DECEMBER 2016
ST. designated ANDREWS ace
Hurricane Matthew 2 Coverage
Thanksgiving in 6 Africa
National Historic Register 10
Photo from 1962 Lamp and Shield
ic Pl r o t s i H l Nationa Issue l a i c e Sp
Thank you for your donations!
St. Andrews Provides Relief Effort for Victims of Hurricane Matthew
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As soon as students returned to campus after Fall Break, many went into high gear helping to load trucks with supplies to be sent to Lumberton for distribution to flood victims in that area. Assistant Dean of Students Liz Hernandez’s office was packed floor to ceiling with donations from the St. Andrews community not once, but several times in the following weeks. A week after Hurricane Matthew hit, Alumna Susie Evans ’96 brought a van-full of donations with no room to spare from Matthews, NC. They included bottled water, diapers, pantry items, cleaning products and dog food, given by area alumni, neighbors of Susie, and church members. Laurie Nederveen ’93, who is in the MBA program here at SA, brought cases of water. Other faculty and staff shopped for groceries and other supplies. Members of the Laurinburg community, some who were without power for almost a week after the storm, went to shelters in the area affected to sort donations of clothing and other supplies.
Fayetteville realtor Wendy Harris ’93 worked as a liaison between the City of Lumberton and the organization NC REALTORS. She carried down supplies, helped to feed 900 people one Sunday, canvassed neighborhoods and documented storm damage for the City. NC REALTORS allocated $100,000 to rescue and recovery operations. They helped coordinate the delivery of supplies from across the country and helped manage the volunteer efforts. The Pioneer food service staff donated funds to one cafeteria worker whose home suffered damage from the storm. Katherine “Cup” Clark ’92 helped raise money from alumni for the family of a student at St. Andrews from Lumberton. It was a real affirmation of both the St. Andrews and Laurinburg communities to see how people came together to help.
Left: Supplies in the Office of Student Affairs. Who donated the corgi? Right: Wendy Harris ‘93 unloads a truck in Lumberton, NC. 2
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HURRICANE Wreaks Havoc on the
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Today's high will be 70 degrees and mostly sunny. Hard to believe just one month ago we were getting drenched by Hurricane Matthew. “It could have been worse; it could have been better,” is how John Knesel, the department chair of Natural and Life sciences at St. Andrews described Hurricane Matthew’s effects on the Morgan-Jones Science Building. In his office, furniture is out of place and the floor is bare to the concrete. The same goes for the other offices on the first floor of the building.
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A gallery of offices faces the lake on the ground floor. Big glass windows and wainscoting are all that separated the offices from the rising water’s forces. Because there are very few windows on the building, one gets the impression that these offices are all that exist inside. Two days after Hurricane Matthew, the water receded, and one could see a disaster recovery company’s truck with workers bringing carpets out of the building and bringing in industrial dehumidifiers. Books, magazines, t-shirts, and papers, all quite wet, are stacked next to the doors.
St. Andrews’ sweeping campus experienced scattered damage from the storm: trees down, wet carpets, flooded drywalls and electric motors, and crumpled, overturned bleachers. Fortunately, students were on Fall Break when the storm broke. The Art Department, Cafeteria and Sinclair Dining Room all experienced flooding. However, the Morgan-Jones Science Building suffered more extensive damage.
During a post-hurricane tour, one notices right away that there is a lot more to Morgan Jones than is seen from outside. The upper floor is one room: a twenty thousand square foot science lab. The ground floor is just as spacious, but carved into conference rooms, classrooms, and offices. The water surged through the ground floor, often standing deepest in rooms furthest from the lake.
The building sits about ninety-five feet from Lake Ansley Moore, a 50-acre man-made lake. Lake Ansley Moore is fed by tributaries which flow into Cypress Pond, just on the other side of the University’s causewalk. When storm water surged above the lake’s banks, it lapped against the building and made its way inside.
Dehumidifiers are everywhere. Reminiscent of science experiments, the humming red boxes flash digital readouts and connect to lengths of clear plastic tubing which run into 55-gallon waste barrels filling with water. They suck moisture, not just out of the air, but out of solid materials as well. The water in the barrels is emptied daily. Walls,
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books and papers can all be dried by these Low Grain Refrigerant (LGR) machines. They have been working 24/7 for eight days at this writing. Moisture meters show technicians the height of drywall saturation. Marked by blue strips, these heights will be used by restorers to replace wet drywall with fresh. Punctuating the unevenness of Matthew’s impact on the
building’s spaces, MJ’s director of logistics, Rooney Coffman, observed “One office may have papers on the floor that are wet, the next office might not be wet at all.” One professor’s office door had a sign declaring, “I am in Brunnenburg, will return on ….” She may be astonished when she returns, as the plan is to complete the restoration before the spring semester.
Freelance writer Jim Kelly shared this article with us on November 8, exactly a month after Hurricane Matthew blew through Laurinburg and St. Andrews describing of the damage around campus. Since this writing, we have been working with insurance adjusters to get estimates for the damage so we can move forward with repairs.
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Thanksgiving in Africa
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Siblings Xiomara and Tariq Getrouw were armed with boxes of St. Andrews t-shirts as they began their trek to Lesotho, Africa during Thanksgiving break.
But the children were not the only ones being taught. Xiomara and Tariq learned much about the culture of Lesotho and their language.
The student-athletes began swimming at young ages. Their mother runs a swim school back home in The Republic of Suriname, South America. Recently the two participated in a project in Rochester, NY, for a deaf community. After being inspired by Kick4Life, they decided their next project would be motivating and teaching kids in Lesotho.
They learned phrases like: Lumela me: Hello miss Lumela ntate: Hello sir U phela joang: How are you? Ke phela hantle: I am fine Lebitso la hao: What’s your name? U tsoa kae: Where are you from? Ke tsoa hae: I am from… Ke thabile: I am so happy Tanki: good Kekopa ho u botsa: May I ask you a question? E’ba le letsatsi le monate: Have a good day Khotso: Peace
After adjusting to the six hour time difference, the pair focused on a program involving fitness: stretching, warm-ups, life skills and swimming. “We wanted to make a difference in the lives of the children through exercises that will keep their bodies and minds in good shape,” explained Xiomara. 6
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“The Lesotho expereince is uniqe. A lot of mountains beckon, skies and waters run wild and deep under thick snow and scorching sun.”
“The culture made me feel like I was at home. They are a very friendly people. I would definitely like to come back to this beautiful country.”
The environment in Lesotho is challenging with the extremes of heat and cold, depths and heights.
Xiomara and Tariq gave the children motivational speeches to which they asked lots of questions. Many children want to study in the USA.
They encouraged the them to stay focused, positive and disciplined. “Never forget where you come from. If you are in a good position to help, always go back and help other kids that are in need so they can have the same opportunity.”
Above: L to R: Tariq, Rhett Power, director of Kick4Life and Xiomara in Lesotho. Right: Tariq teaching kids to swim. Below: Xiomara with their UN Ambassador Henry MacDonald. Bottom Right: Kids pose for picture during a swimming lesson.
DECEMBER 2016
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Suzanne Madison Hogg joined The Faison Center in Richmond, VA as Vice President of Development. The Center is a non-profit educational and treatment center serving children and families impacted by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities.
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Joy Stalvey Barefoot, along with her daughter, Jane Rochelle, have published a children’s book titled Hoots, Howls and Belly Growls. The poetry is Joy’s and the illustrations are by her daughter. The book can be ordered from teenytinypieces@gmail.com
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Dell Alford is the proud grandmother of twins born on October 19.
Knight Chamberlain has written a book published this fall. Side-Stepping the Pit: How I Survived Sexual Assault Without Drugs, Alcohol, or Depression, and Forgave My Attacker. Knight’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Charlotte Observer, amonth other publications. He lives in Asheville, NC. This is the his first published book.
Dan Wetmore published a book with the St. Andrews University Press My Mother’s Gentle Unbecoming, a book of poems about his mother’s Alzheimer’s.
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Greg Peake is providing relief surgical and exam service to the SPCA in Norfolk, VA. This past March, after working in private practice for the past 19 years, he joined a former colleague who had taken over the spay/neuter clinic at the SPCA’s Animal Control office. Greg helps to provide many different veterinary services there.
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Rodney Lyn and his wife Nicola welcomed their infant son Joshua Shawn Lyn into the world in late October.
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Elise Williams Blackwell generously donated bins of St. Andrews memorabilia to the Archives. Items included yearbooks, letters, books, and music scores. Wooden St. Andrews, PJC and FMC plaques made by her husband, Bill, were also given.
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DeTamble Library would love to have any books written by our talented alumni. Consider donating a signed copy. Search our catalog to see if we have yours. www.sa.edu/detamble
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Taryn Reed has joined QuntilesIMS in Raleigh as a Clinical Trial Assis-
Greg Gray started a small indie magazine called Topple. Its monthly issues contain logic puzzles and games. Take a look at the website: https://www.topplemag.com
SAU Calendar
For a complete list of events visit www.sa.edu/events
March 4-12
January 9-10 Orientation
Spring Break
January 10
March 18
First Day of Classes (Sandhills)
KNIGHT Life Day
January 11
March 25 Science Olympiad
First Day of Classes (Lbg. Campus)
April 1
April 21-23 Alumni Weekend - go ahead and mark your calendars.
April 29 Exam Week begins
May 5 Baccalaureate
January 16
Spring Open House
May 6
MLK Day of Service and Program 6 p.m.
April 14-17
Every 1st Friday
Easter Break
February 17-18 Alumni Council Meeting
Commencement Triangle Area alumni group meet at Cantina 18 in Raleigh for lunch, except on holiday weekends.
Alumni Weekend
Datege Chan
April 21-23
Mark Your Calendar More information coming soon.
Dearly Departed:Drop Dead Funny fall production Students of the Theatre Department and a few community members enacted a terribly funny play Dearly Departed. Yes! We were laughing at a funeral. According to Prof. Cinny Beggs, “Many of the students have never seen a live performance, much less acted.� The audience was unaware of the lack of experience. And enjoyed a gun scene, a fight, and a breakdown with a lot of Southern charm.
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St. Andrews
National Hi
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St. Andrews has been called innovative, beautiful and modern. Now, “historic,” can be added to the list of adjectives. On August 22, St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now St. Andrews University) was added to the National Historic Register for its architecture and landscape.
A ceremony commemorating the National Historic designation for the campus is slated in the next few months, according to school officials. The designation process began six years ago with the help of St. Andrews trustees Larry Horne and Curtis Leonard (Class of 1980), shepherding the application process through the years of completion. “As a native of Scotland County, I watched as a teenager when farms were cleared, swamps drained and the buildings built that became St. Andrews,” said Horne. “As a Trustee from 2006-2011, I wanted to see St. Andrews recognized for the intact and remarkable examples of mid-century architecture and landscaping design.”
In 1955, the Presbyterian Synod of North Carolina appointed a Board of Directors to oversee the merger of Flora Macdonald College in Red Springs and Presbyterian Junior College in Maxton at a new site located approximately two miles south of downtown Laurinburg. In an effort to bolster private higher education in response to increasing competition from state-supported institutions, the college opened in September 1961.
St. Andrews was among the earliest college campuses in the United States designed to be widely accessible to students with physical disabilities, which included the strategic placement of ramps, electric doors, sidewalks and curb cuts to facilitate easy access to its buildings and grounds. “The Board of Trustees’ vision, and its implementation by architect A. G. Odell, Jr. and Associates, resulted in an atmosphere of openness, inclusiveness, and connectivity, which has greatly informed campus culture through the years,” noted campus president Paul Baldasare. “The designation of the St. Andrews campus is an honor for both the college and the forward-thinking founders who, in the late 1950’s, chose the Laurinburg site to build their shining example of a new post-World War II architecture. Virtually unchanged from its inception, the campus is a time capsule of mid-century design and yet is still a vibrant and life-filled place today,” noted Leonard. Being recognized as a National Historic Place will help to preserve and protect the original design of the campus and its historical significance. The designation may also provide eligibility for preservation grants or other preservation assistance.
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St. Andrews by the Lake Alumni Magazine
designated a
istoric Place The original campus in 1961. Architecture & Landscape Charlotte architects A.G. Odell Jr. and Associates and Raleigh-based landscape architect Lewis Clarke’s design for the 225-acre campus of St. Andrews Presbyterian College required a total transformation of what had been agricultural and wooded acreage. The property encompasses a west administrative and academic campus and an east residential and recreation complex linked by a landscaped causeway that spans Lake Ansley C. Moore, which was engineered as part of the site plan. The campus contains a cohesive collection of Modernist buildings that display a functionalistic approach in
their form. New mid-twentieth-century building materials and technology allowed for structures that employ concrete, steel, and glass in innovative ways. The campus plan garnered national attention. In January 1960, Progressive Architecture magazine awarded A. G. Odell Jr. and Associates an Education Division citation for the design. Judges included noted Modernist architect Louis I. Kahn of Philadelphia. Extensive grading, site contouring, and the lake’s excavation provided a basis for infrastructure installation underground. Upon the completion of hardscape elements including
buildings, plazas, walkways, and ramps, contractors installed vegetation both in a naturalistic manner and in planters, courtyards, plazas, and lining roads. Open green space separates buildings and creates expansive vistas. Underground utility lines preserve the site’s pastoral character. The building orientation and relatively flat topography allow for views of the lake and other landscape features from different vantage points. Parking lots and access roads are located on the perimeter of each campus section. The surrounding woods provide a buffer between the campus and nearby development. Continued on page 12 DECEMBER 2016
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National Historic continued Featured in Fortune magazine in May 1963 for its architecture is the William Henry Belk College Center situated in the middle of the campus. Belk is a two-story rectangular student center that was completed in
President Ansley C. Moore shows a model of St. Andrews to architects from Peru in May 1962. 12
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1961. The Modernist building’s primary entrance faces east toward an open plaza. Odell intended the college center to feel like an open, inviting pavilion with a “refreshing atmosphere.” Thus, the building’s glass curtain walls and expressed concrete-slab structure are its dominant design components. College and University Business profiled the Morgan-Jones Science Center as “College Building of the Month” in October 1970. The North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recognized Odell’s design with an Award of Merit in 1971 which garnered widespread recognition. The 20,000 sq. ft. open space laboratory was based on the concept that “creativity cannot be scheduled into neat time – or building – blocks,” according to architect Odell. The building’s name reflects Laurinburg industrialists Edwin Morgan and Halbert McNair Jones for their many contributions to the institution.
The James L. Morgan Liberal Arts Building, completed in 1961 and named for long-time trustee and benefactor Jimmy Morgan, includes classrooms, faculty offices, a theater and a colorful Italian hand-cut glass mosaic. The mosaic was designed by award-winning artist Odell Prather and fills the lobby’s entire south wall. Venetian craftsman A. Bertoli of Willet Studios installed the campus mosaic. Its cultural evolution theme begins with the Christian story of human creation and the adoption of technology such as fire, wheels, and weapons. A ziggurat represents astronomical observation and tablets and a scroll symbolize theological development. A painter’s palette, ink well and pen, book, and abacus signify the exploration of self-awareness through the arts, literature, and mathematics. The star of the nativity, St. Andrew’s shield, and the banner of resurrection denote Christianity’s origins and doctrinal dissemination.
Japanese cherry trees initially filled the area north of the James L. Morgan Liberal Arts Building, south of the Vardell Building, and west of DeTamble Library. In March 1968, after a significant number of the trees died, Odell proposed replacing the cherry trees with live oaks. Although Lewis Clarke was initially afraid that the oaks would become too large for the site, he eventually concurred. A grove of live oaks planted in 1968 now fills the area. St. Andrews is unique in that most buildings have experienced only minor alterations since being placed into service. For economic considerations, the architects selected materi-
als and utilized building form, massing, and placement to express Modernist tenets in a pragmatic manner. In addition to reducing heat and glare, concrete-aggregate sun screens introduce patterns of light and shadow that vary throughout the day. Ornamental metal railings and courtyard gates display a simple yet striking intersecting circle motif that conveys a sense of movement and energy. The composite effect of sixteen academic, administrative, residential, and recreational buildings executed with this unified treatment is significant. Repeating motifs include bas-relief Celtic crosses, utilized to embellish
concrete-block solar screens at the James L. Morgan Liberal Arts Building, Vardell Building, and all eight dormitories, in addition to DeTamble Library’s concrete wall panels. This application is particularly compelling, as the panels sheathe the majority of the north and south elevations’ upper floors. Also, at each wall’s center, five narrow full-height windows flank four narrow concrete-aggregate panels, providing arresting visual impact through contrasting textures, colors and materials. Overall, the campus includes five administrative and academic buildings, eight dormitories, a student Excavation for Lake Ansley C. Moore.
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National Historic continued center and the gymnasium – as well as athletic fields, the physical plant and other associated structures – centralized by a 65-acre lake. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation and is a part of the United States Department of the Interior. To learn more visit www.nps.gov. Architect A. G. Odell, Jr.
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Belk rendering vs. Belk completion.
DeTamble Library rendering vs. Library under construction.
Liberal Arts rendering vs. Liberal Arts completion.
DECEMBER 2016
MJ Science Center rendering vs. completion.
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THEN AND NOW
Japanese cherry trees initially filled the area north of the James L. Morgan Liberal Arts Building. In March 1968, after a significant number of the trees died, Architect A.G. Odell, Jr., proposed replacing the cherry trees with live oaks. Although Landscape Architect Lewis Clarke was initially afraid that the oaks would become too large for the site, he eventually concurred. A grove of live oaks planted in 1968 now fills the area – commonly called “The Grove.”
St. Andrews existed for six years before it built a Physical Education building. One alumna remembered, “There was no gym. We had fly fishing and other sports that didn’t require a gym. We were required to learn the Highland Fling. There were no clubs and no traditions – it was all new.” However, there was a temporary gym, now called Farrago, which was converted to a student gathering center in 1967, when the Physical Education Center was built. Today the PE building includes a swimming pool, locker rooms, fitness center, two gyms, offices, showers and lavatory areas as well as the Jack Burris Rehabilitation Center added in 1974. St. Andrews now has 20 intercollegiate sports and over 20 student-run clubs and organizations.
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THEN AND NOW
The Library used to be in the basement of the LA building! As the student body grew, the room became woefully insufficient. First Presbyterian Church of Winston-Salem subsidized $200,000 of the library’s $440,000 construction cost by donating funds that the congregation had received as a bequest from the estate of Twin City Motor Company president Frederick J. DeTamble and his wife Elsie, both of whom died in 1961. Two other entities, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, contributed $100,000 and $50,000, respectively. Contractors completed DeTamble Library in May 1964.
Contractors completed the first ten buildings just prior to the campus’s September 1961 opening. The campus-wide inclusion of ramps, entrances, and elevators to allow for handicapped accessibility was unusual for the period, as was the fact that all buildings had air conditioning systems. Approximately seventy faculty and staff supervised 750 students, two-thirds of whom were women. Resident students enrolled at a cost of $1,250 in tuition, fees, room, and board, while day students paid $700 in tuition and fees. Today we have a total of 731 students – 55% male and 45% female with 44% of them coming from North Carolina. We also have 95 international students. (Pictured photo from 1960's gym.) DECEMBER 2016
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In Memoriam Sympathy is extended to Tracy Victorio ’93 in the death of her father, and to Phil Szachara ’93 in the death of his father. Katherine Hill McKay ’47 died November 23, 20116 at her home in Laurinburg. She received her BA from Flora Macdonald College and both a Masters in Reading and a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Appalachian State University. She taught for 37 years at Covington Street School in Laurinburg. Betty Gray Melvin Sanderson ’51 died July 19, 2016. A Home Economics major at Flora Macdonald, she and her 3 sisters published their own cookbook titled Food and Family. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Robert Sanderson. Jim Knupp ’64 died on September 26, 2016 in Little River, SC. His obituary noted that “Jim was an avid sports fan, had a keen interest in observing politicians and their accomplishments, possessed a passionate sense of humor, was direct but kind, intense but fair, bright & sincere but foolish, committed, loyal, generous & loving, and a devotee’ of philosophy.” Sally Jane Syphrit ’69 died on November 25, 2016 in Myrtle Beach, SC. For 40 years, she lived in the Washington, D.C. area where she worked as an early childhood education t eacher. She was a volunteer at Loaves & Fishes, serving meals to the needy, and worked at a summer camp for underprivileged children. John Null ’93 died November 28, 2016 in Laurinburg.
Rev. Robert M. Urie died on December 6 at Scotia Village. He worked at St. Andrews from 1961-1977, serving as a Counselor in the Presbyterian Guidance Center, then Director of Rehabilitation Services, Health, and Counseling.In this wheelchair, Bob served as a great mentor and role model. His wife, Elsie, also worked at St. Andrews on our Sandhills campus
St. Andrews by the Lake is a publication of the Alumni and Communications Offices of St. Andrews. We welcome your feedback and ideas for future issues. To contact the Alumni Office, call Ellen Thompson at 910-277-5665 or email thompsonje@sa.edu.
A Branch of Webber International University
1700 Dogwood Mile Laurinburg, NC 28352 910-277-5000
Photo by John Holloway
Grace Evelyn Gibson died on October 16, 2016, at the age of 96. She attended Women’s College (now UNC-G) where she was the editor of the school newspaper. After receiving her MA in English from Duke University, she went on to teach English in Laurinburg. She became a Distinguished Teacher of Creative Writing and Journalism at St. Andrews and was the recipient of the Ethel Fortner Award in 1989. The St. Andrews Press published three volumes of her poetry: Home in Time (1977), Drakes Branch (1982) and Frayed Edges (1995.)