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President’s
Update |
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July
2002
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Huntington
College Friends and Family,
The past few weeks
have been busy at the College with summer conferences, freshman
registration, science building preparation, and maintenance projects.
In addition, I have begun another busy summer season of travel
to many of our United Brethren annual conferences.
I also had the opportunity to speak to the graduating class at
Jamaica Bible College in Mandeville on June 20, 2002.
It was such a privilege to observe how God is using Jamaica
Bible College to educate students for significant ministry roles.
One of the
initiatives of the College’s Strategic Long-Range Plan 2000-05 is to
promote opportunities,
behaviors, and values that will enhance the intercultural perspective
of students, faculty, and
staff.
To that end, I recently signed an affiliation
agreement with Jingmei University in Beijing, China. The two-year
agreement will provide many opportunities and benefits for HC faculty,
staff and students, including joint research projects, international
service projects, sabbatical semesters in China, faculty symposia in
Beijing, student development consultations in China, semester-long
student programs in China, and the hosting of Chinese professors and
students in the USA. Located
on the outskirts of Beijing, Jingmei is China's only American-style
residential university staffed entirely by believers.
The educational theme of the university is global leadership
studies. As you know, Dr.
Ron Webb recently resigned his post as HC's dean to accept an
appointment as Jingmei's first provost.
I trust the items in
this summer issue of the President’s Update will keep you
informed of the many events and people that make Huntington College an
exciting and challenging environment for our students.
G. Blair Dowden
President
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Admissions |
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Class
of 2002
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The chart above
summarizes the number of prospective students who have applied and been
accepted to Huntington College for the fall 2002.
The bars represent year-to-date comparisons over the past five
years.
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Admissions
(continued)
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Two
new admissions counselors have joined the HC enrollment team.
Ms. Julie Magrum, who graduated from HC in May 2002, will
add considerable graphic and web design talents to the staff.
Mr. Matt Webb, a 1998 HC graduate, returns to Huntington
after several years of missionary work as a high school teacher at a
Christian school in Haiti. Matt's
wife, Mrs. Eva Webb, is also employed at HC working with Ms.
Jule McKanna and the programs at Thornhill.
Mr.
Nate Perry,
admissions counselor, has been promoted to Assistant Director of
Enrollment. His new
responsibilities will involve areas of admissions, financial aid and
retention.
A
record total of 184 new freshmen were on campus for Registration
Weekend on June 14-15. The
weekend was an opportunity for new students to register for classes,
select roommates, and learn more about campus life.
Parents attended workshops and receptions, met administrators and
faculty, and helped their children prepare for the next chapter in their
lives.
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Academic |
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Faculty
Development
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Drs. Cindy Steury
and Wayne Priest attended the CCCU Faculty Development Conference
at Gordon College, May 30 – June 2. Drs.
Linda Urschel and Ann McPherren attended the Council of
Independent Colleges (CIC) Summer Workshop for Department and Division
Chairs in Cleveland, Ohio, June 2 – 4.
Dr. Cindy
Steury was among 19 women from more than a dozen CCCU campuses that
gathered June 3-8 in Sumas, WA, for the CCCU Women's Leadership
Development Institute (WLDI). The
five-day institute was designed to explore leadership issues in Christian
higher education, especially as they relate to women and people of color,
and to provide resources for participants.
Workshops addressed topics related to campus climate and politics,
the relationships between college boards, faculty, and administration, as
well as vision casting and strategic planning.
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Education
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Educational
Ministries
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Dr. Tom Bergler,
assistant professor of educational ministries, was the featured guest on
WLLZ AM 560 (Detroit) on June 4 at 2 p.m.
Paul Edwards interviewed Dr. Bergler regarding “The Spiritual
Life of College Students.”
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History
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Dr.
Paul E.
Michelson,
professor of history, recently
gave two lectures at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington DC on
"Post-Communist Romania and Moldova: Dysfunctional Societies in
Transition" and "Transition to What? Dealing With Dysfunctional
Societies." The audience
was composed of diplomats in training for State Department posts in
Romania and Moldova.
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Library
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Mrs.
Deb Springer has been hired as the new secretary in the Library,
replacing Mrs. Barbara Bible who recently retired.
Deb is from the Bluffton Park United Brethren in Christ Church, and
has been active as their church treasurer. Additionally, she has had
extensive experience with computer applications.
Deb and her husband, Jack, have two children, Eric (16), Kristen
(9).
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Music
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Dr. Janice Fulbright
appeared as Katisha in the Gilbert & Sullivan musical “The Mikado”
at First Presbyterian Church, May 30 – June 16.
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Philosophy
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The most recent issue of Philsophia
Christi (the journal of the Evangelical Philosophical Society)
includes Dr. David Woodruff’s review of Kenneth Taylor’s book, Truth
& Meaning: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language.
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Psychology
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Dr. Wayne Priest
received a Brethren Colleges Abroad fellowship to attend an International
Seminar in Strasbourg, France. Dr.
Priest attended the “Crossroads of Europe” seminar June 11 – 19.
The seminar focused on Strasbourg's place as a capital of Europe
and included visits or lectures on the Council of Europe and the European
Parliament.
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Religion
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Dr. Mark Fairchild
was one of 25 scholars to receive an NEH grant to attend the Research
Institute at the University of Chicago on “Societal Transformation and
the Legitimation of Power in the Early Islamic States: Middle East, South
Asia, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.”
His part in the project will be to investigate the roots of holy
war, zealotry, xenophobia and religious purges in Jewish communities
during the Greco-Roman period and to compare the sociological and
religious factors related to such expressions with similar phenomena in
the early years of Islam. This
is the second research grant Dr. Fairchild has received from the NEH.
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Thornhill
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Mr. Marvin McNew (1989),
head nature interpreter at Salamonie Reservoir, spoke at Thornhill Nature
Preserve on June 4. McNew
offered a lecture on managing backyard habitats for wildlife, discussing
plantings to attract birds, butterflies and other types of wildlife.
He also explained how to create the different components of a good
habitat, such as food, water, and shelter.
HC’s Thornhill Nature Preserve also
presented a “Fantastic Father-Son Day” on June 8.
Boys and their dads enjoyed building birdhouses and birdfeeders,
learning how to flyfish, and other projects.
Gary Lewis presented a program on the “Historic Uses of
Herbs” on Tuesday, July 2.
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Advancement |
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The
Lilly Endowment Inc has announced a new initiative to foster philanthropic
support for Indiana’s public and private universities.
Under the Lilly plan, up to $3.5 million in gifts from alumni,
students and their families, faculty, and staff can be matched
dollar-for-dollar. The
matching period will continue now through December 2003.
Funds may be used for any academic purpose.
Huntington College will participate in this program.
For further information, contact the Advancement
Office.
Mr.
John Paff, managing director of communications, spoke about
“Integrating Print and Online Marketing Strategies” at the CCCU’s
annual conference for communication officers and IT professionals.
His seminar explored the marketing research behind new initiatives
of HC’s Marketing Task Force, and offered a live demo of the Admissions
Office’s new “build-a-brochure” web site.
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The
Huntington County Chamber of Commerce named Mr. Ned Kiser,
vice president for advancement, the 2002 Chief of the Flint Springs Tribe.
Mr. Kiser was recognized at the 34th Annual Chiefs' Breakfast, held
at the North Star Civic Center and served as the official master of
ceremonies for the Heritage Days festivities.
Each year, the Chamber of Commerce bestows this honor on one local
citizen who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the local
community. Ned is the first
Huntington College employee to be named a Chief of the Flint Springs
Tribe.
Mrs. Margaret Roush has
accepted the position of Director of Alumni Relations.
Margi brings a deep love for the College and a significant
knowledge of our alumni base to her new role.
She is part of three generations of Huntington College graduates
– Ed and Polly Roush (her in-laws), Joel (her husband) and Margi
herself, and Mark and Michele Skinner (her son-in-law and daughter).
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Business and
Finance |
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Technology
Services
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Mr.
Gary Campbell has
been hired as the new Director of Technology Services at Huntington
College. Gary has significant
experience in the area of technology services having worked for IBM the
past 17 years in a number of roles, most recently as a consulting systems
engineer. His previous
experience also includes service as the director of management consulting
for Arthur Young & Co., as the director of information services for
SCOA Industries, and as a manager for systems engineering for Xerox.
Gary has a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Cornell
University and a Master of Science degree in computer and information
science from The Ohio State University.
Gary and his wife, Judy, are the parents of two HC graduates, Matt
and Carrie.
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Science
Hall Progress
Brenn
Hall Renovation
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Huntington
College has recently received the building occupancy permit for the
Science Hall and the science and mathematics faculty are busy arranging
their new offices, classrooms and labs for the fall.
Renovation
work has begun on Brenn Hall. The plan is to complete the work by
August 1, 2003.
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Student
Development |
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Forester
Night
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Ryan
Dennison and Katy
Harner were named Foresters of the Year at the annual Forester Night
event. Ryan is a youth
ministries major from Blissfield, MI and Katie is a theater performance
major from Rockford, MI.
Erin
Steury
was recognized as the Alpha Chi scholar of the year.
Erin is a psychology major from Ft. Wayne, IN.
Students
selected Dr. John Sanders asProfessor-of-the-Year.
The other professors nominated for the award included: Dr. Ann
McPherren (Economics), Dr. Wayne Priest (Psychology), Mr.
Jim O'Donnell (Finance & Economics), and Dr. Todd Martin
(English).
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Joe
Mertz Center
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Residence
Life
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Mr.
Dusty Abshire has been
hired as resident director in Wright Hall.
Dusty is a 2001 graduate of Huntington College in youth ministries.
He is completing his master's degree at Ball State University in
student affairs administration.
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Athletics |
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Baseball
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The Foresters beat
the Madonna University Crusaders (12-3) to advance in the NAIA Region VIII
baseball tournament. Paul
Wright picked up the win for the Foresters, giving up three runs on 12
hits in five innings of work. HC
then moved on to face Marian College.
The Foresters had what seemed to be a comfortable 4-0 lead by the
end of the third inning, but the Knight hitters got hot and pushed across
11 runs over the next four innings to take an 11-5 lead.
Marian then scored four more in the top of the ninth and HC's
two-out, 3-run rally in the bottom of the ninth was too little too late.
The loss concluded the Foresters' season with a 21-24 record.
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Tennis
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Two tennis players were
awarded NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete honors for the 2002 spring tennis
season. Jacob Miles and
Brooke Owens earned the prestigious honor, awarded to
student-athletes who achieve a 3.5 grade point average or higher.
Both Miles and Owens are members of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National
College Athletic Honor Society.
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Track
and Field
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Four women represented
Huntington College at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National
Championships in Olathe, Kansas. The
women's 4x800 relay did something no other women's Forester relay team has
ever done: they earned All-American honors in school-record fashion.
Aimee Sullivan, Danielle Vohs, Jenny Cook and Erin
Abbey ran a 9:20.72 in the finals of the 4x800 relay at the NAIA Track
and Field National Championships, placing fifth and earning each runner
the All-American title. (Their
finish broke the 1998 HC record for this event.)
Danielle Vohs also picked up another All-American honor in
her race of the 1500-meter run. Erin Abbey placed 19th in the long
jump and was named an All-America Scholar Athlete for her 3.80 grade point
average.
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Women’s
Basketball
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The women’s basketball
team went to Highgate, Jamaica for a 10-day mission trip in May. During
the first two days, the team conducted six physical education classes at
Marymount, a local girl’s high school.
Other activities included building 10’ x 20’ house and
ministering at Lyndale Girl’s Home, a boarding house for girls
between the ages 8 and 18. For
more information and photos of the trip, go to the Huntington College web
site at www.huntington.edu/athletics/wbasketball/default.html.
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Academic
Excellence Award
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Each year the Academic
Excellence Award is bestowed upon the athletic team that has amassed the
highest team grade point average during the previous year. This year, top
honors go to the men’s tennis team, coached by Mr. Gary Turner.
Eleven of our 14 teams had combined GPAs above 3.0, including:
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1. Men's Tennis
3.453
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2. Women's X-Country
3.318
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3. Women's Track
3.297
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4. Women's Softball
3.255
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5. Volleyball
3.211
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6.
Women's Tennis
3.199
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7.
Women's Basketball 3.169
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8.
Women's Soccer
3.161
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9.
Men's X-Country
3.132
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10.
Men's Basketball
3.032
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11.
Men's Track
3.002
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Other |
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Staff
Member of the Year
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Mr.
Rich McConnell, director of gift
planning, was honored as the Staff Member of the Year at the annual
Faculty and Staff Appreciation Banquet.
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Indianapolis
Half-Marathon
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Huntington College was
well represented in the May 4 Indianapolis Half-Marathon. Among the 21,885
finishers were Matt VanCleave (1:22:54), Paul Smith
(1:25:28), Walter Burgin, Beau Dowden, Jen Reinking, Carrie
Reese, Sarah Lightcap, Jean Gizinski, Josh Kesler,
Kara Storey, Luke Fetters, Jodi Fiedler, Blair
Dowden, Joanne Miller, Jule McKanna, Tana Fortney,
and Martha Smith.
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