emory University, female students with scholarship grant made available Agnes Scott College financial need. “Depending and the Virginia on the students’ amount of by the Lettie Pate Whitehead Museum of Fine Arts. need, some students have
“1872: Letitia “Lettie” Pate is born to Elizabeth Stagg and Cornelius Pate, an enterprising merchant, in Thaxton, Virginia. Lettie Pate is raised in the Episcopal Church and privately educated. She exhibits from an early age an inquiring mind and an acute interest in business. During her youth, Lettie Pate lives among elderly female family members of uncertain means. These women lack formal education and struggle financially, observations that later influence Lettie Pate’s charitable giving.”* Her generosity extended to England and France where she supported the Queen’s Fund for air raid victims, furnished ambulances for the French, and served on the board of the American Hospital in Paris. After her husband’s death in 1906, Mrs. Whitehead managed the family’s business affairs, and became one of the first women to serve on the board of directors of a major American corporation.
Foundation for 2015-16.
*from lpwhitehead.org website
18 18 // SPRING SPRING 2015 2015 // Emory Emory & & Henry Henry Magazine Magazine
Emory Emory & & Henry Henry Magazine Magazine // SPRING SPRING 2015 2015 // 19 19
Her oldest son created the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation as a memorial to his father. The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation was created by Conkey Pate Whitehead, Mrs. Whitehead’s youngest son, as a memorial to his mother. Through the benevolence of these two foundations, the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation was formed and continues her legacy. v
INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT / news
Patrick Henry Society Gala In November 2014 the annual Patrick Henry Society dinner was held at The Event Facility in Bristol, Tenn., provided a delightful evening of entertainment, fine cuisine and comradery among the attendees. A silent and live auction successfully raised more than $16,000 to benefit the Paul Adrian Powell III Resource Center at Emory & Henry. Pictured left are Hobie’57, and Addie-Lou Cawood, Margaret Mustard Stickley ’57, and Ken Stickley ’57, and Dr. Martha Rowlett ’57. w
Bullock’s gift increases strength of athletic program To succeed you need to have the right tools for the job. Josh Bullock, Emory & Henry’s first-ever strength and conditioning coach, and his wife, Jeri, saw a need in the workout tools that students and athletes were using in Emory & Henry’s King Athletic Center to keep up with their physical fitness and chose to make a difference by making an in-kind gift valued at $2,000 to help upgrade the equipment available to students, faculty and staff. The gift includes replacement parts for broken equipment, a 55-inch HDTV, and various training equipment including mats, pads, racks, balls and bands. “Everywhere we’ve been, we’ve seen the limitations brought on by the lack of funding,” said Bullock, who moved here from Vermont. “We wanted to provide an opportunity to our students and athletes to have the items they need to be successful.” Last summer, Bullock’s wife, Dr. Jeri Bullock, DDS, accepted a job at the Southwest Josh Bullock
Virginia Regional Dental Center in Saltville, Va., to pursue her passion of working in rural and underserved regions. “This position is important to every team, every coach and every student-athlete in our department. Having a full-time strength and conditioning coach will be like having another part-time assistant coach in every sport,” said Myra Sims, athletic director for the College. “This gift from Josh and Jeri will help us enhance athletic performance, prevent injury, and put us on par with many of the best athletic programs in Division III.” Bullock comes to Emory & Henry after strength and conditioning stints at Killington Mountain School and Green Mountain College in Vermont. Previously, Bullock worked at his alma mater, the University of Redlands. Bullock is responsible for creating and implementing a strength and conditioning program for each of the College’s 13 NCAA Division III teams. He also supervises the day-to-day operations of the Robert W. Gibson, III Fitness Center inside the John Rutledge King Center, while managing the studentworker staff. Bullock says the new and updated equipment is being used every day, and the results on and off the playing field have been positive. One of the other major changes visitors to the fitness center will notice is a new layout that is friendlier to both athletes and students alike. Bullock is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with distinction and a registered strength and conditioning coach by the NSCA, a certified specialist in sports nutrition by the International Sports Sciences Association and a USA Weightlifting certified club coach. w
Below is a photo of the front of the new Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts as it faces the main campus. The ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony, open to the public, is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, at 10 a.m. Following the ribbon cutting and remarks, there will be light refreshments and student-led tours of the new facility until 1 p.m. The event is being partially underwritten through the generosity of the builder, Branch and Associates. An exciting array of art, music, dance and theatre events are being planned for the first season. To sign up for information regarding events, email arts@ehc.edu or call 276.944.6888. For information about seat naming and other methods of financially supporting the arts center, see the inside back cover the magazine, or email rking@ehc.edu.w ehc.edu/art-center
Reedy named to top ACS post
The American Cancer Society has named Gary Reedy (’78) as the chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. Gary assumes the role, which is considered one of the most influential leadership positions among national nonprofit organizations, in April. During his 37-year professional career in the health care industry, Gary held senior leadership positions with SmithKline Beecham, Centocor, and Johnson & Johnson. Gary has served previously as the national chair of the American Cancer Society’s Board of Directors. Gary and his wife, Cindy (’80) are cochairs of the 2014-15 Emory & Henry Fund.
20 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
The Emory & Henry Office of Institutional Advancement announced this fall the establishment of the 1775 Club, a tribute to a famous speech by the College’s namesake, Patrick Henry and an encouragement to members of the Patrick Henry Society to enhance their giving. Named in honor of Henry’s famous 1775 speech, in which he declared, “Give me liberty of give me death,” the new club challenges members of the Patrick Henry Society, who have previously given at least $1,500 annually, to raise their gift minimum to $1,775. The College has held its threshold for membership in the Patrick Henry Society for 11 years. According to Joseph Taylor, vice president for institutional advancement, inflation has, in the meantime, eroded away approximately $300 of the philanthropic power of the minimum Patrick Henry Society gift.
“The 1775 Club provides assurance to donors that their strong support of Emory & Henry provides consistent value year after year,” Taylor said. That appeal seems to be resonating, as 72 percent of all Patrick Henry Society donors have contributed at the 1775 Club-level or above so far this fundraising year. Members of the 1775 Club will receive special recognition in the Honor Roll of Donors and also receive a handsome lapel pin in commemoration of their generosity. The pin, which features an eighteenth-century style profile silhouette of Patrick Henry, is proving to be a hit with donors, says John Eldridge, ’70, the Society’s volunteer chair. “Lapel pins usually just sit in the cuff-links tray,” said Eldridge. “But people actually want to wear this one.” w
Family of Funds proving popular in giving this year Introduced last year, the College’s Family of Funds program has seen positive responses from donors by offering them new choices for directing their charitable gifts. The Family of Funds supports the faculty, staff and students through the College’s operating budget. Contributors are pleased to be given choices as to where
their gift is applied, those being: areas of greatest need and opportunity; academic core; academic support; student life; and access and affordability. The College’s fiscal year ends June 30, 2015, so contributors are encouraged to make a gift by then to be included in the 2014-15 annual Honor Roll of Donors.
Emory & Henry College welcomes four new Board members to its 36 member Board of Trustees, which serves as the governing board for the College.
Dr. Stephen Hunt (’71) of Chandler, N.C., is retired director for planning and policy and manager of international affairs for the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Hunt, who is the son of former E&H president Earl Hunt, Jr., earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from UVA.
Elton Hyder, III, of Forth Worth, Texas, is an attorney and president/CEO of EMH Corporation, whose business interests include commercial real estate, natural gas, water development and farming. He formerly served as a trustee at Texas Wesleyan University and board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Dr. Susan Keene (’86) of Wytheville, Va., is a licensed optometrist who owns and operates Envision Eye Care with offices in Marion and Cedar Bluff, Va. She earned her doctorate of optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and has served as president of the Virginia Optometric Association.
Peter Walters (’70) of Milford, Mich., is the retired chair of the board for Guardian Industries, one of the world’s largest glass and mirror manufacturers. He previously served as chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission and director of the Michigan Energy Administration and of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
ADVANCEMENT
ADVANCEMENT
Update: The Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts
E&H announces establishment of 1775 Club
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 21
feature
SPORTS
E&H Coaching Legends Walk
Emory & Henry College dedicated a new part of Fred
dedicated at Fred Selfe Stadium
reverse its decision, which led to the sport’s reinstatement
Selfe Stadium during halftime at the Randolph-Macon
in 1915. Fullerton and his student-athletes physically
the time of his retirement, accounted for the most wins
apart as a member of the Emory & Henry offensive line. The
football game on Saturday, Oct. 4.
labored to transform a campus meadow into the College’s
in program history. Ramsey coached eleven different
1968 team averaged 542.3 yards of total offense per game,
current playing field complete with night lighting, thereby
players who earned All-America honors, four of whom
which at the time was a national record. Selfe earned All-
football coaches from Emory & Henry for their
heralding a new era of football at Emory & Henry.
were named to the All-America First Team, including Jesse
America honors for that season in which the Wasps posted
accomplishments and contributions to the College:
Originally completed in 1925, Emory & Henry’s stadium is
“Sonny” Wade (’73).
a 9-1 record.
Thomas “Bingo” Fullerton, Casto Ramsey, Fred Selfe and
one of the oldest college football fields in continuous use in
Lou Wacker.
the country.
1969, served the College for more than 30 years as a
164 victories, 11 Old Dominion Athletic Conference
player, coach and athletic director, and inarguably left an
Championships and five NCAA Division III playoff
The Coaching Legends Walk honors four former
In addition, Fullerton Plaza, in the southeast corner
Ramsey spent 13 seasons as Emory & Henry’s head
Ramsey notched an 81-40-7 career record, which at
Selfe, a member of the Emory & Henry class of
As a player for Coach Casto Ramsey, Selfe set himself
Wacker led Emory & Henry to an unprecedented
of Fred Selfe Stadium, was officially dedicated in honor
football coach, leading the Wasps to Smoky Mountain
everlasting mark at Emory & Henry. He will be forever
appearances in his 23 years as head coach. He was inducted
and memory of Fullerton, who was Emory & Henry’s first
Athletic Conference Titles in 1953, 1956 and 1962. In his first
remembered for his slogan, “Trust in your teammates;
into the Virginia Sports Hall
football coach, leading the team for nine seasons between
year as head coach, Emory & Henry faced off against East
trust in yourself,” and for the Fred Selfe Rock, a large piece
of Fame in 2014 and also
1915 and 1926.
Tennessee State College in the 1953 Thanksgiving Day
of granite brought to the College campus and placed on the
had the home grandstand
Burley Bowl in Johnson City, Tenn., the last time until the
east end of the stadium. The rock is a memorial to the man
at Fred Selfe Stadium
1980s that the Wasps would play postseason football.
considered as “a rock” to those who knew him.
named in his honor. v
Intercollegiate football was banned on campus in
the mid-1890’s, but Fullerton petitioned the College to
Casto Ramsey (l-r): Son, Skip Ramsey; daughter, Mary Ramsey Purifoy and her husband, Lew Purifoy (’70).
Lou Wacker (l-r): Daughters, Bruce Forehand and Kris Kraus; Lou Wacker; son, Alex Wacker.
22 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
“Bingo” Fullerton (l-r): Granddaughter, Shelly Blevins Stanley (’88); daughter, Phebe Fullerton Cress (’67).
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 23
Fred Selfe (l-r): Daughter, Paige Selfe McCauley; granddaughter, Sam McCauley; grandson, Fred Selfe; widow, Becky Salyer Selfe (’75).
SPORTS/HIGHLIGHTS Cross country has breakout year The Emory & Henry Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams had a breakout year in 2014. Under third-year Head Coach Tom Antenucci, the Wasps have continued their steady climb up the ranks of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, reaching historical heights. The Emory & Henry women improved their place by two spots, finishing seventh out of 10 teams. It is the first time in program history that the Wasps have finished ahead of three teams in the ODAC meet. Firstyear student Meg Greene led the attack with a 10thplace finish, earning All-ODAC Second-Team honors Meg Greene with her time of 25:13 over the 6K distance. Greene is the first E&H woman to be named all-conference in cross country since 1992. First-year student Olivia Wyatt was second for Emory & Henry, finishing 43rd as she ran a 27:30. Junior Elizabeth Wilson was third on the team while first-year student Lindsey Pratt and junior Gabbie Rhodes rounded out the top five. The men finished fifth out of 11 teams at the ODAC Championships, their highest finish in program history. Picked to finish eighth, Emory & Henry leapt up into the top half of the conference. First-year student Michael Cawood led the way with a time of 28:25 over the 8K course to finish 21st overall while sophomore Alex Cooper was 23rd, running a 28:29. Sophomore Kevin Watts (32nd - 28:59) was third for the Wasps while junior Nathan Fishell (45th) and first-year student Michael LoGrande (51st) rounded out the scoring five with times of 29:32 and 29:51. Both the men’s and women’s squads Michael Cawood were named USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams for the 2014 season. The men posted a 3.46 grade-point average while the women’s GPA was 3.25. w
The E&H Volleyball team began a new era under Head Coach Devyn Bayes during the fall of 2014. The Wasps went 1812 on the year with a 6-5 mark in conference play for its fourth winning season in a row. Emory & Henry also posted a sevenmatch winning streak mid-way through the season. Emory & Henry was paced by a pair of all-league performers in sophomores Tristen Pennington and Kennady Thomason. Pennington earned All-ODAC Second-Team accolades as she averaged 2.77 kills and 3.10 digs per set. She also led the Wasps with 57 service aces and added 30 blocks on the year. She had 17 matches with 10 or more kills and notched 11 double-doubles on the season. Thomason was selected to the allleague third team after attacking at a team-high .298 for 2.17 kills per set from her middle position. She also led the squad with 79 blocks on the year and also contributed a total of 237 kills. Senior Maleah Neely dished out 950 assists on the year to finish third all-time in career assists with 2604. She also notched 86 kills, 38 aces and 24 blocks. Sophomore Emily Hinshaw led the team with 3.6 digs per set and chipped in 37 aces and 92 assists over the season. w Kennady Thomason
Men’s soccer starts strong The Emory & Henry Men’s Soccer team started off strong, with two wins and a tie in its first three games of the season. A 3-2 double-overtime victory over Anderson (Indiana) and a scoreless draw with Earlham in the opening weekend of the year earned the Wasps a runner-up finish in the Raven-Quaker Classic. Emory & Henry also earned a 3-2 win against William Peace at home and brought home a 1-0 ODAC victory from Shenandoah. The 3-2-1 start was the best for the team since 2008 when it started the season 4-2-1. Sophomore Zach Quest led the Wasps with five goals on the year while senior Jared Eiriksson added three scores. Junior Jimmy Wilmouth scored a pair of goals for Emory & Henry as well. Sophomore Didier Grillet handled the majority of the goalkeeping, earning three wins and a shutout as he made 72 saves on the season. The Wasps finished the year with a 3-12-1 record with a 1-10 mark against ODAC foes. w
Zach Quest
Women’s swimming finishes second in ODAC Championships The Emory & Henry Women’s Swimming team has established itself as a top contender in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in just its third year of competition. The Wasps finished second at the ODAC Championships this past February for a second year in a row after winning nine of the 18 events. Sophomore Michaela Nolte defended her title in Michaela Nolte the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke and also was crowned ODAC Champion in the 50-yard freestyle. Her swims in the 100- and 200-breast broke ODAC records. Junior Taylor Guardalabene won the 1650-yard freestyle while sophomores Jessica Richardson and Allison Fowler won the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly, respectively. Emory & Henry also won the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 400yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay. Ten of the team’s 16 swimmers earned All-ODAC honors as Fowler, Guardalabene, Nolte and Richardson were named to the first team. Junior Payton Shirey, first-year students MacKenzie Lingle, Holly Roth and Kelsey Jones earned second-team accolades while junior Nicole Powell and firstyear student Marina Moore were selected to the all-conference third team. Additionally Richardson was awarded the Bonnie Kestner Sportsmanship award, named for the former Sweet Briar College head coach. Dave Griffore was selected as Coach of the Year. Emory & Henry’s swimmers stand out not only in the pool but also in the classroom. At the conclusion of the fall semester, the Wasps earned Team Scholar All-America honors with a team GPA of 3.52, a mark which was eighth in NCAA Division III, and top in the ODAC. w 24 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Under first-year Head Coach Anne Wright Crutchfield (’89) the Emory & Henry Women’s Basketball team had a breakout season, finishing with a 15-13 record. Picked to finish 11th in the regular season, the Wasps posted an 8-8 record in league play, tying for sixthplace. Emory & Henry earned the No. 7 seed in the 2015 ODAC Tournament and defeated Randolph College, 66-49, for its first postseason win since 2005, advancing to the ODAC Tournament Quarterfinals in Salem, Va. The Wasps bested the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets in the quarterfinals, winning by Chloe Harris a 93-81 score. Emory & Henry came up short against Lynchburg in the ODAC Tournament Semifinals, 53-40, but the season’s 15 wins matched the total of the previous three years combined. First-year student Chloe Harris was named the ODAC Rookie of the Year. She shot a league-leading 42.4 percent from beyond the arc and averaged 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per contest.
First-year quarterback sets record, wins Rookie of the Year
In its first season under Head Coach Curt Newsome (’82) the Emory & Henry football team made its presence known in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Wasps went 8-2 on the year with a 5-2 record in conference games, tying for first place after being picked to finish last. Emory & Henry started the year off with a 5-0 record and was the last undefeated college football team at any level in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For the team’s accomplishments, Newsome was selected as the ODAC Coach of the Year and was named Co-State Coach of the Year by VaSID. The All-ODAC Teams saw 12 different players honored with seniors Donovan Sudderth and Paul Forney named to the first team. Seniors Lucas Kirby, Isaac Bowman, Roth Healey and Zach Nedzbala and junior Rennel Marshall were picked to the All-ODAC Second Team. First-year student Kevin Saxton highlighted the Wasps’
Third-team honors go to senior Myer The Emory & Henry Women’s Soccer team posted a 4-13 overall record going 3-9 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. Seven of the team’s losses came by two goals or less, including one contest that went to double overtime. The Wasps snapped a five-match losing streak in the middle of the season to earn a pair of decisive conference wins against Hollins, 8-0, and Randolph, 6-1. Emory & Henry also earned a 1-0 victory over Eastern Mennonite during Homecoming weekend. Senior Bethany Myer scored four goals and a team-high five assists to lead the Wasps with 13 points, earning AllEmory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 25
Emory & Henry also saw junior forward Karina Farr and sophomore guard Megan Jacoby named to the All-ODAC Third Team. Farr earned all-league third-team accolades after leading the Wasps in points (13.2) and rebounds (8.7) per game while also shooting a team-best 50.6% from the field. Jacoby led the ODAC in assists with 5.8 per contest, and at one time ranked in the top five nationally. She also sat atop the league in steals per game (2.9 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). The Emory & Henry Men’s Basketball team posted a 5-21 overall record with a 4-12 mark in Old Dominion Athletic Conference games during the 2014-15 season. The team only had six players on the roster with collegiate basketball experience, making them one of the youngest teams in the league. Sophomore guard Myles Turner was named to the All-ODAC Third Team after leading the Wasps in scoring (16.7 ppg) and field goals made (132). Turner reached double figures in scoring in 22 contests, scoring a career-high 30 points in the Wasps’ win against Montreat on Dec. 10. He pulled down a personal-best 11 boards against Shenandoah (Jan. 10) and had seven assists on two different occasions during the year. Turner was named the ODAC Player of the Week after E&H earned a pair of conference road wins at Bridgewater College (76-68) and at Eastern Mennonite University (81-78) during Myles Turner the Week of February 9. w third-team selections as he was honored as the ODAC Rookie of the Year. Senior Josh Smith, sophomores Jaylen Simmons and Tre’von Lightfoot and first-year student Chris Thompson also took home All-ODAC Third Team accolades. Seven players earned all-state honors as Sudderth and Healey were named First-Team AllState by the Roanoke Times. Bowman, Smith, Forney and Marshall were each named to the all-state second team. The Virginia Sports Information Directors honored Saxton as the State Offensive Rookie of the Year. Sudderth and Healey were recognized as first-teamers while Forney was selected to the second team. Kirby was also selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, making it three years in a row that an E&H football player has been Kevin Saxton named Academic All-America. w ODAC Third Team honors while junior Emily Belanger led the team with five goals. First-year students Daishi Dudley and April Yopp each contributed three goals to the team while senior Erica Merriman added two goals and two assists. Emory & Henry split the goalkeeping duties between firstyear student Kayla Wright and Bethany Myer sophomore Vicki Fenley. Wright earned two shutout wins on the year, stopping 61 shots while Fenley had 35 saves on the season. w
SPORTS
SPORTS
Fall brings new era for volleyball
Women’s basketball reaches ODAC semifinals; men finish 5-21
feature
ALUMNI
Bringing the outdoors in...
Smith paints new mural for the Outdoor Program When Kathryn Bondurant Smith (’07) was a student at Emory & Henry College, she was enrolled in Jim Harrison's creative writing class. Smith loved to rock-climb, and looking back now, it seems as if she was destined to visit the outdoor building fairly often. Harrison, who is director of the college’s Outdoor Program as well as a professor of English, maintains his office in the outdoor program building, which also houses the climbing tower, built while she was an undergraduate student. “I can still remember how I would begin to feel when I hadn't gotten outdoors enough, how I'd walk near the tower with a rough draft in my hand and the tower taunted me, looming like a clock's long arm over blue skies,” Smith said. Despite being a self-described bookworm, Smith allowed herself to remain connected to the outdoors and the Outdoor Leadership Program in mostly indirect ways. The current logo being used by the program is a good example of her involvement with the early "outdoor club." “I still remember that logo as a primitive doodle, flush with the margins of my notes for Jim Harrison's short-fiction class,” Smith commented. “At some point, I refined it. And when I saw it again a decade or so later, I was surprised and very honored to see the most functional version of that drawing on a t-shirt! Now, it's the logo for the equally evolved and functional version of Jim's "club," an organization that my rock-climbing buddies and I could only have dreamed of! Today, Jim's Outdoor Program at Emory & Henry College reaches far beyond a fondness for the outdoors.” The updated logo came at an opportune time as the building was getting refinements of its own. Smith’s connection with the graphic identity of the program allowed her to feel more comfortable taking on a new art project connected with the outdoors. An updated floor plan was designed that included the addition of a new wall. This construction, however, would dissolve a decade old painting—a sea of rolling mountains behind a single and perhaps oversized tree previously painted by Smith. Looking back on her earlier work, Smith says she took great satisfaction with priming and sanding away what she calls a “desperately unfocused” piece of art. “I was grateful to be given an opportunity to leave one of my bigger and better marks on a campus that has marked me from the beginning,” said Smith. “Despite its sounding cliché, Emory & Henry has made me who I am today. My family and I have far-reaching roots at E&H, and I was happy to make sure some of them found their way into the Outdoor Program's facility. I am relieved that the new mural I painted there is a more current representation of my own name. But most importantly, it is a better reflection of the Outdoor Program today—a clear path, which guides students to become leaders, who then blaze new paths for future students to explore.” The new mural depicts such a pathway. Its use of the iconic white blaze situates its viewer along the Appalachian Trail and the landscape shares traits of the Mt. Rogers view and Grayson Highlands section of the trail. The biggest challenge for Smith, however, was to paint from memories more than photos. She had to remain generic enough that any viewer might find the setting, at the very least, vaguely familiar. She wanted the vision to belong to everyone who set foot in the Outdoor facilities. And for this to be a success, the mural had to portray a feeling as much as it could depict some place that the majority of Emory & Henry's outdoorsmen and women might know and love already. When Smith stepped back from her finished mural in November, she was glad. It was easy to step away from this particular job, having just painted over her own undeniable example of Emory & Henry's mission at work: An Increase in Excellence exists inside that building. It is remarkably apparent. But the new mural is hardly the best part. v 26 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
“I was grateful to be given an opportunity to leave one of my bigger and better marks on a campus that has marked me from the beginning.” — Kat Smith
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Top: Smith during the painting process. Right: The mural’s location inside the Outdoor Program building. Below: The finished product.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION / REPORTS
Waspers for Wofford
Resurrection 2015 Alumni were encouraged to bring their youth groups by the Emory & Henry room at the giant January youth conference in Gatlinburg called Resurrection. E&H Chaplain Mary K. Pope Briggs (’86) says she was happy to see so many young people and so many alumni. “It’s a great chance to see old friends and to spread the word about this great United Methodist College.” w
One of our best alumni events in 2015 was not organized by the Alumni Office. It was a get-together prior to the ETSU-Wofford College basketball game in Johnson City. Why would a group of Waspers be cheering for Wofford? Because Wofford’s head coach is E&H alumnus Mike Young (’86), and his old friends and classmates had a great time being at some of his games this winter to cheer him on. Mike was named 2015 Southern Conference Coach of the Year. w Clockwise: Gary Jones(’83) (event organizer) and Brett “Piney” Hodge (’87). Lisa Coulthard Weikel (’85), Walter Weikel (’84), Marty Lay Gray (’85), Mark Gray (’83), and Megan Gray showing off their “Mikey on a Stick” signs. Elizabeth Puyear Tayloe (’83) and Karen Griffey Todd(’84) also helped organize. Coach Mike Young giving a bear hug to Leigh Johnson (daughter of former E&H basketball coach Bob Johnson).
The E&H Alumni Board The E&H Alumni Association stays busy all year so we thought we’d offer a few reminders of their good work. Top: Becky Griffey Ripley (’87), Kathy Kilday Gillenwaters (’89), Scott Gillenwaters (’86). Above: Paul Seay (’01), Kathleen Buttolph (’98) and Elizabeth. Above right: Sarah Moody Varnell (’05) and Grace.
Dribbles and Nibbles Head E&H Women’s Basketball Coach Anne Wright Crutchfield (’89), and Head E&H Men’s Basketball Coach Dave Willson have been adding a little extra into their road schedule to make time for greeting the fans. Pregame events were held in Lynchburg, Roanoke and Ashland. The women’s team made it to the third round of the ODAC tournament this year, so alumni, parents and students flocked into a hospitality room in the Salem Civic Center to share their enthusiasm and cheer on the players. w
Clockwise: Scott Sikes (’99) has organized the Wasper 5-K for nine years. Board members greeted new E&H students with a bucket and “bucket list” of things you simply must do while a student. Allison Mays (’95, board president) and Speedy Williams McClure(’95) take a break at the annual reception for faculty and staff sponsored by the board at the opening of school. Kari Kemper Tudor (’82) and Monica Gonzalez (’98) chat with E&H students during the winter board dinner. Brooklyn Sawyers (’02), Ralph Tudor(’86) and Pam Buchanan (’90) discuss ideas for networking with current students.
WITH ALUMNI
From top: Lindsey Grubb (entering E&H in 2015) before the E&H-Hollins game. Don Wechsler (’65), Harry Leist (’69) and Leon Hill (’91) before the E&H-Randolph game. Coach Dave Willson stands tall in the back of a host of E&H fans before the E&H-Randolph-Macon game. Former E&H women’s coach Joy Scruggs poses with former players at the ODAC tournament: Linda Williams Wiseman (’86), Baylie Snyder (’10), Faith Walker (’12), JoBeth Wright (’14), Bee the Wasp, Brittany Rogers (’10), Courtney Puckett (’15), and Terri Howard Pritchard (’83). The hospitality room at Salem Civic Center was busy as Coach Anne Wright Crutchfield (’89) led her women to game three of the ODAC tournament.
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Best Party on State Street
Fall Tailgates Did you miss football tailgate season? Never fear: it starts again next fall. And we’ll be in exotic locations like Catholic University and ETSU. Keep an eye on www.gowasps.com for the 2015 schedule. Clockwise: Maryville College, Hampden Sydney College, Maryville College, and Washington & Lee. w
The E&H party during Bristol’s Rhythm & Roots Reunion has quickly become a popular tradition and a great place to gather with friends between concerts. In 2014 we had nearly 150 drop by. Join us this year on Friday, September 18, 2015, 6 pm on the mezzanine at 620 State. w
Get in the Picture! Here are just a few great opportunities for you to be more involved in the life of Emory & Henry. Go to alumni.ehc.edu for an ever-growing list of events.
Clockwise: We made everyone pose with the gnome! Steve Galyean (’82). Travis Proffitt (’04) and Steven Curd. Current students enjoyed the party. Rick (’84) and Suzanne (’85) Rogers Miller and Ernie Braganza (’87). The Lundy family representing the ‘70s (that’s Tom (’71) and Rebekah (’73) in the center). Nancy Porterfield Kiser (’72) and Jill Henderson had a little reunion at R&R.
Friends gathered at the Virginia Historical Society to hear a lecture from beloved, retired E&H history professor Jack Roper. Nearly 50 attended the talk on U.S. Civil War history. w
L to R: Dr. Jack Roper with Jessica Long Ward (’06) and Tammy Shortridge Click (’96). Ellis Sasser (’68) with Paige Newman (’91) an archivist at the VHS. Sam Hall (’64) and Carolyn Foard Prillaman (’64). 30 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
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Just one of the great moments from Homecoming 2014. Among participants in the Wasper 5-K last year were Jodi McPherson Kemple (’89), Tina Bernard Urquhart (’88), Susan Jennings Mowles (’92), Khette Cox (’88), Leigh Anne Cook Bracher (’92), and Holly Denton Holliday (’92). Mark your calendar for Homecoming 2015: October 17.
WITH ALUMNI
WITH ALUMNI
Historic
April 11 - Women’s Athletics Alumni Event, E&H campus May 30 - MacArthur Memorial, with Chris Kolakowski (’99), Norfolk June 6 - Smokies Baseball, Sevierville June 9 - Breakfast at Holston Conference, Lake Junaluska June 17 - Mountains of Music Homecoming, E&H campus June 20 - Lunch at Virginia Conference, Roanoke, Va. July 18 - A float on the Clinch River July 29-Aug. 2 – Summer Alumni College, More Than A Vacation Aug. 1 - One Great Day of More Than A Vacation Sept. 5 - Environmental Studies Reunion Sept. 11 - Ribbon cutting, McGlothlin Center for the Arts, E&H campus Sept. 18 - E&H at Rhythm & Roots Sept. 19 – All-Era Football Reunion 100th anniversary of E&H football Oct. 17 - Homecoming Nov. 14-21 - Alumni Trip to Ireland Dec. 5 – Virginia Holocaust Museum with Dr. Charles Sydnor, Richmond
E
CLASS NOTES Class of 1963
Miriam Macfarlan Herin has authored her second novel titled A Stone for Bread, a story of North Carolina poet Henry Beam, whose year in Paris results in his publishing a controversial collection of poems claimed to have been saved from a Nazi concentration camp. The novel will be published by Livingston Press of the University of West Alabama and will be available in fall 2015. She resides in Greensboro, N.C. Henry and Mary Buchanan Pratt were featured in the local newspaper The Island Packet for more than 50 years of volunteer service to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. They were recently honored for their half-century of service by Flotilla 10-11, the local Hilton Head Auxiliary unit to which they both belong. Henry is a past national commodore of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and both are still active members. The Auxiliary supports the many missions of the United States Coast Guard including education of the public, training members and search and rescue. They reside in Hilton Head Island, S.C., and are the parents of Skip Pratt ’89 (daughter- in - law Virginia Gibson Pratt ’89).
Class of 1967
Eddie Boye has published a book titled Musings from a Wondering Wanderer. He spent 13 years as a United Methodist minister and 26 years as a clinical pastoral therapist. His book Musings: A Reflection on Being was released by Wipf and Stock Publishing Company, Eugene, Oregon, in September 2014. The book can be ordered from Amazon. com, the publisher or from Ed Boye at boyeed44@att.net. He resides in Davidson, N.C.
Class of 1968
Class of 1975 Becky Moore Bigoney is the executive vice president and chief medical officer for Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Va. Byron Breedlove was named managing editor of Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, an open access journal published monthly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, now celebrating its 20th year of publication. (See story on page 31.) Class of 1976
Tom Bondurant was inducted into the 2015 Class of Fellows by the Virginia Law Foundation. Induction is a special honor conferred by the VLF Board on selected Virginia attorneys, law professors, and retired members of the judiciary who are deemed to be outstanding in their profession and in their community. He is chair of Gentry Locke’s Criminal & Government Investigations practice group. He resides in Bent Mountain, Va.
Class of 1978
James Colley was unanimously voted by the Dickenson County School Board to be the athletic director starting in 2015 for the newly consolidated Ridgeview High School. This ends a run of 33 years as a head football coach for the Haysi Tigers. He resides in Haysi, Va. John Flaugher has a new position in Atlanta, Ga., as president and chief operating officer for Utility Service Group (USG), which provides mechanical, operational and technology solutions through an asset management model to both municipal and industrial water systems. He and his wife Lynne Fleenor Flaugher have two sons, Daniel and Will. Gary Reedy was recently appointed as the chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. Ralph Turner is an associate professor at Eastern Kentucky University. He resides in Berea, Ky.
Class of 1979
Diane Crawley Tomlinson is a new adjunct faculty in the Education Department at Emory & Henry. She resides in Lebanon, Va.
Class of 1980
Mike Chitwood has written a book entitled Living Wages, which was published by Tupelo Press. He resides in Chapel Hill, N.C. Bunny Medeiros has published a book entitled Friendliest Town on the Trail, which is full of stories about the town of Damascus, Va., and chronicles how Damascus came to be known by this moniker. The book includes information about the economic impact of the Virginia Creeper Trail and about early settlers and thru-hikers. The book is available through the E&H Mercantile or other outlets around Washington County. She resides in Abingdon. Mike Ogden was the recipient of the 2014 Tobacco Science Research Conference Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1985 he joined the Research & Development Department of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, N.C., as a research chemist. His initial work was focused on development of markers, methods, and measurements to determine the chemistry of, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). He held various scientific and research management positions at R.J. Reynolds over 25 years. After rising to principal scientist in 1998, he became director of biological chemistry in 2001 and senior director of human studies in 2006, reflecting an increased research interest in biochemistry, toxicology and epidemiology. Since 2009, he has been senior director of regulatory oversight for a Reynolds American subsidiary, RAI Services Company, where he is responsible for scientific and regulatory engagement for all Reynolds American tobacco operating companies. He and his wife, Diane, reside in Winton-Salem and have two sons, Eric and Robert.
Catherine Donaldson Brillhart is the mayor of Bristol, Va. She was appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe to be a Southwest Virginia representative on the Virginia Tourism Corporation board
If someone mentions infectious diseases – your first thought may not be “fine art.” But Byron Breedlove (’75) is managing editor of a publication that will change that for you. Emerging Infectious Diseases is a highly acclaimed, open access journal (www. nc.cdc.gov/eid/) published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Byron is only the second person to serve in this position for the 20-year-old publication, and for him it is the culmination of more than 30 years working as a medical writer, editor and communicator. According to Byron, “One of the best known features of the journal is its cover art, selected for artistic quality, technical reproducibility, stylistic continuity, communication effectiveness, and audience appeal. An essay presenting a sketch of the artist, period and work, provides background, and a brief interpretative essay offers a link between the art and the human elements and goals of public health and the overall theme for the issue. Part of my job is to select the cover art, which involves research and may entail negotiations with museums, estates or artists for works not in the public domain.” He laughs as he considers that sometimes this one part of his lengthy job description demands a great deal of time, but he is fascinated by the opportunity to learn more about the artist and the method. (You can read Byron’s essay about the Fred Tomaselli cover here: wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/ article/20/12/ac-2012_article.) These journal covers are part of a hardbound book accompanied by essays about the relevance of the art. Byron gives credit to this interesting pairing of art and infectious disease to his predecessor, Polly Potter, who saw it as a “hook” to get readers to open the publication. Byron writes many of the essays found in the publication and he says he appreciates his English faculty at Emory & Henry for preparing him for this responsibility. “My days of writing essays and papers for Dr. Robert Denham, Mr. Lamarr Smith, and the late Dr. Turner Clinard continue to serve me well in this capacity.” Byron has spent much of his career with the CDC, serving in many capacities, including senior communications specialist for the Office of the Associate Director for Policy and the Office of Strategy and Innovation. Before joining CDC, he was copy editor and special publications director for American Health Consultants, and before that he was a teacher. “Except for the summer I spent working construction, I have somehow managed to cobble together a career built around my liberal arts education. Having a broad-based knowledge about many things, being curious, and being willing to do whatever no one else wants to do can do wonders.” Fred Tomaselli, Starling. 2010. Photo collage, Byron and his wife, Julie, live in acrylic and resin on wood panel 80 x 80 in. Atlanta and are very proud of their (203.2 x 203.2 cm) © The Artist/Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai two children, Claire and Will.
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Class of 1981
Glenn Patterson was featured in the March 2015 issue of A! Magazine for being a frequent director at Theatre Bristol. He acted in his first show with Theatre Bristol while still a student at Emory & Henry and began directing at Theatre Bristol in 1984. He resides in Bristol, Va.
Class of 1983
Class of 1984 Katherine Kelly Dunagan was
featured in the Feb. 2, 2015 issue of the Bristol Herald Courier. In December, she was ordained by Bishop Mark Bourlakas into a newly created position of canon missioner. In this position she works as an extension of the bishop’s office in Roanoke, Va., and serves the Episcopal parishes in the Abingdon and New River convocations. She travels throughout Southwest Virginia, from Bristol to as far north as Lynchburg, including the coalfield region. Her duties vary from having listening sessions with the lay leadership of each church to determining how it can grow and do more in the community to help others, to teaching Sunday school or leading worship ceremonies. She resides in Bristol, Va. Becky Kurtz has moved back to Atlanta after four years in Washington, D.C. She continues to serve as the director of the Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs within the Administration on Aging (within the federal Department of Health and Human Services). Her husband, Paul, is a freelance journalist and daughter, Marcela, is a first grader.
Class of 1985 Mark Graham, executive assistant
to the president at E&H, assisted Jamie Smyth, associate director of public relations, with work on the campaign for the presidential inauguration of Jake Schrum. They were honored with a silver award from the American Advertising Federation of Southwest Virginia.
Class of 1986
Denise Begley Asbury is the director of development at King University. She resides in Abingdon, Va. John Heil is the Cenergistic energy specialist at Emory & Henry College. He is responsible for working with the college and Cenergistic to implement and manage the College’s energy program. He resides in Glade Spring, Va. Mike Young marked his 200th
career win as a men’s basketball coach when Wofford defeated Chattanooga 68-64 in a thriller game. He was named the 2015 Anton Foy Coach of the Year by the Southern Conference Sports
CLASS NOTES
Rosemary Gray, chief diversity and inclusion officer at West Texas A&M University, has retired from a long, successful career of more than 30 years in higher education as an administrator, educator and community leader. In addition to her administrative positions, she has served as a public school teacher of English and department chair, adjunct faculty, and instructor at various public schools, community colleges and universities in the District of Columbia, Tennessee and Virginia. She has also served as a diversity consultant to public schools, city governments, a state task force on African American males,
and has chaired university diversity task forces, advisory groups, and a committee on Black graduation rates for Black student-athletes. She resides in Cypress, Texas.
Breedlove merges art and public health issues on the cover of the prestigious CDC Journal
of directors, which manages Virginia’s international tourism promotional and marketing efforts. Kit Tate serves as chaplain at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.
Byrds’ nest finds home at E&H We often see young alumni post pictures of their children on Facebook with captions that read something like, “Here she is! A member of the Emory & Henry Class of 2036!” It’s natural for alumni who recall their college days with fondness to hope that their own children will attend their alma mater, but it rarely works out that way. However, we have one E&H family who has really made good on that hope. Brenda Copeland Byrd graduated from Emory & Henry in 1983. She was the first in her family to graduate from Emory & Henry but not the last – as her two sisters finished in 1986 (Suzy Copeland Burke) and 1995 (Christi Copeland Stapleton). In 2013, Brenda’s oldest son, Ked, graduated from Emory & Henry and is now a graduate student at UTKnoxville. Her next oldest son, Logan, is a senior at Emory & Henry. Her only daughter, Maria, is a junior at Emory & Henry. And the youngest Byrd, Wesley, is enrolling at Emory & Henry in the fall of 2015. Maria Byrd recently joked in a speech to College benefactors that her mother is simply competitive. Since her parents (Rev. Bob and Mary Lynn Copeland) sent all three of their children to Emory & Henry, Brenda thought she’d trump that move by sending all four of hers. Dale Byrd, Brenda’s husband who is now the only non-E&Her around the family Christmas tree, is thrilled that all four of his children have found their college home at Emory & Henry. “All of my kids are unique,” he says, “but they have all found their place at Emory & Henry.”
Media Association. He guided the Terriers to an overall record of 25-6, including a 16-2 mark in SoCon games to give Wofford the league’s regular-season championship and a first-round game in the NCAA National Championship. He resides in Spartanburg, S.C.
Class of 1987
Mike Osborne is an environmental services director at Heritage Hall in Wise, Va. He and his wife Rebecca Chinault Osborne (’89) celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They have two children, Brandon, 21, and Kristen, 19.
Class of 1988
Derwin Hall is the assistant vice president and commercial relationship manager for Franklin Community Bank, now a division of American National Bank & Trust Company. He resides in Rocky Mount, Va.
Class of 1989
Terri James Cozart was selected as the 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year at Greendale Elementary School. She resides in Abingdon, Va. Sid Maxwell was named the new head football coach for Dawson County. He has led both Sequoyah High School in Cherokee County and Lambert High School in Forsyth County, compiling a record of 133-75 while finishing with a winning record 13 times. At Lambert he qualified for the state playoffs in three seasons and reached the state playoffs eight times while at Sequoyah and currently has more wins than any other coach in Cherokee County football history. He resides in Suwanee, Ga.
Maria Whitlock Grimm serves as pastor of three churches on the Blue Ridge Circuit in Fancy Gap and Hillsville areas. She resides in Galax, Va. Back Row: Wesley Byrd, Maria Byrd, Logan Byrd, Ked Byrd. Front Row: Christi Copeland Stapleton, Suzy Copeland Burke, Brenda Copeland Byrd.
Jenny Poston Bishop won the 2014 Ford Mustang pace car when her rubber shark crossed the finish line first during a charity race at the Sharky 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. She resides in Kingsport, Tenn. Rejena Spain Buckley continues to work at ThermoFisherScientific. She has moved into a 102-year-old house. She and Andy have a son and daughter, and they hosted an exchange student in the winter. They reside in Williamstown, W.Va. Rodes Fishburne co-wrote a drama with Josh Pate entitled Boom, which ABC Studios has ordered a pilot. Boom centers on the biggest oil discovery in American history, which has triggered a geopolitical shift and economic boom in North Dakota – the greatest since the American Gold Rush in 1849. Set in a modern-day “Wild West,” the drama tracks the pilgrimage of a young, ambitious couple, seeking a better life, to the oil fields of the Bakken, where they come across roughnecks, grifters, oil barons, criminals and fellow prospectors. The pilot will be executiveproduced by Tony Krantz and Josh Pate, with Fishburne co-executive producing. He resides in San Francisco, Calif. Buffy Milhorne was selected as the 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year at Abingdon High School. She resides in Damascus, Va.
the Bristol Herald Courier. She is the new marketing director for the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va. She resides in Bluff City, Tenn.
Class of 1996
Betty Rosenbaum Jessee was named a partner at Brown, Edwards & Company, L.L.P. in Bristol, Va. She resides in Meadowview, Va.
Class of 1997
Tracy Ross is the on-premise sales manager for Southern Wines & Spirits. She resides in Midlothian, Va. Regenia Walls and Mark Charapich were married Oct. 4, 2014. She has been employed since 1999 with Virginia State Parks as a park ranger, and currently is at Claytor Lake State Park in Dublin, Va. They reside in Marion, Va.
Class of 1998
Kate McCoy is a board certified behavior analyst for Williamson County Schools in Tennessee. She resides in Nashville.
Class of 1999
Jeremy Peters is chief operating officer for the National Association of Conservation Districts. He resides in Alexandria, Va.
Class of 2000
Mark Lambert led an effort at Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke, Va., to rebrand the school. In January 2015 he and the school were awarded two first place national awards from the Collegiate Advertising Awards for their TV commercial, which Mark produced, and the student recruitment brochure, which he wrote and designed in-house. In addition they will be receiving another national award from CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) at their Region III conference in February. Kalonn Gentry Roberts was featured in the Oct. 4, 2014, issue of
Jenn Barnett and Clark Harrell were married Aug. 1, 2014. They reside in Knoxville, Tenn. Less Lessman retired from the Army in 2014. He now works with several outdoor companies and outdoor conservation groups to get fellow disabled veterans in the outdoors and out of their houses by helping them with their mental and physical injuries and helping them adjust to everyday living. He resides in Madison, Ala. Eric McClure was featured in the Jan. 8, 2015 issue of the Bristol Herald Courier. He will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series opener at Daytona International Speedway. He will be partnered with Reynolds Consumer Products for the 10th consecutive season, but he will now be driving in the No. 24 Toyota for the JGL Racing team in all 33 races. Reynolds will serve as the primary sponsor on Eric’s Camry for a minimum of 25 events. The relationship continues the longest active driver/ sponsor combination in the Xfinity Series, and one of the longest current partnerships in the overall industry. McClure recently won an E&H alumni award (see story on page 9). He resides in Chilhowie, Va.
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Class of 1994
Ernie Maddy is now managing grants for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. He resides in Abingdon, Va. Sharon Wiley Wright is the associate chaplain at Emory & Henry. Her primary job will be advising Spiritual Life student groups and coordinating various programming. She and Greg have two children Shelley, 6, and Shane, 4, and reside in Abingdon, Va.
Class of 1995
Grateful grad Dowdle doesn’t take for granted his time at E&H Most of us understand that we rely on others to move ahead in this life, but not everyone takes the time to express that gratitude. Nic Dowdle graduated in the spring of 2014, and he recently touched the hearts of faculty and staff members by sending an email to say “Thank you.” The note begins with gratitude, and ends with great news. “I wanted to reach out to every individual that has helped me during my time at Emory & Henry, be it through teaching, guidance, or any kind of support. I felt that you should all be aware of how your collective contribution to me as a student (and to the college itself) has really altered the course of my life forever, and has made the intimidating uncertainty of post-college life into a fantastic opportunity for me.” Nic goes on to explain that during his senior year, he decided he didn’t want to do graduate school after Emory & Henry, so this meant he needed to do some adjusting to his curriculum. His faculty members helped him line up the classes he needed and pointed him in the direction of getting some real-world experience at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport. “In Spring 2014, I applied at Eastman for the limited service employee position. I made the cut, and began working as an LSE on May 19 and finished on December 31. I applied for the full-time lab technician position in January. After scoring an interview, I spent two anxious weeks with no word from Eastman. The worrying was for naught, though, because I got the job! Starting June 1, I will be working full-time as a lab technician at Eastman Chemical Company. Even better is the fact that I will get to work in the same department that I worked in as a limited service employee, which is a very rare occurrence, apparently. My Papaw almost front-flipped out of his armchair when he heard the news. “The gist of all this: I went from being an anxious, awkward, uncertain student to being an anxious, awkward graduate with a job and wonderful friends waiting for him back in the lab. My time spent at Emory & Henry has been the most important experience of my life thus far. I have grown, learned, been both uplifted and humbled, and have found confidence in myself and in reaching my goals. You have all played crucial parts throughout the years, no matter if you were a onetime professor or a recurring personal therapist to me. I felt as though I had someone looking out for me from day one. Every interaction, decision, lecture, and opportunity has put me right here, in a happy, privileged, and fortunate place.” Nic concludes the note with a promise to never take for granted his time at Emory & Henry nor the faculty and staff there. And since he had sent the email to some 30 individuals, he also hoped no one would click “Reply All.”
“My time spent at Emory & Henry has been the most important experience of my life thus far. I have grown, learned, been both uplifted and humbled, and have found confidence in myself and in reaching my goals. ”
CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
Class of 1992
Class of 1993
In the footsteps of alumni…from the 1870s by James Dawsey
CLASS NOTES
To read the full story go to alumni.ehc.edu and click on the News link.
Class of 2001
Monica Jacobe is director of the Institute for ESL & American Studies at The College of New Jersey. Her EAP writing textbook, Final Draft-Level 4, will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2015. She was the recipient of the 2014 John Eugene and Barbara Hilton Cay Visiting Scholar Grant from the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she will do archival research for her scholarly book project, Looking Back Home: Southern Identity, Geographic Shift, and the American Imaginal! Chuck Shomo is an agent with Farmers Insurance Charles Shomo Jr. Agency in Blacksburg, Va. He has two children. Tucker Lowrie works for an environmental restoration company in the Shenandoah Valley. He resides in Waynesboro, Va.
Class of 2002
Tommy Britt was promoted to associate professor with tenure at George Mason University. He resides in Fairfax, Va. Renato Nascimento works as the Alabama, North-Florida, WestTennessee regional supervisor for Professional Financial
Services Corp. He is also the director of Beraca Foundation, a nonprofit, international Christian organization that supports local communities in developing countries. He and Rebeca have two daughters, Julia and Emily. (See story at left.)
Class of 2003
Candace Gilley is a consultant for Hungate Business Services in Marion, Va. Tommy Smith is the chief marketing officer at ORNL Federal Credit Union. He resides in Knoxville, Tenn. Jessica Smith Stevenson was selected the 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year at Glade Spring Middle School. She resides in Saltville, Va. Trey Taylor and Whitney Jean Ramsey were married Dec. 13, 2014. He owns and operates Charley’s Grilled Subs in Bristol, Tenn. She teaches at Avoca Elementary School in Bristol, Tenn.
Class of 2004
Jeremy Botkins was sworn in as a District Court magistrate for Colorado’s 22nd Judicial District. He has been assigned the small claim, traffic infraction, juvenile delinquency and child support enforcement dockets. He is an appointed member of the judicial district’s Juvenile Services Planning Committee and also the Drug Offender Treatment Board. He resides in Cortez, Colo. Letha Morelock and Josh Wykle were married June 22, 2013. They reside in Greeneville, Tenn. Betsy Troyer is the marketing manager with Würth Revcar Fasteners, a full line distributor, stocking everything from standard fasteners to specialty and military specialty items. She will be leading the marketing efforts for one of the largest distribution of assembly components in the world. She resides in Richmond, Va. Kelton Williams volunteers for City Dogs Rescue (CDR) in Washington, D.C. They pull dogs from high kill shelters in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, looking for good foster families. He and his wife Lacy reside in Washington, D.C.
Class of 2005
Chuck Hewitt served in the U.S. Army from 2005 -2008 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. He graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy in 2011 and is currently stationed in Charlottesville, Va. His wife, Van Tran, graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 2011 and is currently working as a pediatric pharmacist at University of Virginia Hospital.
36 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Tiffany Chapman Maleta and TokCho Clements were married Jan. 23, 2013. She is the general manager of West End Toys, which has three online stores through eBay and Amazon, and ships Legos around the world and to military bases. They reside in Richmond, Va.
Class of 2006
Melvin Dillon is a manager with Apple Computer. He is the owner and founder of Soup Step Records, an independent vinyl-only record label. He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Josh Holt was selected the 20142015 Teacher of the Year at Holston High School. He resides in Bristol, Tenn.
Class of 2007
Amber Amburgey of 2Color Design partnered with Dave Voskuil, Matt Crisman and Anthony Graham in the E&H Admissions Office to pick up a silver award for the Emory & Henry College admissions acceptance packet from the American Advertising Federation of Southwest Virginia. She resides in Abingdon, Va. Kyle Cutshaw was promoted from area coordinator to assistant dean of students at Emory & Henry. Matt Doane is assistant vice president and branch manager at the east Abingdon, Va., office of Highlands Union Bank, a
Y
1998
community banking system that serves parts of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. A seven-year veteran of the banking industry, he manages existing banking relationships and develops new customer opportunities in his new role. His responsibilities also include servicing customer, mortgage and commercial loans for the bank’s customers. Rebecca Madill received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University. She is a research scientist in early childhood development at Child Trends in Washington, D.C. Ray Smith is the mobile marketing coordinator for the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. He resides in Lincolnia, Va.
Class of 2008
Tiffany Caylor became a certified massage therapist. She resides in Montross, Va. Sarah Fitzgerald is the English department chair at Eastern View High School in Culpeper, Va. She resides in Ruckersville, Va. Nate Griffith was named Chief Deputy of Pittsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office after serving there and as an attorney in general for only three years. He and his wife, Meghan Kelleher Griffith (’07), reside in Roanoke, Va. Sophie Phipps and Aaron Conrad Blevins were married Oct. 11, 2014. They reside in Bristol, Tenn. Adam Taylor has completed his master’s degree in International
—Births—
Monica Gonzalez, daughter Isadora Hamilton, Oct. 27, 2014.
2002
Jason and Edha Meadows Brown, daughter Sophia Madalene, Nov. 19, 2014. Melissa Ford Epstein, sons Luke and Evan, Sept. 9, 2013. Lindsey Buchanan Blackwell, son Walker Fox, Sept. 17, 2014. Jennifer Glindmeier Crandall, son Hudson Eric, Aug. 14, 2014.
2004
Kristylee Juris Beard, daughter Rose Reynolds, Oct. 10, 2014. January Haile and Aaron Rodocker, son William Arthur, Feb. 2, 2015. RJ and Kari Kitts Rothstein, son Gideon Joseph, Nov. 4, 2014.
Emory & Henry Magazine / SPRING 2015 / 37
2005
Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. JJ Thomas is an account executive at Aerotek in Knoxville, Tenn.
Class of 2009
Circe Anderson and Zak McKenney were married in June 2014. They reside in Knoxville, Tenn. Josh Nelson was promoted to assistant director of applied performances at Baylor University. He resides in Woodway, Texas. Megan Patrick has achieved certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She resides in Atkins, Va. Jaime Roy is a physician assistant for Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard, N.C. She works in family practice and work call for the birthing center. Emma Sturgill received her doctorate of philosophy in November by the Cell and Development Biology Department at Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, she studied the molecular forces involved in the construction and maintenance of the mitotic spindle, the cellular apparatus responsible for cancer cell propagation. She was supported by a training grant from the National Institutes of Health and a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association, and was also granted a Dissertation Enhancement Award from the Graduate School at Vanderbilt University. Emma continues to work at Vanderbilt University as a postdoctoral fellow with the overarching goal of developing more efficacious cytotoxic chemotherapeutics.
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Chuck and Van Tran Hewitt, daughter Scarlette (Letti), Nov. 16, 2014. Chris Luper, daughter Teaghyn Sloane, May 26, 2014. Chris Miller, daughter Olivia Colette, June 24, 2014. Cecille Lawson Skeens, daughter Mary Grace, Sept. 17, 2014.
2006
Nathan Kilbourne, daughter Eleanor Lynn, Nov. 21, 2014. Jessica Kincaid Snow, son Jude-Michael Wayne, Oct. 24, 2014.
2008
Josh and Katie Reynolds Myers, daughter Emily Catherine, Nov. 26, 2014.
2009
Mary Ann Walton Cumbow, son Lucas “Luke” Daniel, Sept. 22, 2014.
Class 2010
Samantha Baker McDavid runs her own in-home childcare facility. She and Steven have a daughter, Emma Grace, 4, and a son, Kane Hudson, 2, and reside in Bristol, Tenn. Katelyn Bland-Clark works as a teaching fellow for Citizen Schools, a nonprofit in education reform, through AmeriCorps. Her husband, Brian Bland-Clark (’09), works in investment banking. They reside in Long Island City, N.Y.
CLASS NOTES
Former Emory & Henry student Renato Nascimento spent five days during November 2014 on a mission trip to an orphanage in Haiti. The principal purpose of the mission was to provide dental care to orphans, but the group also brought presents and resources to the orphanage. Renato, who attended Emory & Henry in the late 1990s, today is a successful businessman in Birmingham, Ala. He works as a regional supervisor for Professional Financial Services Corp. and last year was selected outstanding employee of the company. Renato is also the director of Beraca Foundation, a nonprofit, international Christian organization that supports local communities in developing countries. If we look closely enough, we find that this mission to Haitian orphans is rooted in the lives of two Emory & Henry classmates of the 1870s: John James Ransom, who graduated in 1874, and Walter Russell Lambuth, who graduated the following year. Soon after being ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Ransom responded to calls requesting the sending of a young man who could learn Portuguese to spread the gospel in Brazil. In February 1876, Ransom settled in the Province (today State) of São Paulo. Within a few months he was preaching and evangelizing in Portuguese. He opened two schools and started a publishing house. One of Ransom’s friends at Emory & Henry, Walter Russell Lambuth (1875), received his master of divinity and doctor of medicine degrees at Vanderbilt. After serving as a medical missionary, Lambuth became a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church South and was charged with overseeing the mission to Brazil. In the early 1990s, at the behest of the Brazilian Methodist Church, another Emory & Henry alumnus, Dr. J. Marvin Reynolds (’44), traveled to Brazil to consult with the Renato on a mission trip in Haiti. Lins Dental School faculty and administration. A strong international collaboration between Emory & Henry College and the Methodist schools in Brazil developed. Renato was one of those students who directly benefited from the joint program. It was while playing basketball in Lins with some of Emory & Henry’s visiting student instructors that Renato first learned about Emory & Henry. Renato says that Emory & Henry is life-altering. Ransom, Lambuth and the missionary pioneers from years ago planted seeds. The trees grew and bore fruit. And isn’t it marvelous to see how Renato and a new generation continue to harvest that fruit forward!
J Welch has been selected as the engineered systems product specialist for Liberty Technologies. He resides in the Lake Norman area outside Charlotte, N.C. with his wife, Elizabeth, and children Aidan, Connor and Anna.
CLASS NOTES
E&H concert choir director Chick Davis leaves behind a rich legacy It was football that brought Dr. Charles R. “Chick” Davis (’52) to Emory & Henry. Conley Snidow had been his high school football coach in Tazewell, Va., and after Coach Snidow became the head football coach at Emory & Henry he asked Chick to join him at Emory & Henry and be the team’s quarterback. He led the Wasps to two appearances at the Tangerine Bowl and during the last three years of his college football career, he and his team only lost one regular season game – and that was by one point. The athletic accomplishments of Snidow and Davis were so successful that a young man who sat in the stands watching those games would later, in his own coaching career, use what he had seen buffalo his opponents; the “Emory and Henry Play” that Johnson City native Steve Spurrier made famous now shows up in a variety of professional games as well. In those early days at Emory & Henry, Chick had planned to be an educator and a coach. Although he came from a family filled with music, and even though he sang with the E&H men’s choir, The Collegians, he didn’t initially plan to make music the focus of his career. Over time he began to doubt his desires to coach and this doubt coincided with a letter from his older brother who was studying at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. The letter encouraged Chick to think about music and informed him that the president of Westminster had already approved Chick’s enrollment if he wanted to come. This set the musical course of the football star’s future. Davis finished at Westminster in 1955, served a stint in the Army, and then visited his alma mater to meet the new president, Dr. Earl Hunt. He was actually inquiring about a basketball coaching position that was open, but Dr. Hunt explained that he had something different in mind; he had dreams of starting an E&H traveling choir and he wanted Chick to take on that challenge. In November of 1957 Dr. Davis returned to Emory & Henry to build up the music program and start a choir that would turn into one of the College’s most famous assets. For 38 years he conducted the
E&H Concert Choir and inspired countless students to make music part of their lifetime experience – either professionally or as a pastime. Chick also conducted the Bristol Concert Choir for 28 years and served during his summers as dean of students for the Brevard Music Center near Hendersonville, N.C. He was a member of the Emory & Henry Sports Hall of Fame, a recipient of the James A. Davis Faculty Award given by the E&H Alumni Association, and a winner of the William and Martha DeFriece Award. One of the finest honors garnered by Dr. Davis and the Concert Choir was having composer Randall Thompson dedicate his composition “Twelve Canticles” to the E&H Concert Choir. The choir gave the premier performance of this composition in 1984. John Wright, E&H Class of 1983 and current director of music ministries at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, Ind., wrote a letter in the mid-1990s to explain Dr. Davis’s influence on him as a professional: “Dr. Charles R. Davis helped instill in me a sense of humility, positive energy, deeply caring attitude, a search for excellence, genuine excitement, selfmotivation, and a striving for deeper spirituality.” Dr. Davis, also fondly known as “Doc,” passed away on Dec. 27, 2014. A funeral was held in Crossville, Tenn., on Dec. 30, and a memorial service will be held on the campus of Emory & Henry in Memorial Chapel on April 18, 2015.w
Dr. Charles R. Davis
Mike Unger is an education park ranger with Redwood National Park. He resides in Arcata, Cal. Alex Veatch, assistant director of firstyear admissions at Emory & Henry, received a silver award for her creation of a logo for the Tastes of the Towns tour in Abingdon, Va., from the American Advertising Federation of Southwest Virginia. She is also an adjunct faculty for the E&H Mass Communications Department. Allison Waugh and Drew Taylor were married Oct. 4, 2014.
Class of 2011
Dani Abrams works for American Income, a worldwide company that works solely with unions and associations to provide benefits. She resides in Virginia Beach, Va. Tiffany Borowski is a title clerk for Friendship Hyundai of Bristol. She resides in Bluff City, Tenn. Caroline Lawless is a leasing and marketing specialist at Collins Crossing, an apartment community that is located one mile from the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill main campus. She resides in Carborro, N.C. Amanda Earp Lester is enrolled at Penn State pursuing a master’s degree in human resources and employment relations. Her husband Brad Lester (’10) completed his MBA with a concentration in finance from King University and completed his CPA in July 2014. Both are employed by Alpha Natural Resources in Bristol, Va. She is a senior benefits administrator, and he is an accountant. They reside in Abingdon, Va.
Class of 2012
Chase Edwards received his master’s degree in exercise physiology and human performance from East Tennessee State University in December 2014. Emily Findley is an analyst with the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitation. She resides in Christiansburg, Va. AhnnaLise Jennings and Garth Stevens (’13) were married Oct. 11, 2014. Both are students at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. They participated in Martin Luther King Day 2015 Celebration at Emory & Henry sharing their understanding of God’s call for justice and peace for every person.
Class of 2013
Daniel Baggerly is a staff accountant for Weinstein Properties and is pursuing a master’s degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. He resides in Richmond, Va. Meagan McMillian is a senior undergraduate admissions counselor for Gardner-Webb University. She resides in Shelby, N.C. 38 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
Caitlin Stroupe is pursuing a master’s in clinical mental health counseling and was selected for a therapeutic day treatment counselor position with National Counseling Group. She resides in Christiansburg, Va. Julie Werth is a fourth grade teacher at Hornets Nest Elementary School in Charlotte, N.C.
Class of 2014
Olivia Bailey and Jimmy Lee Osborne were married Oct. 25, 2014. They reside in Blountville, Tenn. Anna Blydenburgh and David Smallwood (’13) were married Jan. 2, 2015. She is pursuing a master’s in library science at Syracuse University. He is in law school and also pursuing a master’s in political science with plans to complete a doctorate in history. They reside in Liverpool, N.Y. Andrew Downard is teaching at the Henan Institute of Education in Zhengzhou, China. Sarah Knight is the events and publications manager for the Composite Can and Tube Institute, an international nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for creating a monthly magazine newsletter that runs between 25-30 pages and is distributed to the association and for updating and maintaining their website. She gathers data to compile safety reports, updates the association’s industry directory and designs materials for company meetings. She resides in Fairfax, Va. Steven Michaluk discovered his calling to the mission field working alongside some of the world’s poorest people in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras. The projects in which he participated included building houses with Habitat for Humanity and teaching English. He is now a teacher for the Fairfax County Public Schools at Riverside Elementary School. Tosin Sanusi received a promotion at the Department of Transportation Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She moved to the Office of Security as a personnel security assistant from the Office of Space Management and Facilities. The office handles background checks of the employees in the building and in the regional offices. Becky Sharkey is the yearbook adviser and graphic design teacher at North Cross School in Roanoke, Va. Brittany Stevenson and Zachary Krackow were married Sept. 6, 2014. She is the adult care coordinator for Highlands Community Services. They reside in Marion, Va. w
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IN MEMORIAM Elizabeth Rush Wiley (’34), Walnut Creek, Cal., died Jan. 11, 2015. She devoted 35 years to teaching Latin and French. She was preceded in death by her husband, Francis A. Wiley (’34). Among survivors is a sister, Mildred Rush Mason (’38). Anne Hughes Sturgis (’37), Advance, N.C., died Nov. 12, 2014. Among survivors are her children Martha Anne Gordon Rowe (re-’65), Nancy Gordon Turner (re-’66), Elizabeth Gordon Crumley and Lawrence Elliott Gordon III. Irene Nunley (re-’38), Abingdon, Va., died Dec. 17, 2014. Among survivors are a brother, L. D. Nunley (re-’50), and a niece, Mary Sue Maiden Smith (’83). Ralph E. DeBusk (’43), Kingsport, Tenn., died Oct. 17, 2014. He was a veteran of World War II and was employed nearly 38 years at Tennessee Eastman Company where he worked as a chemist and senior statistician and was instrumental in various patents. Following retirement in 1984, he worked several years as a consultant in Statistical Process Control for a number of companies nationwide. He was the author of technical papers in the fields of chemistry and statistics and delivered papers in applied statistics at national meetings of the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Quality. He lectured at local colleges and universities and served as a part-time instructor at the University of Tennessee. Among survivors are his wife, Edith McCroskey DeBusk; daughters Betty DeBusk Turner (’72) and Janet D. Allen; and son David F. DeBusk. Rev. C. Douglas Mayo (’44), Greeneville, Tenn., died Aug. 10, 2014. He retired in June 1986 as a Methodist minister, but continued to preach as long as his health permitted. Betty Jo Kirby Morton (’44), Winston Salem, N.C., died Nov. 14, 2014. She was preceded in death by her husband, T. W. Morton (’45). She was the first woman inducted into the E&H Sports Hall of Fame for her excellence as a basketball player. Among survivors are her sons James, David and Gerald (’76); granddaughter Kate Morton (’07); and cousin Jean Kirby Bruce (’49). Memorials may be made to the Bryan Kirby Memorial Scholarship at Emory & Henry. Ethelyne Daniel (’45), Danville, Va., died June 28, 2014. She was affiliated with the Daniel Group, Inc., founded by John W. Daniel. Among survivors is a daughter, Lois Daniel Reil. Nancy Cummings Kiser (’45), died Sept. 24, 2014. Among survivors are her husband, William R. “Bill” Kiser Jr., and sons William E. Kiser, Jeffrey S. Kiser, David M. Kiser and Mark C. Kiser. Dr. William G. Fuqua (’46), Columbia, Tenn., died March 14, 2015.
He served in the Korean War from 19511952. He chose to practice internal medicine at Maury Regional Hospital, where he and Dr. Carl Gardner started the first Coronary Care Unit in Middle Tennessee. He retired in 1990. Among survivors are his wife Mary Lucy Wilson Fuqua; daughter Lucy Scott Kuykendall; and son William Mitchell Fuqua. Dr. William “Bill” Cline (re-’47), Abingdon, Va., died Jan. 5, 2015. He practiced dentistry for 44 years. Among survivors are his wife, Betty Lester Cline, and children William Russell “Rusty” Cline and Sara Cline Werth. Robert B. “Bob” Crane (’48), Nottoway, Va., died June 2, 2014. He was a World War II veteran serving in the combat infantry, EuropeanAfrican and Middle Eastern Theater of Operations, earning four Battle Stars and a Bronze Star. He served 35 years as Nottoway County Sanitarian and operated Nottoway Antiques with his wife for 18 years. He was survived by his wife, Emma Holland Crane (re-’50), who died in Jan. 2015. He is survived by sons Stefan and Gresham; and daughter Elizabeth Eady. William T. Reames Jr. (re-’48), Glade Spring, Va., died Sept. 8, 2014. He was superintendent of maintenance and construction for Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation in Saltville, Va., and later a bridge engineer for the Virginia State Highway Department. He served in the military during the Korean War. Among survivors are his wife, Regenia Reames; daughters Leslie Love Lloyd and Jessica Moore; son Edward Hutton Reames; and niece Carolyn Rosenbaum Wilson (’82). Andrew “Jack” Hudson Sr. (’49), Glen Burnie, Md., died Sept. 9, 2014. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II as a tail gunner on a B-17 Bomber that was shot down over Belgium. He managed a chemical company and later owned and operated Evergreen Genes Garden Center. Among survivors are his wife, Frances Hudson; and sons Jeffrey, Craig, John, Andrew and Jay Hudson. Stuart Allen (’50), Winchester, Va., died Nov. 26, 2014. During World War II he served in the Merchant Marines. Upon graduating from Emory & Henry he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He was a teacher and coach at John Handley High School from 1971 until 1990. Before that he was a teacher and coach at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C., and Spotsylvania High School in Spotsylvania, Va. He was also the pool director at Stonebrook Swim and Racquet Club of Winchester from 1974 until 1994. His awards for excellence in coaching were 1970 NHS-ACA Track Coach of the Year; 1971 NHS-ACA Distinguished Service Award; 1975 VHS
IN MEMORIAM
He also directed the Bristol (Virginia/ Tennessee) Concert Choir for 25 years and served as dean of students at Brevard Music Center in Brevard, N.C., for 26 summers. Among survivors are his wife, Diedre Davis; son Mark Davis (re-’80); daughters Stephanie Davis Wren (re-’89) and Alicia Clark; and granddaughter Kendra Davis Andrus (’02). Donations may be made to Emory & Henry College. (See story on page 36.) Cedric H. Frazier (’52), Pearisburg, Va., died Sept. 23, 2014. He served as a medic during the Korean Conflict. He spent 34 years in the Giles County school system as a teacher, coach and guidance counselor. Among survivors is a son, Bruce. William “Bill” G. Grigg Sr. (re-’54), Palmyra, Va., died Dec. 23, 2014. Among survivors are his wife, Tammy Lawson Grigg; children Margaret Ann Jackson, Elizabeth Kelly, Gordon Grigg and Bill Grigg Jr.; and stepsons Greg Arms and Geff Arms. Donald N. Roland Sr. (’55), Marion, Va., died Jan. 15, 2015. He served in the U.S. Air Force and worked at Marion Motor Company. He owned and managed Roland Petroleum. Among survivors are his wife, Enid Z. Roland; daughters Patti McCambridge and Angela Roland; and sons David Roland and Donald Roland Jr. Harold Dean Wilson (’56), Ann Arbor, Mich., died May 16, 2014. He served in the U.S. Air Force and was a graduate of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Syracuse University in Russian language studies. He spent most of his career in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois working for several companies, including Magnavox, General Electric and Ford, work heavily oriented in support of automotive and military technologies. He excelled in a variety of roles including management, engineering (Certified Manufacturing Engineer – CmfgE), teaching and training, consulting, designing, programming and technical writing and documentation. Among survivors are daughters Deanna Gountras and Renata Deerwester; son Brandon Wilson; and brother Robert Gale Wilson (’58). Sue Campbell Sturgill (re-’57), Albuquerque, N.M., died Feb. 4, 2014. Among survivors are her children Bill Sturgill, Sandi Luce and Laurel Rooks. Betty Spurgeon Holloman (’59), Williamsburg, Va., died Feb. 13, 2015. She enjoyed her rich and interesting life as an Army wife. Among survivors are her husband, LTC (Ret.) Earl Holloman, and sons Larry and Eric. Rev. David “Dave” B. Knight Sr. (’59), Big Stone Gap, Va., died Sept. 1, 2014. He was a minister with the United Methodist Church in the Holston Conference for 40 years with his last 28 years of ministry as pastor of both East Stone Gap and Legion Memorial United Methodist churches. For his faithful years of service and preaching
of the word of God he was awarded by the Holston Conference the Denman Evangelism Award in 1995. Among survivors are his wife, Judy Breneman Knight (re-’62); son David Knight; and daughter Kim Lester. Joe A. Owen (’59), Stuart, Va., died Jan. 3, 2015. He served in the U.S. Army and taught at Red Bank for five years, Lawsonville & North Stokes for five years, and Galax and Grayson County for two years. He worked 45 years in the grocery business at Alexander’s, Farmer’s Food and Lowe’s Foods. Manuel G. “The Greek” Stoupis (’59), Irwin, Penn., died Sept. 25, 2014. He was a supervisor for U.S. Steel for more than 35 years as well as The Natures and the PA Turnpike. Among survivors are his wife, Cynthia J. (Ploskina) Stoupis; and children James Stoupis, George Stoupis, William Stoupis, Kathy Stoupis, Clay Slivko, and Amanda Stoupis. Garnie Boyd Elswick (’60), Vansant, Va., died March 4, 2015. She devoted 40 years of her life to teaching school, and retired from Buchanan County School System. William Paul “Bill” Graybeal (’61), Meadowview, Va., died Jan. 3, 2015. He served for five years as pastor of several Methodist churches in the Holston Conference. He taught seventh grade at Riverside and Chilhowie Elementary Schools. He then served as assistant principal and principal at Marion Intermediate School, as well as overseeing the Marion area school buses, routes and drivers. Among survivors are his wife, Carol Miller Graybeal, and daughter Dawn Graybeal Williams. Memorial contributions may be made to Emory & Henry College. Frances Timbs Collins (re-’62), Mountain City, Tenn., died Oct. 9, 2014. She was a foster parent for many years and helped take care of elderly women. Among survivors are her daughters Donna Collins and Sherah Collin; and sons Jamey Collins and Chuck Collins. William E. Chapman (’64), Saltville, Va., died Jan. 15, 2015. He was a retired science teacher. Among survivors are his wife, Carolyn L. Chapman, and daughter Sylvia Chapman. Janice Brugh Connett (’64), Noblesville, Ind., died Dec. 1, 2014. Among survivors are sons Dr. Richard James Connett and Charles Robert Connett; and daughter Catherine Ann Connett. Donations may be made to Emory & Henry College. Helen Elizabeth “Beth” Little Carr (’65), Atlanta, Ga., died Dec. 27, 2014. She was a music educator, teaching piano to hundreds of young people and many adults over the years. A gifted accompanist at the keyboard she worked with choral groups, vocalists and instrumentalists. Among survivors is a son Alan Carr. Janet Heck Nave (’65), Oak Ridge, Tenn., died Dec. 30, 2014. She taught
English at Jefferson County High School in Jefferson City, Tenn., and was head librarian at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Ala. She worked at Science Applications International Corporation for 24 years as an information scientist, database administrator and public information specialist. Janet and Larry have provided an endowed scholarship at Emory & Henry. Among survivors are her husband, James Lawrence “Larry” Nave (’63); son James David Nave; and daughter Tara Nave Marlow. Andrew Yapo (’66), Milford, Conn., died March 21, 2013. He served in the U.S. Army and was a teacher at David Wooster Middle School in Stratford and at Milford Adult Education. Among survivors are his wife, Nancy Wolfe Yapo (’66); and children Theodore Yapo, Alexis Boccanfuso and Adrienne Yapo. Barbara Spencer Stump (’67), Lynchburg, Va., died July 1, 2014. She was a teacher in the Lynchburg Public School System. Among survivors are her husband, Robert Stump; and stepdaughters Debra Lynn Stump and Cindy Stump Hunter. Earl Hawkins (’69), Mechanicsville, Va., died Dec. 10, 2014. He was a retired educator having taught and coached in Dinwiddie, Hanover and King & Queen counties. He was a teacher and athletic director at King & Queen Central High School at the time of his retirement. He worked briefly for C&P Telephone Company after playing professional football. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1964 and was traded to the Baltimore Colts prior to the 1966 season. He was a member of the E&H Sports Hall of Fame and in 2013 his #45 jersey was retired. He is a member of the Central Virginia ASA Hall of Fame and the Virginia USSSSA Hall of Fame. He coached the Stompers, a women’s softball team, to an ASA National Title. Among survivors are his wife, Lynda Jones Hawkins (’66); son Chuck Hawkins (’91); and daughter JudiAnn Hawkins Shaver (’92). Memorial donations may be made to the scholarship program at Emory & Henry. Judie Eller, (’70), Marion, Va., died Sept. 8, 2014. She began her career as a teacher at Atkins Elementary School in Atkins, Va., and taught at Craigsville Elementary School in Craigsville, Va. Among survivors are daughter Kristen Eid and son and daughter-in-law Aaron Showker (’04), and Amy Ashby Showker (’04). Marian “Mossie” Moss Goff Bailey (’71), Glade Spring and Bristol, Va., died Jan. 6, 2015. She was the nurse for Dr. J.T. Goodman during his years of practice in Glade Spring in the 1950s and 1960s. She taught in the Washington County School System for almost 30 years at Hayter’s Gap Elementary, Liberty Hall Elementary, Glade Spring Elementary and Glade Spring Middle School. Among survivors is her daughter, Vickie Goff Mitoraj (’77).
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Mark J. Laubach (re-’72), San Jose, Cal., died Feb. 14, 2014. Among survivors are his wife, Barbara Dee Bussemer (re-’72); and sons Robert B. Laubach and Ryan A. Laubach. Robert M. McCloud (’74), Richmond, Va., died Dec. 3, 2014. He began his career as an auditor for The Virginia Department of Taxation and retired as a senior audit supervisor. Among survivors are his daughter, Ashley McCloud Bardon; brother David McCloud (’66); and aunt Thelma Wright (’43). Sharon Gilbert Clevinger (’76), Lebanon, Va., died Jan. 2, 2015. She began her teaching career in Buchanan County at Whitewood High School in 1975. In 1979 she began teaching in Russell County at Honaker High School where she taught English and was cheerleading coach. She transferred to Lebanon High School teaching English until her retirement in 2010, with 35 years of service. Among survivors are her husband, Roger Clevinger, and daughter Katherine Clevinger. Marita Dimple Hodge Sauls (’80), Saltville, Va., died Feb. 13, 2015. She was a retired teacher with the Smyth County School System. Among survivors are her husband, Sherrel Sauls (’60), and sons Cary Sauls and Joey Sauls. S. Gregory Compton (’83), Gray, Tenn., died Feb. 24, 2015. He served the Richlands area for more than 20 years in the banking industry and was currently working with AXA Advisors as a financial planner. Among survivors are his father Stafford Compton (re’52); wife Aleta Shortt Compton; son Brandon Edwards; and daughter Greta Compton Street (’09). Donations may be made to Emory & Henry College. Mary Ann Adams-Jones (’90), Bristol, Va., died Dec. 12, 2014. Among survivors are her husband, Sam P. Jones; daughters Samantha Jones and Catherine Ann Overstreet; and son Samuel E. Jones. Penny French Garrett (’90), Damascus, Va., died Dec. 3, 2014. She worked at Revco in Abingdon and in the Bristol office of the Virginia Department of Transportation prior to her years as property accountant for the Bristol Mall. She later served alongside her husband at Garrett Funeral Home in Damascus. In January 2010 Penny and her family founded The Penny E. Garrett Sarcoma Foundation to raise awareness and much-needed funding for rare cancer research and to give hope to others who are affected by these diseases. The major fundraising event for the foundation is the Creeper Trail Ride to End Cancer, a biking and walking event held each year in July. The foundation has raised $450,000 for rare cancer research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Among survivors are her husband, Todd Garrett; son Peyton Garrett; and daughter Madison Garrett.
Carolyn Ruth Musser (’91), Bristol, Tenn., died Feb. 12, 2015. She was a former employee of King Pharmaceuticals in their market research department. She was a familiar voice on FM94, as well as AM660, WCRR in Rural Retreat, Va. She was a former employee of GIV in Bland, Va., and a field journalist at WCYB in Bristol, Va. She received a YWCA Volunteer Service Award for her dedicated service and passion in helping women and children. Among survivors are her husband, Eric Lambert; children Nik Musser, Amanda Wilder and Cassandra Wilder; parents Robert and Margaret Musser; and brother Robert Musser (’89). Christopher Carlton (’96), Duluth, Ga., died Jan. 3, 2015. He was a United Methodist minister recently employed at Summit Counseling Center, John’s Creek branch. Among survivors are his wife, Debbie Carlton, and daughters Sophia and Phoebe Carlton. Alice Jones Funk (’01), Abingdon, Va., died Sept. 12, 2014. Among survivors are her husband, Brian L. Funk, and sons Joshua C. Funk and William Benjamin Funk. Bradford N. Knetl (’04), Arlington, Va., died Jan. 29, 2015. He was an IT specialist at the Defense Intelligence Agency. As a member of the server computing team, he helped ensure the well-being of more than 8,000 servers across multiple security environments worldwide. Among survivors is his wife, Aida Ibisevic Knetl. Navy V-12 Wallace D. Alley Sr. died March 3, 2015. He opened his first automobile dealership in 1949 as Alley Motor Company in Church Hill, Tenn. In 1950 he added a GMC truck franchise. In 1960 he opened a dealership in Kingsport, Alley’s Chrysler-Plymouth. Later he established Alley’s DodgeJaguar-Saab. He retired in 2011 upon the sale of the dealership. He was a former Board of Trustee member at Emory & Henry College. Among survivors are his wife of 24 years Virginia Fox Alley; sons Wallace D. Alley Jr. (Doug), Martin E. Alley and David G. Alley; step-daughters Debbie Fox, Teresa Cochran and Wendy Laughrun; granddaughter Samantha Alley Ketron (’11); brother Edmond L. Alley (’51); brother-in-law Eugene Meyung (’48); and nephew Mark Alley (’82). Edwin E. Puckett, Midlothian, Va., died May 21, 2014. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and was a retired general manager for Stone Container Corporation. Among survivors are his wife, Harriett T. Puckett, and son Robert W. Puckett. L. Peter Wren, Richmond, Va., died Sept. 19, 2014. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War and retired as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy. He was a Chartered Life Underwriter in the insurance business
IN MEMORIAM
League Walt Carmack Award; 1996 E&H Sports Hall of Fame; 1995 John Handley High School Sports Hall of Fame; 2008 NCHS AA Sports Hall of Fame and in 2009 the track at Myers Park High School was named for him. Among survivors are his wife, Jean Whitehouse Allen; daughters Leslie Allen and Alexis Allen Sherrill; and son S. Bruce Allen. Emma Holland Crane (re-’50), Nottoway, Va., died Jan. 15, 2015. She and her husband operated Nottoway Antiques, where she worked as an antique dealer and appraiser. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert B. “Bob” Crane (’48). Among survivors are sons Stefan and Gresham; and daughter Elizabeth Eady. John K. Hale (re-’50), Narrows, Va., died Feb. 15, 2015. He was in the U.S. Army and served in the Chemical Corps at Camp Detrick, Frederick, Md. His first and only career appointment was in New Holland, Penn., where he served in various engineering capacities for more than 42 years. The present CaseNew Holland Company has honored him with the title, Master Inventor. He holds 29 patents which were actively incorporated into commercial design. His inventions, and those of others, made it possible for a single man to harvest crops without the sizable workforce of previous generations. He also exerted a major effort in machinery safety, having been involved in approval and requirement of rollover bar protection for tractors, and an effort in promoting the use of slow-moving vehicle emblems. Among survivors are his wife Barbara Leist Hale; sons John K. Jr. and James Chapman Hale; daughters Mary Savarese and Elizabeth Porter; and cousin Cornelia Woodson Smith (’49). Vernelle Mullins Wells (’50), Daleville, Va., died Dec. 23, 2014. She was a math teacher and owned and managed a companion care franchise. Among survivors are her daughters Linda Gooding and Betty Means. Rev. Dr. John W. Bardsley Jr. (’51), Fall Branch, Tenn., died Nov. 9, 2014. He served United Methodist congregations in the New York Annual Conference and in the Holston Conference. He served Jonesville UMC and EmorySmyth Chapel in Virginia before retiring in 1994. After retirement he served in churches as interim pastor. He received numerous awards and honors for his work in community and church activities. He published several articles and books and wrote his autobiography. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sara Jo Greever Bardsley (’51). Among survivors are daughter Donna Bardsley; son John Bardsley; and brother James Bardsley (re-’54). Charles R. “Chick” Davis (’52), Fairfield Glade, Tenn., died Dec. 27, 2014. After a short stint in the Army, he founded and directed the choral program at Emory & Henry where he was professor of voice for 38 years.
for 43 years. In his retirement years, he authored four books on the U.S. Navy’s involvement in World War II and his life-changing experience as one of the rescue officers for the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. He was a published poet and helped organize the Naval Sea Cadets program in Richmond. Among survivors are his wife, Helen Morrissey Wren; and his children, David Michael Wren, Linda Wren Palmer, Andrew James Wren and Matthew Peter Wren.
Former Employees Jack O. Minton, Abingdon, Va., died Jan. 3, 2015. He joined the college in 1965 as a bookkeeper and subsequently was named assistant to the treasurer and retired in 1988. Among survivors is his wife, Ann Roberts Minton (’55). Board of Trustees M. Beecher Dunsmore, Maryville, Tenn., died Nov. 3, 2014. A United Methodist minister since 1956, the Rev.
Dunsmore was the director of Youth Work for the Holston Conference from 1958-1963 and helped appointments at churches. He retired in 1997 after serving as superintendent of Big Stone Gap District of the Holston Conference. Among survivors are his wife, Sarah Ann Quillen Dunsmore (’56), and daughters Sarah Elizabeth Dunsmore and Julie Dunsmore. u
In memory of Claudia Duffy: #weloveyouClaudia
IN MEMORIAM
Nothing has reminded me more about how Emory & Henry changes lives than the untimely passing of Claudia Duffy. For nearly every student who passed through her 22-year tenure working in the Dean of Students Office—and her reign as the unofficial “Queen of the College”—her name is synonymous with kindness, caring, unflinching honesty, and love for the people around her. Words don’t really do her justice; they never did. But that didn’t stop hundreds of people from next door, towns across the Helping United Way plant flowers at the country, and countries around daycare center. the world from trying to do just that as we learned she would be leaving us. As the sad news started to spread around March 20, an interesting thing started to happen. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of posts and comments started to appear on her Facebook page. Somewhere along the line #weloveClaudia started to trend as a “hashtag,” with posts from many people I knew—and far more that I didn’t. Today, as I go back through those comments, amid the love and support that fills all of those posts, there is one overwhelming trend: Claudia made us better human beings. “As I sit here holding my six-week-old baby, William, I am at a loss for words of how much you and Mike impacted my life. You taught me it was ok to be blunt sometimes. You also taught me to be more understanding. I hope William has someone in his young adult life that listens and advises the way you did.” - Dr. January Haile (’04) “You touched so many more people than you will ever know.” - Angie Roberts Mattingly (’98) “Claudia, you are the brightest of stars in a place that makes everyone brighter and better in this world. I hope you find peace and love in your next step of the journey and know you made a difference to the many, many lives that you touched. Thank you for being you and showing us all how to be a better version of ourselves.” Dr. Drew Kohlhorst (’96) “To the lady who was such a huge influence at E&H. I went to her office when I felt bad in order to feel better because just being in her presence was enough. I went for laughs, hugs and encouragement and I was never disappointed. You live softly in the world, my dear. Sending a big kiss and hug from Dublin, you fine lady.” - Tammy McMillan Parks (’95)
by Robert Thomas (’01)
“You saw everyone as human and deserving. You told me when I needed to start acting like a grown-up and when I needed to stop taking myself so seriously. You were one of the three most important mentors of my life.” Shannon M. Turner (’97) “You balance your genuine love of students with refreshing humor and realism. You don’t let any of us get full of ourselves, and that’s a gift. And you’re funny as hell. I could fill up this FB page with fab Claudia memories, but you get the point -- you make us laugh, you make us think, you make us better. See that hashtag? We love you. #weloveclaudia” - Kathleen Reuter Chamberlain, E&H English faculty The most important things I learned at Emory & Henry were not in the classroom. They were in the halls, in the dorms, in the people Emory brought together. They were in Claudia’s classroom on the front steps of Wiley where I shared pride in accomplishments and more than one honest appraisal of how I needed to “get my shit together” from Claudia. She taught me how With husband Mike playing Santa to be a responsible adult. How to march into the Dean’s office and take and his elf for the community. responsibility for a stupid decision. She taught me the value in myself, and in other people. From looking at her Facebook page, it’s clear she did the same for hundreds of people. Here’s to Claudia Duffy, and to the legacy she left that lives on in so many of us. Here’s to the place that made Claudia a part of our lives. May her contributions live on, and may there be many more generations of people like Claudia —who change hearts, minds, and lives—amid the halls of Emory & Henry College. v
It’s Time to Take Your Seat! Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts Emory & Henry College has arrived at a transformational moment — the completion of the Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts. This long-awaited $24 million facility will strongly enhance learning opportunities for students, provide an outstanding venue for guest artists from around the world, and raise the College’s profile as a regional hub for the arts.
Be a Part of the Show!
Now, as the curtain goes up on the McGlothlin Center for the Arts, you have a rare opportunity to honor a loved one, friend, mentor or organization by arranging for a plaque to be placed on a seat in the main proscenium theater!
ehc.edu/art-center
• A tax-deductible $2,000 gift entitles you to name one seat in the proscenium theatre.* • Pledge balance may be fulfilled over two years with an initial, minimum gift of $1,000. • Plaques may be engraved with three lines, a maximum of 20 letters and spaces per line. • Family and group gifts are encouraged.
For more information, contact: Office of Institutional Advancement, P.O. Box 950, Emory, VA 24327 Toll-Free: 877.220.0342 · E-mail: pfhunt@ehc.edu · www.ehc.edu
Speaking at her retirement ceremony. 42 / SPRING 2015 / Emory & Henry Magazine
* A Emory charitable gift of $2,000 entitles & Henry Magazine / SPRING the 2015donor / 43 to have placed by the College a metal plate with a College-approved named inscription to be affixed to the back of one chair, to be chosen solely by the College, in the McGlothlin Center’s proscenium theater. No other benefits, including preferred or complimentary seating for any performance of any kind in the McGlothlin Center for the Arts, are expressed or implied.
The Alumni Magazine Emory & Henry College P.O. Box 950 Emory, VA 24327-0950
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