Life Coming Into Focus

CAMPUS NEWS

New Trustee Chair and Vice-Chair

Mars Hill University rang in the new year with new leadership on its governing body. The university’s board of trustees began 2019 with a new chair in Linda Judge-McRae and new viceThe Campus Activities Board hosted two evenings of fun at Wolf Ridge Ski Resort for the MHU campus community. On January 31, and February 1, MHU students, faculty and staff could receive a lift ticket and a ski or snowboard rental free. Over 500 students, faculty, and staff

chair in Mike Kelly. Linda Judge-McRae ’86 owns Caris Healthcare in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband Norman McRae ’84, and provided fundamental vision and financial support to establish the Judge-McRae School of Nursing at Mars Hill University. JudgeMcRae joined the board of trustees in 2014. Mike Kelly ’82 lives in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio. A former vice president at Macy’s, he now owns Kelly Financial Planning and with his wife, Melinda, operates Right Path Enterprises, a consulting, training, and coaching firm. He also joined the trustee board in 2014. New trustees for the 2019-2022 term are Steve Francis of Columbia, South Carolina, and D. Sigsbee Duck of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Francis is a 1972 Mars Hill graduate and retired vice president with Agfirst Farm Credit Bank. He previously had served on Mars Hill’s board of advisors. Duck is a Mars Hill alumnus who practices otolaryngic allergy and was named the 2017 Wyoming Physician of the Year. He is the son of Dr. Otis Duck, a longtime general practitioner in Madison County and

Winterfest

former chair of the board of trustees. took advantage of the opportunity. Dan Morris, Director of Student Involvement and Campus Recreation said he hopes to make Winterfest an annual event.

Spirit Teams Announced

Cosmo is getting some more company in spreading Mars Hill spirit. The university is bringing together the Bailey Mountain Cloggers, the university cheerleaders, and a brand new sideline spirit dance team. Danielle Plimpton ’06, currently the managing director of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers, will lead the new Spirit Teams initiative. She’s planning tryouts for the three performance teams over the spring and summer. Look for the new spirit teams on the sidelines of Lions athletics games, and in the surrounding community, beginning this fall.

The Immigrant Journey

Dr. Greg Clemons, professor of Spanish, is pictured above with MHU Spanish students Natasha Castellano, Jen Evan, and Gabby Siegfried, and Karina Byers. The group met at Gypsy Queen restaurant in Asheville to talk with Byers about her journey as an immigrant in the United States. Byers is originally from Chile and is now a resident of the U.S. The students are taking Clemons’ class, Immigration Literature in Spanish.

Student Leadership Summit

Nearly three dozen MHU students took advantage of an opportunity to learn from one of the region’s top business training programs. The students participated in the Student Leadership Summit presented by the Biltmore Center for Professional Development. The aim of the summit was to inspire students to develop their life goals, vision, and story, while getting a look at professional success from the perspective of a private company like Biltmore. President Tony Floyd made these photos of students during a lunch presentation with executives from the Biltmore Company.

Lion Cubs

1

3 2

(1) Preston J Gilbert, 7 months, is the son of MHU computer science professor Marty Gilbert ’99, and his wife, Sarai. (2) Libby McLeskey, 5, is the daughter of MHU Chaplain Stephanie McLeskey and her husband, Ken. Here, Libby is enjoying a pottery booth at the Lunsford Festival.

(3) and (4): Lily Plemmons, 8, and little brother Raylan, 19 months, have been cheering on the Lions all their lives. Their Nana, Cindy Whitt ’06, takes photos of the team, in addition to being senior business analyst for the MHU IT Department.

4

Want to share photos of the “Lion Cubs” in your life? Send snapshots of your little ones in MHU t-shirts, bibs, hats, etc., to tbuckner@mhu.edu. Email must include a brief statement of consent from a parent.

FACULTY FOCUS

Gilbert Receives grammy nomination

A Mars Hill University history professor was among the nominees for the 61st annual Grammy Awards. David Gilbert was nominated in the category of Best Album Notes for the album The Product of Our Souls: The Sound And Sway Of James Reese Europe’s Society Orchestra. The album is a companion to Gilbert’s book The Product of Our Souls: Ragtime, Race, and the Birth of the Manhattan Music Marketplace. The Product of Our Souls was one of six albums nominated in the category. “I have been a working musician all of my adult life and am very passionate about my research topics in African-American cultural history,” Gilbert said, “but I never imagined getting such recognition.” The opportunity even to be part of the project came about because of his book. Gilbert said Archeophone Records had put together the album and contacted him to write the liner notes, because of his authority about James Reese Europe, established through The Product of Our Souls book. The book explores African-American musicians and stage entertainers in New York City in the first two decades of the 20th century and shows how black entertainers made Broadway Avenue and Tin Pan Amanda Knapp, professor of chemistry at MHU, recently completed a year as chair of the Western Carolinas section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). According to Meredith Newman, chair of the chemistry department at MHU, her role as chair is one of many ways that Knapp shows her dedication to her students here at MHU. “She has such a passion for her students and wants to do what she can to prepare them for life after their time at Mars Hill. Part of that is staying connected to professionals in the area through the Western Carolinas section of the ACS.” Knapp has been a member of ACS since she was an undergraduate at Xavier University. In fact, she credits her involvement in that organization at the local level with inspiring her to pursue a degree in Alley song publishers in New York synonymous with American popular culture. Archeophone specializes in preserving, restoring, and publishing recordings from 1890 through 1925. The liner notes Gilbert wrote ended up being a 56-page full-color insert of what Archeophone describes as “incisive musical and cultural analysis, establishing James Reese Europe’s prominence of position among the great musical forces of the 20th century.” The Grammy in this category was awarded in February for Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By

Gilbert and his book, The Product of our Souls.

Knapp Makes Her Mark as Chair of the WNC American Chemical Society

William Ferris. chemistry and ultimately leading her on the path to becoming a chemistry professor at Mars Hill University. In her role as chair of WCACS, Knapp planned a variety of monthly meetings and events

during 2018 including: a program centered on the solar eclipse of 2018, where WCACS members and guests learned from the eclipse and enjoyed a planetarium show; a tour of Ionic Technologies, a local industry, and a meeting hosted at Michelin; a banquet honoring long-standing members of the ACS which included 50-, 60-, and 70-year members as well as one 75-year member; a poster session and awards banquet where local

CLASS NOTES 1940s

Ruth Taylor Gray ’43 recently retired as the organist of First Baptist Church of DeFuniak Springs, Fla. At 95 years old, she has been the organist for over 38 years, and she continues to teach a very popular Sunday School class in the church, called Joyful Hearts.

1970s

Richard DeWitte Sparkman ’72, attorney at law, has been inducted into Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite Hall of Fame. He is a board certified bandruptcy law specialist and a certified mediator. 2019 marks his 40th year in private practice in Angier, N.C.

Dr. Robert David Gasperson

’74, has completed a biography of Southern Baptist missionaries J.C., Rosa, and Mary Hester Powell, titled, The Powells of Nigeria: 87 Years of Missionary Service. It is available through Amazon. Theatre Short Play and Musical Festival in New York City, in October for his play, “The Circle Rules.” The play

undergraduate students presented their research in a poster session; and a monthly meeting at MHU in November which brought professionals and students from other areas of the section to Mars Hill, allowing MHU students to be exposed to new and innovative research and ask questions about

Mars Hill, the Magazine of Mars Hill University welcomes your personal snapshots when you send in news of weddings, babies, accomplishments, etc. Send your news and photos to alumni@mhu.edu, or Alumni Office, P.O. Box 370, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

Edwin “Ed” Sams, Jr. ’74 won “Best of the Week” in the Players The Powells of Nigeria, by David Gasperson graduate school and life as a chemist. had four performances in the Players Theatre in Greenwich Village. Sams is a lecturer in the English department of San Jose State University and he and his wife own and operate the Yellow Tulip Press (www.curiouschapbooks.com).

Dr. Sigsbee W. Duck ’74, trustee of MHU, has been elected president of The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc., also known as The Triological Society for 2018-2019. Dr. Duck was inducted into the Society in 1997 after acceptance of a peer reviewed thesis. He is a resident of Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Carolyn Holtkamp Moser ’79 has been named the North Carolina Health Director of the Year by the N.C. Association of Local Health Directors. The statewide honor is given to an individual for outstanding leadership in public health and community involvement.

1980s

Mark Cabaniss ’82, trustee of

MHU, has published a new book, Music Business Essentials: A Guide for Aspiring Professionals. The book was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019. It is available through Amazon and most other booksellers.

Music Business Essentials, by Mark Cabaniss Joe Pizzo ’87, has been