Evans, Jordan to address Class of 2005
FOR RELEASE: Thursday, April 21, 2005
Huntington, Ind. " Huntington College has announced the featured speakers for its 107th Commencement exercises to be held Saturday, May 14, 2005. Dr. Bruce Evans, Huntington College associate professor of biology, will deliver the baccalaureate address, Whatcha Gonna Do? to graduates and their parents at 10:30 a.m., in the Zurcher Auditorium of the Merillat Centre for the Arts. The annual commencement address, held on the campus' front lawn at 3 p.m., will be given by the Ternae T. Jordan, pastor of the Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. The public is cordially invited to attend the commencement service where Jordan will give his address, Soaring to Your Destiny. Dr. Bruce Evans
Dr. Bruce Evans earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Charleston and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Emory University. Prior to coming to Huntington College in the fall of 1991, Evans pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University while also teaching part-time at Atlanta Christian College. Evans currently serves as Professor of Biology, Department Chair and Premedical Advisor. His primary academic interests are in the areas of dinosaurs, cognitive neuroscience, and intelligent design. He has spent time with paleontologists at sites in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Indiana, and helps educate local elementary students about dinosaurs. Evans has also attended conferences devoted to recent developments in the area of intelligent design at the universities of Baylor, Biola, and Yale. Evans presented at the RAPID conference on intelligent design at Biola University in the fall of 2002. In addition, he has led discussion on intelligent design in churches in Indiana and Ohio. Evans holds membership in the National Association of Biology Teachers, Indiana Academy of Science, and serves as treasurer of the Indiana College Biology Teachers Association. He has published medical research articles in Peptides, Cell and Tissue Research, and Journal of Experimental Biology, and he recently submitted a manuscript for publication to Behavioral Brain Research in the area of cognitive illusions. Evans is a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Huntington, where he serves as a Sunday school teacher, choir member, and Sunday school superintendent.
Ternae T. Jordan
Ternae T. Jordan, Sr., is a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., and a second-generation minister. Jordan holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in business education and a minor in religious studies from the University of Tennessee. In 2000, he received a diploma from the Harvard School of Divinity, Leadership Institute. For 15 years, Jordan served as pastor to the Greater Progressive Baptist Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., following a five-year stint as pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. In 2004, he accepted a call to serve as pastor for the Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Chattanooga, the church where his father, Pastor Emeritus Melvin Jordan, served. Noted for his unyielding passion for God and compassion for people, Jordan has been actively involved in the process of redeeming the hearts of the nation's youth for more than two decades. In February 1992, he founded the program Stop the Madness, which provides cultural, spiritual, and recreational alternatives to at-risk youth throughout the greater Fort Wayne community. Jordan also served five years as Program Director of Value-Based Initiative (VBI). VBI provides practical ways the faith-based community can be effectively involved with making the City of Fort Wayne a safer community. The initiative has become a model for other cities. Jordan's visionary leadership, through Greater Progressive's CDC ~ S.O.A.R. (Strengthening Our Area through Redevelopment), was also instrumental in developing Phoenix Place and Phoenix Manor, residential areas in Fort Wayne serving several generations.
Jordan's recognition as a leader on youth violence prevention extends throughout the state of Indiana and across the country. In 2001, he served as a representative for the House-Senate Republican Faith-Based Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C. The same year he was chosen by SafeCities of the U.S. Department of Justice to serve on a national panel to discuss safety and after school programs. In 2003, after the passing of Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon, First Lady Judy O'Bannon called on Jordan to offer prayer at the Governor's memorial service held at the State Capitol in Indianapolis. In 2004, Jordan received the Sagamore of the Wabash Award, the highest honor bestowed by the State of Indiana.
Huntington College is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. Following a decade of growth and development, Huntington College will become Huntington University in mid-2005. U.S.News & World Report ranks Huntington among the top comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington College is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. Huntington is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and was named one of the 50 best Christian places to work by Christianity Today magazine.
