ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
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ACU TODAY Walking in the Steps of Paul Study Abroad students retrace early church history in Turkey
2010 Alumni Awards
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Freedom Road
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Passing the Mobile-Learning Torch
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Horizons
BELOW On Sept. 17, Cowboys Stadium in Arlington will become the largest venue in which the Widcats have ever played a football game. î ąe home of the Dallas Cowboys will host the inaugural Lone Star Football Festival, headlined by a 4 p.m. game between ACU and the University of North Alabama. (Photograph by Jeremy Enlow)
Dr. John Bailey Heads the Class of 2010 Alumni Award Winners AT&T Learning Studio Freedom Road: Riders Recount Important Civil Rights Sites Walking in the Steps of Paul: Study Abroad Students Visit Turkey Passing the Torch: Helping the Next Generation of Mobile Learners Hilltop View Academic News Campus News Wildcat Sports EXperiences Second Glance
OUR PROMISE
ACU is a vibrant, innovative, Christ-centered community that engages students in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth, equipping them to make a real difference in the world
ACU Today is published three times a year by the Office of University Marketing at Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. Staff Editor and Graphic Designer: Ron Hadfield (’79) Associate Editor: Katie (Noah ’06) Gibson Sports Editor: Lance Fleming (’92) Contributing Writers This Issue: Paul A. Anthony (’04), Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon (’76), Dr. Kyle Dickson (’93), Katie (Noah ’06) Gibson, Steve Holt Jr. (’04), Deana (Hamby ’94) Nall, Grant Rampy (’87), Tamara (Kull ’77) Thompson Contributing Photographers This Issue: Mitzi (James ’81) Adams, Sandy Adams, Dr. Richard Beck (’89), Dyann Busse, Steve Butman, Nelson Chenault, Lindsey (Hoskins ’03) Cotton, Dr. David Dillman (’70), Jeremy Enlow, Willis Glassgow, James Karales, Gary Rhodes (’07), Kim Ritzenthaler, Ronnie Ruiz, Brian Schmidt (’07) Contributing Graphic Designers This Issue: Greg Golden (’87), Holly Harrell, Todd Mullins, Amy Ozment Contributing Illustrator This Issue: Jack Maxwell (’78) Proofreaders: Vicki Britten, Rendi (Young ’83) Hahn, Robin (Ward ’82) Saylor
ADVISORY COMMIT T EE Academics: Dr. Jeanine Varner Administration: Suzanne Allmon (’79), Dr. Gary D. McCaleb (’64) Advancement: Phil Boone (’83), Billie Currey (’70), Paul A. Anthony (’04) Alumni Relations: Craig Fisher (’92), Jama (Fry ’97) Cadle, Samantha (Bickett ’01) Adkins Alumni Association: Audrey (Pope ’85) Stevens Marketing: Jason Groves (’00), Grant Rampy (’87) Student Life: Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson Ex-officio: Dr. Phil Schubert (’91)
corre s pon denc e ACU Today : hadfieldr@acu.edu ACU Alumni Association: alumni@acu.edu
ON THE WE B Abilene Christian University: acu.edu ACU Today Blog: acu.edu/acutoday Address changes: acu.edu/alumni /whatsnew/update.html ACU Advancement Office (Exceptional Fund, Gift Records): acu.edu/giveonline ACU Alumni Web Site: acu.edu/alumni Find Us on Facebook: facebook.com /abilenechristian facebook.com /ACUsports Follow Us on Twitter: twitter.com /ACUedu twitter.com /ACUsports
ON THE COVER Sophomore Meagan Whitson climbs the steps of an ancient amphitheater in Turkey while studying abroad this spring. (Photograph by Ronnie Ruiz)
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rom Ghana to Guatemala, and from Indonesia to Iraq, Dr. John Bailey logs some serious frequent-flyer miles as a Doctor of Medical Dentistry who doesn’t know when to stop seeing patients. Our latest Outstanding
Alumnus of the Year could have retired long ago but continues to answer God’s call, now in his 13th year of a global medical missions ministry bringing hope and healing to people often in desperate need of both. Scores of ACU alumni from the health professions follow his lead each summer, which is often prime time for them to volunteer in clinics in some of the world’s largest cities and the most remote third-world outposts. Most labor in anonymity, quietly serving alongside their colleagues as well as interns from universities such as Abilene Christian. There may not be a more life-changing workplace than their mobile operating and examination rooms, where the Great Physician makes friends of humble human beings from all walks of life. That’s one reason why we enjoy presenting our annual alumni award winners to you. They are not always headline-makers in their professions; in fact, many are frequently uncomfortable in the limelight of unsolicited honor. Our 2010 Young Alumnus of the Year, Randy Brewer (’93), owns Revolution Pictures in Nashville, Tenn., an award-winning powerhouse in the highly competitive music-video industry with a who’s-who clientele of recording stars: Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Justin Bieber and others. Randy prefers to be in the background, and he was surprised when asked recently to speak at his home congregation about his own spiritual journey. One Sunday morning in July, Randy told a surprised audience about the twists and turns of his personal and professional life, and how he has followed God’s lead down trails of answered and unanswered prayer. A portion of his heartfelt testimony gave insights few ever see: “The Lord has provided for my family and opened doors I could have never imagined. My company is not only an answer to lots of prayer, but it has become a place where I minister to the film community and music stars through my love of Christ. In 2005, a girl named Carrie Underwood decided to give my company a shot at her first music video, “Jesus Take the Wheel.” I still think it’s funny that my first major video for a country star was about letting Christ guide your life. I have worked so hard to make that true every day in which I work around those who don’t know His love. I also love to encourage the Christians in the film business. God has created a place that I can mentor to many … sharing my faith with them and confessing my failures to them. … If I can tell you one thing today, it’s this: God wants you to put your whole life into Him. He wants you to be the love of Christ to others in the way you treat them and listen to them. Christ wants us to forgive others even when it doesn’t seem fair. I want God to use me for His glory, and that means I have to humble myself daily and let Him rule my life.” It is pure joy to see loving parents entrust their students’ futures to ACU, talented young people become Christ-centered global leaders, successful alumni return to campus to find interns and hire new graduates, and inspired donors give sacrificially to create opportunities for the next generation. In August, ACU began its 106th year, and its future has never been brighter, thanks to generous people such as you, who help us achieve our mission. May God continue to call you to a life of leadership through service to others. 䊱
DR. PHIL SCHUBERT (’91), President The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. AC U TO D AY
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In the Fast Lane Thanks to a generous gift from Randy Hill (’90), ACU became one of the first universities to sponsor a NASCAR Nationwide vehicle when driver Casey Roderick competed Aug. 13 in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International in New York. Hill was approved as a NASCAR team owner in June, and Randy Hill Racing prepared Roderick for several events on the ARCA and NASCAR circuit. The No. 39 Ford Mustang with an ACU logo and Web address on the hood and rear bumper was seen by some 40,000 spectators at Watkins Glen and a worldwide audience watching ESPN’s live broadcast. See Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
Casey Roderick (left) and Randy Hill
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A CU TODAY BONUS COVERAGE
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I’m thrilled we finished the race. We had a few minor setbacks, but when I think about Casey’s age – you know – he’s only 19. When I was 19, I was just starting at ACU and it was my first month away from home, and look what this kid is doing in NASCAR.” – Randy Hill (’90)
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Photography of Casey Roderick driving the No. 39 ACU car for Randy Hill Racing is by Melissa K. Smith.
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e opportunity to bring Abilene Christian University on board for our debut seems only fitting. e university has done so much for me and others; I want everyone to know just how great of a place ACU really is and what it can offer to others.” – Randy Hill (’90)
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Alex Carpenter’s father, Larry, was his son’s caddie and encourager March 24-25 during the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The sophomore became the first active ACU student-athlete to play in a PGA Tour event.
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Alex plays Arnie’s tournament In March, one of the featured amateurs in the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill was ACU sophomore Alex Carpenter, arguably college golf ’s top player the past two seasons. Carpenter earned the opportunity by winning the prestigious Southern Amateur last summer. He shot a 69 on Day 2 of the Palmer event, missing the cut by only three strokes but growing in confidence. Carpenter won seven collegiate tournaments in 2010-11, including six straight on the way to helping his team capture the NCAA South Central Region title, and receiving the Nicklaus Award as Division II’s top golfer. See story on page 52. See Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
KYLE AUCLAIR / INSIDETHEROPES.COM
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A CU TODAY BONUS COVERAGE Alex Carpenter prepares for his first PGA Tour event by warming up on the practice tee at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla.
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I was 195 yards out in the rough, sitting there, as nervous as could be. But I pulled it together and hit a great shot to about 15 feet. As I was walking up, Arnold Palmer whistled at me, said, ‘Atta boy,’ and gave me a thumbs up.”
– Alex Carpenter
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Photography of Alex Carpenter playing in the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bayhill is by Kyle Auclair of insidetheropes.com
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It was a really fun week. I didn't want to end up watching it on TV on the weekend. But after today's round, it convinces me I can play with these guys. I mean, Tiger (Woods) beat me by 1 today, and he said he played great.”
Alex hands a club to his father, Larry, after hitting his approach shot to the green.
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Carpenter qualified for the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational by winning the 104th Southern Amateur in July 2010. He sank a 65-foot eagle putt on the 17th hole on the final day, winning a storied tournament that counts Bobby Jones, Hubert Green, Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw and Justin Leonard among its past champions. A native of Little Rock, Ark., Carpenter shot rounds of 70-67-70-66–272 to finish 16 strokes under par, including an amazing 30 on the back nine of the final round. His birdie putt on the 18th green lipped out, or he’d have shot 65 for the day. The win also qualified him to play in the 2010 U.S. Amateur.
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Playing a practice round with Bubba Watson (a multiple tournament winner on Tour and a devout Christian) and Rickie Fowler (a rising Tour star and already at age 22 a U.S. Ryder Cup player) was great. Aaron Baddeley (a winner earlier this year in Los Angeles and also a devout Christian from Australia) came up to me and welcomed me to the tournament and invited me to the Tour Bible study, which I went to. at was awesome." AC U TO D AY
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After the (second) round, one of the guys I played with, (Tour rookie) William McGirt, told me, ‘I’m never going to be able to explain to anyone how well you played because all people look at is the score. But you played great. Just keep doing your thing.’ at meant a lot to me.”
The only other Wildcat to play on the PGA Tour is Jeev Milkha Singh (’96), who had a breakout year in 2008 when he won four times in Asia, debuted in The Masters and tied for ninth in the PGA Championship. In 2008, Singh, a native of India, became the first player on the Asian Tour to win more than $1 million in a single season, earning the tour’s Player of the Year award. Singh led ACU to the 1993 NCAA Division II national title before beginning his professional career.
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2010 Alumni Awards
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bilene Christian University’s 106-year history is distinguished by the accomplishments of graduates who take the university’s mission to heart, using their God-given talents as servant-leaders around the world.
Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Provides timely recognition of the lifetime achievement of an individual who has brought honor to ACU through personal and professional excellence and service to the university, the church or the community.
Young Alumnus of the Year Recognizes professional achievement and/or distinguished service to the university. To be eligible, a recipient must not have reached 40 years of age at the time of nomination.
Distinguished Alumni Citation
Stories by Steve Holt Jr., Deana Nall and Tamara Thompson Illustrations by Jack Maxwell Photography by Gary Daniels, Jeremy Enlow and Greg Smith See Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
Outstanding alumnus Of the Year
Dr. John Bailey
Recognizes distinctive personal or professional achievement that has merited the honor and praise of peers and colleagues.
A young Chinese patient proudly shows his scar from a successful surgery.
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See Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
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t’s a God thing.” that’s the best way John Bailey, D.M.D. (’57) can explain the success of his medical missions over the past 13 years. “i don’t know how to say it any other way,” says Bailey. “it just seems like doors open and we kind of go there and things seem to work well. ”
since retiring from a lucrative dental practice in 1998, Bailey has seen doors open for medical missions in 20 countries across three continents. in 2003, he formally created Body and soul ministries, a nonprofit medical missions organization headquartered in his house in Colleyville, texas. through Bands, as it is commonly called, teams of doctors, nurses and lay personnel give their time to perform needed surgeries and conduct basic medical clinics for those who would otherwise go untreated. But Bailey’s work is not limited to medical aid. Working with various groups, he also has established orphanages and school dormitories, provided food and supplies for countries following a disaster or undergoing drought and famine, donated medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to local hospitals and physicians, and even contracted with a single-mothers group to make uniforms for students at an impoverished school. Occasionally during a mission trip, Bailey will mentor local medical personnel or conduct a class at a dental school. he is, as he likes to say, “standing on the giving side of human need.” Canadian-born, Bailey, 76, developed his passion for missions at home. his father, J.C. Bailey, a missionary to Canada from 1921-61, preached in every province there and at age 59 began a missionary work in india. he traveled back and forth to india until he was 88. “i think they estimated when he left, there were 8
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about 250,000 members of the Church of Christ who had been under his influence as a preacher,” Bailey says. along with his father, John Bailey’s mentors sound like a Church of Christ hall of fame. as a high school student, the younger Bailey met reuel lemmons (’35), who convinced him to attend aCu. there he developed a preaching style under the tutelage of Batsell Barrett Baxter (’37), studied “good homiletics” under dr. fred Barton (’37), worked as a graduate assistant and associate minister with dr. Paul southern (’30), and received encouragement from dr. rex Kyker (’43). after graduating from aCu, Bailey returned to Canada to teach at a Christian college and later moved to new hampshire, where he preached. When his parents at age 59 adopted three Chinese children, Bailey and his brothers speculated they might eventually have to provide for the children’s education, so Bailey headed off to dental school in Kentucky. “When i started dental school, i thought that if i ever got to where i could afford to, i’d like to do medical missions,” Bailey recalls. after establishing his practice in Colleyville, he began making medical mission trips to mexico, at first just one or two a year and eventually increasing to several annually. after 30 years of dental practice, he was ready to give dentistry up and concentrate on his true calling. “nothing seemed to satisfy me like going on a medical mission trip,” Bailey says. “i think everything i’ve ever done in my entire life has prepared me to do what i’m doing now. … god put this all together. and i’m thoroughly enjoying it. i think i’m god’s most pampered child.” “he has such a beautiful heart and such a commitment to the lord that everything he decides is because he’s prayed about it,” says Kathy (gay ’78) halbert, president of Caris foundation. in 2007, halbert asked Bailey to join Caris as medical missions director. he still maintains Bands – “i wear both hats” – but his association with Caris provides him with an office and an assistant, and he funds his travel to help the poor in places all over the world. Places such as nias island, off the coast of indonesia. after a tsunami hit southeast asia in 2004, Bailey discovered this small island where cataracts have blinded about 5,000 people. With the government’s permission and using some local physicians as well as his own team, he organized eye surgery missions. “since the tsunami, we have done right at 3,000 surgeries. We try to do 150 to 200 on each trip, and right now we are doing three trips a year,” Bailey says. in malindi, Kenya, surgical teams, many involving local physicians, work out of two hospitals doing various surgeries, sometimes for up to two weeks. Bands has worked with groups in China to perform surgery on cleft lips and palates, spina bifida, and congenital heart disease. in the Philippines, Bands conducts mobile clinics in areas where no physicians are available. On the Philippine island of leyte, where a large group of high school students were orphaned by a 2006 mudslide, Bands funded two dormitories on the campus of sunrise Christian College. the first students graduated this year. Bands has taken teams to Belize, guatemala, ecuador, nicaragua, Panama, Peru, ghana, nigeria and Cambodia, where it also supports a chicken-and-quail project to help preachers become self-sustaining. lisa dale, a surgical nurse from grapevine, texas, who handles many of the trips’ logistics, remembers most vividly the mission trip to haiti following the 2010 earthquake. Working with her sister-in-law and niece, both nurses, she was overwhelmed by the need and felt as though their contributions made little difference. “What he taught us … is you help one person at a time, one day
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Bailey’s youthful energy comes in handy when meeting and treating new patients around the world. GARY DANIELS
at a time. that’s what you do when the need and contributions. Our family pays is too big,” says dale. what overhead there is.” a medical mission team can consist of With Caris paying his travel, 28-32 people, including surgeons, virtually all expenses are covered. anesthesiologists, scrub nurses, circulating “he’s a very conscientious respecter nurses, recovery room nurses and laypeople of god’s money, so he loves the bottom who perform various tasks, such as holding dollar being tiny,” halbert says. With the patients. everyone donates their time and caliber of teams and medical equipment pays their own travel expenses. Bailey takes on the mission trips, she “everybody who goes on these trips says the contributions would be worth tends to have the work ethic of a Puritan. “maybe a million dollars” in medical they really work hard,” Bailey says. trips services stateside. are usually a week long, two, if the the doctor consciously tries to help Bailey performs up to 600 surgeries each physicians can donate that amount of the health-care systems in the countries year on missions trips. time. Volunteer recruitment is done he visits. all the medical services provided totally through networking. however, are free to the patients. Often, the mission there is usually a waiting list of medical teams will leave medical supplies and professionals who want to participate. medications as donations to that country. the cost of the trips depends on “he works with all sorts of different the location, the duration of the trip religions, with all sorts of different socioand the type of need (surgical or economic situations,” says halbert. “he’s a mobile). Bands has an annual budget real leader. he’s a godly missions person. of nearly $400,000 – all donated funds, … he has a real heart for the suffering.” even though Bailey does not solicit “he is a great warrior for the desperately funds beyond a page on the Bands website. poor, the poorest of the poor people in “i don’t know how to ask for money,” Bailey says. “i’ve never this world,” says dale. “and he tries to asked anybody for money. i’ve sent out a report, but i’ve never had a choose where he can make the most difference in this world and dinner. i’ve never visited a church talking about medical missions. concentrate resources in those areas to give those people hope and Only one church supports me. the rest [comes from] foundations opportunity for just very, very basic care, which ultimately leads him to be able to spread the Word of god.” and individuals, mostly [people] i know. – tamara thOmPsOn “Bands ministries has virtually no overhead. i office in my house. my wife, rosalyn (Ponder ’58), responds to all the correspondence AC U TO D AY
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Young Alumnus of the Year “We need more Christians who live a Christian life in the world and the media. There’s a huge need for that in this industry.” – RANDY BREWER
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andy Brewer (’93) doesn’t usually skip church to watch mtV, but he had a good excuse sept. 13, 2009. taylor swift’s “You Belong With me,” a video Brewer had produced through his company, revolution Pictures, had been nominated for Best female Video at the Video music awards.
directed by roman White, the video was up against contributions from lady gaga and Beyonce, among others. instead of making the trip to los angeles to attend the awards show, randy and his wife, Julie, decided to watch from their home in nashville, tenn. “i told Julie it was cool that we got nominated, but there was no way we were going to win,” Brewer said. But swift’s video did win, and the announcement came just as Julie had started up the stairs to put their son, Jackson, to bed. “i started screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘We won! We won!’” Brewer said. By the time Julie and Jackson had scrambled back to the living room, Kanye West had joined swift onstage, taken her microphone and hijacked her acceptance speech to say Beyonce was more deserving of the award. the surreal moment was the talk of the Web for days and has made its mark on Vma history. for Brewer, who had come of age in the 1980s when mtV was at the forefront of the music-video revolution, winning recognition from the cable network came as a shock. “i never dreamed i’d win an mtV award,” he said. But awards are nothing new to revolution Pictures. at the 2011 Cmt music awards, taylor swift’s “mine” won Video of the Year while lady antebellum’s “hello World” was chosen for group Video of the Year. Both videos were directed by revolution’s roman White. and the 2010 Cmt music awards brought revolution director theresa 10
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Wingert a Video of the Year award for Carrie underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova.” in fact, it was underwood’s association with revolution that helped take Brewer’s video company to the next level in 2007. that’s the year underwood’s “Before he Cheats,” another White-directed video, won three Cmt awards. the video was later named Video of the decade in a 2010 Cmt.com poll, in which fans and viewers were asked to name 50 of the best music videos from the previous 10 years. One would think that with so much recognition from the music industry, Brewer would want his name associated more closely with his video company. But Brewer believes in stepping back while revolution’s directors take the credit. “i never wanted the company to be about me,” he said. Brewer’s passion for producing video began in his childhood. When his father brought a video camera home from work one thanksgiving break, Brewer, his brother Chris and their cousin spent the holiday making movies. after that, there was no turning back. When Brewer wanted to attend a summer video school for high school students, his father said he had to choose between the camp and driver’s ed. “i chose the school,” Brewer said. “that’s how badly i wanted to do it.” By working for a video-store owner who shot weddings on the side, Brewer gained more experience and learned how to edit video. When he learned that aCu produced a video yearbook, he decided to produce one for his high school. after graduation, Brewer headed to aCu and produced the Prickly Pear video yearbook, under the mentorship of faculty in the department of Journalism and mass Communication. during his time as an aCu student, he took advantage of other video opportunities, including “not Quite live,” a variety show he produced with other members of a video production class. “in the past, students had done dull interview shows for the class,” Brewer said. “We wanted to do something more interesting and funny.” Brewer, his brother Chris (’93) and their classmates produced 15 “not Quite live” episodes, which included segments such as “dwayne’s World,” a redneck spoof of saturday night live’s “Wayne’s World.” Others included “adventure guy,” featuring stunts such as Chris scuba-diving in the gata fountain, and a commercial for “roadkill institute of america.” “not Quite live” eventually won second place in a national competition. “We were basically given free rein with ‘not Quite live,’ and i’ve always appreciated that,” Brewer said. “Without people giving me those opportunities, i wouldn’t have had opportunities that came later.” a believer in mentorship, Brewer now provides opportunities to others by hiring summer interns and serving as a judge for the annual aCu filmfest, which gives student filmmakers
the chance to develop and display their skills. Brewer is doing his part to help Christians seek careers in the field of video. “We need more Christians who live a Christian life in the world and the media,” he said. “there’s a huge need for that in this industry.” after the excitement of the Vma win subsided, Brewer decided to rethink his goals for revolution, which led to developing a commercial side of the company. revolution has produced ads for Vimto and Curves, among others, and his commercial for h-e-B supermarkets aired during the super Bowl. Brewer doesn’t set his convictions aside at work. after
Distinguished Alumni Citations Lisa (Lawrence) Holland Class of 1990
Dr. Gayle Crowe Class of 1963
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Marcus Brecheen Class of 1984
Dr. Dale Brown Class of 1968
Dr. Nathalie (Akin) Vanderpool Bartle Class of 1960
revolution produced a commercial for a major internet hosting company, Brewer was asked to do a series of super Bowl commercials for it. But after he saw the concepts the company had in mind, he turned down the job. “i’ve had to make a lot of decisions like that,” he said. taking a stand for one’s faith can be challenging in the secular music industry, but it’s something to which Brewer remains committed. “i can’t control everything,” he said. “i can just do the best i can to love the people around me.” – deana nall
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isa (Lawrence ’90) Holland loves when people experience “a-ha moments” in the theatre. “Whether someone is a patron, a student or an artist, i live for the moment when they connect to something, learn something new or see something in a new way,” holland says. she experienced such a moment as a theatre major during her senior year at aCu, when dr. lewis fulks (’48), then chair of the theatre department, and adam hester (’77), the current chair, asked her to student-direct a production for the first time. recalling the experience, holland says it was a “watershed moment because it clicked. … there’s something about the collaborative process, working with actors, that gives me more joy than anything.” “it was clear to me even during lisa’s formative years that she possessed a distinctive vision with regard to interpreting theatrical literature,” hester says. “lisa could talk articulately about the work she was directing to both cast and designers. she had the ability to inject an enthusiasm and clarity in the work for actors. she made the transition mentally from actor to director extremely well for an undergraduate student.” her directing skills and creative talents landed her a position with the dallas theater Center, where she worked for 14 years, first in the artistic office and later as director of education and community programs. “lisa has proven to be such a vital force in theatre, especially through her work at the dallas theater Center,” hester says. “she has proven herself an exciting director in the professional arena. she also has been a dynamic influence in theatre education and has hired numerous aCu students as interns.” “students love working with her,” says dtC artistic director Kevin moriarty. “she changes their lives forever. many arts educators create students who are replicas of themselves or privilege technique over
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honesty and personalization. lisa, on the other hand, sees each student as a unique, special person and helps unlock their creative potential and find their own voice.” in 2010, holland left dtC to become executive director of the advisory board for Booker t. Washington high school for the Performing and Visual arts, an independent nonprofit organization supporting the public arts school in a variety of ways. holland is highly engaged with her alma mater. she has served as an outside reviewer of the aCu theatre’s five-year self-study Program review and has taught campus workshops in directing and auditioning. she also is planning a fundraising gala for this august. – tamara thOmPsOn
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n one of his first trips to st. Petersburg, russia, with World Christian Broadcasting, Dr. Gayle Crowe (’63) visited the famous state hermitage museum. he marveled at the imagery of rembrandt’s “the return of the Prodigal son.” since then, the striking painting has served as a visual symbol of WCB’s mission: people coming home to god. “We get letters constantly from people who say, ‘as i listen to your program, i’m hearing that there is hope for me, despite what i’ve done,’” said Crowe, the vice president of programming for WCB. Crowe joined WCB full time in 2007, but his service to the evangelistic organization began many years earlier. even while preaching for churches in new Jersey and indiana, Crowe worked with WCB, writing and editing scripts, developing programming and steering the organization’s vision as a member of the Board of directors – the second-longest-serving board member (27 years). Crowe now oversees a staff of some 50 multilingual writers, technicians,
translators, stringers, speakers and producers. he leads the production of 20 hours of programming in more than five languages each day and, with the completion of an additional station in madagascar later this year, will oversee the production of 50-60 hours daily. “i don’t believe gayle could ever imagine the positive influence he has had upon the millions of people who have heard and will continue to hear his programming every day,” said Charles Caudill, CeO of WCB. “the world will benefit from his great work for years and years.” Crowe’s fire for world evangelization was fanned at aCu, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical text. he went on to Wheaton College for a master’s degree in Old testament, attended seminary at harvard on full scholarship and received his doctor of ministry degree from harding university. But it was at aCu – more specifically in a class on romans taught by dr. J.d. thomas’ (’43) – where Crowe experienced a theological transformation that would define his life’s sermon from then on.
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arcus Brecheen (’84) looks back with fondness on his childhood around “the hill.” he remembers sitting on the floor of their living room at the feet of countless friends of his father, aCu Bible professor dr. Carl Brecheen (’52), and his mother, smitty (smith ’94 m.s.). “there were so many of those conversations that i overheard that took on a shape inside of my heart that still exists to this day,” Brecheen said. Brecheen heard the call to ministry in his 20s through a sermon by rick atchley (’78) at the hills Church of Christ in north richland hills, texas. after earning a bachelor’s degree in business and an m.B.a. at aCu, Brecheen was enjoying a lucrative career negotiating contracts for general dynamics (now lockheed martin). he began to look forward more to sunday worship than work, however, when he started volunteering in the church’s singles ministry. maybe a big change was in order, Brecheen thought. then, one sunday, he heard atchley say something he’d never heard anyone say before: “sometimes, god puts things on people’s hearts.” “it rocked me,” Brecheen remembers. “at that moment, i knew that god was putting it on my heart to go into ministry.” and so he did.
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after paying off his debts and saving a little money, Brecheen moved back to abilene and began working toward his master of divinity degree at aCu’s graduate school of theology. Within a few weeks, he’d met lexa King (’92), his future wife. after graduating in 1994, Brecheen served churches in Pampa and decatur until 2002, when he joined the staff of the young gateway Church in southlake. gateway drew about 300 worshippers when Brecheen was hired, and almost a decade later gateway now welcomes more
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“i had a very works-oriented theology until i took that class,” Crowe said. “through that class, i came to understand what grace was.” he is now a member of the Visiting Committee for aCu’s graduate school of theology and the proud father of two aCu alumni – darren (’90) and lauren (’92). – steVe hOlt Jr.
than 20,000 weekly at four campuses. Brecheen serves as campus pastor for the north richland hills branch and has been charged with strategizing gateway’s addition of 10 new extension campuses in the next five years. “in a way that only god can orchestrate, i am now in a place where i am using both my business training and theological training,” Brecheen said. numerous people, experiences and classes at abilene Christian combined to form the foundation that would define Brecheen’s life and ministry. Brecheen points specifically to drs. Bill Petty (’64) and Jack reese (’73) as mentors who taught him as much about how to think as what to think. dr. Brady Bryce (’95), director of ministry events at aCu, finds in Brecheen a minister who embodies the love of god and neighbor. “his deep roots in the restoration movement provide him with the ability to see the diverse body of Christ in expansive and global ways,” Bryce said. “despite facing both success and failure in ministry, he remains resolute in finding his identity in god.” – steVe hOlt Jr.
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henever you floss your teeth, chances are good that Dr. Dale Brown (’68) is behind the chemistry that makes it possible. same story if you’ve treated your yard for fire ants or addressed a cockroach problem. Brown, CeO and chief technical officer of Whitehill Oral technologies, holds more than 30 patents – many of which are used in popular pest-control products, as well as a number of oral hygiene products. aCu’s department of Chemistry served as a springboard to Brown’s later success in his field. Brown was delighted to find that at aCu, chemistry professors actually seemed to trust the students not only to enter the laboratory but to partner with them on cutting-edge research. “most universities would not let somebody work in the lab with that little experience,” Brown said. “there was an opportunity at aCu for an undergraduate student to be involved in research – usually you have to be a graduate student to do that.” the late dr. tommy mcCord (’54), a chemistry professor who supervised Brown’s research while he was at aCu, became Brown’s professional mentor.
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or Dr. Nathalie (Akin ’60) Vanderpool Bartle, a career in public health isn’t just a way to earn a living. it’s her passion and her ministry. “Public health has a spiritual quality to it,” she said. as professor in the department of Community health and Prevention at drexel university’s school of Public health, Bartle focuses on maternal and child health, adolescent health, community-based participatory research and program planning and evaluation. in her Philadelphia community, she has directed the local evaluation of a federally funded program to reduce infant mortality. her book, Venus in Blue Jeans: Why Mothers and Daughters Need to Talk About Sex, is the result of some of the first research on sex education in an inter-racial setting. following her passion has taken Bartle from the farmlands of north texas to a doctorate from harvard university. But she has never forgotten her rural roots and the girl who graduated from high school in henrietta, texas, in 1956. no other girls from her class were going to college, and,
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“i was interested in [research] before, but [mcCord] helped me to focus my thoughts and investigate different things that had a chemical impact,” Brown said. after Brown graduated from aCu, his chemical curiosity took him to tenneco Chemicals in new Jersey – a position he got through fellow aCu alumnus ira hill (’56). When he returned to the university of north texas a few years later to pursue a Ph.d., he studied under aCu graduate dr. scotty norton (’59). Back in new Jersey at american Cyanamid, Brown was the sole or
except for a brother who went to texas a&m university, no one in her family had furthered their education beyond high school. But in her tiny country community, Bartle was surrounded by people who believed in her. “it was particularly unusual for a girl from my high school to go to college,” Bartle said. “i was fortunate enough to have parents who understood the importance of a college education.” family, friends, teachers and other mentors chipped in to send Bartle to aCu, where she entered as a shy, scared freshman in fall 1956. But she soon settled in, made lifelong friends, and graduated in four years – despite having worked 30 hours a week throughout her undergraduate career. “at aCu, i observed and experienced what it meant to love one’s neighbor as oneself,” Bartle said. in addition to her position at drexel, Bartle also has served on the faculty of the university of texas medical Branch at galveston and the hahnemann university school of Public health. married to federal judge harvey Bartle iii, she mentors others in the same way she was guided as a teen and aCu student. she believes the
co-inventor on 12 patents, including a well-known fire ant insecticide and an insecticide used in the roach motel. for his discoveries, american Cyanamid honored Brown with one of five scientific achievement awards in 1987. Brown got into the oral care business developing dental floss in hill’s basement. Years later, Whitehill still develops a number of well-known dental products for Johnson & Johnson. in total, Brown has collected more than 22 oral care patents, leading to research into new treatments for various cancers, diabetes and other maladies. dr. Kim Pamplin (’91), chair of the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at aCu, said Brown serves as an inspiring example of a scientist who started in the lab and ended up in the boardroom. “We are proud to have an alumnus such as dale, who has been a successful chemist and a faithful Christian as an example to our prospective and current students,” Pamplin said. for Brown, chemistry has become much more than a job. “i would do it for free,” he said. – steVe hOlt Jr.
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influences she encountered along the way helped lead her to her life’s passion. “it’s been an amazing journey,” she said. “Public health is a field in which i can really make a difference in the quality of people’s lives.”䊱
– deana nall
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A Vision of Health
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ohn Bailey, D.M.D., has traveled the world to provide medical assistance to thousands in the past decade, but none of those experiences has touched him like giving sight to the blind. After the Southeast Asia tsumami in 2004, Bailey discovered Nias Island, o the coast of Indonesia, where 5,000 people had lost their sight as a result of cataracts. Since then, through his Body and Soul Ministries,
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(RIGHT) Bailey listens to a patient, who speaks through an interpreter, during a medical mission on Nias Island, where thousands of people have regained their sight after surgery to remove cataracts. (BELOW) Bailey crosses Manda Bay, heading to Pate Island in Kenya to visit villages to evaluate if they are candidates for future medical clinics.
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Bailey talks with Raila Odinga, prime minister of Kenya. Members of the Siyu village council on Pate Island discuss the feasibility of hosting a clinic run by one of Bailey’s medical mission teams. Bailey is interviewed by local media during a trip to China.
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Bailey organizes medical mission trips three times a year to remove cataracts. In addition to taking teams of American medical personnel and supplies, he hires local Indonesian doctors to perform the surgeries. To date, the medical missions teams have done 3,000 eye operations. e miracle of such a surgery can be life changing. In 2010 a 10-year-old girl showed up at the hospital with her mother. e 76-year-old doctor’s heart melts as he tells the story of the girl who had been blind since she was 10 months old. “We don’t give the patients any pre-medication,” Bailey said. “In other words, they walk into the surgery, they lay back, and we anesthetize their eyes, but we don’t give them any kind of sedation. So you have to sit perfectly still, and without being sedated, that’s pretty tough. is girl couldn’t do that.” One of the Indonesian doctors offered to help calm her. He spent most of the day with her, and by the end of the day, she was ready for surgery. “When they brought her in, she sat so still that we did something we don’t usually do. We did both eyes,” Bailey said. When the bandages came off the next day, the girl could see for the first time in nine years. In the hospital ward half the size of a gymnasium, about 90 patients with bandaged eyes lay on mats on the floor around her. e caregivers, including the girl’s mother, lined the walls around the edge of the room. “She was just amazed. She walked around touching things. She didn’t know that she could walk without holding on to something,” Bailey said. e mission staff wanted to see if the girl could recognize her mother, whom she had not seen since she was a baby. So they asked each mother in the room to call the girl’s name. “As soon as her mother spoke her name,” Bailey said, “she walked towards her.” e little girl used her hands to feel the contours of her mother’s face, “her way of recognizing that it really was her mother.” Although cultural morés on Nias Island do not permit hugging or crying, “there was a lot of emotion in the room after that,” Bailey said. Stories such as this make all his work worthwhile. “I will take a lot of grief from the government giving me a hard time getting in and not letting our stuff through customs, to have one case like that,” Bailey said.
(RIGHT) Bailey preaches at Arapal Christian Camp, near the Philippine city of Cebu. (BELOW) Bailey and a young friend at an orphanage in China.
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– TAMARA THOMPSON
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Bailey greets a patient in Kenya.
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One of Bailey’s surgical teams at work in a Kenyan medical mission.
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Bailey and orphaned boys at Momma Jo’s House in the Christian Care Center in Biyang, China.
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Danny Carrigan and Bailey sit in the doorway of a house on Nias Island, joined by children.
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Bailey assists in patient triage to select suitable candidates for surgery in a medical mission in Malindi, Kenya.
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(ABOVE) John and Rosalyn were married in September 1960.
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The Baileys enjoy time with a group of single mothers in Kenya. (LEFT) Rosalyn Bailey helps with post-op care for an infant in Xi’an, China.
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“The skills at the heart of the Learning Studio – creation and editing of media, collaboration and communication – are the tools today's students need to gain a competitive edge in the 21st-century workplace.” DR. LAUREN LEMLEY (’05) Assistant Professor of Communication and Director of the Speaking Center
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AT&T’s generosity makes new Learning Studio possible, enables continued work in media and mobility at ACU
Inventing the Future B Y D R . KYL E D ICKSO N • P H O T O G R AP H Y B Y JE R E MY E NL O W
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lan Kay, a computing pioneer who developed concepts for the laptop computer, the tablet and the ebook, once said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” At ACU, we believe education is at just such a decisive moment. As mobile devices continue to transform the way we think about the classroom, the textbook, communication and learning itself, the time to begin planning the future of education is now. A pioneering gift of $1.8 million from AT&T is enabling the next step in teaching and learning innovation at ACU. The most visible result of that gift is the new AT&T Learning Studio that provides a laboratory for continued experiments in media, mobility and the future of the academic library.
The future today Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the Margaret and Herman Brown Library. Over that period of time, the ACU library reinvented itself as tools, technologies and the needs of the campus changed. In 1970, a university library was measured by its holdings, so the most visible symbol of the Brown Library’s new stature was its card catalog. To visitors entering the main floor, the card catalog represented the beginning and end of scholarly work. Novice researchers began here with searches by author, subject or title before journeying deeper into the archive. Seasoned scholars returned to see their work take its place in the catalog alongside that of their peers. When the new building opened, a brochure noted proudly that the card catalog had grown from 360 to 1,136 trays, one small indication of the broader ambitions of a college becoming a university. Today, the card catalog is no longer enough. Our students have access to more content via mobile devices than we could contain under one roof. For example, Wikipedia now hosts more than 17 million articles by more than 90,000 active authors. In May 2011, YouTube announced its users were now uploading
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more than 48 hours of content every minute, a 50 percent increase over 2010. Education is no longer about preparing our students to contribute to conversations after they graduate; the vital discussions of our day are already underway and our students are already producing messages for a global audience in a wide range of media. After six months of construction, the Learning Studio opened in February 2011 on the top floor of the library. In an 8,800-square-foot facility, the Learning Studio brings together media production studios, the Speaking Center and the library’s media collections to support students and faculty as they explore the way we live, learn and communicate in a digital world. In the main computer lab, media production support is available for users at all levels. Trained media specialists help students recording audio for the first time or faculty editing video slideshows that incorporate narration and interviews. Users here have access to high-quality studios, as well as cameras and microphones they can check out to capture content in the field. Students can make appointments with Speaking Center tutors to discuss a project, record a practice speech in one of our studios or meet to plan an upcoming group presentation. Speaking Center staff also work with seniors nearing graduation to practice interviewing skills and strategies.
Learning innovation The seeds of the Learning Studio project were already present in 2004, when faculty first proposed the Learning Commons redesign on the ground floor of the library. That proposal began: In recent years, the ways university students learn have changed. Responding to new technologies, new styles of communication and the changing nature of the teacher-student relationship, students now experience college life in new ways. In response to these changes, many universities have sought to equip students for independent and collaborative learning as they contribute to wider conversations on and beyond the campus. (“A Library for the Twenty-First Century,” Fall 2004)
When the Learning Commons opened in 2006, gate counts to the library doubled. Students and faculty began to see the library not solely in terms of its holdings; as the stacks of books were relocated from the main floor, they also saw the
“At AT&T, we see mobile broadband transforming education, and the result is a more engaged and enjoyable learning experience for students and educators. Teaching and learning now take place not just in the classroom, but virtually anywhere. … AT&T has a long history of working with education to enhance today’s classroom experience, and we are proud to support ACU, and look forward to continuing to collaborate with them to help shape the next generation of innovators, fueling this country’s future success.” XAVIER WILLIAMS Senior Vice President for Public Sector and Healthcare, AT&T
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importance of services provided by partners such as the Writing Center. Librarians emphasized their role as information specialists at the new Research Desk. The years after the opening of the Learning Commons were marked by students and faculty contributing to wider conversations on and beyond our campus. This short period saw fresh thinking in projects such as mobile learning, active learning classroom redesign and the new general education curriculum. The Learning Studio is a result of the same type of intense collaboration that sparked these other conversations. Over a period of three years, faculty and librarians from many disciplines have worked with students, technology leaders, architects, and construction and design teams to produce a one-of-a-kind studio environment. Almost every element – from the ground plan to the technology purchases, from furniture selection to graphic design – was the product of many hours of intentional planning.
Media not just for specialists One remarkable detail in the 1970 design of Brown Library was a downstairs corner set aside for a Media Center. Students had access to “50 individual study carrels equipped with stereo cassette players, providing for leisure listening as well as supplementing classroom instruction with specially prepared materials and professional tapes and records.” Though there were exceptions, educational media in these years were directed primarily one way, from teacher to student. Just as the volumes lining the shelves of the library represented the collected wisdom of professional authors, audio-visual resources were carefully selected from national experts or campus lecturers. The work accomplished here by generations of students, faculty and librarians was central to the university’s educational mission. Here one generation found its own voice in hearing and testing the messages of a previous generation. However, students today inhabit a very different world. Publishing in the 21st century is no longer the province of professionals; citizen journalists and bloggers around the world challenge us to think deeply through the running dialogue of social media. This has been a key finding from our experience with mobile learning. The mobile devices we carry with us on a daily basis are not simply media players, receiving official news reports or media “specially prepared” by professionals. They are communication devices with which we record, remix and publish our experience to the world. The Learning Studio provides students and faculty from any major the opportunity to develop media creation skills in short training events that help increase their confidence and sophistication in telling digital stories. This spring we hosted workshops in which faculty could expand their skills in digital photography or video editing. Neither was tied ACU TODAY
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The Learning Studio provides students and faculty the opportunity to develop media-creation skills in short training events that help increase their confidence and sophistication at telling digital stories.
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to creating media for a particular class; instead, these events created safe communities where teachers could learn from our trained staff and one another.
A vision with global impact For almost a decade, the U.S. Department of Education has worked with educators at all levels to identify the skills needed to prepare our students for careers in the global economy. While technological proficiency is important, the skills essential to our students’ future success include creativity, which inspires innovation, as well as digital communication and collaboration. The Learning Studio was designed with this combination of skills in mind. While academic libraries often have been defined in terms of individual study and critical analysis, the leaders who will shape the future are those who can listen and speak effectively, create new ideas in teams from many different disciplines, and communicate fluently in a range of media. The AT&T gift has provided ACU more than a laboratory to explore these assumptions on campus. Through investments in teacher training and research, our students and faculty are sharing that vision with the world. For example, this summer media specialists from the Learning Studio have worked alongside faculty from teacher education, chemistry and biochemistry, and the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning to train more than 150 teachers from around the country. Groups from the AT&T K-12 Digital Learning Institutes and a Gates Foundation Next Generation Learning Challenges grant developed original media content to support project-based and inquiry-based learning.
Where past and future meet In a recent presentation to the Friends of the ACU Library, Dr. Abraham Malherbe (’54) reflected on moving from ACU to Harvard in the 1950s. While there, he learned that a library must be a place that anticipates the future while it preserves the past. So much of the work of the 21st-century university lives between these two imperatives. Throughout its first 40 years, the Brown Library and its professional staff have demonstrated a deep commitment to preserving and sharing the treasures of the past through their teaching and digitization of historic collections. What makes the Brown Library truly exceptional is its track record for anticipating the future. The Learning Studio is only the most recent illustration of this commitment. While the future of mobile collaboration, textbooks and interactive media have yet to be mapped, we’re confident the road leads through Abilene. 䊱
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“In one image, I needed to show the purpose, the effort and the power of the march. I concentrated on the marchers every day. It was a five-day shoot, 10 miles a day. On the last day I saw this cloud. It was the only cloud in the sky. Then the people and the landscaping came into perfect view. I shot three frames. I almost missed it,” wrote the late James Karales, who was shooting images for an article in Look magazine about the involvement of clergy in the civil rights movement. “Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965” became one of the most iconic images in American history.
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his May, I was sitting with Drs. David (’70) and Jennifer (Cole ’85) Dillman, along with 22 of our ACU students, listening to James Zwerg. We were in Montgomery, Ala., almost five decades to the day when James, along with the other Nashville Freedom Riders, got off the bus at the Greyhound station just down the street. The Nashville Freedom Riders were in Montgomery that day in 1961 because the original group of Freedom Riders had been attacked in Anniston and Birmingham. Knowing they would face similar hostilities,
the Nashville riders had come to Montgomery to finish what the original riders had started. James was one of the first off the bus to face the mob, many of whom were carrying pipes, chains and clubs. Being the first white Freedom Rider to come
By Dr. Richard Beck
JAMES KARALES / ESTATE OF JAMES KARALES
See Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
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DAVID DILLMAN
Nonviolence is for courageous people. Innocent suffering can both educate and transform, and right will ultimately prevail; the universe is on the side of justice.” – James Zwerg
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Dr. Richard Beck plays the guitar while the group travels along the highway.
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ACU students visited Little Rock Central High School, where nine black students attended with the help of federal troops in 1957, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional.
“Boy With Flag, March from Selma to Montgomery,”an image of 15-year-old Lewis Marshall, was photographed by award-winning Look magazine photographer James Karales, whose coverage of the civil rights movement is chronicled in museums and books.
JAMES KARALES / ESTATE OF JAMES KARALES
Journey Reflections
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ames Zwerg’s account of having a profound religious experience and feeling embraced in love right before being beaten very badly by the mob at the Montgomery Greyhound bus station spoke volumes to me. … I teared up listening to him. As I reflected upon the talk, I am not sure if it is because I am so moved by and impressed with his actions and his life story or if it is because I am saddened that I am not so in touch with God as he was at that time. I had respect for him as a Freedom Rider, but after meeting with him, I would say I definitely have a new role model. I have only actually met a few people who inspire me in an extreme way, and I cannot express my feelings about how valuable I feel this experience was.
into sight, James knew he’d face the brunt of the mob’s fury. Just before the blows fell upon him, James stopped, gathered himself, and asked God to forgive those about to beat him. How did we wind up in Montgomery on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides? For years David (professor of political science), Jennifer (assistant professor of sociology) and I (professor of psychology) had separately dreamed of a bus trip taking ACU students through significant sites in the American civil rights movement. Last summer, I scouted various locations with my family on the way home from a vacation. Back at ACU, having shared our visions for such a future trip, David and I huddled over maps determined, along with Jennifer, to make this experience a reality. We settled on a route. Abilene. Little Rock. Memphis. Birmingham. Montgomery. Selma. Jackson. Abilene. The circuit would take us through some of the most dramatic moments in American history. Brown vs. Board of Education. The Little Rock Nine. Police dogs and fire hoses in Kelly Ingram Park. The Letter from Birmingham Jail. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Rosa Parks. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Bloody Sunday. The Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March. The balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Freedom Summer. And, of course, the Freedom Rides. We didn’t plan it this way, but David, Jennifer and I quickly realized we were planning our trip the very year marking the 50th anniversary of the original 1961 Freedom Rides. We also realized we’d be on the road the same week in May as the original Rides. All sorts of commemorations were being planned for the time we’d be in Alabama. PBS was airing an original documentary about the Freedom Rides during the week of the trip, DR. RICHARD BECK
Rebecca Dial Junior political science major from Lexington, S.C. James Zwerg, one of the original Freedom Riders, met with the ACU group in Birmingham, Ala. ACU TODAY
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and every day we awoke to newspaper articles discussing the significance of the Freedom Ride. As our bus rolled down the road, it was like stepping back in time. Of course, the great blessing of this timing was getting to meet with two of the original Freedom Riders. The day after meeting with James Zwerg, our students also met with Dr. Bernard Lafayette, a participant in the Nashville sit-in movement, co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Freedom Rider and close associate of Dr. King. A world leader in the philosophy and training of non-violence, Dr. Lafayette looked at our students and said, “Find an issue in life that you are willing to die for. We’re all going to die. The question is, how are we going to live?” Everywhere we went, the atmosphere was thick with stories of heartache and heroism. As we walked the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, we were able to experience the courage of the Bloody Sunday marchers. Cresting the bridge, you see below where the line of troopers, many on horseback and wearing gas masks, waited for the marchers. The courage of that march really can’t be communicated until you trace that journey with your own two feet as I had the summer before with my wife and two sons. Every day of the Freedom Ride was like that. We kept finding ourselves on holy ground and, sometimes, quite unexpectedly. We were pulling out of Memphis, having just visited the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was assassinated. One of our students, Theron, came to the front of the bus and asked if we might stop by the Mason Temple, a landmark building where Dr. King made his final speech. When our bus pulled up to the church, a security guard came alongside us. We explained who we were. Suddenly, he turned into the best tour guide of our trip. He pulled out his keys, let us in and showed us around. And then the moment came when he let each of us walk to the front of the building – which is part of the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ – and stand in the last pulpit of Dr. King. The students were visibly moved while standing in that spot. Just hours earlier, they had looked out over the balcony of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King had been gunned down. We had left that place with a sense of sadness and loss, but here in this church, our spirits were lifted. The man we had lost hours before came back to us in the incandescent vision of his final message. Standing behind that pulpit, you could almost hear his voice cascading again over the seats: “I've been to the mountaintop … and I've looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land.” 䊱 26
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Students and faculty were allowed to stand in the pulpit of Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., where the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his last speech. “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land,” King said. “So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
SANDY ADAMS PHOTOGRAPHY
Journey Reflections
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looked at an older black woman as she watched Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s face on the big-screen television. I walked over to her and asked, “How do you maintain a smile?” She looked at me and said, “Pride.” I thanked her for her response and explained that I feel so many different emotions … sadness, anger, frustration, hope, etc. She then showed me the goose bumps on her arm. I stepped away and looked at pictures while listening to the power spoken through this young man … all the while wiping tears from my eyes. “‘This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty … ’” In my mind I emphasized the following words: my country, sweet land, liberty. In that moment, it was too much for my heart. “Let freedom ring … let freedom ring … let freedom ring … ” I cried and walked away.
Jennifer Watson Junior B.A.S. sociology/psychology/social work major from Abilene, Texas
See Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
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Find an issue in life that you are willing to die for. We’re all going to die. The question is, how are we going to live?” – Dr. Bernard Lafayette
WILLIS GLASGOW
DR. RICHARD BECK
The ACU group toured the Dexter Parsonage in Montgomery, Ala., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his family once lived.
ACU student Cha’ronn Williams-Devereaux met Dr. Bernard Lafayette, one of the original Freedom Riders. ACU TODAY
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ACU TODAY BONUS COVERAGE ACU students ChaRonn Williams-Devereaux and Alvina Scott, followed by Dr. Jennifer Dillman and student Rebecca Hipes, walk across Edmund Pettus Bridge with their tour group. The bridge on U.S. Highway 80, which spans the Alabama River in Selma, Ala., became one of the symbols of the American civil rights movement. On March 7, 1965, known as “Bloody Sunday,” more than 3,000 voting rights marchers headed from Selma to Montgomery were violently confronted by law enforcement personnel on the bridge.
Students share their experiences as they retrace the journey of the civil rights movement
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e are on this bus ride to literally feel and live out the journey of the Freedom Riders, and I believe walking their actual footsteps could not have embodied our mission better. As humans always looking towards advancement and brightening our future, we must first remember to reflect on the past and acknowledge the progress we have made. I think walking across that bridge today, foot by foot, gave me that revelation. Our passage across the bridge was so peaceful. People were smiling, laughing, reflecting and simply enjoying the moment. But the true Freedom Riders experienced anything but that. The Riders were met with armed troopers, willing to enforce all violent means necessary to stop the marchers. We clearly had no threat of danger. I think it is so important to look back on the fight they struggled through in order to truly appreciate the free and blessed life we live today.
Christina Burch
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Senior journalism major from Northridge, Calif.
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ACU student Tony Rolof wears a T-shirt commemorating the group’s tour.
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I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing … It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.” – Thomas Jefferson, while writing to James Madison in 1787
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hen anger and hatred rises up in me because of the oppression, the Lord tells me, “Don’t you dare hate them, Mary. I am a God of love and my love is big enough to cover a multitude of sins – yours as well as theirs. Yes, what they did was wrong, but I came for them, too. May their sins break your heart, may you fight for justice and freedom, but you are called to love, not to hate. As soon as you hate you become like them, and you are mine. I bought you with a price, and the devil cannot have you back.” In my opinion, the most impressive aspect of nonviolent action is the patience that it requires. Violent revolutions occur throughout history where injustices are present over and over again. Even now, the United States is engaged in a war that is supposedly fighting terror. But the patience and endurance these Americans possessed in choosing to remain innocent by not fighting back in the midst of some of the most cruel injustices in our nation’s recent history astounds me. I am proud to call these people fellow Americans and more so brothers and sisters in Christ for their lives are tangible examples of the gospel I read.
ACU student Alvina Scott looks at the 16th Street Baptist Church Memorial in Birmingham, Ala. On Sept. 15, 1963, four school children were killed when members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed the church just before its 11 a.m. service.
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Mary DeLaughter Senior sociology major from San Angelo, Texas
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Jim Zwerg was one of 21 college students attacked by a mob of Ku Klux Klan supporters on May 20, 1961, when the Greyhound bus the students were riding arrived at the station on South Court Street in Montgomery, Ala. A white man, Zwerg was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who became a spokesperson of the integrated Freedom Riders group. Today, the building is no longer used as a bus station, bu houses a museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The ACU tour group met with Zwerg while it was in Montgomery. Zwerg is a retired minister who lives in Arizona.
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was surprised to discover that many of the prominent civil rights players did not find themselves a part of the movement purposefully. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., moved to Montgomery, Ala., with the plan of pastoring the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. It was not until he was asked to step up as a leader during the bus boycott that he became a significant figure in the civil rights movement (CRM). Likewise, I assume Rosa Parks did not realize that, by refusing to move from her seat, she would become the face of the bus boycott and be labeled the Mother of the CRM. In one of the museums, there was a segment stating that ordinary people did extraordinary things during the CRM. … most people do not know the power they have within them to bring change and influence the world.
Brittany Partridge Junior political science and history major from Annandale, Minn.
The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., includes a Civil Rights Memorial featuring a dramatic water sculpture across the street from the center. Created by Maya Lin, who also designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, this art honors the achievements and memory of those who died during the civil rights movement. It features a circular black granite table with names of martyrs, and a curved black granite wall engraved with words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a paraphrase of Amos 5:24 – “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” A thin layer of water flows across both pieces of granite.
The 40’ x 20’ Wall of Tolerance displays names of more than 500,000 people who have pledged to support justice and tolerance in their daily lives. The interactive digital display is located at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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also found this experience spiritually challenging as it presented the idea of a church as the nexus and pillar of a community, instigating and leading change. Too often in contemporary churches the community is focused on themselves and their individual family lives and church is a Sunday morning pastime. I think the message of the 16th Street Baptist Church, and the countless hundreds of other civil rights-minded churches across the south, that church should be more than just a Sunday meeting place but rather should be at the center of a community.
ACU student Brandon Bolden gets a close look at an inscription at the Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Jared Perkins Senior sociology major from Saginaw, Texas
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STUDY ABROAD |
ACU’s Vision to become the premier university for the
education of Christ-centered, global leaders means expanding its reach nationally and internationally. Studying abroad enriches experiential learning opportunities for students.
Study Abroad students find Leipzig a perfect portal to some of the most significant landmarks in church history BY PAU L A . A N TH ON Y PH OTO G R A PHY BY RO N N IE RU I Z
hey came on Easter Sunday under clear blue skies, touring the ruins of Ephesus, a stormy cradle of Early Christianity. ey passed bleached marble, the remains of homes – some marked with an ichthys, the classical Greek word used
Students tour the ruins of an ancient theater in Termessos, a site in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey.
as a secret symbol by Christians – and the probable site of the synagogue where Acts reports Paul preached for more than two weeks upon his arrival in the then-bustling Asia Minor port city about 50 A.D. e 10 ACU students and four faculty members ended their journey through the ancient city in a massive open-air amphitheater where, 2,000 years before, the city’s silversmiths launched a riot to protest Paul’s increasingly successful admonitions against idol worship. e ACU group sat near the top of the ruined stone steps, read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and shared Easter communion. Seated below them, a group of Christian tourists from China began singing a hymn. “I remember thinking that I was so blessed to be there,” said Elizabeth Medlicott, sophomore biology major from Denton, “and that we have an awesome God.” e Easter journey to Ephesus highlighted a 12-day trip to Turkey as part of ACU’s recently initiated Study Abroad program in Leipzig, Germany. e trip to early Christian sites, together with visits to key places in the history of the Protestant Reformation, provided a unique hands-on education for the students, who took Survey of Church History, a course taught by ACU’s chancellor, Dr. Royce Money (’64), while in Leipzig. “One thing I really love about Leipzig,” Money said, “is its central location. From Leipzig, almost anywhere in Europe is accessible by rail.” Stephen Shewmaker (’91), assistant director of the ACU Center AC U TO D AY
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for International Education and director of the spring Leipzig program, took full advantage of that centrality, scheduling trips to Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Weimar, Wittenberg and the Buchenwald concentration camp. Shewmaker and CIE director Dr. Kevin Kehl first traveled to Leipzig in 2006, seeing an opportunity to expand ACU’s Study Abroad program – already with semester-long programs in Montivideo, Uruguay, and Oxford, England – to the European continent. “We were impressed with the people and the things that we saw,” Shewmaker said. A group of psychology students studied in Leipzig during the summer of 2007. In 2010, Shewmaker and Kehl expanded the summer-only schedule to include a three-year spring-semester pilot program. Students take 16 hours of classes while in Germany, including two German-language courses and an international studies class dedicated to exploring the country’s history and culture. Germany has proven to hold a wealth of topics for study, Shewmaker said, given its role in the Reformation, the Holocaust and the downfall of communism, as well as its status as the home of numerous famed composers, authors and artists such as Bach and Goethe. “It was very hard to jump right into a different culture,” Medlicott said. “It was definitely a humbling learning experience. Every day you learn something new. I really loved it.”
“ere is something about literally walking in the path of someone great that gives you the courage to be great.” – NATHAN SPENCER, from the ACU Today blog
(ABOVE) Nathan Spencer, a psychology major from Joplin, Mo., makes a purchase from a vendor in Turkey. (RIGHT) Amanda Sheldon and Elizabeth Medlicott climb the amphitheater steps in Termessos. (BELOW) Jessica Rasa and Elizabeth Ellery walk along the beach in Olympus, Turkey.
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SO MUCH MORE REAL Before the warmth of Turkey in spring, students first dealt with the frigid German winter, visiting Buchenwald concentration camp on a cold, foggy day – one of the coldest of the year. e conditions, nearly unbearable, seemed appropriate for such a place, whose inhabitants 70 years ago had far less protection against the elements. Marissa Marolf, sophomore biochemistry major from McKinney, said she was struck by the horrible irony that the camp’s prison building, which was one of Buchenwald’s most feared sites, provided a welcome shelter from the cold and wind for the students. “It was one of the worst locations in the concentration camp. ey knew if they went in there it was a death sentence,” she said. “e very building they dreaded the most was where we found relief. “I was glad it was really cold,” she continued. “It made it so much more real.” Buchenwald was one of the first Nazi concentration camps, built in 1937, and grew to be the largest on German soil. Roughly 56,000 of the nearly 240,000 people imprisoned there died. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold,” Medlicott said.
A FASCINATING PLACE e idea for a trip to Turkey came from Shewmaker’s ACU roommate, Jim Reynolds (’91), who owns a travel agency in the country. Shewmaker and Kehl joined him for a tour of early Christian sites in Istanbul and elsewhere as a sort of trial run. In preparation, Shewmaker and his wife, Dr. Jennifer (Wade ’92) Shewmaker, associate professor of psychology and faculty-in-residence for the Leipzig program during the semester, assigned the Turkish novel Snow by Orhan Pamuk as a way to give students a glimpse of modern Turkish culture in a format easier to digest than studying textbooks. “Visiting a secular Muslim country was something we really wanted to do,” Shewmaker said. “Turkey was attractive for a lot of different topics to really engage the students.” ough climaxing with the Easter visit to Ephesus, the trip also included visits to the ancient ruins of Pergamon – known as Pergamum in the Bible – and Termessos, a mountaintop city that avoided conquest by both Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire before succumbing to an earthquake; it is considered one of the best-preserved ancient sites in the world. It began, however, with Istanbul, the 2,600-year-old onetime capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires straddling two continents. “It’s a fascinating place,” Money said. “You’ve got layers of history that are so impressive.” As the early Christian church began to formalize its beliefs, councils were held in Constantinople – within churches and rooms that still exist today, Shewmaker said, providing a concrete visual for events and dates that otherwise could be difficult to grasp. With 13 million people, Istanbul is a mix of secular and sacred, Money noted. ough the regular Islamic calls to prayer were an ever-present feature, many residents appeared to pay little attention. Women dressed in styles ranging from an occasional head-to-toe burka to the much more common hijabs, headscarves and modern western fashions with no head coverings at all. Students visited the Hagia Sophia, the ancient Christian church converted to a mosque in the 15th century that is now a museum, and the Blue Mosque, technically called the Sultan AC U TO D AY
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See our Bonus Coverage at acu.edu/acutoday
Ahmed Mosque, built in the early 1600s, when Istanbul was 2,200 years old – and English settlers were first landing in the New World. “I’d never really been exposed to the Muslim culture,” Medlicott said. “I went to my first mosque – that was really an amazing thing to see.” “ey all came away from it with a greater understanding of the complexity of Muslim culture and society,” Shewmaker said. “I think they got a better sense of that – things are complex. It was a unique and challenging experience for all of us, certainly. We learned a lot.”
A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE Ephesians is one of Elizabeth Medlicott’s favorite books in the Bible. “I love how Paul is writing to a church struggling in Ephesus and teaching them how we should live, treat people and be unified by Christ,” she said. “Paul is able to say things in such an encouraging and loving way, and the content is still very applicable for us today. ” So when Shewmaker asked her the morning they were scheduled to visit Ephesus if she would read a passage from the epistle during their Easter service in the city, she didn’t hesitate. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “at was really cool. I was really glad that he let me do that.” With Ephesus a major tourist attraction – and with the amphitheater constructed for maximum acoustic effect – the service was not the serene moment Shewmaker and others might have wished.
“ey all came away from it with a greater understanding of the complexity of Muslim culture and society.” – STEPHEN SHEWMAKER
ABOVE) Dr. Royce Money lectures in Termessos. (LEFT) Bread is shared during an Easter Communion service. (BELOW) Elizabeth Ellery tours the ruins of Pergamum.
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“Since then, I’ve reflected often on that scene. It’s embedded. It’s burned in my memory.” – DR. ROYCE MONEY
But background noise didn’t keep the 14 members of the ACU community – the 10 students, Stephen and Jennifer Shewmaker and Royce and Pam Money – from reading Paul’s letter to the ancient residents of the city in whose ruins they sat, sharing communion and praying for each other. “If I were to have a Top 10 communion experiences, that may be No. 1,” Money said. “I think it is. at was a very memorable experience.” e Bible indicates a rocky relationship between Paul and Ephesus during his two years there, during which time he is believed to have written Galatians and 1 Corinthians. Despite the riot sparked by opposition to his anti-idolatry sermons, some biblical scholars believe he wrote Philemon and Philippians while imprisoned there by the Roman emperor Nero. As the students shared communion, Money said he kept thinking back to the biblical account of Paul’s time in Ephesus as told in Acts 19.
“It suddenly hit me what Paul had to give up in order to be a Christian,” Money said. “He believed it so much he was willing to risk his life. e other thing that hit me was the enormous influence he must have had” to become the center of attention in such a large, cosmopolitan city. “I sat there, and I looked at the columns,” he continued. “I looked at the city. In my mind’s eye, I could see the people coming into Ephesus. I could see Paul and his companions making their way up from the seaport.” No person other than Jesus himself played a larger role in the formation of the early Christian faith, Money said, and Paul spent two years walking those marble streets, likely sitting on the steps of that amphitheater, taking communion with his own traveling companions. “Since then, I’ve reflected often on that scene,” he said. “It’s embedded. It’s burned into my memory.”䊱
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On-site directors fill multiple roles for students and their own families
ACU sophomores Marissa Marolf (left) and Kelli Ingram toured the ruins of Pergamon with their classmates and professors.
If Dr. Kevin Kehl were to create a job And teaching opportunities abound, description for the perfect faculty-in-residence Jennifer said. at one of ACU’s Study Abroad sites, it might “I think everyone learns better if you’re really look like this: ready to push your students to think and confront Part teacher, part counselor, part their own cultural values,” she said. “You can just administrator, part travel agent, part parent, ride along, but I don’t think they learn as much.” part bookkeeper. Significant international Perhaps more than anything else, faculty and experience preferred. students both learn more about what it means to Piece of cake finding someone like that, right? be the other – the foreigner, the outcast – when “You live with students,” says Kehl, executive they are thrown into a foreign society without so director of ACU’s Center for International much as a common language. Education. “We don’t have a job on campus here For Shewmaker, that occurred when she where a faculty member tried to explain her lives with students. It’s a daughter’s burn injury to unique and probably one German-speaking nurses of the most complicated at a doctor’s office. Such roles we have.” experiences help forge a ACU has three bond between the faculty long-term Study Abroad and students, Shewmaker sites. In Oxford, England, said, because in many and Montevideo, ways they all are Uruguay, site directors learning together. live most of the year “ose little things on location. ey are like learning how to shop Dr. Jennifer and administrators first, at a grocery store, it’s Stephen Shewmaker Kehl said, and do challenging for all of us,” some teaching. she said. “We’re living in a In Leipzig, the newest of the programs, foreign country, too, with our three kids, finding a ACU does not own any property, so the faculty new school for them, finding doctors for them. are teachers who also manage the details of I have stories of dealing with those things myself. arranging housing, travel and the rest of the I try to normalize that for them.” intricacies of bringing a dozen college students e Shewmakers taught a 3-hour thousands of miles across an ocean into a International Studies course entitled A Mighty country with completely different language, Fortress, a survey of German history and culture, culture and norms. spanning everything from the Protestant “You’re going somewhere where you’re Reformation, the Holocaust and communism all foreigners,” said Dr. Jennifer (Wade ’92) to the region’s rich artistic traditions. Day and Shewmaker, associate professor of psychology weekend trips to relevant sites across central and faculty-in-residence for the Leipzig trip last Europe helped bring home the academic lessons. semester. “You’re really running this close-knit But perhaps even more valuable were the support system.” hours they spent in community with their students. at presents the obvious challenges, Every Monday, Stephen would cook – usually Shewmaker said, but it also presents tremendous Mexican food, given its scarcity in the region – opportunity for close bonds and in-depth learning and the five Shewmakers and 10 university among faculty and students alike. students fellowshipped together. “Being a faculty in residence offers you a “Our children really bonded with the students really unique opportunity to know your students as over there,” she said. “It was really special.” individuals,” Shewmaker said, adding that while she It’s that kind of communion that is so hard to can come to know her students in an on-campus achieve on campus – and makes studying abroad classroom setting. “It’s different when you’re so rewarding, she said. living in community together.” “As a faculty member here, I really hope In Leipzig, Shewmaker and her husband, students grow over the course of the semester,” she Stephen (’91), were an ideal fit, Kehl said, said, “but the impact of being in a foreign country because Stephen is assistant director of the and being in community with a student and sharing the growth and struggles, that’s amazing.” Center for International Education, fulfilling the administrative duties while Jennifer focused – PAUL A. ANTHONY on maximizing teaching opportunities for the 10 students living with them in a series of loft apartments near downtown.
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Among the biblical-era ruins explored by the Study Abroad group was Termessos, one of the few ancient cities Alexander the Great was not able to conquer in 333 B.C. Located 30 kilometers northwest of Antalya, Turkey, it is extraordinarily preserved, but requires a steep walk above the surrounding countryside. Termessos encompassed a main square, shops and houses along a street lined by columns and statues, an outdoor theatre, six temples, cemeteries, and a gymnasium.
Elizabeth Ellery, Jessica Rasa and Kelli Ingram capture images of the view atop the Basilica of St. John in Selรงuk (modern Ephesus).
Pam Money and her husband, ACU chancellor Dr. Royce Money
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Elizabeth Medlicott and her classmates listen to Dr. Royce Money in the amphitheater in Pergamon.
The ruins of Pergamon include a 10,000-seat amphitheater with the steepest seating of all similar structures in the ancient world – and a breathtaking view of the Caicus River valley below.
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(LEFT) The ACU group included 10 students, here learning about the Zeus Altar at Pergamon, which overlooks the city of Bergama, Turkey. (BELOW) ACU students Raymond Lowe and Elizabeth Medlicott capture video and still photography of the ruins at Ephesus. Experiencing history also is memorable for Catherine Shewmaker and Alexandra Shewmaker, two of the three children of on-site directors Stephen and Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker.
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Curetes Street in the ancient city of Ephesus stretches from the Heracles Gate to the Library of Celsus. It once served as a primary city street and an important processional route in the cult of Artemis, and was lined with shops and inns.
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Bustling markets in Turkish cities such as Istanbul offer a wealth of spices, pottery, carpet and clothing. ACU student Hannah Jones tries on a scarf with the help of a vendor in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. It emcompasses more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops, and was first opened in 1461.
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(LEFT) Leipzig has a long, rich history linked to the Protestant Reformation and the history of Western thought, as well as the fall of Communism in Eastern Gemany. It also was the home of music composer icon Johann Sebastian Bach and the place where Felix Mendelssohn died in 1847. Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker (standing, above) and her husband, Stephen (below), served as on-site directors for ACU’s Study Abroad program in Leipzig during the Spring 2011 semester.
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Software apps such as Skype allow Study Abroad participants such as Meagan Whitson (left) to stay in touch with family and friends. Time differences between the U.S. and Leipzig (seven hours) can make communication a challenge, but even occasionally homesick students are never far away from a friendly face and voice from home. Skype Unlimited, which owns the Skype network, is headquartered in Luxembourg, one of Germany’s bordering countries.
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One of the most enjoyable ways to tour Europe is by bicycle, as Kelli Ingram, Jessica Rasa, Amanda Sheldon, Nathan Spencer and Elizabeth Ellery learned. ACU students can rent bikes in Leipzig, Germany, and ride through nearby forests and countryside to lakes and other attractions.
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ACU teacher education students team up with local schools to share mobile-learning technology
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MOBILE LEARNING |
ACU’s Vision to become the
premier university for the education of Christ-centered, global leaders means expanding its reach nationally and internationally. Faculty and students will become significant voices in national higher education circles.
By Robin Saylor
The iPod touch becomes a learning tool for kindergarten students with the help of ACU’s teacher education department.
obile learning is headed to kindergarten, and ACU students are paving the way for this new kid on the block. In today’s world, kindergarteners are no strangers to playing with mom’s or dad’s iPhone. And using mobile technology in the classroom has become second nature to ACU students since the university began distributing iPhones to freshmen in 2008. So it was a
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natural partnership for teacher candidates at ACU to help a local kindergarten teacher integrate mobile learning into her classroom last fall. Last school year, three students in ACU’s Department of Teacher Education teamed up with Taylor Elementary School teacher Jody (Whitfield ’76) Reese to help her young learners develop digital stories using mobile devices. Research gleaned from the project has been presented at two professional conferences with more on the horizon.
From the familiar to the unfamiliar
MITZI ADAMS
“We started by interviewing each child individually to determine his or her experience with the device and knowledge of vocabulary related to the device,” said ACU senior Tiffany Siegel. “We talked about words such as icons, apps and upload.” She and the other teacher candidates – seniors Kendra Kleine and Paul Sims – then worked with small groups of kindergartners to create a digital story about Native Americans in the desert Southwest. “We had the kids record themselves, record each other and practice uploading and transferring data from the iPod touch to the Macbook,” said Siegel. The students used iMovie to create a short film. After the project was finished, the ACU students had several other opportunities to take mobile devices to the school and observe the youngsters using them. “These observations allowed us to determine the device’s ability to create higher-level thinking and processing when linked with instruction,” Siegel said.
Real world experience ACU’s Jenn Rogers (’04), instructor in early childhood education, said the experience has been invaluable to her students. “We want our ACU students to see that they can take technology they are familiar with into the classroom,” ACU TODAY
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“
These 5- and 6-year-olds don’t play with projectors and Promethean Boards at home; they play with their parents’ iPhones. Most of these children are savvy, to say the least, with these devices, and we can only hope to give them the opportunity to apply their ‘street’ knowledge toward an educational goal.
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– Jenn Rogers (’04)
MITZI ADAMS
Instructor, Early Childhood Education
Young learners develop digital stories with the help of ACU teacher candidates.Research gleaned from the partnership has been presented at two national conferences.
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Rogers said. “We want to give them the opportunity to apply this process in a real classroom setting. We can give them ideas all semester long in our instruction, but until they have the moment to watch technology used effectively in a real-life setting, it is not relevant to them.”
Kleine said she, too, gained a new respect for research. “I have learned that by collecting and gathering data, I am not only discovering how technology can be integrated into the classroom, but also how I will be using it in my future classroom,” she said.
Win/win partnership
A memorable impression
The project has been a boon for the young learners as well, said kindergarten teacher Reese. “It was an exciting time, and we all learned a lot about how quickly young children learn and become comfortable navigating with technology,” Reese said. “We quickly realized that most, if not all, of the children viewed the iPod touch as just a way to play games. As they worked with their ACU students, they began to realize there is technology available beyond just these games.” The transition from play to learning was easy, said Rogers. “These 5- and 6-year-olds don’t play with projectors and Promethean Boards at home; they play with their parents’ iPhones. Most of these children are savvy, to say the least, with these devices, and we can only hope to give them the opportunity to apply their ‘street’ knowledge toward an educational goal.” Dr. Dana (Kennamer ’81) Pemberton, professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education, agreed. “It was pretty amazing to watch how easily the kindergarten children learned to navigate the touch technology of mobile devices,” she said. “Our candidates learned that while there are kinks to be worked out, technology integration with young children is not something to shy away from. We want our graduates to be willing to try new things and to trust that children can rise to their expectations. This includes technology.”
The research also opened a door for the ACU students and their faculty mentors to present their work at two professional conferences. The group traveled to Nashville, Tenn., in March, when they were on the program for the annual Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) Conference. They presented their research again in June at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia, Pa. Michelle (Coronel ’04) Faerber, technology integration specialist for ACU’s Department of Teacher Education, found the group’s reception in Philadelphia gratifying. “What seemed almost normal to us was considered groundbreaking to other participants at ISTE,” she said. Dr. Billie McConnell (’84), assistant professor of teacher education, encountered the same response. “A lot of people were going to the exhibits and were seeing software companies creating cutsie ‘drill and kill’ programs. ‘Just stick the kid in front of a computer and hope he learns something,’” McConnell said. “But what the other teachers told me was that the ACU presenters were the only ones really talking about learning: How does this technology impact learning? How do we use it to help students develop 21st-century
(skills, to think on a higher level and be creative? So that’s what really makes our program different and we’re excited about that – and I think that’s why these other teachers were excited.” McConnell’s daughter-in-law, senior physics education major Stacie (Donaghey ’11) McConnell, presented at both conferences, talking about her experience creating a project-based physics course at Abilene Christian High School supported by iPads and iPod touches. These and other undergraduate research opportunities provide invaluable experience for ACU’s teacher candidates, McConnell said. “What it means for our candidates is that it puts them a step ahead,” he said. “Not only are they learning the newer, innovative ways to teach, but they are getting in the classrooms and being able to try out these new instructional styles and find out what works and what doesn’t.” The end result is “it’s making our teachers different,” he said. “A number of districts are saying, ‘Let us talk to your candidates first.’ So when a principal sees an ACU resume come across the desk, it goes to the top of the stack. Our teacher education degree is going up in value because of that.”
Just the beginning The Taylor Elementary project is only the beginning of a long-term technology partnership between ACU and local elementary schools, said department chair Pemberton. Every semester, teacher candidates will spend time in kindergarten classrooms to facilitate technology integration projects. ACU will provide
Plunging into research
GARY RHODES
The project was a great opportunity for ACU students to participate in undergraduate research as they prepare for their future careers. “This experience has already taught me so much,” Siegel said. “My ideas of how my future classroom should operate have changed because of the data we collected. I have seen firsthand the impact that integrating technology can have on a young learner. It allows each student to explore, create, question and to develop and so many other higher-level thinking skills. “This experience also has given me confidence and a greater passion for my field of study,” she added. “As I research and collect data, I am realizing how important it is that we, as educators, stay in tune to what our students need. We must constantly be striving to make our classrooms a place where every student, with individual needs, is challenged, encouraged and inspired to explore.”
Senior physics education major Stacie (Donaghey ’11) McConnell works with students at Abilene Christian High School on a full-year physics course she developed, supported by iPads and iPod touches. ACU TODAY
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each of these “kindergarten teams” with a cart of iPads this fall, she said. Other elementary schools are benefiting as well. For example, Mitzi (James ’81) Adams, coordinator of field experiences and professional development for ACU’s Department of Teacher Education, has developed an app for math and has begun research at Reagan Elementary using iPads. Fifty-six teachers from local elementary schools participated this summer in ACU’s first K-12 Digital Learning Institute, where attendees learned some of the basics of using iPads in their classrooms. A key component of the Digital Learning Institute is that the professional development will continue after attendees leave campus, said Faerber. She and her ACU teacher candidates will continue
throughout the year to be a presence in local classrooms, providing support and answering questions.
Blazing new trails “It is our hope that our students will become leaders for innovative practice on their future campuses,” ACU’s Pemberton said. Taylor Elementary’s Reese would say that leadership has already begun. “I am so thankful that the teacher education department at ACU continues to be innovative and challenging – not just to their students but also to teachers like me who have been in the classroom for many years and yet want to try new things and stay current,” Reese said. “It’s one more way ACU is changing the world.”䊱
By Robin Saylor
K-12 Digital Learning Institute helps teachers embrace technology high school English class is studying The Great Gatsby. But instead of reading the classic novel, memorizing vocabulary and writing a literary analysis, the students are forming independent groups and using iPads to create a movie trailer for the upcoming remake of the film version that will star Leonardo DiCaprio, due out in 2012. Along the way, the students will learn the same lessons they would have while writing a research paper, but they’ll become more engaged, exercise more creativity and, best of all, see how skills used in their English class can translate into a real-world setting. This is called Project-Based Learning (PBL), and was the focus of Abilene Christian University’s first K-12 Digital Learning Institute this summer, sponsored by the Department of Teacher Education.
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JEREMY ENLOW
Texas teachers learn ways to integrate technology into their curriculum at ACU’s first K-12 Digital Learning Institute. From left are Jeff Montgomery, Austin Westlake High School; Helen Wilcox, Abilene Christian Schools; and Tami Weaver, Fort Worth Christian School.
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Sixty-four secondary teachers and 56 elementary teachers attended one of the three sessions held in June, facilitated by ACU faculty and guest presenters from several PBL schools in Texas. Julie Garner, English teacher at Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, Texas, is eager to take PBL to her classroom using her Great Gatsby idea to teach classic themes in a new way. “It’s pretty exciting,” Garner says of what she’s learned from ACU. “It’s not the content that’s different; it’s the delivery of the content. It is allowing students to have more control over their own learning, and pushing them in that direction.” Dr. Billie McConnell (’84), assistant professor of teacher education, says this is the whole idea behind ACU’s K-12 Digital Learning Institute. “In an ever-changing world, school is no longer about a set core of information you need to know, because it’s going to be different by the time you get out,” he explains. “So what we want are independent self-directed learners who can think, who can collaborate, who can be creative and innovative. Technology is a support to that. So that’s what these weeks are all about.” The Project-Based Learning concept has been around since the 1990s, says McConnell. What’s new to teachers at ACU’s institute is the way technology is integrated into the PBL lessons, with emphasis on iPads in the classroom. Garner, who’s in her 11th year of teaching, says her students often struggle with why they have to learn subjects such as English and math. “Telling them these communication skills are crucial is not the same as showing them how they
can use them in the real world,” she says. So she has high hopes that using the PBL model will provide a more “authentic” learning experience. Though a small rural school district, Jim Ned stepped into the world of mobile learning in 2009 by issuing iPod touches to all high school students. “ACU has been a huge resource for us in using the iPod touches,” says Kay Whitton (’77), Jim Ned business teacher. “But for some of us older dogs, it’s been kind of hard trying to find the time to learn that new technology.” For Whitton, the institute has represented a paradigm shift. “Everything we were taught in our education classes, especially those of us who went through school a couple of decades ago, has changed so much,” she says. “A lot of this week has been showing us ways to integrate technology more in our classroom. The workshop has been great.” Jeff Montgomery, English teacher at Austin Westlake High School, a 5A school, likens PBL to “guerrilla education – you’re in, you’re out and they don’t even know what hit them.” After attending ACU’s institute, he is ready to wrap his entire lessons around PBL, noting that all juniors and seniors at his high school will receive iPad 2s this year. He is excited about the future of digital learning. “I think we are probably just knocking on the door of bigger and better things,” he says. “If we’re afraid of technology or intimidated, we’ll just be stagnant. If we keep embracing technology that comes our way, the sky’s the limit.”䊱
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Reunion years: 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006
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hether it’s the football game, a social club breakfast or a reunion event, ACU Homecoming 2011 has something for you! Join us Oct. 13-16 in welcoming the reunion classes ending in “1” and “6,” cheering on the nationally ranked Wildcats against West Texas A&M, and reconnecting with your ACU family. Register online for reunion dinners, and the Golf Classic at acu.edu/homecoming. Turn the page for schedule highlights!
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ing alumni the 27, each year provid 19 ce sin U AC at e I know I still en a tradition our hearts and a plac of e ec pi a s Homecoming has be ld ho ill that st rn to Abilene, a city opportunity to retu e.” ays to be “hom consider in many w the window of y in Brown Library; ud st to I love ACU. e ac pl e rit vo an year; and the children my fa ay nights my freshm id Fr on ” I love showing my sh ru h us “m g deadlines for hich I could see the ts frantically makin w gh m ni fro te l la al t H en e zi sp e in w re student and McK Morris Center, whe it had in my life as a . e H ac on pl D e e th th d of an or m third flo oody Coliseu turn to campus. ickly Pear. I love M y family when we re m d an of my e m r fo the Optimist and Pr ip sh st. I love how some ace of wor pa pl e a th is g w in ac no br it w em ho le hi how athlete – and n looking forward w pus. I especially love m sio vi ca a s s xa ha Te U t es AC W w I love ho es I made on this ried 25 years ago. man I love and mar us friends are the on e io th ec s, pr t en os ev m St d id an av t deares pment of D n as well! It has the spiritual develo home to our childre e m co social be U AC ACU contributed to g in eekend campaigns, ys is watch w , jo es st lli te Fo ea gr an r hm ou es of One their own unique come involved in Fr s. ey are making ic g to watch them be et sin hl es at bl t a ca ch ild su W d en be urals an udy Abroad, intram omings. ger to attend clubs, Sing Song, St many future Homec h ug ro th em th this fall, and she is ea g n ai in st om su ec ill w om at H th st s ent r fir memorie aking up all the stud te, will return for he so ua is ad e, gr or 11 om 20 ph a , so a en , y Laur her friends. Whitney gh school, has alread hi ith in w t or ec ni se nn a co n, re d ga an Kojie breakfast volleyball team. Lo in Fall 2012. peting on the ACU m co s ve lo d ring as a freshman an te es en to gs and d activiti ar rw fo s n and look t! Incredible buildin io ea at tr ic a r pl fo ap in rly e ea ar u ed , yo Dream complet campus for a while Center, the Jacob’s e ed m sit co vi el t W no r ve te ha un u H cutting If yo g the nter. ACU is on the Ce cent years, includin s re es in ln d el de W ad d an en n be upgrades have Student Recreatio aking an e and Pam Money yc Ro e th d lty and alumni are m an e cu ur fa , ts en sculpt ud st r ou a Wildcat! l technology, and exciting time to be an is It . ld or edge of educationa w e th ter where I am, e for Christ around wide family. No mat ld innovative differenc or w a e ar e w , on their time as With ACU in comm d experiences from an s ie or em m e ar e eager to sh e coming “home.” I find alumni who ar family that keeps m of e ns me to ACU is a se is th is It . students . 13-16. Coming ho ct O e m in jo to le becomes I hope you’ll be ab you’ll find it quickly k in th I d an e, m r rience fo heartwarming expe one for you too! and keep you, e Lord bless you ni Association esident, ACU Alum Pr s, en ev St ) ’85 e Audrey (Pop AC U TO D AY
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Thursday
OCTOBER 13
Gutenberg Dinner Hunter Welcome Center, 6:30 p.m.
A highlight of the yearlong 100th anniversary celebration of the Optimist will take place when the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication honors three alumni for distinguished career accomplishment: Dr. Mimi (Simons ’81) Barnard, past vice president for professional development and research for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C.; Tasha French (’00), director of e Contributor in Nashville, Tenn.; and Ken Smalling (’87), vice president of global communications for Kimberly-Clark in Irving, Texas.
Friday
OCTOBER 14
Musical: The King and I Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. 6th Street, 8 p.m.
e beloved musical classic pits East against West in a dramatic, richly textured love story. When summoned to Bangkok’s Royal Palace in 1862 to tutor the many children and wives of the King of Siam, English widow Anna struggles with the King’s barbaric behavior. e dazzling score includes such highlights as “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Getting to Know You,” and “Shall We Dance.”
Saturday
OCTOBER 15
Parade Located around perimeter of campus, 9:30 a.m.
See colorful floats and the Big Purple Band, catch candy, and enjoy music and special guests. Arrive early to get a good viewing spot!
Homecoming Golf Classic Diamondback Golf Course, 1510 E. Industrial Blvd., 9:30 a.m.
Homecoming Chapel Moody Coliseum, 10:45 a.m.
Get your friends together for some friendly Homecoming competition at one of Abilene’s finest courses. is year’s event includes an instructional clinic, great gifts and prizes, and a fish fry lunch. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the V.W. and Loreta Kelley Scholarship and Susan Scott Endowed Scholarship for Students with Disabilities.
Be part of the devotional in Moody Coliseum, plus see the presentation of the 2011 Homecoming and Coming Home Queen Courts.
Chapel Moody Coliseum, 11 a.m.
Start Homecoming weekend with a praise-filled devotional, followed by a presentation of the 2011 Homecoming Court. Carnival Location TBD, 5-8 p.m.
Students and families will enjoy music and fun for all ages, including inflatable rides, a petting zoo, face painting and much more. Wildcat Sports Hall of Fame Celebration and Lettermen’s Reunion Dinner and Induction: Hunter Welcome Center, McCaleb Conference Room, 6:30 p.m. Lettermen’s Reunion: Hunter Welcome Center, Atrium, 8 p.m.
Join in celebrating the induction of Les Vanover (’54), Dub Stocker (’74), Reid Huffman (’77), Corey Stone (’95), Anita Vigil (’92) and Julie (Mavity ’99) Maddalena into the 2010-11 ACU Sports Hall of Fame. Following the induction ceremony, all Wildcat lettermen from each sport are invited to attend the Lettermen’s Reunion. Jam Fest and Fireworks Show East Lawn of Hunter Welcome Center, 6-9 p.m.
Student bands will rock the campus in short sets during this popular event. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the live music. Fireworks to follow! 42
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Football Game (ACU Wildcats vs. West Texas A&M) Shotwell Stadium, 2 p.m.
Wear purple for the battle between the rival Wildcats and Buffaloes, and don’t miss halftime, featuring the Big Purple Band and crowning of the Homecoming Queen. Reunion Dinners Various locations on campus, 6 p.m.
All alumni and families are invited to dinners celebrating reunion years ending in “1” and “6”. Please visit acu.edu/homecoming for registration details. Musical: The King and I Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. 6th Street, 8 p.m.
Sunday
OCTOBER 16
Musical: The King and I Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. 6th Street, 2 p.m.
September 18-21, 2011 Register online
acu.edu/summit Featuring Max Lucado, Sharon Cohn Wu and Rachel Held Evans Theme Speakers include Billy Curl, Barron Jones, Rick Marrs, Dusty Rush, Mark Hamilton, Dan Rodriguez and Harold Shank AC U TO D AY
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Hilltop VIEW
For the latest, visit acu.edu/news facebook.com/abilenechristian twitter.com/ACUedu
Work continues on the Money Center’s new leisure pool.
in communication disorders and school administration and supervision, is director of early childhood programs for AISD. She also is principal for Woodson and Locust early childhood centers. The Morlan Medal Award honors the late Dr. Grover C. Morlan, who taught 42 years and served 36 years as chair of the Department of Education and Psychology. STEVE BUTMAN
Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center steams ahead to Sept. 2 opening
Abilene’s record summer heat has not been kind to ranchers and weekend horticulturalists, but crews working on the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center appreciate the unusally dry weather as they work toward a formal opening Sept. 2. And if you ask students, the $21 million, 116,000-square-foot renovation and expansion of the Gibson Health and P.E. Center may be the most anticipated campus building in decades. Besides being the home of the newly renamed Medical and Counseling Care Center, and Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, the Money Center features an array of new and improved fitness facilities specifically reserved for students, faculty and staff. “Students are going to be wowed when they see the finished product,” said Brian Devost, executive director of the Money Center. “It’ll be amazing. It’s exciting to be a part of this.” The complex features four gyms, a lap pool and a leisure pool, cardio and weight-training areas, two large studios for group aerobics, an eighth-mile running track, a bouldering wall, racquetball courts and an outdoor basketball court. The official opening kicks off RecFest, a 24-hour marathon of games, competitions,
parties and giveaways for students. For the latest updates on the project, visit blogs.acu.edu/srwc.
Forbes, Princeton Review honor ACU again
The newest editions of college ranking guides continue to list ACU as one of the top universities in the West. The Princeton Review’s “2012 Best Colleges” rankings – determined in part by a university’s academic rigor as well as student opinions – included ACU among the best schools in its region. Total enrollment, SAT and ACT scores and other information provided by the university also factor in the rankings. ACU was rated especially high for its classrooms and computer labs. Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” for 2012 includes ACU among the nation’s best 650 institutions. Rankings are provided by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), a Washington, D.C., think tank.
Abilene teacher wins Morlan Medal Award Abilene ISD teacher Cheryl Cunningham (’78) received the annual Morlan Medal Award from ACU’s Department of Teacher Education at a dinner March 4. Cunningham, who has master’s degrees
Another robust alumni-recognition program is the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication’s annual Gutenberg Award, which recognizes distinguished professional achievement. The 2011 class will be honored at a dinner Oct. 13. It includes Dr. Mimi (Simons ’81) Barnard, past vice president for professional development and research for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Tasha French (’00), director of The Contributor, a nonprofit newspaper serving the homeless community in Nashville, Tenn.; and Ken Smalling (’87), vice president for global communications for Kimberly-Clark. For tickets, call 325-674-2296.
Back issues of student newspaper, yearbook now available online
Thanks to West Texas Digital Archive (WTDA) and ACU’s Brown Library, you can now read free digital versions of back issues of award-winning student print media from Abilene Christian. A collaborative project of the Abilene Library Consortium, WTDA contains more than 100,000 digital images including photographs, maps, recordings, newspapers, documents, manuscripts and lecture series, as well as free lesson plans for grades K-16. ACU collections now online at WTDA include the Center for Restoration Studies, the LeMoine Lewis Church History Lectures, historic photos of early ACU, and many others. Back issues of the Optimist and Prickly Pear (see page 64) are included, as
Living Free in an Anxious World
Soul Work
WHAT YOUR DOCTOR AND PASTOR WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT WORRY
CONFESSIONS OF A PART-TIME MONK
By R. Lanny Hunter, M.D. (’58) and Victor L. Hunter ISBN 978-0-89112-680-5 • 160 pages www.leafwoodpublishers.com Two brothers – one a physician and the other a minister – bring perspectives on medicine and faith together to help readers find freedom from debilitating worry.
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JMC’s Gutenberg Awards to honor three
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By Randy Harris ISBN 978-0-89112-272-2 • 160 pages www.leafwoodpublishers.com Harris – instructor of Bible, missions and ministry and 2011 ACU Teacher of the Year – shares insights from visits to monasteries through the years. “When I wanted to learn how to pray,” he said, “I sought those who had spent their lives praying.”
For the fourth straight year, ACU was recognized as a “Great College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The university was recognized in four areas: Facilities, Workspaces and Security; Work/Life Balance; and Supervisor/Department Chair Relationship. Only 85 four-year universities were selected for 2011.
well as academic catalogs from 1906-2004, at acu.edu/publication-archives.
Condra retires from President’s Office
Tevyan (Nunnally ’71) Condra, who served as executive secretary for two ACU presidents, recently retired. She served the university’s 10th and 11th presidents, and both were on hand at a reception May 18 to help well-wishers express their appreciation for her calm demeanor, pleasant voice and quick smile. Condra helped keep up with the busy schedules of Dr. Royce Money (’64), now chancellor, and Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) during a 21-year ACU career.
STEVE BUTMAN
NYC theatre agents, PFSweb president among campus speakers
• New York theatrical agents John Shea and Nancy Carson were on campus April 30 to watch ACU theatre majors perform in the fifth annual Senior Showcase. The event has been pivotal in helping graduates such as Ben Jeffrey (’06) land jobs on Broadway, off-Broadway and Broadway touring shows. Jeffrey currently plays Pumbaa in The Lion King at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre. • Jessica Jackley, co-founder of kiva.org, a groundbreaking international micro-finance company, spoke April 7 at the Springboard Ideas Challenge award dinner, hosted by the Jack and Ann Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy in the College of Business Administration. • Joel Salatin, known as “America’s Most Influential Farmer,” spoke March 31 during “Just Food,” sponsored by the ACU Locavore Club. The club’s mission “is to promote the health, environmental, social and spiritual benefits of locally-grown food, and to
ACU BY THE NUMBERS 116,000
participate in sustainable, small-scale agricultural systems.” • Los Angeles City Council member Janice Hahn (’74), who was elected in July by California voters to be ACU’s newest member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was invited by the Jack Pope Fellows Program to speak in Chapel on March 21 and to visit with political science majors. • Mike Willoughby (’86), president of PFSweb, co-taught a digital marketing class on campus with Mike Winegeart (’85) during the Spring 2011 semester. Guest speakers helped teach students about driving customers to a website, product merchandising, establishing trust online, and integrating social media. • Dr. Abraham Malherbe (’54), Buckingham Professor Emeritus at Yale University, spoke March 24 “On Being a Lover of Libraries” for Friends of the ACU Library’s Spring Gathering in the Hunter Welcome Center. • Russ Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity, was the featured speaker March 28 at the Undergraduate Research Festival. • The 10th annual Sacred Relationships Week, Feb. 7-12, featured presentations in Chapel and at Chapel Forums by Michael Johnson of Future Marriage University, Joy Eggerichs of marriage ministry Love and Respect, and Dr. Mark Yarhouse, professor and Rosemarie Scotti Hughes Endowed Chair of Christian Thought in Mental Health Practice at Regent University.
Alumni phone survey work to begin this fall
ACU has contracted with The Barna Group to begin a comprehensive scientific survey project to gauge feedback from alumni. Thanks in advance for taking time to speak with a researcher, should they call you.
Square footage of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center. It is a significant renovation and expansion of the Gibson Health and P.E. Center, which opened in 1968.
836
Number of homeless children in Abilene supported by ACU Student Social Work Association project.
141
Record number of students attending 2011 Leadership Summit, a weeklong short course/retreat at Frontier Ranch in Colorado, sponsored by ACU’s College of Business Administration. While there, students learn from Christian CEOs who serve as inspirational speakers and mentors.
88
Number of consecutive Lone Star Conference matches won by the women’s tennis team. The Wildcats haven’t lost in LSC play since the 2011 seniors were in second grade.
84
Combined years of service to ACU by siblings James Fulbright (’47) and Joyce (Fulbright ’46) Whitefield. Fulbright, who managed campus bookstores and ACU Press, died in May 2011 (see page 63). Whitefield, who was director of alumni files and development records, died in 2004. Each served a 42-year career at ACU.
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Percent of campus precipitation captured in Faubus Fountain Lake. If you haven’t been to campus in a while, the lake is located on Judge Ely Boulevard, just east of the Hunter Welcome Center.
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Number of the Randy Hill Racing car driven at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in the Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide event televised by ESPN. A Texas entrepreneur, Hill (’90), received his NASCAR team owner credentials in June, and offered to make ACU the sponsor of his car at Watkins Glen. (See pages 2-3 and Bonus Coverage).
Courageous Compassion
Historical Dictionary of Westerns in Literature
A PROPHETIC HOMILETIC IN SERVICE TO THE CHURCH
By Dr. Paul Varner ISBN 0-8108-6092-9 • 408 pages scarecrowpress.com
By Dr. Jerry Taylor ISBN 978-0-89112-545-7 • 208 pages leafwoodpublishers.com A collection of 10 sermons by Taylor – associate professor of Bible, missions and ministry – whose preaching style echoes the voice of long-ago prophets. It includes commentary from world-renowned Bible scholars and is edited by Dr. David Fleer.
Varner – English scholar-in-residence – tells the story of the Western through a chronology, a bibliography, an introductory essay, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on authors such as Owen Wister, Zane Grey, Max Brand, Clarence Mulford and Louis L’Amour. AC U TO D AY
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Ac adem ic NEWS Powell’s MEIBL program receives grant, expands to other colleges
Powell
LINDSEY COTTON
Since the beginning of ACU’s mobile-learning initiative in 2008, Dr. Cynthia (Barton ’81) Powell, assistant professor of chemistry, has sought to use iPhones and iPod touches in her classroom in innovative ways. Her students use their mobile devices to record lab results, access supporting information and convert measurements. Powell also provides podcasts of her lectures and lab procedures, giving students on-demand access to instructions and course content and minimizing the time spent lecturing in class. This spring, Powell’s program (officially named MEIBL, short for Mobile Enhanced Inquiry-Based Learning) received a $250,000 grant from Next Generation Learning Challenges, an organization dedicated to using technology to improve the quality of learning and education in the U.S. With the grant money, Powell and her collaborators will expand and scale the MEIBL program to implement it at two partner research institutes, Del Mar College and California University of Pennsylvania. “MEIBL has really changed the way we think about training our students in a laboratory setting,” Powell said. “One of the biggest problems we face is that students come in with uneven preparation. Some of them may be really well prepared and have lots of experience in the laboratory, and some of them may never have seen some of the equipment we use. “A resource available in the lab – just when students need it – has made a big difference in our laboratory curriculum,” Powell said. “Our research faculty say that students coming into their research labs are better prepared to work independently in a research setting because of the
For the latest, visit acu.edu/news facebook.com/abilenechristian twitter.com/ACUedu
inquiry-based training they’ve received in their lower-level science classes.” To learn more about MEIBL and Powell’s work, visit meibl.org. 䊱
Springboard Idea Challenge winners hear from Kiva.org co-founder Jessica Jackley In April, dozens of ACU students and members of the Abilene community competed in the fourth annual Springboard Ideas Challenge. Sponsored by the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy at ACU, the competition awarded a total of $44,500 in prizes to mini-business plans written by Abilene-area entrepreneurs. Winners also receive feedback and advice on implementing their ideas. “The process helps participants move one step closer to making their idea a reality, and it provides valuable feedback from judges and a chance to win significant cash prizes,” said Jim Litton, director of the Griggs Center. Contestants can compete alone or in teams of up to four members. After a preliminary round of judging based on their written plans, finalists present their ideas to a panel of judges who select the winning entries.
Chad Hutchins (’10) won first prize in the Community Pre-Revenue Division with Landman IO, an app that simplifies lease acquisitions for professionals in mineral, oil and gas exploration. Hutchins’ app also won the Most Fundable Award. In the Community Post-Revenue Division, Randy Barnett took first place with Indivijual Custom Eyewear. In the Student Division, Scholar Sphere, an online learning environment aimed at the homeschool market developed by Asa Kusuma and Tim Johnston, took first prize. The Social Entrepreneurship Award went to Suffer Not the Children, a faith-based website developed by Christina and Kevin Batten and offered to satisfy the Parent Education and Family Stabilization course required in Texas divorces. Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva.org, was the keynote speaker for this year’s Springboard awards dinner. Jackley co-founded Kiva in 2005 to help connect lenders to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Her company lets users lend as little as $25 to entrepreneurs, providing affordable capital for them to start or expand microenterprises. Jackley also is founder and CEO of a new company, ProFounder, which provides new and innovative tools for entrepreneurs to reach out to friends and family to raise investment capital. Jackley encouraged the Springboard entrepreneurs to remove the words “failure” and “success” from their vocabularies and exhorted them to be willing to take risks. “What we believe defines what’s possible,” she said. “Choose to believe that Jackley tomorrow can be better than today.” To learn more about Springboard, visit acu.edu/springboard. 䊱 GARY RHODES
Students excel in academic competitions, win scholarships Twenty-four students from the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication won awards – 12 of them for first place – in Texas Intercollegiate Press Association competition. The JMC Network staff won first place for best online community engagement for The Optimist online. TIPA is the largest and oldest journalism organization in the nation. ACU’s speech and debate team won two national titles and placed in the top 10 of every category at the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament in Portland, Ore. Freshman Sam Groom won Novice Individual Parliamentary Debate, and juniors Jeff Craig and Jared Perkins won Open Parliamentary Debate titles.
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Seventeen physics majors from ACU attended the American Physical Society’s meeting in Dallas, hearing presentations from seven Nobel laureates, including Konstantin Novoselov, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics. Seniors Ashley Ohlhausen and Alex Potess and junior Haley Buffington won awards in the 2011 Brass Ring Design competition. Their entries were among 1,500 submitted from across the nation from interior design majors. Students from the Department of Theatre’s Advanced Directing class, taught by Dawne Swearingen (’95), created original works based on scenes from Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen, about Nobel laureates who find themselves on opposite sides of World War II, working on atomic physics.
UNDERGRADUATERESEARCH
ACU students among first undergrads to present at CSC TEA features ACU in documentary As ACU prepares its students to live and work in an increasingly digital world, those from one department are doing the same thing – for a much younger group of students. ACU’s Department of Teacher Education has added mobile learning to the list of topics taught by its students in Abilene schools, and their work will be the subject of an upcoming documentary from Power on Texas, a project of the Texas Education Agency. Power on Texas had previously produced a set of videos highlighting K-12 school districts whose teachers and staff exemplified effective technology integration on their campuses. This year, the TEA wanted to go further and learn how educator-preparation programs were training their teacher candidates to integrate technology in today’s schools. “The crew filmed us on site at Taylor Elementary School, where our teacher candidates worked with the kindergarteners to develop digital stories,” said Dr. Dana (Kennamer ’81) Pemberton, chair of ACU’s Department of Teacher Education. “They were quite amazed that we spent the time later to debrief with our candidates, reflecting collaboratively with them on what we all learned and how to take these lessons into their own classrooms.” The crew interviewed several ACU education professors, including Pemberton, Dr. MaLesa Breeding (’80), dean of the College of Education and Human Services, and Dr. Billie McConnell (’84), assistant professor of education. They also filmed teacher education major Stacie McConnell, who used mobile technology in the physics class she taught at Abilene Christian Schools. To learn more about ACU teacher education, visit acu.edu/education. 䊱
majors Blaine Smith and Evan Jones For 31 years, scholars, educators were co-presenters of “Behavioral and students have gathered annually Epigenetics and Pastoral Care,” in a to celebrate the interaction of faith session called “Evolution and Theology.” and scholarship at the Christian “Presenting at the Christian Scholars Scholars Conference. Conference was slightly intimidating at The organizers of this year’s CSC first,” Jones admits. “We were among meeting, hosted at Pepperdine very few undergraduates, presenting University in Malibu, Calif., alongside leading scholars in various sought to begin featuring the fields. But I was research of honors college encouraged by the students from Christian “This experience should sincerity and interest universities. Among the boost these students’ fellow scholars showed undergraduate students confidence in their during and after our making their first abilities to conduct presentation.” appearances as presenters meaningful research Smith agrees. “I was at a conference were three encouraged to be able to students from ACU. and to communicate spend time with a group “I’m very proud of effectively about of scholars who talked these young men because complex subject matters. openly about their faith, they've shown a high It was excellent and I gained valuable degree of initiative and preparation for the experience in presenting determination in their academic work, which is research projects,” says rigors of graduate or an integral part of the Dr. Greg Powell (’80), professional school.” work of a physician or professor of chemistry and – DR. GREG POWELL (’80) scientist.” Both said they director of undergraduate enjoyed listening to research at ACU. “It was presentations by world-renowned an honor and a privilege for these scientists, including Dr. Francis Collins students to be among a handful of and Sir John Polkinghorne. Collins is a undergraduates asked to participate physician-geneticist who is director at this level. Their presentations were of the National Institutes of Health. of the highest quality and were very Polkinghorne is a theoretical physicist, well received.” theologian and writer. At the conference, which carried “This experience should boost these the theme “The Path of Discovery: students’ confidence in their abilities to Science, Theology, and the Academy,” conduct meaningful research and to senior chemistry major David communicate effectively about complex Kempe presented his research results subject matters,” says Powell. “It was concerning the synthesis of new and excellent preparation for the rigors of known osmium cluster compounds graduate or professional school.” in “Microwave Chemistry: A Better To learn more, visit acu.edu/ Way to Make Potential Anti-Cancer academics/undergradresearch. 䊱 Agents.” Junior biochemistry
Faculty members receive grants, awards Dr. Michael Sadler, professor of physics, was named a Fulbright Scholar for the second time, and spent the Fall 2010 semester researching and lecturing at the University of Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dr. Chris Willerton was named the James W. Culp Distinguished Professor of English. Founded in 1986, the professorship is named after Culp, a prominent English department scholar who taught at ACU from 1952-67 and 1986-92. Dr. Nancy Shankle, professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, received the Frances Hernandez Teacher-Scholar Award, the most prestigious honor given by the Conference of College Teachers of English. Dr. Josh Willis (’97), assistant professor of physics, worked the Spring 2011 semester at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover,
Germany. He assisted on a project to improve computer software that searches the data found in gravitational waves. Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of ACU’s College of Business Administration, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for CEO Forum, whose members include leaders of Walmart, Procter & Gamble and ExxonMobil. The organization is composed of more than 150 Christian CEOs from corporations around the world with at least $100 million in total annual revenue. Lytle is the only board member who is not a CEO. He says his service will include aiding strategy and building bridges between academics and business. Eight teams of faculty and students from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders presented research in Houston at the annual convention of the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association. AC U TO D AY
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Campus NEWS
For the latest, visit acu.edu/news facebook.com/abilenechristian twitter.com/ACUedu
Endowment earnings performance one of best in U.S. higher ed, tied with Yale University
GARY RHODES
ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert (left) presented the Outlive Your Life award to its namesakes at May Commencement: Rita and Dale Brown.
Dale and Rita Brown receive first Outlive Your Life award Future recipients of a new major ACU honor need only look to its namesakes for example and inspiration. The first Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award was presented at May Commencement to the Browns, whom ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) said “have quietly gone about blessing the lives of others in powerful ways.” Taking its name from Outlive Your Life, a new book by Max Lucado (’77), the award recognizes all types of servant leadership including civic and community contributions, meeting spiritual and/or physical needs, producing changes with generational impact, helping redirect the course of people’s lives, and inspiring others to make an eternal difference. Dale Brown is founder and president of Petroleum Strategies. He served on the university’s Board of Trustees from 1988-2011, and is a longtime elder of the Golf Course Road Church of Christ in Midland, Texas. He and Rita have been strong advocates and participants in missions training and support through their home congregation and ACU. 䊱
The investment returns performance of ACU’s endowment is one of the best among higher education institutions in the nation, tying it with Yale University. Results are based on a study sponsored by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and Commonfund Institute that compared average annual return on investments for five- and 10-year periods ending June 30, 2010. Among all university endowments with assets over $200 million, Abilene Christian had the highest return – tied only with Yale University, the longtime leader in endowment returns. Over the past 10 years, ACU’s endowment has grown from $145 million to $300 million – more than doubling in a difficult investment environment. Its annual average return over the last 10 years was 8.9 percent, and 9.4 percent over a five-year period. For private universities such as ACU, the strength of the endowment is synonymous with the institution’s financial health. To achieve such success in the recent economic climate is remarkable. “One of the keys to our positive investment process and performance is the way our Board of Trustees engages with our endowment staff,” says Jack Rich (’76), ACU’s chief investment officer. “A board that is knowledgeable and has both interest and expertise in investment process and theory gives us a big advantage. Our consistent communication about priority endowment issues has allowed ACU to develop a progressive portfolio that has weathered the past few years with a minimal amount of disruption.”
Faculty, staff appointments Dr. Stephen Johnson (’90), associate professor of ministry, is the new dean of ACU’s Honors College. He previously served as director of contextual education in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology. Dr. Gregory Straughn (’94), is associate professor and assistant provost for general education. He was previously assistant professor and chair of music, and chair of the Quality Enhancement Program planning team. Dr. Brad Crisp (’93), is the new director of ACU’s School of Information Technology and Computing. He also is associate professor of information systems and has been an ACU Mobile-Learning Fellow since 2008-09. Brian Devost became the new executive director of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center in June 2011. He previously was an
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ACU’s endowment management staff focuses on long-term investment goals, risk management, portfolio diversification and a thoughtful approach to spending policy. In July, Rich received NACUBO’s Rodney H. Adams Award, which recognizes outstanding individual contributions to professional development activities in the area of endowment and investment management at universities. “Jack is a tremendous asset to ACU," says president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91). “Under his leadership, we have achieved unprecedented results that are playing a major role in funding the mission and Vision of ACU and positioning the university as a national leader in the investment area.” 䊱
Fisher chosen to lead alumni ACU searched far and wide, but its new director of alumni relations and annual projects only had to drive south on Judge Ely Boulevard to make a big impression. Craig Fisher (’92) had been president of Abilene Christian Schools (ACS) for nearly four years, but he decided to return to the university campus where he first discovered God had a plan for his life. His perspective on ACU was refined by time spent on the Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) and, up the street, as the leader of ACS. “I saw the positive influence ACU has on many in the Abilene community,” says Fisher. “I learned how the relationship shared by ACS and the university is important to both institutions (ACS got its start on ACU’s campus). I was amazed at the diligent work that goes into making ACU such a great place. Serving on the AAB showed me the dynamics of ACU
executive director of the Richland County (S.C.) Recreation Commission; executive director of the YMCA; director of wellness programs at two hospitals; and founding director of the intramurals, recreation and fitness program at Gettysburg College. MaryEllen Olson became the new executive director of the Career Center in January 2011. A former dean of students for three universities, she was most recently vice president and owner of a Chicago, Ill., company specializing in strategic leadership development for Fortune 500 companies. Russ Kirby became the new director of student multicultural enrichment and support in June 2011, replacing George Pendergrass, who moved in May 2011 to Nashville, Tenn., to further his music career. Kirby was previously director of student services in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology.
INNOVATIVEACU
getGO app accelerates adoption of QR codes on campus and how so many are involved to accomplish its 21st-Century Vision.” His new role, which consolidates leadership of the alumni relations and annual giving offices, began June 1. Fisher's experience in strategic planning, management, networking and fundraising helped seal the hiring decision of his alma mater. Prior to his work at ACS, he was elementary principal at Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth. “He truly believes in the kingdom work ACU is doing, and he brings the wisdom and experience we need to go to the next level,” says Phil Boone (’83), ACU’s vice president for advancement. 䊱
Blackboard award salutes ACU’s mobile-learning innovation In June, ACU’s Connected program was named a winner of the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Mobile Innovation, recognizing members of the education community who are using mobile technology to create a positive effect on students’ educational experience. Blackboard winners are helping define the emerging field of mobile technology for use in and beyond the classroom, and have committed themselves to formalizing, implementing and measuring the impact of mobile learning at their organizations and/or creating a truly unique campus service via a mobile platform. “This recognition helps confirm that ACU’s decision to accelerate our mobile-learning program to the entire campus last year was the right one,” said George Saltsman (’90), executive director of the university’s Adams Center for Teaching and Learning. Blackboard is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of students and learners. 䊱
New scholarship endowments Recently created endowed scholarships at ACU include: • Dr. Lee Roger Knight Endowed Scholarship for Pre-Med Majors • James William “Sparky” Sparks Endowed Scholarship • Alexander and Elfrieda Oz Endowed Scholarship • Phil and Rachel Gage Endowed Music Scholarship • Randall W. Truxall Endowed Scholarship • Martha and Tommy Morris Endowed Basketball Scholarship • Barbara and Randy Nicholson Endowed Athletic Scholarship • Pauline Chamness Aven Endowed Scholarship • Dr. T.N. “Tim” McLeod Endowed Scholarship • Pam Money Endowed Scholarship
As the number of mobile devices on campus continues to grow, ACU faculty, staff and students are finding more ways to incorporate them into campus life. Recently, black-and-white oversized barcodes have appeared at various locations on campus, often accompanied by a short URL. They are QR codes (short for quick response codes), and they provide a lot more information than the average barcode. QR codes are used for encoding data in two-dimensional spaces, such as in the pages of magazines, in store windows and in museum exhibits. They were originally used to track auto parts, but have become popular for much broader, often commercial purposes (particularly in Japan and Europe). ACU has developed getGO, its own QR reader app – one of the fastest available for mobile devices – and provided it free to students, faculty and staff. It is available to external audiences at the App Store for $1.99. “This app allows you to connect quickly to ACU’s digital resources. Just scan these codes with your device camera, and make quick connections to videos, interactive online content, and other resources,” said Joshua Tooley (’02), ACU HelpDesk manager. Alongside each QR code displayed across campus, there
is a short URL connecting users to the same information as the QR code. “We’re seeing people use them in all kinds of ways,” Tooley says. “Users who scan the QR codes with their devices can get discounts on products, take surveys, get more information about events on campus. They also can post to Facebook about whatever event or item the code relates to. QR codes give you the opportunity to provide people with an instant interaction with whatever you’re doing. It’s a great, convenient way for folks to communicate with their customers.” So far, Tooley says, the biggest users of custom-made QR codes are campus offices such as Chapel, the Career Center and Student Life, which are using them to advertise events, administer surveys and keep students talking about their events. This spring, ACU’s academic departments used a QR code to send students to an electronic course evaluation system, eliminating the need for the old, paper-dependent system. When school starts in the fall, ACU’s technology staff will encourage students to create their own codes to advertise events on campus. To learn more about QR codes and how ACU is utilizing them, or to create your own code, visit go.acu.edu. 䊱
• Burke Warren Lewis Endowed Scholarship • Timothy and Dede Brown and Katherine and Brett Mach Endowed Scholarship “Hazel and Jack” sweeps 2011 FilmFest awards Best Picture, Best Director and Best Producer honors went to “Hazel and Jack,” which dominated the seventh annual FilmFest competition for ACU students. Directed by Lawson Soward and produced by Caitlin Bradford, “Hazel and Jack” was one of several film products shot using 5D digital SLRs donated by Canon through the new AT&T Learning Studio. Judges included Dusty Bennett (’03), president and producer of Takeoff Productions in New York; Randy Brewer (’93), owner of Revolution Pictures in Nashville, Tenn. (see pages 12-13); and Kris Young, screenwriting teacher at UCLA and the LA Film Studies Center. AC U TO D AY
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Wildcat SPORTS Golding returns to help lead revival of men’s hoops program; McCasland leaves for Baylor The evening of Sunday, July 17, was one of the few nights Joe Golding and his wife, Amanda, had been able to enjoy together since the end of the 2010-11 college basketball season at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Since the Trojans’ season ended in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament, Golding (’99) had been on the road recruiting and found time to sandwich in an interview for the head coaching job at ACU, a role that eventually went to former Midwestern State men’s
For the latest, visit acusports.com and acusports.blogspot.com facebook.com/ACUsports twitter.com/ACUsports
coach Grant McCasland in late March. So the last thing Golding expected that Sunday night while he and Amanda were sitting at a Steak and Shake in Little Rock, Ark., was a call from ACU director of athletics Jared Mosley (’91), who offered him the ACU men’s coaching job. Just a few hours earlier, the Wildcats’ position had been vacated by McCasland, who left after only a few weeks for an opportunity to join the coaching staff at Baylor University, his alma mater. A stunned Golding talked to his wife and his boss at UALR. Ninety minutes later, he agreed to return to ACU to lead a revival of its men’s program. “When Jared called, I asked him to give me a little bit of time before I made my final decision,” Golden said. “At the
Six inducted into ACU Sports Hall of Fame Corey Stone (‘96), the leading scorer in ACU men's basketball history, and former women's tennis all-America player Julie (Mavity ’99) Maddalena are among a group of six alumni to be inducted Oct. 14 into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame. Others include women’s basketball standout Anita Vigil (‘92), track and field star Les Vanover (‘54), and baseball player Reid Huffman (‘78). Football player and longtime ACU athletics benefactor Dub Stocker (‘75) is the 19th recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. in the McCaleb Conference Center of the Hunter Welcome Center. Tickets are $20 per person and
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NELSON CHENAULT
STEVE BUTMAN
Golding (inset) was recruiting coordinator and assistant coach for UALR head coach Steve Shields (left). The Trojans won four of the last seven Sun Belt Conference titles and played in the 2011 NCAA Division I tournament.
end of the day, I played and coached at ACU, and I love the school and the people. My wife and kids loved it, as well, so obviously we’re very excited about returning to Abilene.” In 2010-11, Golding completed his third season on head coach Steve Shields’ staff, helping the Trojans to the Sun Belt Conference title and an appearance in the national tournament. In addition to his normal coaching duties – which included working with the UALR guards – Golding was the Trojan's recruiting coordinator. “I can’t say enough about coach Shields, Joe Kleine (assistant coach) and all of the other people I worked with at Little Rock,” Golding said. “I’ve learned so much, and it’s prepared me to take advantage of this opportunity.” It’s that experience at the Division I level that led Mosley to call Golding shortly after McCasland’s surprising resignation. “I’m extremely excited to bring Joe in as the head coach,” Mosley said. “Joe’s connection to ACU and to the program will be critical as we prepare for the upcoming season. Joe was a key part of some of ACU’s most successful seasons as both a player and a coach. I’m excited about having Joe and Amanda back and part of the ACU and Abilene communities.” Golding was a four-year letterwinner at ACU from 1994-98, playing in all 108 games and earning the Teague Point Guard Award as a senior. He shot 46 percent from the floor over his four-year career, averaging 4.3 points and 4.2 assists per game. As an assistant coach in 2007-08, Golding helped guide the Wildcats to their first 20-win season (20-9) since 1998-99. The 2007-08 ACU team qualified for the Lone Star Conference tournament for the first time since Golding’s senior season. 䊱
can be purchased by calling the ACU Athletics office at 325-674-2353. Stone, who starred from 1991-95, tops all ACU career scorers with 1,848 points. Maddalena is the only four-time NCAA Division II all-America player in ACU women’s tennis history, and was twice named academic all-America. Vigil is the fourth-leading scorer in ACU women’s basketball with 1,795 points from 1987-89 and 1990-92. An outfielder and pitcher, Huffman finished his career in 1977 as the Wildcats’ all-time leader in six categories. Vanover was part of ACU’s 1952 and 1954 NAIA national championship teams, and ranked No. 6 in the world in the high jump in 1954. Stocker was a starter on the 1973 NAIA Division I national championship football team, and was later named honorable mention on the all-decade team for the 1970s.
Cowboys Stadium a great vantage point for fans to see if ACU can ride herd in LSC, NCAA
JAMES D. SMITH
Radway
Former Wildcat standouts sign with CFL, NFL teams This summer, five former ACU stars signed with or changed teams in the National Football League and Canadian Football League as preparations began for the 2011 season. Offensive lineman Tony Washington was signed by the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, and soon earned a starting role. Wide receiver Edmond “Clyde” Gates signed a four-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, who had made him their fourth-round choice in April’s NFL Draft. Two other rookies signed free-agent deals: wide receiver Raymond Radway with the Dallas Cowboys and offensive lineman Trevis Turner with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A veteran free-agent, safety Danieal Manning left the Chicago Bears to return home to the Lone Star State, signing a four-year,
together will dictate how our season goes.” Aside from Gale, the Wildcat offense will count on running backs Reggie Brown, Daryl Richardson, Charcandrick West and Justin Andrews; tight end Ben Gibbs; wide receivers Taylor Gabriel, Darrell Cantu-Harkless and transfer Jamaine Sherman; and offensive linemen Matt Webber, Neal Tivis, Josh Perez and Blake Spears. On defense, Whiteside will be joined up front by Donald Moore and newcomers Rob Boyd and George Woods; linebackers Thor Woerner and Nate Baggs; and defensive backs L.B. Suggs, Richard Havins and Nate Bailey. Fans attending the Homecoming game Oct. 15 in Shotwell Stadium can look forward to another ACU battle with perennial rival West Texas A&M. For tickets and more information about the Sept. 17 Lone Star Football Festival, visit acu.edu/lsc-football-festival. 䊱
In 2010, quarterback Gale was a finalist for national player of the year.
JEREMY ENLOW
side of the field will be doing is trying Perhaps the biggest early-season date to beat us, and we’ll be trying to do the on the 2011 schedule is a Sept. 17 game same to them.” at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, when The two biggest reasons the ACU will take on perennial powerhouse Wildcats are LSC favorites again are North Alabama in one of three games at senior defensive end Aston Whiteside and the inaugural Lone Star Football Festival. junior quarterback “Everybody’s really Mitchell Gale. excited about that Whiteside game and has (defense) and Gale been since it was (offense) were announced,” said ACU named LSC head football coach preseason players Chris Thomsen. “On See Whiteside, Gale prepare for season of the year. top of playing in that Gale, who threw for 3,595 yards stadium, to be able to face a program and an ACU single-season record 38 such as North Alabama adds even more touchdown passes last year in leading excitement. It should be a great day for the Wildcats to an 11-1 record, was one our fans and everyone who loves the of nine national finalists for the Harlon Lone Star Conference.” Hill Award in 2010 and was the LSC However, after five straight trips to Offensive Back of the Year. the NCAA Division II playoffs, two LSC Whiteside, who had seven sacks and titles in the last three years and a pair of was a first team all-region performer in undefeated regular seasons, Thomsen 2010, is a pro prospect. knows that where things end is much “Those two guys have done a great job more important than where they begin. of elevating their leadership roles on this That’s why he puts so little stock in team after we lost all of those good seniors the LSC pre-season poll, which seems from last year’s team,” Thomsen said. “This to trumpet the Wildcats annually as the team has a lot of confidence going into the league’s team to beat. This year is no season following those two guys because different, as for the fourth time in the last of the way they go about their business.” five seasons, ACU is the early favorite to ACU is one of only five programs to win the league championship. reach the NCAA Division II playoffs in “The polls and national rankings mean each of the last five seasons. To extend absolutely nothing to me,” said Thomsen that streak to six years, the Wildcats will (’00 M.Ed.), who is 43-18 in six seasons as have to meld a group of 16 seniors with a the Wildcats’ head coach. “And we’ve got large group of third-year sophomores and enough veterans on our team who know an even larger group of freshmen and not to get caught up in that hype. It’s nice redshirt freshmen. recognition for our players and the work “Those 16 seniors have played and they’ve put in and the things this program won a lot of college football games, and has accomplished in the last few years, but we need them to really lead this team,” it means nothing when the season starts. Thomsen said. “But this is an interesting “I’ve been around this league long team because there’s really three levels of enough to know that nobody cares where talent with the older group, the third-year you’re ranked or anything else,” he said. guys and the new guys. How they mesh “The only thing those guys on the other
$20 million deal with the Houston Texans. Gates and Radway each caught a TD pass in their first exhibition season game. Bullington, Godfrey added to Big Country Athletic Hall ACU athletics director emeritus Wally Bullington (‘53) and former basketball standout John Ray Godfrey (‘68) were each inducted into the Big Country Sports Hall of Fame in May. Bullington was a four-year football letterman who went on to become head football coach (1968-76) and director of athletics. Godfrey was named first team all-America in basketball in 1968, averaging 23.8 points per game. He played on three Southland Conference championship teams for the Wildcats and is a veteran public school teacher and administrator. AC U TO D AY
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Sports ROUNDUP Vo l l e y b a l l
Also back are junior guard Cecilee Perez, and sophomore forwards Renata Marquez and Hillari Adam. The Wildcats will be bolstered by the addition of freshman center Paige Parliament, who helped Brock High School win its third straight Texas Class 2A state title in March. Parliament was twice named all-state.
M e n ’s B a s k e t b a l l • Joseph Golding (‘99) was recently named the 16th head coach in ACU men’s basketball history (see page 50). The Wildcats figure to have an almost entirely new roster in 2011-12, but ACU fans will recognize a few returning players, such as senior Zach Williams (last year’s leading scorer), senior center Eric Milam and senior forward Ben Warton.
Tr a c k a n d F i e l d DENNY MEDLEY
• Head coach Kellen (Morrow ‘05) Mock enters her sixth season at the Wildcats’ helm this fall with a career record of 115-46 and a 50-12 record in Lone Star Conference play. The only two LSC teams to beat ACU the past two seasons are West Texas A&M and Angelo State. • The Wildcats – who last year finished 27-6 and reached the NCAA Division II regional semifinals – have been picked to finish third in the LSC this season behind defending champion West Texas A&M and last year’s runner-up, Angelo State. • ACU returns starters in senior outside hitter Jennie Hutt, senior libero Kelsie Edwards, junior rightside hitter Kalynne Allen and sophomore middle blocker Neely Borger. In her first season with the Wildcats in 2010, Borger earned LSC Freshman of the Year and honorable mention all-LSC honors, starting every match. • The key to the Wildcats’ success in 2011 will depend on the play they receive from the setter position, where sophomore Caley Johnson and freshman Haley Rhoads will try to replace former four-year starter Ijeoma Moronu (second all-time in assists at ACU).
Jennie Hutt
Soccer
Cross Country
Wo m e n ’s B a s k e t b a l l
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Golf • ACU sophomore Alex Carpenter won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year, helping the Wildcats to a share of the regional title and a third-place finish at the national tournament. • Senior Cyril Bouniol also enjoyed another stellar season, capping it with first team all-America honors and winning the Byron Nelson Award. Senior Tyler Sheppard was named third team all-America.
M e n ’ s a n d W o m e n ’ s Te n n i s
• The Wildcats will enter their ninth full season under head coach Shawna Lavender in 2011-12 with the bulk of a team that finished last year on an 8-6 run that propelled them into the LSC Post-Season Tournament for the fifth straight season. • The 2011-12 Wildcats figure to be led by sophomore Mack Lankford, who last year finished second in the league in scoring (18.1 points per game) on her way to LSC Freshman of the Year, first team all-LSC South Division and second team all-region honors. • Also returning to the Wildcats will be center Kelsey Smith (12.7 points, 8.6 rebounds in 2010-11), who was LSC South Division Newcomer of the Year.
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• The Wildcats had a tough 24-23 season that caused them to miss the LSC Post-Season Tournament for the first time in 14 years. However, early in 2011, head coach Britt Bonneau won his 600th career game.
• Both ACU teams put together dominating seasons, winning their respective LSC and regional championships. • The ACU men beat Cameron in the LSC tournament title match for the second straight season and then won the regional to reach the national tournament for the fifth straight year. ACU beat Shaw, 5-0, before falling to Barry College, 5-0, and finishing the season ranked sixth in the nation. • The women cruised through regular-season and post-season play to reach the national tournament for the 16th straight season. ACU beat Mesa State, 5-0, in the first round before losing to Lynn, 5-1, in the second round and finishing sixth in the nation. • Hans Hach, Jake Hendrie, Jaclyn Walker and Julia Mongin were named first team all-America.
Cyril Bouniol
DYANN BUSSE
• The ACU men’s team is favored to capture its 20th straight LSC title, according to the league’s pre-season poll. • In his second season as head coach, Chris Woods has no clear-cut top three on the men’s team after losing most of his top runners from last year, including conference and regional champion Amos Sang. Junior Will Pike should be the Wildcats’ top returning men’s runner. • The ACU women’s team was picked to finish third in the LSC behind three-time defending champion Midwestern State and Angelo State. • Reigning LSC and regional women’s champion Anais Belledant returned to her native France to care for her mother, who is battling cancer. The Wildcats will count on juniors Chloe Susset and Alyse Goldsmith to fill the void left by Belledant. Susset was third at last year’s LSC championship meet and 10th at the regional meet, while Goldsmith was fifth and 15th, respectively.
Andrea Carpenter
JEREMY ENLOW
• Despite winning their first LSC crown, reaching the regional title game and returning most of their core players, the Wildcats have been picked to finish second in the LSC in 2011, according to the preseason poll. • The Wildcats return seven starters, including regional Player of the Year Andrea Carpenter, who also was voted LSC Offensive Player of the Year and third team NCAA Division II all-America as a freshman in 2010. Carpenter led the LSC in goals (22) and points scored (48). • Also returning in 2011 are junior Julie Coppedge (first team all-LSC and league leader in assists), senior Ashley Holton (second team all-America and second in the LSC in goals and points in 2010), senior Lexi Stirling, junior Brie Buschman, and senior goalkeeper Elliot London, all named first team all-LSC in 2010.
• The ACU men’s team won indoor and outdoor NCAA Division II championships, giving the Wildcat men’s track and field program 37 team national titles (32 at the NCAA level). • The Wildcats won the men’s indoor national title, thanks to the heroics of seniors Amos Sang, Desmond Jackson and Ramon Sparks; and redshirt junior Nick Jones. Those four combined to score 49 points, which was enough to give ACU the team championship. • ACU’s version of the “Fab Four” was back in gear at the outdoor championship meet, scoring 60 of the Wildcats’ 68 points and securing another national title. Jones set an NCAA Division II meet record in the discus en route to his third straight national championship in the event, while Jackson won the 200 meters and Sang the 10,000 meters.
Softball • The Wildcats finished the season 28-27 under the direction of first-year head coach Bobby Reeves. Senior outfielder Melissa Mendoza was a first team all-LSC South Division and second team all-region selection. 䊱
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UNDER ARMOR ® HEATGEAR 95% polyester short-sleeve shirt from Under Armor® features HeatGear technology, and comes in black or purple with embroidered ACU logo. $55.99
Show Your True Colors
with high-quality Wildcat merchandise designed just for alumni! NIKE ® MINI FOOTBALL Purple ACU-embossed rubber mini football from NIKE® is the perfect size for backyard scrimmages $13.99
NIKE ® OFFICIAL ACU FOOTBALL W5
T-SHIRT 100% cotton short-sleeve T-shirt from Champion® comes in black, gray, white and purple $14.99
SCHUTT ® AUTHENTIC ACU MINI HELMET
ACU logo is embossed in black and silver on this official-size (high school age) football $29.99
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STAINLESS STEEL MUG Big 52 oz. Thermo-Steel® mug is up for any road trip to watch the Wildcats play $13.99
W7
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Finely crafted 1/4-scale replica football helmet will look great on any fan’s desk or shelf $29.99
TO ORDER
bookstore@acu.edu • 800-444-4228 • campusstore.acu.edu AC U TO D AY
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EX PERIENCES Submit your news online at blogs.acu.edu/acutoday/experiences or use the EXperiences card in each issue of the magazine. Deadlines: ACU Today is published three times a year. Because of printing deadlines, your news could be delayed by one issue. Births and adoptions: Please indicate whether the addition to your family is a boy or girl. Marriages: Remember to indicate the date and place of your marriage. In Memoriam: A member of the deceased’s immediate family should submit this notification. Please include class year for all ACU exes in the family.
1955
1964
Jackie Woolley has self-published a new novel, The Sound of Windmills. 107 Aster Circle, Georgetown, TX 78633. jackie@booksbyjackie.com
Dr. Ron Sosebee received the Sustained Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 meeting of the Society for Range Management. 6902 Geneva Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79413. ronsosebee@sbcglobal.net Judith Jeffers Corner Petty lives in Oklahoma. 6316 N. Hammond Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73122.
1957 Beth Clevenger Summers had oil paintings in “Spring Forward,” a juried show celebrating women artists of Southern California. 11449 Tampa, #138, Porter Ranch, CA 91326. RSummersB@aol.com
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ACU TODAY
The class years ending in “6” or “1” will celebrate reunions at Homecoming 2011. The class of 1961 celebrated its Golden Anniversary on campus April 13-15, 2011.
1968 MARRIED Curtis Absher and Kaye Parkhurst Beaver, May 25, 2002. 1001 Overbrook Drive, Nicholasville, KY 40356. kaye@absher.org
1972 David Bloxom is president of Speed Fab-Crete Corp., which won the 2011 Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Watching construction near completion on the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center is reminiscent of the way the Moody Coliseum and Gibson Health and P.E. Center (seen below) transformed the campus in the late 1960s. The Money Center does not alter Moody but includes a renovated and expanded footprint of the Gibson Center. It retains the lap pool (seen being excavated here in 1967) and adds an indoor leisure pool as part of its overall 116,000 square feet.
Small Business of the Year award. 2741 River Forest Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76116. dbloxom@speedfab-crete.com Steve and Linda (Watkins) Giddens have moved back to Texas after 12 years in Nashville. They have a new grandson, Owen Daniel Seely, born March 11, 2010. 5304 Ravensthorpe Drive, Parker, TX 75002. giddenslw@gmail.com MARRIED Jim Rabon (’69) and Jody Martin, March 12, 2011. Jody teaches art at an elementary school, and Jim is retired from Dow Chemical. 4207 North Hill Drive, Carrollton, TX 75010. jovangogh1@verizon.net
ACU NEWSMAKERS On July 12, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (’74) became the second ACU graduate elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, joining U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (’70) of Houston. She won a runoff election over Republican Craig Huey to represent California’s Congressional District 36.
1974 Cecilia (Hufstedler) Morgan is an attorney and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) professional. She won the 2010 Justice Frank G. Evans Award for outstanding contribution to ADR in Texas. 3565 Colgate Avenue, Dallas, TX 75225. chm320@sbcglobal.net
1976
Reunion: Homecoming 2011
Patti (Bynum) Dolen retired from teaching in May 2010 after 34 years, 32 of them in the Eastland ISD. 1017 S. Seaman Street, Eastland, TX 76448.
Texas governor Rick Perry has appointed three ACU graduates to state advisory committees and boards: Abilene entrepreneur Randy Hill (’90) to the Texas Emerging Technology Fund Advisory Committee; Brownsville CPA Billy R. Bradford Jr. (’81) to the Texas Water Development Board; and Manor psychotherapist Dr. Rick Reynolds (’76) to the Crime Victims’ Institute Advisory Council.
1980 Laura (Thurman) Woolfolk has received several honors, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars Kansas State Teacher of the Year award, the People to People Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Citizen Award, and the Mary Francis White full scholarship from Delta Kappa Gamma for research in education leadership and reform. 2300 Roanoke Road, Dodge City, KS 67801. woolfolkl@hotmail.com
1982 Dr. Steve Bishop is a newly tenured associate professor of Old Testament at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. 2404-A Trailside Drive, Austin, TX 78704. sbishop@ssw.edu
In December 2010, Alaska governor Sean Parnell appointed Becky (Baldwin ’95) Hultberg as commissioner of the state’s Department of Administration. A native of Anchorage, she previously was regional director of communications and marketing for Providence Health and Services.
1983 David and Karol (Baker) Gray welcomed their first grandchild, Don Isaac Powell, April 18, 2011. He is named for his great-grandfather, Don L. Baker, who served on the ACU Board of Trustees in the 1980s. 1412 Elm Brook Drive, Austin, TX 78758. karol-gray@sbcglobal.net
1984
1985 ADOPTED By Terry and Donna (Stroup) Peery, a girl, Morgan Elizabeth, Feb. 3, 2011. She was born Sept. 28, 2009. 7409 Cross Road, Tyler, TX 75703. drspesq@hotmail.com
1988 Connie Morrow earned her M.A. in education with emphasis in adult education and training from the University of Phoenix. 7651 Autumn Park, San Antonio, TX 78249. cmorrow@baptisthealthsystem.com
1990 BORN To Robert Roney and Elizabeth Cambar-Roney, a girl, Victoria Elena, March 4, 2011. 3706 W. 48th Street, Roeland Park, KS 66205. To Bob and Jane (McLeod) Brumley, a boy, Colton Landry, Aug. 4, 2010. The couple have three other sons. bjbrum@gmail.com To Roger and Kimberly (Jarvis ’92) Main, a boy, Riley Austin, June 10, 2010. The family lives in Connecticut.
1992 Charles Freeman is attending the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. Unit 9500, Box 48, DPO AE 09624. charles.d.freeman@us.army.mil
STEVE BUTMAN
Bonnie May Arvin is now a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Texas, working for Hayes Funeral Home in Galveston County. 301 Ling, Bayou Vista, TX 77563. arvin62@msn.com
Dr. Carisse Berryhill, Restoration Movement history scholar and professor of library science, received the Distinguished Christian Service Award on May 4 at Pepperdine University’s 68th annnual Bible Lectures. She oversees ACU archives and the Callie Faye Milliken Special Collections in Brown Library. Allen Wilson (’75) was named one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in Texas Football by Friday Night Football magazine. A defensive back on ACU’s 1973 team that won the NAIA Division I national title, he recently retired after a 37-year head coaching career, including Class 4A (Paris in 1988) and Class 5A (Tyler John Tyler in 1994) state championships and a 247-90-4 record. He coached the last nine seasons at Carter High School in Dallas. Gary ornton, J.D. (’72), has been appointed director of the Small Business Council, a new initiative of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
ornton is a former ACU trustee who now serves on the University Council, and is a partner in the Austin law firm of Jackson Walker L.L.P. Jennifer ompson (’06) was named Young CPA of the Year by the 2,600-member Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. She also earned an M.Acc. degree from ACU in 2007. ACU’s Jimmy Ellison was named 2010 Outstanding Chief of Police by the Texas Association of College and University Police Administrators. He manages a 21-member staff at ACU. Don W. Crisp (’64), former chair of the ACU Board of Trustees, was named to the Board of Governors of the Dallas Foundation, Texas’ oldest community foundation. Abilene’s newest school will be named in memory of the late Myra P. Martinez (’94), a teacher with a heart for her school’s bilingual students. Myra P. Martinez Elementary School will be built on the site of the old Franklin Middle School. The $7.02 million project will replace Fannin and College Heights, two AISD elementary schools in which Martinez once taught. Five graduates received national or district teaching awards for 2010-11: • Kay (Garner ’79) Robbins, Educator of the Year by the National Christian Schools Association. The director of curriculum and instruction at Abilene Christian Schools, she has served more than 20 years in various classroom and administrative roles, including interim president. • Jan (Wallace ’65) Shewmaker, American Lawyers Auxiliary Elementary School Law-Related Education Teacher of the Year. She is a teacher at Nebbie Williams Elementary School in Rockwall ISD. • Coach Donna Stone (’85), Teacher of the Year at Clear Creek ISD in Houston. • Erica (Jarvis ’04) Crowder, Elementary District Teacher of the Year for Pflugerville ISD. • Allison Ford (’06), English Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year at Naaman Forest High School in Garland ISD. ACU TODAY
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BORN TO BE A WILDCAT
Dean Elizabeth Wester, daughter of Chaz Wester (’04) and Bonnie Phillips-Wester (’05) of Edmond, Okla.
Morgan Elizabeth Peery, adopted daughter of Dr. Terry and Donna Peery (’85) of Tyler, Texas.
Trey Cullins, son of TaKory and Terrienna (Willie ’01) Cullen of Rockwall, Texas.
Case Van Boswell, son of Jeremy and Kara “Rae” (Hanan ’98) Boswell of Sterlington, Okla.
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The Alumni Association will send a FREE Wildcat BabyWear T-shirt to the alumni parents of each newborn or adopted infant in your family! Complete the EXperiences news card and mail it to us, or complete the info online at blogs.acu.edu/acutoday/experiences. In-focus, high-resolution digital images (minimum file size of 500kb; use your camera’s highest quality setting) of alumni children wearing their Wildcat BabyWear should be emailed to babywear@acu.edu. All will appear on the alumni Web site at acu.edu/alumni and the best will be printed in EXperiences. Call 800-373-4220 for more information.
Megan Brown, daughter of Kyle (’01) and Jessica (Clardy ’03) Brown of Fort Worth, Texas.
Logan Cooke, son of Casey (’02) and Rachel (Fair ’03) Cooke of Plano, Texas.
Joseph Ezekiel “Zeke” Varney, son of Joe (’01) and Rachel (Cass ’01) Varney of Arlington, Texas.
Jackson Matt McCook, son of Matt (’95) and Alyssa (’96) McCook of Edmond, Okla.
Ellie and Luke Maloney, twin daughter and son of Ryan (’01) and Lisa (Parker ’01) Maloney of Abilene, Texas.
Jack Alexander Sharkey, son of Miles III and Angelica (Lowe ’95) Sharkey of Ramona, Calif.
Isaac Bass, son of Benjamin and Anne (Killion ’01) Bass of Fayetteville, Ark.
Ethan Carter Bones, son of Gary (’01) and Kimberly (Mahaffey ’00) Bones of Carrollton, Texas.
Nathan Nembu, son of Kenneth and Sarah Jane (Wilson ’03) Nembu of Fort Worth, Texas.
Caysen Steele Adair, son of Steven (’10) and Ariel (Martin ’10) Adair of Kerrville, Texas.
Alaina Hope Cates, son of Jaxon Rich, son of Mark (’05) Steve (’02) and Renae (Moore and Tara (Conder ’05) Rich of ’03) Cates of Lewisville, Texas. Fort Worth, Texas.
Harper Reese McKee, daughter of Michael and Melody (Forest ’04) McKee of Lubbock, Texas.
Carson Robert Clark, son of Keith (’05) and Mindy (Mahaffey ’03) Clark of Hohenwald, Tenn.
Caleb Trent McCook, son of Colt (’03) and Kristen (MacKenzie ’03) McCook of Alexandria, Va.
Summer 2011
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ACU TODAY
BORN To Greg Staley and Hainey Price-Staley, a girl, Ava Montinne, Dec. 1, 2010. Greg is the senior director of industry communications at the U.S. Travel Association. 811 4th Street NW, Unit 605, Washington, DC 20001.
ADOPTED
1994 ADOPTED By Cornell and Sally (Wall ’95) Curtis, two boys, Brandon (5) and Sean (3), November 2010. The family has a new address. 2714 Oaklawn Drive, Vernon, TX 76384. By Gregory and Dr. Valerie (Osburn ’95) Loe, a boy, Andrew Tianyou, March 7, 2011. He was born Aug. 9, 2009. Greg is a senior engineer for Honeywell Space System and Valerie is an optometrist. 117011 Hidden Treasure Circle, Friendswood, TX 77546.
1995 BORN To Sean and Laurie Terlisyer Mehew, a boy, John Frederick, Dec. 4, 2010. 6628 S. Logan Street, Centennial, CO 80121. ltmehew@yahoo.com To Marc and Stacy (Solano) Wagner, a girl, Gabriella Marie, May 25, 2010. 5811 Fiesta Drive, Newburgh, IN 47630. msbawags@wowway.com To Dr. Houston and Karen (Cherry ’98) Heflin, a girl, Gable, March 10, 2010. The couple has three other daughters. 118 Cherry Blossom, Abilene, TX 79602. houston.heflin@acu.edu
1996
Reunion: Homecoming 2011
BORN To Jason and Alisha McArthur, a boy, Maddox Bell, April 6, 2011. 109 Selinawood Place, Franklin, TN 37067. jdmac88@gmail.com To Jeremy and Becky (James) Shaver, a boy, Noah James, Sept. 6, 2010. 1712 Pecos Valley Cove, Round Rock, TX 78665. bshaver73@yahoo.com
1997 Trent Laing certified as the 65th man to bend the IronMind Red Nail on Feb. 5, 2011. 1104 E. Copeland Rd., #312, Arlington, TX 76011. herculaing@yahoo.com
BORN To Eric and Catherine (Henry) Piepenbrink, a girl, Ella Faith, Jan. 1, 2011. 12806 Pinefield Road, Poway, CA 92064. catpieps@gmail.com To Russell and Melanie Anne (Miller) Christian, a boy, Russell Jarrod Jr., Dec. 3, 2010. 11608 Crystal Falls Drive, Fort Worth,TX 76244. rchristian@1scom.net
1998 Brad Currey, CFA, is vice president of the valuation advisory group of Duff & Phillips. 4409 Ashford Drive, Dallas, TX 75214. Dr. Dave and Dr. Amy (Berry ’95) Fuller have moved to Houston, where he is on the radiation oncology faculty at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Amy is in private practice as a marriage and family therapist. 4035 Durness Way, Houston, TX 77025. fullercd@gmail.com
BORN To Matt and Nikki (Schweikhard) Wallace, a boy, Kai Melaku, Feb. 24, 2010. P.O. Box 452, Indian Hills, CO 80454. nikkiwallace2002@yahoo.com To Adam and Julie Beth (Wray) Fox, a girl, Charley Jane, Jan. 27, 2011. 3048 Old Murfreesboro Road, College Grove, TN 37046. juliebethfox@yahoo.com To Jeremy and Amy Watson, a girl, Daphne Elizabeth, April 5, 2011. 7931 Brazoria Park, San Antonio, TX 78254. amyjoanwatson@hotmail.com To Micah and Kelly Endsley, a boy, Caleb Carl, Feb. 14, 2011. 5128 Wickham Street, Aliquippa, PA 15001. micah.endsley@yahoo.com To Lewis (’95) and Elisa (Franco) Brown, a boy, Bishop Aidan, April 14, 2011. 2802 River Birch Place, Amarillo, TX 79124. elisa312@gmail.com
1999 BORN To Joey and Leslye (Starnes) Roberts, a boy, Keaton Reese, Oct. 4, 2010. 688 Bluebonnet, Stephenville, TX 76401. jroberts@tarleton.edu To Jason and Sacia (Glazener) Sosebee, a boy, Wylie Taliaferro, Dec. 5, 2010. 409 S. Boundary Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185. jwsosebee@yahoo.com To David and Jana (Varley) Green, a boy, Joshua David, Dec. 31, 2010. 2060 Glenwood, Ingleside, TX 78362. bananadc@yahoo.com To Casey and Erin Owens, a girl, Hadley Malone, March 18, 2011. 2205 Oleander Way, McKinney, TX 75071. caseyerin1228@yahoo.com To J. Kevin and Sarah (Lau) Parker, a girl, Liberty XiaoLan, Oct. 20, 2010. 1405 Wind Dance Trail, Fort Worth, TX 76131. To Tommy and Elasha (McGhee) Simonton, a boy, Bowen Morrow, July 27, 2010. 201 Lester Street, Burleson, TX 76028. elashasimonton@yahoo.com To Wayne and Rebecca (Reasoner) Pace, a girl, Allison Rose, May 14, 2010. 1114 Deep River Drive, Richmond, TX 77469. rebeccaannepace@yahoo.com
2000 BORN To Chai and Brenda (Looney) Indrakamhang, a boy, Ken, Sept. 5, 2010. The couple married Oct. 10, 2001. 2922 Ladprao Klongchan Bangkapi, Bangkok, Thailand 10240. To Matthew (’98) and Becky (Clark) Cave, a boy, Brooks Carson, Sept. 10, 2010. 3413 Foot Hills Drive, Weatherford, TX 76087. beckycave@jbfsale.com To Shawn and Emma (Lanier) Montadon, a boy, Levi Casey, April 8, 2010. 4601 Madrid, Georgetown, TX 78633. themontexans@gmail.com To Mac and Causha (Myers ’01) Jolly, a boy, Maxwell Edward, Sept. 23, 2010. 7218 Rutgers Drive, Dallas, TX 75214. mej96a@yahoo.com To Charles and Meredith (Speck) Clayton, a boy, Will, Nov. 19, 2010. 339 River Drive, Mount Juliet, TN 37122. mereby20@yahoo.com To Jacob and Joyce (Martinez ’01) Sledge, two girls, Maliya Analia, July 24, 2009, and Anjalia Elena, Feb. 9, 2011. 2133 Woodward Street, Abilene, TX 79605. To Bart and Jennifer Roseberry, a boy, Chuck, May 19, 2010. 2300 Maxfield Lane, Carrollton, TX 75006. jbr97t2003@yahoo.com To Jeff and Lyndsey (Gosdin) Wells, a girl, Sarah Kate, Dec. 14, 2010. 1513 Pine Hurst Drive, Coppell, TX 75019. To Mike and Kara (Jarman) Schlentz, a boy, Ryder Quinn, March 23, 2011. 718 Beretta Drive, Abilene, TX 79602. schlentz44@gmail.com To Alex and Nicole (Carter) Dossey, a boy, Carter, Feb. 19, 2010. 500 Long Run, Liberty Hill, TX 78642. ndossey@gmail.com To Matthew (’03) and Meredith (McLaughlin) Finnie, a boy, Andrew John, Jan. 8, 2011. 1245 Massachusetts Avenue, #3, Arlington, MA 02476. meredithfinnie@gmail.com
2001
Reunion: Homecoming 2011
Robert and Lauren (Webster ’01) Hance, and their daughter, Magdalene, have a new address. 1636 S. Jefferson Davis Parkway, New Orleans, LA 70125. lauren_hance@yahoo.com
ALUMNI CONNECTIONS LINDSEY COTTON
By James and Erin Stokes, a boy, William Samuel Huaibiao “Liam,” from Shanghai, China, March 7, 2011. He was born July 5, 2005. 1218 Park Green, Deer Park, TX 77536. jamesjstokes@att.net
To Kevin (’97) and Sara (Keathley) Whitelaw, a boy, Kellen Rece, Dec. 3, 2010. 14105 Blue Canyon Grove, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. kswhitelaw@yahoo.com To John and Sharina (Henderson) McMahon, a girl, Adison Kelly, Nov. 29, 2010. 5218 Deerwood Lane, Abilene, TX 79606. sdmcmahon@suddenlink.net To Craig and Carol (Mattei) Miles, a boy, Craig Bishop II, March 4, 2011. 4960 S. Nelson Drive, Katy, TX 77493. carolmiles13@gmail.com To Jason and April (Ladyman) Holbrook, a boy, Nate Timothy, July 8, 2010. 1101 Fish Hatchery Road, Huntsville, TX 77320. aholbrook@huntsville-isd.org To Dr. Damond and Amy (Hendry) Blueitt, a girl, Devan Mackenzie, May 5, 2011. 8321 Regency Drive, North Richland Hills, TX 76182. ablueitt@hotmail.com
In 1988 I graduated from high school and was trying to decide where to continue my education. I decided to follow some friends and attend the University of North Texas in Denton. Not long before school started, I asked my parents if we could at least visit the ACU campus. They excitedly drove me to Abilene. After a tour with Bob Gomez, the only thing I wanted to do was be a Wildcat. A couple of weeks later, I moved into my dorm room and realized God had a plan for me to be at ACU. Abilene Christian’s effect on me began with that visit and tour. It continued with four incredible years at a university where the staff and faculty cared for me, taught me, shaped me and inspired my direction. The relationships from my time as an ACU student continue today. My wife, college roommates and other friends enrich my life daily, and I am thankful for ACU being the place that brought us together. God had another adjustment in mind earlier this summer when I had the opportunity to begin a new role as the director of alumni relations and annual projects. Now I proudly participate in Purple Fridays and get to be on campus every day again. I am honored to be on a team at a university that works daily to prepare Christian leaders to make a real difference in the world, and I want my passion and engagement for ACU to grow stronger each year. Our office wants to make sure you remain connected to and engaged with ACU. We keep updated information on the alumni website and send a monthly e-newsletter to give you information about our events and alumni. Watch for ACU events in your hometown as well. Help us by hosting a Purple and White Party. We love it when alumni help us spread the word about ACU to prospective students. We hope to see you on campus at Homecoming to remember, renew and celebrate the special place this is to each of us. 䊱 – CRAIG FISHER (’92) Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Projects
ACU TODAY
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SERVING YOU ADVANCING ACU
DALLAS AREA Doug Fair • URM 214-208-9625, doug.fair@acu.edu Craig Rideout • AC 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 craig.rideout@acu.edu Ben Gonzalez • AC – Collin, Denton, Wise and Parker Counties 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 ben.gonzalez@acu.edu Kayla Stringer • AO 325-674-4972, kayla.stringer@acu.edu Don Garrett • AO 325-674-2213, don.garrett@acu.edu
FORT WORTH AREA Brent Barrow • URM 817-565-4827, brent.barrow@acu.edu David Dietrich • AC – Tarrant, Johnson and Hood Counties 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 david.dietrich@acu.edu Lance Rieder • AO 325-674-6080, lance.rieder@acu.edu
HOUSTON AREA Carri Hill • URM 713-582-2123 • carri.hill@acu.edu Lauryn Lewis • AC 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 lauryn.lewis@acu.edu Eric Fridge • AO 713-483-4004, eric.fridge@acu.edu
AUSTIN AREA Tunisia Singleton • URM – Austin 512-450-4329 • tunisia.singleton@acu.edu Robert McCall • AC – Austin, Belton, Temple, Waco 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 robert.mccall@acu.edu
SAN ANTONIO AREA LaDonna Wilson • URM – San Antonio, South Texas 210-410-9014 • ladonna.wilson@acu.edu John Mark Moudy • AC – San Antonio, South Texas 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 johnmark.moudy@acu.edu Josh Clem • AO – San Antonio, South Texas 210-573-2475, josh.clem@acu.edu
WEST TEXAS AREA Kat Burns, Associate Director of Admissions 325-674-2650 / 800-460-6228 kathryn.burns@acu.edu Mark Rogers • AO 325-674-2669, mark.rogers@acu.edu
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ACU TODAY
LINDSEY COTTON
Do you want to recommend a prospective student, volunteer, host an event, or just learn more about how you can be involved with ACU where you live? To help foster relationships with alumni and future students, ACU has assigned personnel from its Advancement and Admissions offices to major markets in Texas. A university relations manager (URM) focuses on establishing relationships with churches and schools, an admissions counselor (AC) reaches out to future students and their parents, and an advancement officer (AO) assists prospective donors who can contribute funds to ACU. Through this territory team approach, these dedicated professionals can provide exceptional service to those who contribute so graciously to ACU’s mission and 21st-Century Vision.
Carri Hill provides an open door for Houston-area alums For Carri (Teague ’88) Hill, university to talk and network at our events, but we relations manager (URM) for ACU in also want to offer them something more. Houston, there is no such thing as With the ending of the space shuttle period a typical day. in our country’s, state’s and city’s history, “It’s like asking if there’s a typical day I thought this would be perfect timing.” of being a mother,” Hill says with a laugh. e event included a dinner, tours “e work is so varied, depending on the of Mission Control and an international time of year, what events are coming up – space station simulator, and an engaging you name it. at’s what keeps it exciting.” presentation by Kimbrough. In her work as a URM, Hill visits schools “He is a strong man of faith,” Hill says. and churches, talking with counselors, “He talked to us about how God has teachers, youth ministers and other leaders been a part of his journey and how his about Abilene Christian. She also serves as experiences have been woven together a liaison between ACU and Houston-area to deepen his faith.” alumni, making sure they stay up to date Hill and Lewis, along with Houston on campus happenings, and planning advancement officer Eric Fridge (’91) and events to connect alumni to each other several other area alumni, also hosted a and back to the university. Finally, send-off party this summer for students Hill works with Lauryn who will enroll at Lewis (’08), admissions ACU this fall. counselor for the “About 100 people Houston area, – enrolled students to host recruiting and their families – events for prospective came to the send-off and enrolled students. party at Memorial “I love my work,” Church of Christ,” says Hill, who has Hill says. “We wanted experience working to reach out to the Future Wildcats attended the Houston send-off party. in corporate training, parents as well as corporate development and university the students. ese people are entrusting communication. “Being a URM gives their children with ACU, and we wanted to me a chance to work in my profession for instill another layer of confidence in them, an organization that makes a difference.” to show we care about their students.” A longtime resident of Houston, Hill To provide further connection and a understands the challenges of bringing area place to find information, Hill maintains alumni together. e city’s size can make it a Facebook page for ACU in Houston – facebook.com/ACUHouston – and urges difficult for people to attend events held alumni to contact her if they want to get across town, so Hill has begun rotating involved in recruiting students or hosting the locations of alumni events, calling it alumni events. “ACU on the Move.” Most recently, she “I want alumni in Houston to know I’m planned an evening at the Johnson Space here to serve them,” Hill says. “I’ve lived in Center with astronaut Robert “Shane” Houston for more than 20 years, so I’m Kimbrough, a volunteer coach for her here as one of them. If they need anything; son’s football team. if they have ideas; if they want to engage “I live in the NASA area, and my in conversation, I am an open door.”䊱 husband is an engineer at NASA, so we are connected to that community,” Hill – KATIE NOAH GIBSON explains. “We want to give people a chance
MARRIED
2002
Dave Morris and Amy Knox (’97), March 12, 2011. 6303 John Chapman, San Antonio, TX 78240. daveandamymorris@gmail.com
MARRIED
BORN To Mike and Lauren (Jones) Russell, a boy, Cole Alan, Feb. 8, 2011. 1514 Redeemer Road, Allen, TX 75002. To Jimmy and Cassandra (George) Criswell, a girl, Kierstin Raine, May 18, 2010. 1490 Summers Drive, Cedar Hill, TX 75104. cassandracriswell@att.net To Stephen (’00) and Joscelyn (Prukop) Hill, a boy, Daniel Seth, Oct. 5, 2010. The couple work as Bible translators in East Africa. P.O. Box 173, Morogoro, Tanzania. stephen-joscelyn.hill@pbti.org To Jeffrey and Emily (Harrow) Turner, a girl, Mitzi Rae, May 20, 2010. 6012 Portridge Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76135. emilyannaturner@yahoo.com To Timothy and Jill Kerby, a boy, Jacob Ryan, April 28, 2011. 5713 Pebble Ridge Drive, McKinney, TX 75070. emtkerby@hotmail.com To Shane and Kim (Sanders) Lewis, a boy, Bowen Tucker, Jan. 10, 2011. Kim earned her M.B.A. from the University of Dallas in April 2011. 1401 Danielle Creek Drive, Little Elm, TX 75068. lorrikim@gmail.com To Matt and Jenny (Siebers) LaSeur, a boy, Gregory Ferrin, April 4, 2010. 205 Bonham Drive, Hewitt, TX 76643. jlaseur@hot.rr.com
Jon Crawford and Mandy Meister, March 19, 2011. She is an HR generalist for Service Solutions Group. 16801 N. 94th St., #2065, Scottsdale, AZ 85260.
BORN To Jonathan and Aleisha (Rhodes) Kolb, a girl, Emily Lenae, Aug. 9, 2010. The family has a new address. 315 Inverness Point, Portland, TX 78374. aleisha_kolb@hotmail.com To Richey and Amy (Bromley ’04) Owen, twin girls, Reese Abigail and Riley Grace, Sept. 4, 2008. 541 Archer Drive, Coppell, TX 75019. To John and Bevin (Steward) Williams, a girl, Brady Lynn, Feb. 2, 2010. 7300 Ledoux Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76134. bevin.williams@partsmaster.com To Michael and Joy (Brenneman) Collazo, a girl, Alexis, March 10, 2010. The couple married in June 2009. 3849 N. 11th Street, Abilene, TX 79603. jnb98r@yahoo.com To Christopher (’01) and Rebecca (Boling) McLain, a girl, Nora Ellen, Oct. 2, 2010. 3406 Capstone Lane, Garland, TX 75043. becca13tx@tx.rr.com To Ty and Charis (Dillman) Dishman, a girl, Tatum, Oct. 18, 2010. 1318 Lost Creek Boulevard, Austin, TX 78746. cedishman@gmail.com To Dustin and Kelly Hawes, a boy, Owen Dathin Kiplagat, March 29, 2011. P.O. Box 231136, Anchorage, AK 99523.
To David (’03) and Ashley (Read) Wilson, a boy, Rhett David, Dec. 22, 2010. 3284 Golfing Green Drive, Farmers Branch, TX 75234. daveashwilson@yahoo.com
ADOPTED By Kevin and Angela (Nevius) Dormer, a girl, Shiloh, in April 2011. She was born Sept. 16, 2008. 18 West Dressage Court, Hampton, VA 23666.
2003 MARRIED Carla Lantz and Jason de la Rosa, June 19, 2010, in Laguna Beach, Calif. 1312 Newning Avenue, Austin, TX 78704. Rick Smith and Melissa Conley, Nov. 7, 2004, in Fort Worth. They have two daughters, Emma and Felicity. Rick runs a photography business and is pursuing a Ph.D. in physical anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin. Melissa is a stay-at-home mom. 2500 Steck Avenue, #32, Austin, TX 78757. melsmith04@gmail.com
BORN To Jeremy and Jill (Lester) Hale, two boys, Jake, Nov. 3, 2008, and August, April 26, 2010. P.O. Box 2465, Eureka, MT 59917. To Casey (’02) and Rachel (Fair) Cooke, a boy, Logan James, Aug. 9, 2010. 2516 Royal Birkdale Drive, Plano, TX 75025. To Marc and Molly (Videtto) Usrey, a boy, Luke Edward, May 19, 2011. 1456 Beaverton Trail, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. usrey.marc@gmail.com To Kyle and Jessica (Clardy) Brown, a girl, Megan, Aug. 7, 2010. 616 McNeill Lane, Saginaw, TX 76179. GARY RHODES
ONE MORE LAP
Members of Wildcat men’s track and field teams from the 1960s returned to campus in April to renew friendships. Coached by the late Oliver Jackson (’42) and Bill McClure (’48), they helped build a legacy in the sport that continues today. Wildcat track and field teams have won 59 of ACU’s 64 national titles. Only four institutions have won more NCAA national team championships than the Wildcats, including USC, UCLA and Stanford.
Jerry Miller (left) an Bobby Hargrave d reminisce by loo king at scrapbooks.
(BACK, FROM LEFT) Jerry Dyes (’64), Jerry Miller (’65), Bud White (’64), James Blackwood (’64), Jarrell Edwards (’60), Pat McKennon (’61), Rick Peden (’65), Charles Christmas (’66), Roger Orrell (’65), Terry Young (’67) and Lynn Saunders (’66). (FRONT, FROM LEFT) Sam Gafford (’63), Foy Brown (’63), John Lawler (’63), Bobby Hargrave (’64), Dennis Richardson (’63), Richard Engel (’66), Russell Vail (’63) and Gary Burger (’66).
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STEVE BUTMAN
CLASS OF 1961 RETURNS FOR GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY REUNION (Clockwise, from left) The Class of 1961 held its Golden Anniversary Reunion on campus April 13-15, 2011, and each attendee received a nametag with their yearbook photo; Phil Boone (’83), ACU vice president for advancement, accepted a Reunion Class Gift check for $126,659 from (left) George Miller and (right) Kent Comolli; Ann (Allen) Ritchie browses Prickly Pear yearbooks from the early 1960s; attendees were treated to a tour of the campus; the Class of 1961 poses for a photo at the Rich Welcome Plaza east of the Hunter Welcome Center; and classmates and spouses pause to give thanks prior to a meal together in the McCaleb Conference Center.
To Robert and Amanda (Rutledge) Koiner, a girl, Eleanor Elizabeth, Dec. 27, 2010. 6708 Kirkwood Road, Fort Worth, TX 76116. ambr817@yahoo.com To Myles (’01) and Lisa (Blackwell) McCormack, a boy, Cameron, April 6, 2010. 9436 Overwood Road, Dallas, TX 75238. lisamariemccormack@gmail.com To David and Amanda (Peeples ’00) Pittman, a girl, Gentry Kate, Nov. 15, 2010. David is director of graduate admissions at ACU, and Amanda does project management and events for the College of Business Administration. 934 Radford, Abilene, TX 79601. david.pittman@acu.edu To Travis and Kelly (Coffey) Burleson, a girl, Chloe Meredith, May 16, 2011. 6499 West F.M. 1606, Ira, TX 79527. kburleson30@yahoo.com To Robert and Kate (Whitton) Henson, a girl, Avery Laine, April 15, 2011. The couple has another daughter as well. 1721 Sterling Court, Littleton, CO 80126. katehenson81@hotmail.com
2004 Dr. Jason Gipson finished his residency in family medicine in Tyler and is working at Abilene Diagnostic Clinic. Griffin Rozell is vice-consul to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, He and his wife, Olga, will serve there through March 2013. 50 Roosevelt Boulevard, A-522, Falls Church, VA 22044. griffinrozell@gmail.com
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MARRIED Michael Lockridge and Ashley Spencer. 106 Pinckney, San Antonio, TX 78209. Alejandro Ruiz and Larissa Zanatta, Jan. 31, 2010. 2201 Montopolis Drive #1123, Austin, TX 78741. larazanatta@yahoo.com
To Cameron and Katherine (Holden) Rinard, a girl, Lauren Elizabeth, Feb. 7, 2011. 5004 18th Street, Lubbock, TX 79416. khrinard@gmail.com To Daniel and Yukari (Sekine ’07) Garcia, a girl, Diana Izumi, Jan. 16, 2011. 2328 Avenue D, Abilene, TX 79601. daniel.garcia@acu.edu
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2005
By Stephen (’04) and Chrissy (White ’04) Holt Jr., a boy, Christian (4), May 6, 2011. 68D Marginal St., East Boston, MA 02128.
Ben and Gena Rene (Robinson ’04) Lazcano have a new address. Ben is the new youth and family minister for the Maypearl Church of Christ. P.O. Box 415, Maypearl, TX 76064.
BORN To Brady and Katherine (Danley) Lane, a girl, Abigail Anne, Jan. 29, 2011. 1226 Bismarck Avenue, Oshkosh, WI 54902. katherine@bradylane.com To Justin and Maggie (Rogers) Damron, a girl, Audrey Kate, Sept. 15, 2010. 3001 FM 1524, Dimmitt, TX 79027. mddamron@gmail.com To Michael (’03) and Tara (McCain) Biesboer, a girl, Jordan Dawn, Oct. 29, 2009. They also have a son, Canaan Michael (4). 1090 W. Sloan, Stephenville, TX 76401. To Emilio (’01) and Rebecca (Davis) Lerzundi, a boy, Isaac Milo, Nov. 24, 2010. 2401 Spanish Circle, #111, Arlington, TX 76016. loslerzundi@hotmail.com To Eric and Erin (Bailey) Negron, a boy, Eric “Joshua,” Aug. 18, 2010. 19603 Cypriate Trail, Cypress, TX 77249. erin.negron@hotmail.com
MARRIED Glenn Hardwick and Kerbi DuBois (’06), June 27, 2009, in Belton. 9531 State Highway 151, #5201, San Antonio, TX 78251.
BORN To John and Crystal (Duggan) Knutson, a boy, John Henry III, Sept. 9, 2010. 10408 Whitney Trace, Waco, TX 76708. john.knutson@yahoo.com To Kyle and Catherine (Petersen) Hildmann, a girl, Mykal Rae, April 28, 2010. 1385 Warren Street, Buffalo Gap, TX 79508. catherine.hildmann@gmail.com To Justin and Kristen (Parker) Naylor, a boy, Wyatt Andrew, Nov. 10, 2010. 4518 Vance Road, North Richland Hills, TX 76180. klp02a@sbcglobal.net To Brian (’00) and Nichole (Logue) Nations,
a girl, Avery Nichole, Jan. 30, 2011. 1408 N. Crockett St., Fredericksburg, TX 78624. nichole.nations@yahoo.com To Sam and Traci (Nix) James, a boy, Britton Harold, Feb. 9, 2010. 9737 Minton Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76108. traci_pediatricrn@hotmail.com To Trent and Tyler (King) Hinton, a boy, Callen Mayes, Jan. 24, 2011. 1233 Kiplinger Avenue, York, NE 68467. To Coy and Jill (Rowland) Clark, a girl, Cora Mae, Feb. 9, 2011. 1385 W. Weatherby Way, Chandler, AZ 85286. To Jeremy and Adrienne (Forsythe) Fike, a girl, Laurel Ann, Feb. 26, 2011. 4125 Swiss Avenue, #128, Dallas, TX 75204. adriennefike@gmail.com
2006
Reunion: Homecoming 2011
Brandi Jo Magee is traveling the world with Adventures in Missions’ Global Race program. She will visit 11 countries in 11 months, ending in Sept. 2011. 1717 S. 11th St., Abilene, TX 79602. jojomagee@gmail.com To Jared and Jamie (Gregg) Peel, twin boys, Gage and Graham, March 25, 2011. The couple married June 2, 2006. 8112 Lido Court, Frisco, TX 75035. jjpeel6206@yahoo.com To Brian and Krista (Wilson) Evans, a girl, Leila Michelle, Nov. 6, 2010. 1704 Woodstock Blvd., #1210, Arlington, TX 76006. kmw02c@yahoo.com To Robert and Kristie (Clarkson) Wade, a girl, Avery Wynter, April 30, 2011. 523A C.R. 2700, Walnut Springs, TX 76690. To Matthew and Jennifer (Leal ’07) Sutherland, a boy, Izaiah, Feb. 11, 2011. 4313 Ridgedale Avenue, Odessa, TX 79762. To Aaron and Debbie (Ortiz) Castellanos, a girl, Nora Liliana, Dec. 2, 2010. They have another daughter, Isabella Elise. The family lives in Mesquite, Texas. debbie.castellanos@hotmail.com
2007
BRENT ISBELL
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BORN To Justin and Katie Webb, twins, Robert Henry and Abigail Grace, March 8, 2010. 500 Briarglen, Coppell, TX 75019. jrw02h@acu.edu To Allen (’06) and Casey (Thomas) Watson, a boy, Michael James, Jan. 4, 2011. 1822 Chamberlain Drive, Carrollton, TX 75007. To Eric and Emerald (McGowan) Lemmons, a girl, Lily, Sept. 4, 2009. 1842 S. 5th St., Abilene, TX 79603. xathrus@gmail.com To Jason and Heather (Weems) Gallagher, a girl, Ellie Kay, June 8, 2011. 814 Harbor Lakes Lane, Katy, TX 77494.
2009 BORN
Amber (Tolich) Jacobi earned her master’s degree in education in 2011. She teaches third grade at Ghent School in Norfolk, Va. 1835 Lincolnshire Place, Virginia Beach, VA 23464. ambjacobi@gmail.com
To Joshua (’08) and Stephanie (Armstrong) Hale, a girl, Kaia, April 21, 2011. 909 Vine Street, Abilene, TX 79602.
MARRIED
2010
Ernesto Villarreal and Lotefa Bartlett (’09), July 17, 2010. Ernesto is the director of diversity services for Milligan College. P.O. Box 500, Milligan College, TN 37682. ebvillarreal@gmail.com
BORN To Steven and Ariel (Martin) Adair, a boy, Caysen, Aug. 3, 2010. 1013 Temple Drive, Kerrville, TX 78028.
Alumni and friends accompanied ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91), vice president Dr. Gary McCaleb (’64) and Dr. Brent (’86) and Melinda (Stucker ’93) Isbell on a 10-day tour of Israel in June 2011. “In the Land of the Bible” took participants to historic sites such as Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Caesarea, Mount Carmel, Capernaum, Nazareth, the Jordan River, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Bethany, and Jerusalem. In the image above, Schubert’s daughter, Sydnie (left), joined the tour’s leaders for a photo at the top of Masada, Herod the Great's mountain fortress on the western shore of the Dead Sea. Isbell is pulpit minister for Abilene’s University Church of Christ.
2012 MARRIED Bryce Williams and Paige Bates, March 13, 2011. 750 N. Judge Ely Blvd., #124, Abilene, TX 79601. bmw08b@acu.edu
IN MEMORIAM 1935 Imogene Schwartz Mickey, 96, died on Easter, April 24, 2011, in Abilene. She was born Sept. 2, 1914, near Crews in Runnels County. She married Leslie Mickey (’35) on Easter, April 21, 1935. Leslie preached for Church of Christ congregations in Lockhart, El Paso, Vernon, Seymour, Colorado City, Levelland, Gainesville, O’Donnell and Rio Vista. After he died in 1985, Imogene moved to Abilene, where she was a longtime member of the University Church of Christ. Imogene was a model volunteer in the church and community. She taught children’s classes at church, worked at Abilene’s Christian Service Center until age 95, was active in Women for ACU, and received Abilene’s Jefferson Award in 2001 for outstanding community service. Among survivors are two daughters, Peggy Elaine (Mickey ’62) Prothro and Doris Jean (Mickey ’73) Graham; two sons, David Ross Mickey (’58) and Charles George Mickey (’66); 10 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; a brother, R.C. Schwartz; and a sister, Peggy McAnally.
1937 Wildring B Sherrod Edwards, 94, died Dec. 21, 2010, in Lubbock. She was born Oct. 15, 1916, to B and Ezzie (Robinson) Sherrod. She married Jennings Bryan Edwards Sept. 18, 1937. After raising three children, Wildring earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Tech University, and taught in the university’s School of Home Economics until her retirement in 1983.
She was named Lubbock Woman of the Year in 1961. She is survived by a son, Bryan Sherrod Edwards; a daughter, Jeanene (Edwards) Fulgham; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
1941 Eleanor Geline “Jane” Randolph Guynes Green, 90, died April 7, 2010, in Abilene. She was born March 20, 1920, in Lockney. She earned a bachelor’s degree from ACU and a master’s from Hardin-Simmons University. She taught elementary school for 30 years. Jane survived two husbands, Samuel Bexton Guynes (’56) and Brig. Gen. J.N. Green. She is survived by a daughter, Martha Jane (Guynes ’64) Morgan; a son, Samuel Bexton Guynes Jr. (’69); a grandson; and three great-grandchildren. Leonard C. Waggoner, 83, died Feb. 5, 2011. He served in the armed forces during World War II and the Korean War, then became a minister in churches throughout Texas. He married Elizabeth Wilson in 1944. She preceded him in death. Leonard is survived by a daughter, Rosalyn (Waggoner ’70) Boatman; two sons, Don Waggoner and Jon Waggoner (’73); a brother, Carroll Waggoner (’43); seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
1942 Virginia R. Burnett, 95, died April 3, 2011, in Brownfield. She was born Sept. 2, 1915, and married James Burnett (’40) May 24, 1941. She worked as a
social worker and ran a dairy farm with her husband. She is survived by her husband, James; two sons; a daughter; six grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a great-great-granddaughter. Jean D. Moore, 89, died April 8, 2011, in Harlingen. She was born July 2, 1921, in Levelland. She lived in the Valley area of Texas for many years and was a member of several service organizations. She was preceded in death by her husband and is survived by two sons; a daughter; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
1943 Dr. Morris Patteson Sr., 89, died Nov. 30, 2010, in Lampasas. He was born Nov. 24, 1921, in Smiley, Texas. He married Ruth Neal Corder Jan. 12, 1946. Morris served in the Navy as a medical officer and practiced medicine in various Texas towns before moving to Lampasas in 1951. He is survived by a son; three daughters; a brother, Lewis Patteson (’43); two sisters, Nelda Jean Patteson (’46) and Beth (Patteson ’48) Purdom; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandsons. James Robert Jarrell, 89, died Feb. 2, 2011, in Bryant, Ark. He was born Oct. 7, 1921, in Fort Worth. He is survived by his wife, Willa Jarrell; a son, Robert Jarrell (’75); a daughter, Starla Goad; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
1944 Jane Clark Norman, 87, died Dec. 27, 2010, in Arlington. She was born June 20, 1923, in Floydada and ACU TODAY
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married Leeman Norman Aug. 28, 1946. She is survived by a son; a sister; and two grandchildren.
1948 Judy Beth Sneed, 85, died Feb. 18, 2011. She was born Jan. 22, 1926, near Hawley. She married Paul Jones Sneed Jr. (’49) Aug. 17, 1947. He preceded her in death. She is survived by two daughters; two sons, Paul Sneed III (’79) and Larry Sneed (’86); eight grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
1949 R.C. “Kit” Carson, 87, died May 1, 2011. He served in the Army during World War II, and married Mona Scott (’49) March 16, 1948. He ran Kit Carson Farmers Insurance Agency from 1968-99. Kit was preceded in death by his wife, Mona, and is survived by two daughters; two sons; 11 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. DeAnne (McDonald) Bennett, 81, died in June 2009 in Arlington. She worked as an elementary school teacher for 20 years. She is survived by her husband, Roy M. Bennett (’49); four children; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
1950 Arthur Joel Halbert, 84, died May 9, 2011. He was born June 26, 1926. He served in the Merchant Marines during World War II and in the Army during the Korean War. He earned his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine from the Illinois College of Podiatry and practiced podiatry for 29 years in San Antonio. He is survived by a son, Dr. Ron Halbert (’81); a daughter, Sarah Marlin; a brother, Dr. David Halbert (’54); a sister, Carolyn (Halbert ’45) Bryan; and five grandchildren. Thomas J. Seay Jr. died Nov. 20, 2010, after working many years as a minister. He had a long association with Boles and Central Texas children’s homes. He is survived by his wife, Jo Anne Counts Seay, and other relatives. Warren Barret High, 87, died Dec. 13, 2010. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He married Jo Ellen High (’49) Sept. 2, 1947. Together, they founded and operated High’s Flowers in Abilene, retiring in 1995. He is survived by his wife, Jo; two sons, Timothy High (’71) and Richard High (’75); a daughter, Jill (High ’83) Falkenberry; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Grady Lee Reese, 85, died May 20, 2011. He was born Dec. 15, 1925 in Colorado City. He served in the Navy as a radioman in World War II before marrying Betty Chumley (’51) at ACU. He earned master’s degrees from Eastern New Mexico University and the University of Colorado. He retired from Adams County School District 12, where he was a speech therapist. He was a minister and elder in Churches of Christ in the Denver area for more than 40 years. Among survivors are his wife of 62 years, Betty; three daughters, Alethea Danley, Peggy Baker and Rebecca Cavasos; eight grandchildren (four of whom graduated from ACU); six great-grandchildren; three sisters and one brother.
1951 Bill R. Proctor, 80, died Nov. 22, 2010, in Abilene. He was a preacher for many years, 16 of them at Dudley Church of Christ. He is survived by his wife, Betty Proctor; two sons, David Proctor and Mark Proctor (’88); a brother, Bruce Proctor (’49); five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mary Catherine McKillip Kirkpatrick, 83, died April 3, 2011. She was born April 26, 1927, in Fort Worth and married Dr. Foy Kirkpatrick (’46) Feb. 19, 1948. She worked for the FAA, as a librarian, and supported her husband in his ministry work. He preceded her in death, as did a daughter and a granddaughter. Mary is survived by a brother; two sisters; a daughter; a son; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Gay Nell Morgan Phillips, 80, died Feb. 12, 2011. She was born Sept. 28, 1930, in Levelland and married Don Phillips (’51) March 2, 1952. They planted churches all over Texas, and Gay Nell worked as a bookkeeper and tax assessor. Don preceded her in death, as did a son, Bart Phillips (’91). She is survived by her mother, Jennie Mae Morgan; a brother, Roland Morgan; three daughters, Donna (Phillips ’77) Nangauta, Angie (Phillips ’79) Andino and Jamie (Phillips ’89) Hackney; a son,
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Wes Phillips (’81); and 11 grandchildren. Charles M. Broom, 83, died March 8, 2011, in Richardson. A native of Oklahoma City, Okla., he served as a Marine in World War II. Broom played football for the Wildcats before beginning a coaching and athletics administration career. He coached high school football in Texline, Shamrock, Plainview and Galena Park before joining the Richardson ISD in 1960. He was an offensive line coach at Richardson High School for eight years before becoming the head coach at J.J. Pearce High School. He was named the Richardson ISD athletics director in 1974. Among survivors are his wife, Jo Carolyn “Jodie” (Wallis ’51) Broom; a daughter, Judy Carolyn Broom (’75); a son, Gregory Alan Broom (’79); two grandchildren; and a brother, Wendell Broom (’45).
1952 Dr. Paul Raymond Durham, 82, died Nov. 20, 2010. A native of Port Arthur and longtime resident of Jasper, he played football at ACU. He served in the Marine Air Corps and graduated from Texas A&M University. He served as a veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 35 years before becoming a small-animal veterinarian in Jasper. He was a deacon and elder in his congregation. He is survived by his wife, Janice (Schinnerer ’51) Durham; three daughters, Mary Beth (Durham ’74) Shumate, Dianne (Durham ’76) Bertino and Paula (Durham ’78) Curbo; a son, Robert Durham (’79); and nine grandchildren. Charles Ray Puckett, 81, died May 26, 2011, in Moriarty, N.M. He was born March 26, 1930 in Hope, N.M., but lived most of his boyhood years in Carlsbad. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry before serving as a first lieutenant in the Army during the Korean War. He married Lois Jean Lobley (’53) on June 1, 1954. He earned a master’s degree in biochemistry from ACU in 1958. He also served as a minister of the Moriarty (N.M.) Church of Christ and as chief clinical chemist at the V.A. Hospital in Albuquerque. Among survivors are his wife of 57 years; two sons, Charles Ray Puckett Jr. (’81) and Keith Howard Puckett; a daughter, Rosemary (Puckett) Elliott; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Donald Puckett, in 2003.
1955 Lola Jewel Anderson Cleere, 78, died March 3, 2011, in San Angelo. She was born Oct. 18, 1932, in Lubbock. She married B.E. Cleere in 1954 and moved to Ozona, where she taught first grade in the Ozona public schools. She is survived by a son; a daughter; a brother, Gordon Anderson (’52); and three grandchildren. Arlona (Ash) Barnes, 78, died Feb. 6, 2011, in Dallas. Among survivors are a husband, Harry A. Barnes Jr.; two sons, Mark A. Barnes and Thomas A. Barnes; and a sister, Eula Jean (Ash ’62) McConal.
1957 Dema (Atkins ’57) Lunsford, 75, died Aug. 15 in Olney, Texas, after a lengthy illness. She was born Dec. 5, 1935, in Galveston, Texas. She married Richard Lunsford (’55) June 7, 1955, and they moved from Throckmorton to Olney in 1964. She was a homemaker as well as director and counselor for Camp Cousins, and a member of Newcastle Church of Christ. She and Richard made possible The Quiet Place in the Mabee Business Building (opened in 1986) and the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building (1989). Each features quiet, comfortable rooms for individual or small-group devotion and reflection, furnished and decorated by their family. Led by their son, Holt, the Lunsfords also chose to help provide the Lunsford Foundation Trail (2006) to contribute to the Centennial Campaign and provide a lasting enhancement for the campus and the student body. The more than two-mile-long trail encircles ACU and provides a convenient venue for students, faculty, staff and neighbors to exercise outdoors. Survivors include her husband, Richard; three sons, Raymond Lunsford (’79), Holt Lunsford (’85) and Will Lunsford (’89); two daughters, Lynette (Lunsford ’81) Nelson and Lisa Lunsford (’83); a brother, Dick Atkins; 16 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
1958 Nancy Culpepper Hill, 73, died Oct. 16, 2009. She was born Oct. 8, 1936, in Dallas. She is survived by her husband, Jack Hill (’55); two sons, Larry Hill (’84) and Gary Hill; 10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Mary Janice Vanderveer Smith, 75, died May 29, 2011, in Sparks, Nev., one day after her 75th birthday. She was born May 28, 1936, in Bell County, Texas. She earned an associate’s degree from Temple College and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from ACU. She married Dan Smith in 1959 and accompanied him through his 52-year career with the Army. She taught special ed, homebound and pre-school children and was a beloved Bible class teacher. She was preceded in death by her parents, Alpha and Avis Vanderveer, and two brothers, Gene and Bobby Don Venderveer. Among survivors are her husband, Dan; four daughters, D’Lea (Vanderveer) McDaniel; Danni (Vanderveer) Zavadil, Lydia (Vanderveer ’86) Towell; Cheri (Vanderveer) Hadsell; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
1959 Don Allen Colby, 74, died May 1, 2011. He is survived by his wife, Jane Colby (’62); a daughter, Karen (Colby ’83) Oxford; a brother, Ted Colby (’57); two sisters, Betty Ruth Colby (’55) and Marilyn (Colby ’63) Williams; and three grandsons. Carter H. Compton, 73, died Feb. 15, 2011, in Waco. He was born Aug. 20, 1937, in Abilene. Carter worked as an insurance agent for many years and served on the boards of various civic organizations, as well as ACU and Harding University. He is survived by his wife, Tanya; three daughters, Kelly (Compton ’83) Livingston, Kathy (Compton ’84) Carroll and Christy (Compton ’86) Embry; two sons, Carter Compton II and Clay Compton (’91); and 10 grandchildren. Mack Osborne, 73, died Jan. 20, 2011. He was born Oct. 20, 1937, in Mineral Wells and grew up in Lubbock. He served in the Marine Corps from 1957-63. Mack worked as a real estate agent and was involved in several civic organizations. He is survived by his wife, Alisan Osborne; his father; a brother, David Osborne (’64); a sister, Cindy (Osborne ’74) Darilek; a son; a daughter; and six grandchildren.
1960 Marion “Janeil” Ward Shultz, 75, died March 16, 2011. She was born July 22, 1935, in Fort Worth and grew up in Shreveport. La. She married James P. Shultz in 1972. She is survived by her husband; a stepdaughter; a stepson; a brother; and other relatives.
1961 Nancy Ellen (Telchick) Edwards, 72, died April 26, 2011. She was born Jan. 2, 1939, in Lamb County, Texas. She married Jarrell Edwards in 1960 and they did mission work in Brazil for three years before returning to cotton farming in Borden County in 1972. She was a member of Abilene’s Hillcrest Church of Christ, and a talented artist, potter, seamstress and cook. Survivors include her husband, Jarrell; a daughter Jana Lyn (Edwards ’85) Emerson; and three grandchildren.
1962 Halton Lee Overall Jr., 77, died Dec. 2, 2010. He was born Dec. 20, 1932, in Bowling Green, Ky. He retired from the Texas Education Agency. Hal was preceded in death by his wife, Nelda Jane (Reynolds ’59) Overall, and is survived by two daughters, Mary (Overall ’81) Smith and Laura (Overall ’84) McNeill; a son, Alton Overall (’87); and three grandchildren. Gertie Jane Snodgrass Greer, 91, died Nov. 22, 2010. She was born July 22, 1919, in Abilene. She was an avid softball player and bowler, and enjoyed gardening with her husband, James Greer. He preceded her in death. Gertie is survived by a niece, Helen Adcock, and a nephew, Jimmy Garvin.
1963 Bobbie Jean Swinson Moore died Oct. 10, 2010. She was active in the DAR in the Needlepoint Guild and in missions work with her husband, Don Moore Sr. (’63). He survives her, as do two sons and a daughter.
Thayne Henry Cuevas, 69, died Jan. 2, 2011, in San Antonio. He was born Dec. 4, 1941, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He married Betty Ruth Brown (’65) soon after his graduation in 1963 and began an Air Force career in 1964 that would span 23 years before he retired as a major. He began another career with Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, retiring in 2009 as senior vice president of human resources. Cuevas served as an elder at Randolph Church of Christ in Universal City and at Boerne Church of Christ. Among survivors are his wife of 46 years, Betty; a daughter, Cynda (Cuevas ’89) Gibbs; two sons, James Christopher Cuevas (’87) and Chuck Cuevas (’91); 11 grandchildren; his mother, Flora Cuevas; and two sisters, Cindy Riggs and Mavo Hutchins. He was preceded in death by his father, Henry.
1964 William “Reuben” Slone, 97, died March 31, 2011. He was born April 21, 1913, near Zephyr and served in the Army from 1931-60, including time as a POW during World War II. He retired from the Army in 1960 as a lieutenant colonel after 26 years of service. He married Oneita Olga Ewing Nov. 20, 1945, and they had been married 61 years when she died in 2007. He earned a master’s degree in history with a minor in Bible from ACU and became a Bible teacher and missionary. His wife, Oneita, preceded him in death. Reuben is survived by a son, Bill Slone; a daughter, Melinda (Slone ’71 Worley); four grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
1965 Anthony Toubassi, 73, died Jan. 1, 2011. He was born Feb. 10, 1937, in Jaffa, Israel. He was a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and held an M.S.E.E. from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He worked for Bell Labs, MCI and Sony Ericsson during his 40-year career in telecommunications. He is survived by his wife, Sandra (Dill ’65) Toubassi; two daughters; a son; two brothers; and five grandchildren.
1969 Darlene (Handy) Voss, 63, died Dec. 25, 2010. She was born May 31, 1947, in Bakersfield, Calif., and earned her B.A. in education from ACU. She married James Voss (’68) in 1968. Darlene worked as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist. She is survived by her husband, James; two sons, Bradley Voss (’93) and Ashley Voss (’96); a sister, Pam (Handy ’65) Money; and five grandchildren. William “Bryan” Meneer, 63, died Dec. 18, 2010, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was born June 2, 1947. He married Susan Estes (’73) July 16, 1971. He served as a minister for Church of Christ congregations in West Toronto, Bayview, Fennell and Omagh, and as an elementary school teacher. He earned his M.A. in ancient church history from ACU in 1976. Among survivors are his wife, Susan; a son, Nathanael Meneer; two daughters, Rachel Meneer and Hilary Meneer; and two sisters, Donna Duxbury and Brenda (Meneer ’62) Griffin.
1977 Linda Kay Limbach Stoneman, 61, died May 5, 2011, in Silt, Colo. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a master’s degree from ACU. She is survived by her husband, James “Jimmy” Stoneman and a son, Jebediah Limbach. She was preceded in death by a son, Zachary Limbach.
1995 Clinton “Travis” Bass, 38, died May 19, 2011, of complications from ALS. He was born Aug. 2, 1972, in Seattle and played football at Boise State University and then at ACU. He earned a J.D. from the University of Idaho and later worked as an attorney, managed Bass Family Businesses and owned a catering company. He is survived by his wife, Kim (Longbine ’96) Bass; his parents, Randy and Sheila Bass; two daughters; and one son.
a dive supervisor for offshore oil field service companies. He is survived by his parents, Donald Fitzgibbons (’74) and Vicki McCaleb Wade (’76); a brother, David Fitzgibbons (’04); and other relatives.
OTHER FRIENDS Monda Kay Alexander, 65, died May 28, 2011. She was born Oct. 22, 1945, near Bradford, Tenn. Her career included teaching, career and school counseling, computer sales and corporate IT support. She is survived by three brothers; various nephews and nieces; and other relatives. David Kenneth Cox, 76, died April 28, 2011. He served in the Coast Guard. He is survived by his wife, Jane; two daughters; and two grandchildren. Col. James Dillard Morgan, 90, died March 1, 2011, in San Antonio. He was born Aug. 10, 1920, in Monterey, Tenn. He served in the Air Force for 31 years, during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars, then served at the Pentagon for many years. He is survived by his wife, Betty Joy Morgan; a brother; a nephew; and a niece. Hugh Rice Mingle, 83, died Dec. 20, 2010, in Fort Worth. He served in the Army during World War II, then later met and married Joy Smith (’70). They worked in missions and higher education in the U.S., Germany and Austria. Hugh taught at ACU from 1966-70. He is survived by his wife, Joy; four children; 14 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Stella Watson Cosper, 83, died July 16, 2011, in Tucson, Ariz. She was born Sept. 11, 1917, in Merkel, Texas. She earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics education from the University of Arizona in 1941. She began teaching in Clifton, Ariz., retiring in 1980 afer 35 years of service. She married Harvel H. Cosper in 1943. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, two sisters, a grandson, and an aunt, Oralie (Sandusky ’22) Hines. Among survivors are a daughter, Mayre C. Meyers, and one grandchild.
1998 Richard “Paul” Fitzgibbons, 34, died Aug. 12, 2010. He was a native of Albany, Texas, and worked as
ACU Remembers: James Fulbright, Vickie Smith, Phillip Bennett, Waunette Shaver, Dr. Edwin DuBose, Dr. Roger Knight James E. Fulbright (’47), 88, died May 21 2011, in Abilene. He was a World War II hero who managed ACU’s campus bookstores and ACU Press for 42 years. A native of Gray County, Texas, Fulbright attended ACU before leaving in 1943 to serve in the Pacific theatre of World War II. He was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for “extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy,” earned during the battles of Saipan and Tinian while driving an armored amphibious craft for the Army. Fulbright returned to ACU after the war ended and met Frances Janet Gibson (’47) in a business law class. They married in 1948, and she died in 2007. Fulbright began work at ACU in 1950 as manager of the bookstore, an enterprise he coordinated until his retirement in 1992. He was named director of bookstores, including Abilene Educational Supply, in 1985. His work at ACU Press included the publishing of hundreds of titles, including Great Songs of the Church and the James Burton Coffman series of commentaries. James also was a popular Bible class teacher and minister for Churches of Christ in Olden, Clyde and Ballinger, as well as congregations in Jones County. He preached for the Hope Church of Christ for 19 years. Among survivors are a son, Dr. Timothy Fulbright (’76), and three grandchildren. Vickie Jan Smith, longtime English teacher at ACU, died Feb. 5, 2011, after a brief battle with cancer. She was born May 3, 1948, to James T. Smith and Vila Rae Sargent Smith. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she worked in various management capacities with the JC Penney Company for 16 years. At age 40, she chose to change careers by earning a master’s degree and becoming an English professor. Smith began teaching full time at ACU in 1995 after
earning a bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University and a master’s degree from ACU. She served as president of the Friends of the ACU Library in 1999. She is survived by her mother, Vi Porterfield; her aunt and uncle; a cousin; and many friends, especially at Minda Street Church of Christ. Waunette (Fitzgerald ’60) Shaver, 80, died Jan. 3, 2011, after a long illness. She married Dr. Tommy Shaver in 1949, and they were married 56 years prior to his death in 2005. Waunette earned a master’s degree in education in 1969 and taught in the Abilene Independent School District before joining the faculty at ACU. She retired in 1992 as associate professor emerita of education after 22 years of service and finished much of her work toward a doctorate at the University of North Texas. Tommy was a professor of Bible at ACU from 1955-95 and a pulpit minister in Abilene, Richardson, Burleson and Garland. The Shavers served many summers as volunteer missionaries in Vienna, Austria. Among survivors are a son, Guy Marcus Shaver (’78); a daughter, Sharla Denise (Shaver ’75) Wessler; and three grandchildren. Phillip Bennett, 52, died Jan. 27, 2011. Born Aug. 5, 1958, in Fort Worth, he was an irrigation technician in ACU’s landscape and grounds department from 2000-11. He was a member of the Cottonwood (Texas) Historical Association Board. He married Sheri Brown on Feb. 14, 1981. Among survivors are four sons, Michael Bennett, Andrew Bennett, Cpl. Elias Bennett and L.Cpl. Zachary Bennett; a daughter, Brittany Bennett; and four brothers. Dr. Leo Edwin “Doc” DuBose (’52), 80, died May 28, 2011, in Abilene. He taught animal sciences and mentored award-winning judging teams at ACU for 41 years, and retired as professor emeritus of agriculture. Doc was born in 1931 in Gonzales, Texas, and earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from ACU, his master’s
degree in animal science and nutrition from South Dakota State University and his Ph.D. in animal breeding and statistics from Texas A&M University. He also studied computer programming at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1960 and mathematics at the University of Arkansas in 1962, both while a fellow of the National Science Foundation. He joined the ACU faculty in 1965 and officially retired in 1993, but continued to teach classes until 2006. He was named in 1988 to the National Collegiate Livestock Coaches’ Hall of Fame. DuBose married Florene Joy Adams in 1951, and she died in 1984. Survivors include Jean DuBose, his wife of 23 years; sons Dr. Clifton DuBose (’76) and Charles DuBose (’84); a daughter, Karen (DuBose) Buckles; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Dr. Lee Roger Knight (’52), 80, died June 13, 2011, in Tyler. He was born July 19, 1930, in Malvern, Ark. He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1955 and completed residencies in pathology and surgery at the University of Arkansas. He was a major in the Army Medical Corps. Knight served on ACU’s Board of Trustees for 31 years, and was a deacon and elder for the West Erwin Church of Christ. Knight served as the team physician for John Tyler High School for 22 years, and for Tyler College. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Felix Daniel Knight Jr. and his twin, James Ronald Knight (’52). Among survivors are his wife, Janeal (Rutledge ’52); two sons, Paul Rutledge Knight (’79) and Grant Thompson Knight (’79); two daughters, Amy (Knight ’89) Lowery and Lee Andrea (Knight ’81) North; 11 grandchildren (five of whom are ACU alumni and one who is a current student); and two brothers, Lewis Thompson Knight (’49) and William Dean Knight. ACU TODAY
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Second GLANCE By Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon
Requiem for an old friend: the Prickly Pear Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon (’76) is professor and chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
In my mind, Prickly Pear will never be a cactus or a jar of jelly. It’s the book. Always, “the book.” For the better part of 30 years, the book was part of my life, in the same way that aging football coaches with bad knees call “the game” a part of theirs. A move during high school from Colorado to Texas nixed my chance to edit the Arapahoe High School Calumet, so I set my sights on the Prickly Pear even before enrolling as a freshman. I wore many hats, from annoying freshman flunky to copy writer, page designer, section editor, editor-in-chief, adviser and finally the department chair who closed the cover on ACU’s Prickly Pear, a role I never could have envisioned. I was, after all, a yearbook junkie. The reading room at Taylor Publishing Company in Dallas, lined floor to ceiling on all four walls with custom embossed and foiled yearbooks from high schools and universities nationwide, was my favorite stop on the dozen or more annual factory tours I took with Pear staffs. Only the mechanized Rube Goldberg-esque binding machine rated a close second. In my youth I pored over my father’s Prickly Pears (1938-41) so many times I knew where to find old pictures of Dr. John C. Stevens (’38) and Garvin Beauchamp (’41) and whose mother had been a class beauty. I could describe the covers of at least a decade’s worth of books before my own. I was a fountain of ACU student life trivia. In the 1970s, selling yearbooks was as simple as handing out the requisite data punch cards as students registered for classes in Moody Coliseum. By the end of the day our budget was made. Everyone wanted a Pear. Everyone came to have a class picture taken – and even dressed for the event. All the clubs and departments and teams stood in rows, or later in carefully choreographed arrangements, for group pictures. Each fall, echoes of bindings cracking open for the first time filled the air as lines stretched 10-20 eager readers deep from the old ticket windows since replaced by the Hilton Food Court. Prickly Pear sales remained strong through the 1980s and early ’90s, even as other universities began to drop yearbooks because of lack of interest. The trend would not hold, however. Production realities increased the price of the book even as demand declined, a sad phenomenon an economist colleague calls a death spiral. As budgets shrank, so did the size of the book. By the late ’90s, all-out marketing efforts were required to sell 500 smaller books to about 20 percent of the undergraduate student body. By percentage, our sales dwarfed those of the almighty Cactus at The University of Texas at Austin, the perpetually burnt orange behemoth of a yearbook and its equally amazing budget that was the envy of yearbook advisers and editors nationwide. By 2008, the decline of the Cactus was actually making headlines as roughly 95 percent of the Longhorns were saying “no thanks” to what articles described as a huge, expensive book full of pictures of people they didn’t know. I don’t know how long the Cactus will persist, but in the summer of 2007, I decided the 2008 Prickly Pear would be our last. If we couldn’t sell it, we couldn’t afford it. Rachel (Davis ’08) Swearingen would be the last name on a list of editors that began in 1916 with Bellah Philpot. No one came pounding on our door in Fall 2008, demanding 64
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to buy a yearbook. Still, when Fall 2009 arrived, we braced for phone calls – and we got one. Only one. My beloved and lost Prickly Pear hadn’t gone out with a bang or a whimper It expired in complete silence, and I held the pillow. Academically, the decision was sound, and in my velvet tam I don’t regret it; in my green eyeshade, it still causes me pain. For the last 30 years of its existence, the yearbook found its home in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication as a valid professional laboratory for students whose journalistic interests leaned toward book or magazine publishing and design. That role grew hard to defend as students increasingly needed experience in online rather than hardbound media to prepare for their careers. Class reunion planners, fundraising officers, librarians, lovers of ACU history and pictures and people bemoaned the loss. But the students didn’t even notice. It would be easy to blame the fatality on social media: Facebook and the like. Social media fascinate me for some of the same reasons I loved yearbooks; there’s something to be said for being able to peruse friends’ photos, news and philosophy of varying quality in real time rather than waiting 12 months for the bound version. Ultimately, however, I don’t think Facebook killed the Prickly Pear. Sales began to ebb more than a decade before the social media whirlwind as the unfairly but much-maligned Gen-Xers reached college age. A generation known for their creativity and pragmatism, they were not much on sentiment. And a yearbook is the most sentimental of histories. If newspapers are the first rough draft of history, yearbooks were the first sentimental reflection of its impact. Facebook may replace yearbooks for this generation, but it didn’t plot the demise. Today's students still collect memories and photos and swap pithy wisdom – on each others' walls. ACU is making the most of the phenomenon with a robust social media strategy to help future students get acquainted long before they move into the dorms. At a recent Passport student-parent orientation, my daughter and I were chatting – in person – with some other parents waiting for their daughter. As soon as she arrived the girls immediately recognized one another. They began chatting weeks earlier – on Facebook. Part of Facebook's magic is allowing members to look ahead with new friends to a shared future. I like that. In Spring 1975 I penned my editor’s note for the only silver, Mylar-bound yearbook ever embossed with the words Prickly Pear. I thought that was so cool. On page 330, reversed out of black in 12 pt. Helvetica, complete with two unfortunate that/which errors that would cost my students today 5 points each, I wrote: A yearbook is a strange entity. It is assigned the impossible task of recording for thousands of students one year of their lives, how they spent it, who they knew and what influenced them. … If within these covers, you find just one page which causes you to pause and reflect on some moment worth remembering, some moment which might otherwise have been forgotten, then we have met our challenge successfully. I think Facebook can handle the first part. It will be up to the classes of ’09 and beyond to decide whether sentimental histories are best captured in the ether instead of ink. 䊱
Legacy E M E R I T I C R E AT E A
ACU owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to its emeriti, the distinguished group of retired faculty and staff members who collectively have dedicated hundreds of years of service to students and alumni. Such dedication and investment are inspirational to each of us, and you probably have your own story of how a longtime faculty or staff member changed your life through his or her teaching, counsel or mentoring. Though they are now retired – and some have even stopped working! – their dedication continues. Many continue to support ACU’s students with annual gifts to the Exceptional Fund, participation in capital campaigns and making plans to include ACU in their ultimate gifts. If you would like to follow in their footsteps by setting up a charitable gift annuity or trust, or including Abilene Christian in your will, The ACU Foundation provides information and assistance to friends of the university without cost or obligation. Now’s your chance to join our emeriti in helping future generations receive a life-changing Christian education!
GIFT ANNUITY RATES ARE UP!
Louise “Dewby” (Adams ’50) Ray The daughter of dean emeritus Dr. Walter H. Adams, Dewby served as alumni director, executive director of the Parents Association, sponsor of GATA women’s social club, and founding president of Women for ACU.
Single-Life Rates
Two-Life Rates
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5.3%
65/65
4.7%
75
6.5%
75/75
5.7%
85
8.4%
85/85
7.4%
Rates recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities. Specific rates for interim and disparate ages are available on our website.
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C O M I N G U P 2011 Wildcat Preview Days .......... September 10, October 22, December 10 2011 National ACT Test Dates ...... September 10, October 22, December 10 Lone Star Football Festival at Cowboys Stadium .................... September 17 106th Annual Summit ........................................................ September 18-21 Family Weekend ................................................................ September 23-24 facebook.com/abilenechristian
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2011 National SAT Test Dates ............ October 1, November 5, December 3 Homecoming ......................................................................... October 13-16 December Commencement ..................................................... December 16 2012 Wildcat Preview Days ............................. February 11, April 14, June 9 Sing Song ............................................................................. February 17-18 twitter.com/ACUedu
twitter.com/ACUsports GARY RHODES
Just Ducky Alpha Chi Omega’s director, Arielle Collier, led her women’s social club’s entry in the 55th annual Sing Song, performed Feb. 18-19, 2011. Because of construction on the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, groups staged in a tent in the parking lot north of Moody Coliseum, rather than Scruggs Gym, their longtime pre-show hangout.