Campbell Magazine | Winter 2022

BRING IN THE CHEER

Campbell University enjoyed one of its most well-attended Homecoming weekends in October — one of the highlights the annual parade, which for the last few years has included new fire trucks from the Buies Creek Fire Department.

Photo by Bennett Scarborough

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THE COVER

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Photographer Ben Brown captured images at a Coharie Pow Wow in September. His images highlight this edition’s cover story on Campbell’s growing relationship with state Native American tribes. Brown’s work has appeared in several editions of Campbell Magazine, winning multiple CASE Circle of Excellence awards in 2021 and 2022.

COVER STORY

18 Survivance

Campbell University has formed a partnership with North Carolina American Indian tribes in the past year, one that includes health care outreach to underserved communities and the formation of a program to train tribal leaders. Our Winter 2022 cover story highlights this partnership and goes into the rich history of our state’s indigenous people.

FEATURES

32 The ClubShouse

Campbell’s PGA Golf Management program — led by new director Gabriella Story — teaches students both the business and the sport of golf and now boasts an impressive indoor facility in the former Shouse Dining Hall.

40 ‘It doesn’t seem real’

Michael Watkins overcame more than 20 years of addiction and homelessness to earn a Campbell University degree in his late 50s. Now a Fighting Camel alumnus and a master’s degree recipient, Watkins has his sights set on a doctorate.

PRESIDENT J. Bradley Creed

VICE

PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Britt Davis

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Haven Hottel

DIRECTOR OF NEWS & PUBLICATIONS & MAGAZINE EDITOR

Billy Liggett

CONTRIBUTORS

Ben Brown, Peter Donlon, Robin Gordon, Bennett Scarborough, Ashley Stephenson

ACCOLADES

Finalist: CASE International Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year (2020)

CASE International Circle of Excellence

Magazine: 2020 (Grand Gold)

Feature Writing: 2021 (Gold), 2022 (Silver), 2017 (Bronze)

Photography Series: 2021 (Gold) Photography Portraits: 2022 (Silver) Illustrations: 2020 (Gold) Cover Design: 2018 (Silver)

CASE III Gold Awards

Best Magazine: 2013

Editorial Design: 2018, 2021, 2022 Cover: 2018, 2021

Feature Writing: 2017, 2019, 2022 Illustration: 2018, 2021 Most Improved: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Photography Series: 2017, 2022 Publications Writing: 2019, 2020

Founded in 1887, Campbell University is a private, coeducational institution where faith, learning and service excel. Campbell offers programs in the liberal arts, sciences and professions with undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees. The University is comprised of nine colleges and schools and was ranked among the Best National Universities by U.S. News & World Report in its America’s Best Colleges 2022 edition.

Campbell University publishes Campbell Magazine three times a year.

The University affirms its standing policy of nondiscrimination in employment and in all of its programs and activities, with respect to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, ethnicity or national origin, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, military status and any other characteristic protected by law, except where exemption is appropriate and authorized by law.

WRITER, DIGITAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Evan Budrovich

THE NEAR NORMAL

It’s never going to be the way it was, but it’s beginning to feel more like it used to be. Not quite there, but near normal.

That’s my take on where we are after two years of COVID isolation. The impact of a global pandemic, however, is enduring, and we are still dealing with its draining effects. The health and safety of our students remain a paramount concern, and we monitor public health indicators very closely on campus.

In this post-pandemic age, we have a greater awareness of our vulnerabilities, but classes are meeting in-person on campus with wearing face masks optional, and this past fall has been a semester full of student activities and programs. My travel schedule ramped back up over the last six months as I have attended events and engaged with constituents in several states and foreign countries.

Life on campus felt more normal at the annual lighting of the Christmas tree this year. Students tell us this is one of their favorite activities and a cherished memory during their time at Campbell. The tradition started in 2007, and after participating in my first semester on campus, my inner Texan told me that the campus needed a bigger and brighter tree.

It is now the centerpiece of the celebration, the largest in Harnett County, or at least in Buies Creek. On the evening of the lighting this November, a large crowd of students started gathering in the Academic Circle before sunset to enjoy hot chocolate, stand in line for the coveted t-shirts and mix and mingle with their classmates.

I joined them later in the evening and stayed after the lights came on for pictures and to visit with our students.

Since COVID, student participation in our traditions, rituals and celebration events has increased. Being isolated makes us realize how much we have missed being together and how important community is. We are emphasizing a sense of belonging as an essential part of the educational experience at Campbell, and traditions are a key element in cultivating and sustaining a sense of belonging.

Even with the richness that diversity adds to our community, we yearn for the connections that bring and bind us together, where what we have in common is stronger than what makes us different.

Traditions and rituals do that. Events and ceremonies like the annual Christmas tree lighting form identity and connect us to something bigger and higher than ourselves. They foster unity instead of separation, and in uncertain and unsettled times of change and trouble, ground us and provide comfort by belonging to a particular place and people.

The Christmas tree lighting points to the Good News of God’s gift of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate during this special season. Through this annual tradition at Campbell, we celebrate the love that brings us closer together and to the One who creates and sustains us as a community.

Our isolation during the pandemic made us realize how important a community can be

The Oscar N. Harris Student Union opened its doors at the beginning of the pandemic. Nearly three years later, it’s realizing its full potential as a community hub for Campbell students.

President Campbell University

Adversity into victory

Four of the potentially six students who will make up the first cohort of formerly incarcerated women in Campbell’s Second Chance Initiative in partnership with Arise Collective’s Reentry Higher Education Initiative. The students will begin their journey in the spring.

BY BILLY LIGGETT

Doris Bullock calls herself a poster child for second chances. Sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 1981, the high school dropout and self-proclaimed rebellious teen says she made a bad decision that resulted in her arrest and second-degree murder charge — a crime, she says, that she did not commit.

She served just over 10 years of her sentence, released in the summer of 1991. She made the most of her second chance, “determined to turn adversity into victory,” earning her GED and associate degree while serving and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees after release. She became Dr. Bullock in 2020, earning her Ph.D. in Education Leadership from High Point University.

She’s a former board member for Interfaith Prison Ministry Women/ Arise Collective, which has partnered with Campbell University’s Second Chance Initiative to offer an associate degree to a cohort of women transitioning after their recent release from the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh. The collaboration is special to Bullock, a strong advocate for following the path of education as a means of reducing recidivism in the nation’s criminal justice system.

Bullock

“With all of the traumatic experiences that they have gone through and with the resources that will be provided for them, I know they will be able to be successful with this degree.”

“You can put me on a billboard,” she said. “Those in programs like this can walk away with either a certification in something or a degree, and they can feel as though they finally have a leg up. And they do, because the likelihood of an organization hiring you goes up if you have some level of education. You position yourself to be able to be something more. It sets you up for success in a way you probably didn’t have the privilege of seeing before.

The degree program through Arise Collective is similar to the Second Chance program currently available to incarcerated men at Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton. Both are offered through Campbell’s Adult & Online Education program, and both were made possible by outside funding. The IMPW partnership was formed through the Anonymous Trust, a longtime advocate for the mission of women’s re-entry after incarceration. The Trust is supporting the Second Chance Initiative through a $552,000 grant.

“I believe these scholarships are life changing for the women and look forward to seeing what the future holds for them,” said Kimberly Breeden, senior program officer for the Anonymous Trust.

Sarah Swain, associate vice president of foundation relations and alumni engagement at Campbell, said she’s grateful to the Trust not only for its funding, but for inviting Campbell to the

Second Chance Initiative expands to women’s re-entry program thanks to advocates and funding partners

conversation on reducing recidivism for women in North Carolina.

“We all have a shared vision of supporting women and changing what re-entry looks like for them and tearing down the barriers they face upon release,” Swain said.

Women in the upcoming program will have served an average of two and a half years in prison, and each will have met certain educational requirements and approval from the University and Arise Collective.

A 2012 study by the National Institute of Justice found that women cited employment, life skills services and education as their three areas of greatest need following release from incarceration. Jennifer Jackson, CEO for Arise Collective, said women transitioning to life outside of a prison cell need allies often not found in the criminal justice system.

“If we’re not able to humanize and welcome people back in, they will forever be pushing a rock up the hill to reestablish their lives after a period of incarceration,” Jackson said. “In addition to working with women to train and educate them, we’re here to bolster their spirits so they understand they are deserving and worthy of that second chance, third chance or fourth chance. Because so often, the deck has been stacked against them from the time they were children.”

Rubin, dean of Campbell’s Adult & Online Education program.

“[The curriculum] gives students a grounding in psychology, social work and sociology and positions them very well to be peer support specialists or peer counselors, which is a large and growing field,” Rubin said. “Pretty much when they finish their degree, there’s a job available right there, either with the state or with one of several private organizations.”

Campbell’s partnership with Arise Collective means more than just an education for these women. The first cohort in January will also receive support — room and board, computer needs, internet access and books, in addition to personal and professional guidance.

BEYOND BARS

The Fall 2021 edition of Campbell Magazine tells the story of the launch of Campbell’s Second Chance Initiative and the early impact it’s had on men at Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton.

“I won’t say we’re offering ‘everything,’” Rubin said, “because there are many barriers these women face. But it’s as complete as we can make it.”

Those barriers are the big reason why so many women return to jail or prison after their release, according to Jackson. Housing, employment, transportation, mental health and substance abuse support — a lack of access to any of these make it difficult for them to get back on their feet. Many end up returning to the behaviors that landed them in the criminal justice system to begin with.

SAMPSON STUDENTS EARN INDUCTION

INTO HONOR SOCIETY

Six men in Campbell University’s second cohort of students at Sampson Correctional Institution were honored on Oct. 26 for their perfect GPAs with a formal induction into Alpha Sigma Lambda, the nation’s oldest and largest honor society for nontraditional students.

Natividad Aguirre, Mark Denning, Michael Goff, Dylan Hulin, Jared Russell and Adam Sauls have maintained their 4.0 average in Campbell’s rigorous two-year associate program, part of the University’s Second Chance Initiative, which launched in 2019 and celebrated its first commencement in 2021.

THE PROGRAM

Second Chance Initiative students will have their choice of degree routes — an associate of arts in general studies that allows them to focus on specific areas like business or data management and an associate of science in behavioral science that includes more science and math courses.

Both are two-year programs and both transfer well into a four-year program should the student want to go after a four-year degree, according to Dr. Beth

“As many as 82.9 percent of women in North Carolina prisons either have mental health or substance abuse issues,” she said. “Just about everybody in prison has some kind of trauma in their background. With women, it’s often because of childhood sexual abuse, childhood trauma or domestic violence — often those situations catapult the choices that come out of it.”

Jackson believes in the often-shared thought that people need treatment more than prison. “Women need to heal from these wounds,” she said, “but instead, they find themselves in prison. But they still have the wounds. And there’s only so much of the healing that can happen while they are in prison.”

“The solution to recidivism is higher education,” said Goff, entering his second year in the program. “We are bought in 100 percent. Not only do we want to make our communities better, we want to make this prison better. We’re thankful for the Second Chance Initiative for making a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.”

Sampson Correctional Institution

Warden Robert Van Gorder said he was skeptical when the program was first pitched to him, but seeing the growth in the participating students has opened his eyes.

“I’ve been here for 30 years, which means it’s hard to change my ways,” he said. “But these men have made me a believer. And they have my support. Everything they’ve accomplished in this program has been achieved through a team effort. That’s the most important aspect of this program.”

VETERAN’S DAY RUMBLE

With a U.S. Army cargo plane serving as a backdrop in a large hangar on the Fort Bragg base, Campbell’s wrestling program hosted national powers Michigan and UNC-Chapel Hill for the Battle at Bragg wrestling event in November. Pictured are Anthony Molton (left) and Kurt McHenry.

Photo by Manny Fernandes, @mdphotoandink

s “It’s exciting to stage a first-of-its-kind college wrestling event and to work with our heroes from the United States Army,” Campbell Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore said of the Battle at Bragg. “It’s our hope to make this an annual happening to get the word out about the Fighting Camels and college wrestling.”

t In a rarity for college wrestling, a wind-blown rain storm made its way into the military aircraft hangar that hosted the Battle at Bragg, temporarily delaying the match between Campbell’s Callum Sitek and Michigan’s Chance Lamer so coaches and staff could use towels to dry the mat. Photos by Manny Fernandes

‘BATTLE AT BRAGG’ NETS BIG EXPOSURE FOR WRESTLING

A large Army cargo plane in the background, surrounded by military personnel and under the roof of a U.S. Army aircraft hangar, Campbell University Wrestling performed on a national stage against two nationally ranked programs in its first Battle at Bragg event on Veterans Day in November.

The event, hosted in conjunction with the U.S. Army and Pope Army Airfield at Fort Bragg, was streamed live to a national audience on UFC Fightpass. Powerhouse programs from the University of Michigan and UNC-Chapel Hill wrestled the host Camels with all programs wearing special camouflage uniforms.

“For Campbell to be able to create this event with schools like UNC and Michigan and have it broadcast globally is simply incredible,” Campbell head coach Scotti Sentes said. “College wrestling is a tremendous sport and we are, and will continue to be, aggressive in creating new ways to showcase what we are building here at the Creek, which is the finest college wrestling culture in the nation.”

Through November, Campbell Wrestling was ranked among the best in the nation, coming in at No. 29 in the Intermat dual rankings. Five individual wrestlers were ranked among the Top 33 in the nation in their weight class.

s Since arriving at Campbell 38 years ago, Dr. Yu-Mong Hsiao “consistently offered outstanding teaching, tremendous service and unfailing leadership to the School of Business,” according to Dean Kevin O’Mara. Hsiao retired as the school’s longestserving professor in the spring and was honored by her peers in November.

BUSINESS SCHOOL HONORS RETIRED PROFESSOR AFTER 38 YEARS OF SERVICE

After 38 years of service and dedication, Dr. Yu-Mong Hsiao retired from the LundyFetterman School of Business after the spring semester. Hsiao held a variety of roles during her time at Campbell and finished her time serving as the chair of the Business Administration and Economics Department and as a tenured, full professor of business administration and economics.

The school’s administration paid tribute to Hsiao during their annual Thanksgiving dinner in November.

A graduate of the National Taiwan University, Hsaio joined the Campbell faculty in 1984 as an economics instructor. She was consistently selected to serve on the University’s most important committees and leadership

searches and was recipient of the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence four times by three different sitting deans.

She says her favorite memories were ones of students coming back to her after they had finished one of her courses or graduated and telling her that the knowledge they gained in her class helped them get a job and succeed in their dreams.

“When I meet alumni, they always remember Dr. Hsiao and comment on how much she put into her courses,” said Business Dean Kevin O’Mara. “She was always willing to spend as much time with an individual student as the student requested. Dr. Hsiao was respected by the entire faculty and was instrumental in determining so many important decisions for the business school.”

THE COUNT

6 46

With the election or re-election of three School of Law alumni to the NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS in November, Campbell alums make up six of the judges (40 percent) on the court, more than any school in the state.

35 135

Three staff members were recognized for 35 years with the University during the annual Faculty/Staff recognition event.

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CHARLIE PRICE

, CLAUDIA WILLIAMS and ANTHONY JONES all began their careers here in 1987.

In its 37th season, CAMPBELL VOLLEYBALL earned its first regular season conference title in program history in 2022. Campbell finished the season 19-11 with a remarkable 14-2 Big South mark.

Campbell’s nationally renowned BASEBALL PROGRAM continues to earn accolades after seeing two go in the first round of the MLB Draft this year. The Camels are the 46th-ranked program in the nation, according to D1Baseball.com.

61Campbell Engineering students will once again take part in the NASA HUMAN EXPLORATION ROVER CHALLENGE in the spring, one of 61 programs in the nation to take part in the annual event.

Founded in 1887, CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY is celebrating its 135th year in 2022. In 2015, the University unveiled a bronze statue of founder J.A. Campbell. Today, students rub the mustache of the statue for good luck before exams.

Sarah Swain (‘05) was named associate vice president of foundation relations and alumni engagement at Campbell in the fall. Previously the assistant VP of alumni engagement, Swain is responsible for creating and implementing a program to increase foundation giving. Since 2021, Swain has personally generated more than $1.7 million in private foundation support for various programs like the Second Chance Initiative.

HANNAH BAZEMORE (‘07,’09)

DROPPING THE ‘ACT’

After just a few months as acting director of athletics, Bazemore ready to lead Fighting Camels as it prepares for new conference

In four short months as acting director of athletics at Campbell University, Hannah Bazemore oversaw three regular season Big South championships in fall sports, the hiring of a softball coach and one major conference realignment announcement.

Campbell dropped the “acting” from her title in November. The two-time Campbell

graduate will now lead Campbell Athletics, one of 350 Division I college sports programs in the nation, for the forseeable future.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to continue leading and serving Campbell Athletics, a place that means so much to me,” Bazemore said. “I am committed to continuing our winning tradition both academically and athletically. I look forward to the work ahead with a focus on providing a championship-caliber experience for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the entire Campbell family. The future is bright for Campbell Athletics.”

Bazemore has previously served as senior associate athletics director for business and finance, assistant director for business operations and business manager since joining the Campbell Athletics staff in 2010. She will oversee an important transition as Campbell Athletics moves from competition in the Big South Conference to the Colonial Athletic Association beginning in the

In 12 years of experience with Campbell Athletics, Hannah Bazemore has engaged and managed virtually every administrative area, including financial planning of a $27 million operation, budgeting, information technology, facilities, game operations, athletic equipment operations, and capital projects. Photo by Ben Brown

summer of 2023. Campbell will join new members North Carolina A&T, Hampton, Monmouth and Stony Brook in the 15-school conference that encompasses many of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas with a geographic footprint that stretches from Boston to Charleston.

The conference has produced 18 national championship teams in five different sports and 33 individual national champions since its founding in 1979.

Bazemore said the immediate focus is on finishing the final year of Big South play and building on the 13 conference championships Campbell won last year. Already this year, Campbell has regular season conference titles in men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball.

“Our student-athletes and coaches are laser focused on the task at hand which is excelling in the classroom and on the playing field,” Bazemore said. “Our priority is putting our student-athletes in the best possible position to be successful. Everything we do as administrators and coaches is centered around our student-athletes.”

President J. Bradley Creed said he “could not be more pleased” to remove “acting” from Bazemore’s title.

“Since Hannah assumed the role in July, our athletic programs have continued to thrive, our student athletes are excelling in the classroom and in their respective sports, and our fans and supporters are energized about our future,” Creed said. “Hannah is a trusted and proven leader for Campbell Athletics, and I could not be more proud of her leadership.”

Bazemore graduated from Campbell in 2007 with a bachelor of science in sports management with a minor in business administration. She earned an MBA from Campbell in 2009.

BILLY LIGGETT

SPOT A LEOPARD

The Lundy-Fetterman Museum on campus features a collection of 175 marine and wildlife exhibits gathered by Burrows T. and Mabel L. Lundy in the 1940s and 50s. The Lundy family made the donation to provide visitors “an opportunity to discover more about the natural world through displays of exotic specimens they might otherwise never encounter.” The museum first opened in 2001. Photo by Ben Brown

HELPING ATHLETES WIN IN THE CLASSROOM, TOO

Campbell University’s wrestling program is getting a lot of attention for being a regular Top 25 program now, but did you know that when it comes to academics, it’s ranked fifth in the nation? The credit, of course, goes to the student-athletes, but Kendra Hancock deserves a lot of that praise.

Hancock has been director of student-athlete support at Campbell University for over 10 years — helping not only the wrestling program, but golf, women’s soccer, softball and swimming, to name a few more. She says the key to getting a student-athlete to focus on his or her work in the classroom (while they’re worried about so much on the field) is to remind them of their long-term goals and the reason they’re seeking that degree.

“I remind them they’re here for a dual purpose and that graduation is the primary goal,” says Hancock. “Whatever they do after graduation — whether they go on to play sports professionally or start a career outside of sports — we want to make sure they’re ready for that.”

She first got involved in university athletics while a student at Eastern Kentucky University, working for the men’s basketball team there. While she didn’t play sports in school, Hancock’s passion — running — is taking her to one of the country’s biggest sporting events next spring.

Hancock will take part in the 127th Boston Marathon on April 17. She’s raising money for her participation — her goal of $10,000 will go toward Good Sports Inc., which provides sports equipment and gear for kids and organizations in high-need communities.

Hear Kendra Hancock talk abou her role and her running on the Rhymes With Orange podcast, found online.

Riley Bowers (‘15 PharmD) was accepted into the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s Academic Leadership Fellows Program. Bowers is a member of Campbell’s clinical faculty and is the residency program director for the PGY2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency at Cape Fear Valley Health.

NEW DEAN OF SPIRITUAL LIFE SEEKS ‘WELCOME, BELONGING’ ON CAMPUS

Rev. Louisa Ward (’14 MDiv) was named the dean for spiritual life and campus minister back in September. Working closely underneath the Rev. Faithe Beam, now the vice president for student life and Christian mission, Ward says she welcomes an open “community of learners.”

“We hope that Campbell breeds welcome and belonging,” she says. “When we ask students where our Christian mission is most clearly expressed, they always talk about a relationship on campus or a conversation they’ve had with a professor or a friend.”

A graduate of Meredith College who earned her Master of Divinity from

Campbell in 2014, Ward says she believes Campbell’s Christian mission animates much of what the University is about.

“[Founder] J.A. Campbell was a Baptist minister who thought it was important to educate in a rural area,” she says. “Our mission as an institution is that we find no conflict between a life of faith and a life of inquiry. That’s part of what makes Campbell unique in our approach to Christian higher education. And I hope it’s part of our culture and part of our atmosphere as well.”

Hear the Rev. Louisa Ward talk about her vision for Christian education on the Rhymes With Orange podcast, found online.

s Rev. Louisa Ward notes the importance of presenting the University’s Christian mission and allowing students to find their journey on campus. “That is our promise — to walk alongside students and to be present with students,” she says. “And so they know that when something happens, there is an open door, and we are here, ready to talk to them.”

Photo by Ben Brown

Photo by Ben Brown

He and 34 other pharmacists began the one-year fellows program in September.

MUTUAL RESPECT

showdown with Jackson State was billed as one of the most anticipated FCS match-ups of the season. A big reason was the coaches — Campbell’s Mike Minter and JSU’s Deion Sanders spoke a lot about their respect for each other and their budding programs.

Photo courtesy

FACES IN THE CROWD

Game

Day at Barker-Lane Stadium in the fall had a different feel for students. In addition to the return of the Camel Run prior to kickoff, the student section was moved to the west side of the field to add to the noise behind the visiting team (next to the band).

Photo by Ben Brown

GENEROSITY IN DROVES

goal was 2,022 gifts over a 24-hour period, in honor of the year and how far Campbell has come as an institution.

The Campbell University community once again stepped up in a big way for students and programs on Giving Day, Nov. 9, with 2,262 gifts and commitments totaling more than $2 million, both single-day records.

The Office of Annual Giving’s annual Campbell Giving Day is geared toward encouraging participation from alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the University. The

Campbell Giving Day is a focused time where the University asks the community to pull together and focus their attention and support to the greatest needs of the school, according to Britt Davis, vice president for university advancement. Participation has always been the priority goal; donors are encouraged to make their gift to the school or program that means the most to them. The Office of Annual Giving looks for participation over dollar amount for the day.

“The day was busy, but every time I came up for air and saw the totals I was overwhelmed with emotion at the support of this community,” said Robin Gordon, director of annual giving. “I get to work on campus with students every day and watch the generous dollars that friends and alumni give make a real impact. I am feeling such a sense of pride to be a part of this effort.”

In addition to making a philanthropic gift, alumni and friends were encouraged to show their Campbell pride by wearing orange and sharing why they give on social media. #CampbellGivingDay appeared thousands of times on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

“On Campbell Giving Day, we choose to recognize each and every person who helps make Campbell what it is — for past, current and future students,” said alumna Lizzie Tart (’16). “The names and faces of the students may change over the years, but the appreciation for the university never changes, and that’s so special. It was heartwarming to be on campus and experience the day alongside them.”

WHAT’S NEW?

First Order of the Engineer ceremony

Campbell University added a new ring ceremony over Homecoming weekend this year — the Order of the Engineer initiated 29 alumni, six faculty and staff and three external advisory board members in its first event on campus since the the School of Engineering’s undergraduate program earned ABET accreditation this fall.

Rose Center for Peer Mentorship

The Lundy-Fetterman School of Business announced the establishment and naming of the Rose Center for Peer Mentorship during its Leadership Summit in September. Because of the generous support of Meredith and Chandler Rose of Raleigh, the announcement culminates over a decade of programmatic mentoring within the school.

Innovation in higher ed compliance

Campbell was one of three schools in the country to receive the 2022 State Authorization Network’s SANsational Award, given to schools for their efforts in developing “high-quality, comprehensive solutions” to challenging state issues. Along with Cincinnati and Utah Tech, Campbell was recognized for its innovative approach to regulatory compliance.

Law’s first Hispanic admissions dean

Campbell Law School announced Miguel Hernandez as assistant dean of admissions in September. Hernandez is the first Hispanic dean to lead the school’s admissions and financial aid department.

COVER STORY

SURVIVANCE

STORY BY BILLY LIGGETT PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN BROWN

The legend passed down over generations of Coharie Indians tells a story of mothers gathering their children as strangers approached their village, whispering “shhhh” to quiet them until the potential threat was gone. That same sound, they say, can be heard to this day, a whisper that blows through the tall pine trees that grow along muddy banks of the Little Coharie River, just 30 miles from Campbell University’s main campus.

Descendants of the Neusiok Indians, the Coharie first settled along the river — located near the present-day Harnett and Sampson county line — sometime between 1729 and 1746. For nearly 300 years, the relationship between the Coharie and their river has been symbiotic. The water that once provided fish and crops to their people now provides nourishment to the mental health of today’s Coharie. Caring for and cleaning the river is a healing medicine to many of its more than 3,000 members.

There’s a small painting on Greg Jacob’s desk in his tribal administrator office at Coharie Tribe headquarters. It’s the same room he sat in as a third grader, a student of the Coharie School before desegregation sent him to a mostly white school in Clinton in the 1960s. The painting depicts a young woman in a canoe, surrounded by the silhouette of tall trees, the river taking her toward a yellow sunset and a bold red sky.

Asked about the painting, the man who has led the Coharie for nearly 45 years picks up the small canvas and smiles.

“A young woman painted this for me,” he starts. “She had a special connection with our river. She once turned down an invitation to go to a Lumbee pow wow that her boyfriend was the head dancer for so she could spend a day on the water. She said her heart had been really heavy that day, and there were burdens and other things going on that she just needed to figure out.”

TIMELINE

NORTH CAROLINA’S INDIGENOUS HISTORY

The river, she told Jacobs, was a place she could go and lay those burdens down.

“The currents of the water would send those burdens away and bring her peace. And this painting represented that,” Jacobs says before revealing the identity of the artist — his granddaughter.

40,000–15,000 B.C.

People migrate to North America from Asia at irregular intervals by way of the Bering Land Bridge. For the next several thousand years, these Paleo-Indian-period American Indians are nomadic and hunt large animals for food. They also eat small game and wild plants. They leave no evidence of permanent dwellings in North Carolina.

In 2015, Jacobs and the tribe launched the Great Coharie River Initiative, a gift to not only his granddaughter to but to all Coharie people. For the past seven years, the Coharie have cleared the 13-mile stretch of water that runs along U.S. 421 of trees and debris from recent hurricanes and storms — all with a goal of making it accessible to everyone. It’s become a place where visitors can kayak and take in the beauty. A place where his granddaughter can find peace.

“A beautiful gift to all people.”

8000 B.C.

Possibly this early, American Indians begin to use a site in present-day Wilson County for either permanent or seasonal habitation. They move from biggame hunting to small-game hunting, fishing and collecting wild plants. They change their patterns of living because of the changing climate.

1000 B.C.–A.D. 1550

Woodland-culture American Indians settle in permanent locations, usually near streams, and they practice a mixed subsistence lifestyle of hunting, gathering and some agriculture. They create pottery and also develop elaborate funeral procedures, such as building mounds to honor their dead.

The Coharie are one of eight recognized Native American tribes in North Carolina, joining the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the HaliwaSaponi, the Meherrin, the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, the Waccamaw Siouan, the Sappony, and the state’s largest tribe, the Lumbee. Today, North Carolina is home to the largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi River and the eighth-largest overall in the U.S. More than 120,000 North Carolinians identify as Native American, making up just over 1 percent of the state’s population.

The eight tribes came together in 1971 with the General Assembly to form the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, a unified group of 21 representatives who serve as the voice of their people in state government affairs, fighting for everything from more funding to the elimination of offensive Indian mascots from North Carolina high schools.

Fifty years after its start, the commission has found a partner in Campbell University, a relationship made possible by Dr. Alfred Bryant, dean of Campbell’s School of Education & Human Sciences and a native Lumbee American Indian. In just the past year, Campbell has hosted three commission meetings, sent medical school students out to provide COVID vaccination clinics to tribes and hosted several health care-related events.

North Carolina is home to eight state-recognized tribes and one federally recognized tribe. Our state is home to the largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi and the eighth-largest overall in the United States. More than 120,000 North Carolinians identify as American Indian, making up just over 1 percent of the state’s population.

Dr. Alfred Bryant became dean of the School of Education & Human Sciences at Campbell in 2019 after nearly 20 years in various roles at UNC-Pembroke. A native Lumbee American Indian, Bryant has worked to form a partnership between Campbell and the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs and several outreach programs to benefit state tribes.

And that’s just the beginning. In the spring, Campbell and its Lundy-Fetterman School of Business will work with the commission to launch a training program for tribal leaders, covering topics like tribal financing and grant writing, as well as training them to become better communicators and a stronger voice in their communities.

“I see this program directly benefiting each of these tribes,” says Bryant. “Once these men and women finish this program, they will return more confident, armed with a whole new set of skills. They’ll better understand what a budget looks like, maybe better understand the role of policies and how to write one, understand the role of a council committee and perhaps be better at team building and working with others toward a common goal.

“Just helping people understand that when you’re elected or appointed to lead, you aren’t just doing it because it’s something that looks good on your resume. There’s a big expectation behind it. You are here to make your tribe better. And that’s a huge responsibility.”

A.D. 700–1550

Mississippian-culture American Indians create large political units called chiefdoms, uniting people under stronger leadership than the Woodland cultures have. Many groups of American Indians live in the area now called North Carolina, including the Croatoan, Hatteras, Pamlico, Neuse River, Tuscarora, Cherokee, Cape Fear, Catawba, Shakori, Sissipahaw, Waccamaw, Waxhaw, Woccon, Eno, Occaneechi and Tutelo tribes.

1492

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus leads expeditions for Spain to explore new trade routes in the western Atlantic Ocean. This results in European contact with native peoples in the Caribbean and South America, creating a continuing and devastating impact on their cultures.

Through the sixth grade, Jacobs and other Coharie children attended school in the same long, white building in Sampson County that serves as tribal headquarters today. In 1966, nine years after Dorothy Counts became the first Black student to attend an all-white North Carolina high school, Jacobs and seven of his classmates were among the first minority students to attend middle school and high school in Clinton. Recalling his first day in this intimidating environment still stirs emotions.

“We had an assembly on that first day, and we were already scared. We already had this low self-image. We looked different. We didn’t know anybody,” he says. “I knew it could get ugly, because this was Clinton, where we couldn’t eat in restaurants unless we came in through the back door, or we were told, ‘We can serve your family, but you’ll have to stand up to eat.’ So there was a lot of fear that day. A lot for a little 13-year-old boy to have to face.”

In his new class, his math teacher asked Jacobs and his classmates to take out their books and turn to “Exercise 3, Page 15.” It was a math problem — a refresher for his classmates, but a foreign language to Jacobs.

Survivance, when used in Native American studies, invokes “an active sense of presence.” It is a continuance of native stories. A survivable name.

“Native survivance stories are renunciations of dominance, tragedy and victimry,” writes Dr. Gerald Vizenor, a member of the White Earth Nation of the Anishinaabe Tribe in Minnesota and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. Vizenor uses the term in his 1999 book, “Manifest Manners: Narratives of Postindian Survivance” and in a 2008 follow-up that examines survivance in Native American literature.

Survival and resistance. They are words Greg Jacobs knows well.

1584

Sir Walter Raleigh sends explorers Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to North America in search of potential colony sites. At Roanoke Island, the explorers meet Native American chief Wingina and find the site excellent for settlement. They return to England with two Indians, Manteo and Wanchese, who learn English and are used to create publicity for the colony.

1590

Explorer and artist John White returns to Roanoke Island (after a three-year voyage to England) to find the colony deserted, with little evidence of what happened to the colonists. The Roanoke settlement is known afterward as the Lost Colony.

“I was afraid to look up. Afraid to look in the eyes of my teacher. Afraid to look at my classmates. And so I started crying. I couldn’t do the first thing my new teacher asked me to do, so I cried.”

Ms. Wallace — a name Jacobs will never forget — patted Jacobs on his back and whispered to him, “Don’t worry. We’ll help you. We’ll get you through this.”

Jacobs ended the year the No. 2 student in his class. He would go on to graduate high school, earn a college degree and become tribal administrator in 1978. He would graduate from the inaugural N.C. Native Leadership Institute in 2014. He’d become a vocal leader for the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs and lead a massive initiative to clean and maintain a river.

A renunciation of victimry.

“If I had been a horse in a horse race, I would have been the one who started slow, came from behind and won it all,” Jacobs says. “I had the potential. All I needed was the opportunity.”

The Native American experience during desegregation in North Carolina and in the U.S. in the 1960s is a story left out of many history books and civil rights lessons. While Black, Latino and other minority students fought for equal education opportunities, many (certainly not all) indigenous communities and families fought back against attempts to “assimilate” them into white schools, eradicating their culture.

Their fight for equal rights also meant a fight for a distinct identity.

It’s not just the 1960s. The entire story of North Carolina’s indigenous people is far too often glossed over in middle school and high school civics and history courses. Katie Eddings has taught in public schools for nearly 20 years, and she remembers the old North Carolina history textbooks — back when students still used actual books — and the painfully small amount of ink given to those who lived here before the first Spanish and English settlers arrived.

Thousands of years, she says, reduced to a few short paragraphs.

“The history of North Carolina that we teach to our children doesn’t do justice to the people who were here long before. It doesn’t represent all of the people here,” says Eddings, a Lumbee native who teaches world history at Lee Early College in nearby Sanford.

The American view of indigenous history often begins in 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Christopher Columbus was heading west across the Atlantic from Spain hoping to find a western route to “the Orient.” He was not aware two continents stood in the way, and when he reached land, he believed he found India. Hence, he called the people he found “Indios,” or in English, “Indians.”

What happened before that is a more difficult story to tell, because indigenous people kept no written records, only stories passed through generations. The first written accounts came from outsiders who found their customs to be strange and their behavior to be “savage.”

Columbus’ arrival would mark the beginning of a slow, brutal genocide of Native Americans through violence, disease and forced acculturation. Multiple studies have found

The Coharie Indians are the closest state-recognized tribe to Campbell University — their headquarters located north of Clinton near the border of Sampson and Harnett counties. The tribe, held its annual fall Pow Wow — a celebration of their traditions and culture, attended by American Indian tribes from across the country — in September.

that in the century following Columbus, about 90 percent of indigenous Americans died from “wave after wave of disease,” along with mass slavery and war (researchers have called it “The Great Dying”). Scientists from the University College of London claim the European colonization of the Americas resulted in so many deaths, it contributed to climate change and temporary global cooling.

More than 100,000 Native Americans were believed to be living in what is now North Carolina in 1550. That number would fall to about 20,000 by the 1800s.

Roughly 25 known tribes existed in North Carolina when Europeans arrived, including the Cape Fear near Wilmington, the Chowan and Hatteras along and near the Outer Banks, the Cherokee and Catawba in the west and the Tuscarora, Eno, Shakori, Woccon and Sissipahaw in the Piedmont area.

These tribes were initially friendly and (mostly) willing to trade and assist Europeans who landed on the barrier islands of what is now North Carolina in 1584. Those future colonists were met by a group of high-ranking native people who were fascinated with English clothing, ships and jewelry. But relationships with the English would soon sour. In 1587, a permanent English settlement was established on Roanoke Island. Three years later, when English ships returned with supplies, they found the colony deserted — the word “Croatoan” carved into the palisades and “CRO” into a nearby tree the only clues left behind.

The story of the “Lost Colony” became the stuff of legend, but the story has also lent to a negative historical image of Native Americans (despite no proof to this day that Croatoan Indians had anything to do with the disappearance). One theory is that the settlers assimilated with the tribes to ensure survival.

The next 300 years would not be kind to native North Carolinians. In 1663, England’s King Charles II issued a decree for the British Empire to seize all land in North America between the northern border of North Carolina to the southern border of Georgia. Ownership of indigenous people’s lands was bestowed upon English families, and skirmishes erupted as a result.

In 1711, the Tuscarora in the central part of the state attacked colonial settlements in an effort to drive them from their lands. A twoyear war ensued, ending with a South Carolina militia (backed by other tribes) defeating the Tuscarora, who lost nearly 1,000 people either killed or sold into slavery.

When President Andrew Jackson signed the American Removal Act a century later in 1830, more than 17,000 Cherokees in the western part of the state were forcibly moved to reservations in Oklahoma, part of a network of routes over 5,000 miles long covering nine states known as the Trail of Tears. Historians believe more than 4,000 Cherokee alone died as a result of the journey.

Those who’ve written and taught America’s history in the past have either ignored these tragedies, glossed over them or presented them as unfortunate consequences of a young nation’s growth.

Many are working to change this view. More importantly to Eddings, who was named Teacher of the Year in North Carolina’s North Central Region in 2019, there are more people in this country willing to listen.

“I think younger people are more willing now,” she says. “Social media and wider availability to this [more detailed version of] history has made this possible. People are more open to hearing all sides and having these sometimes difficult discussions.”

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the first presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day, which refocused a federal holiday that since 1792 (300 years after his arrival in the Americas) celebrated Columbus. While the proclamation has since sparked controversy — much of it related to the Critical Race Theory debate currently prevalent in the political realm — it has unquestionably shined a light on Native American history and cultures in North Carolina and across the country.

Eddings sees the debate as healthy for her students. She believes in presenting all angles in her classroom, letting her students do their research and decide their own viewpoint when it comes to this country’s history.

1711

Tuscarora Indians capture surveyor John Lawson, New Bern founder Baron von Graffenried and two African slaves. Lawson is executed, while von Graffenried and the slaves are spared. The Tuscarora War begins in September with the attack of colonial settlements near New Bern and Bath. More than 130 settlers are killed. The Tuscarora are upset over the practices of white traders, the capture and enslavement of Indians and the continuing encroachment of settlers onto Tuscarora hunting grounds.

1713

A force from South Carolina, consisting of 900 Indians and 33 whites, begins a three-day siege on the Tuscarora. Approximately 950 Tuscarora are killed or captured and sold into slavery, effectively defeating the tribe and opening the interior of the colony to white settlement.

“I was asked several years ago, ‘Do you think Christopher Columbus was a bad guy?’ And my answer is, ‘That’s not what I’m teaching,’” Eddings says. “His journey, why he took that journey — those are the important things. There are bad things that happened, but let’s look at what we’ve learned from what happened. Let’s talk about things not everybody is aware of.”

For example, the Battle of Hayes Pond in 1958 saw Native Americans and African Americans confront members of the Ku Klux Klan at their rally in the town of Maxton and drive them out of the area for good. The event made national headlines. LIFE Magazine wrote about it. Newspapers across the country celebrated those brave enough to stand up to hatred.

Eddings took a recent trip to Australia and witnessed that country’s Reconciliation, a process that began in 1991 and focused on the improved race relations between the nation’s population and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people indigenous to the land. For those people, Australia’s colonial history was characterized by “devastating land dispossession, violence and racism.”

1738

A smallpox epidemic decimates the Indian population in North Carolina, especially in the eastern part of the colony. The epidemic decreases the number of Cherokee by 50 percent.

1754-1763

The French and Indian War is fought between England and France all along the frontier of North America. The Indian population in eastern N.C. is estimated at around 356. Most of these are Tuscarora who have not moved north. The colonial governor approves a proposal to establish an Indian academy in present-day Sampson County.

“They have acknowledged their history and embraced it,” Eddings says. “Do we need Americans today to apologize for what the colonists did? No. But do acknowledge that I have a language, I have these traditions, and I have this history that is real to me.”

In his written assessment of the Tuscarora people in 1709, colonial settler and explorer John Lawson saw the good in them. But his glowing description would do little to change the course of history for the Tuscarora, nor did it alter his own fate. Lawson was killed by the Tuscarora two years later, a spark that would ignite the war to come.

“They are really better to us than we are to them; they always give us victuals at their quarters, and take care we are arm’d against hunger and thirst. [Yet] we look upon them with scorn and disdain, and think them little better than beasts in human shape, though if well examined, we shall find that, for all our religion and education, we possess more moral deformities and evils than these savages do, or are acquainted withal.”

Over the span of two weeks in November — in commemoration of National Native American Heritage Month — Campbell University hosted a Coharie speaker who spoke to social work students about cultural awareness, and it hosted a heritage event in the student union that included traditional dance performances while inviting students and faculty to take part.

Those events, coupled with the commission’s recent meetings and plans for a training program for state tribal leaders, have led to a Native American presence on campus previously unseen. It’s been a pleasant surprise for students like Dean Locklear, a junior political science major from Garner and a native Lumbee American Indian.

Locklear met Bryant during his first year at Campbell, and as he got to know the fellow Lumbee better, he became more interested in indigenous history. When he joined the Ester Howard Student Research Fellows program last summer with a group of six other students, Locklear’s project allowed him to dig deeper into this past — his research dealt with land acknowledgement statements, formal documents that recognize indigenous groups as “traditional stewards of the land.” His work focused on Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and he created his own database and compared land statements with archaeological evidence and historical documentation of Native Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In his research, he learned about Harnett County’s indigenous history and the people who formed communities here long before there was a Campbell University. The project did more than educate Locklear, it helped form a deeper connection with his people and his tribe’s past.

“I think the first thing I learned was just how little I knew about Native American history,” Locklear says. “I am a Native American, but I grew up outside of the Lumbee community.

1758-1759

N.C. militia and Cherokee assist the British military in campaigns against the French and Shawnee Indians. The Cherokee decide to change sides after receiving ill treatment by the English, and they eventually attack colonists. The French and Indian War intensifies as the Cherokee raid the western Piedmont. A second smallpox epidemic devastates the Catawba, reducing the population by half.

1814

Cherokee Indians aid Gen. Andrew Jackson in defeating the Creek Indians in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama. After the battle, Jackson tells the Cherokee: “As long as the sun shines and the grass grows there shall be friendship between us.”

As president, Jackson later plays a major role in the effort to forcibly move the Cherokee west.

I didn’t have a lot of friends like me, and I didn’t go to schools that had a lot of Native American people. So that history was never prioritized for me. It’s just not a big part of the [high school] curriculum. I’m hoping that my project will help play a role in changing the way we teach this history.”

Locklear dedicated his project to his paternal grandparents. His Lumbee grandmother was the first person to review the final draft.

“Getting to share that with her was a really rewarding experience.”

Only about 1 percent of students at Campbell University identify as “American Indian,” though that number might jump a point or two when factoring in students of multiple races or ethnicities. It’s a number that Bryant hopes to see grow in the coming years to more closely match the population in Harnett (2 percent) and nearby counties like Sampson (4 percent). Roughly 43 percent of residents in Robeson County — just an hour away — are listed as American Indian.

Campbell’s increased presence in those communities is a win-win, Bryant says.

1830

Now President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act calling for American Indians to be forced from their homes to lands west of the Mississippi.

1838

Approximately 17,000 North Carolina Cherokee are forcibly removed from the state to present-day Oklahoma. This event becomes known as the Trail of Tears. An estimated 4,000 Cherokee people die during the 1,200-mile trek. A few hundred Cherokee refuse to be rounded up and transported. They hide in the mountains and evade federal soldiers. Eventually, a deal is struck between the army and the remaining Cherokee.

“If you have students in these communities looking at colleges, then hopefully they’ll consider Campbell because of these relationships,” he says. “And at the same time, Campbell gets to see the needs of these tribes, and hopefully we have the resources to address those needs and help them out.”

When Bryant first reached out to Greg Richardson, the executive director of the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, he pitched Campbell University — its facilities and its central location to the state’s eight recognized tribes — as a viable host for at least one of the group’s quarterly meetings. The commission met for the first time in Buies Creek in 2021 and returned for a meeting in the summer in 2022.

“Campbell is a place where we can come together in a more formal setting and maybe host weekend-long sessions and train our tribal leaders and enhance their ability to run programs more effectively,” Richardson said over the summer, before the “leadership

Junior Dean Locklear took part in the Ester Howard Student Research Fellows program over the summer and studied Native American land acknowledgement agreements over the past 300 years in Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Locklear says the project brought him closer to his heritage and taught him parts of his history he never knew.

program” idea was a real thing. Ricky Burnett, the commission’s chairman, said having a “university setting” was a positive thing for the group — the setting alone fosters a desire to learn and improve.

In the past year, students and faculty from Campbell’s medical school, pharmacy school and Public Health program have set up mobile health units in the Coharie community to offer free COVID testing and vaccinations. Public Health also hosted an Alzheimer’s workshop — Native Americans in North Carolina are 50 percent more likely to die from Alzheimer’s disease compared to whites, according to a recent study.

The upcoming leadership program will be the next step in the growing partnership between Campbell and the commission. Al Bryant, Campbell Executive Vice President John Roberson and administration from the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business met with Lumbee tribal leaders in October to lay out the blueprints of the program — commission representatives Danielle McLean and Tammy Maynor (both of the Lumbee Tribe) listed their wants and needs while business school officials presented training options.

“It’s just imperative that we have strong leaders representing our people,” says Maynor, the director of governmental affairs for the Lumbee Tribe. “I feel like our tribal leaders mostly learn on the job, and by the time they’re ‘trained,’ they’re gone. Every six years, their terms are up, and they’re out. Our budgeting processes are so cumbersome. We need leaders we can trust in these roles, and that goes back to leadership development. We need leaders who think about the bigger picture and think about what’s important for us to grow as a tribe.”

Before the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs was formed in 1971, these ideas of growing leaders from within and becoming a stronger voice in state and federal government seemed far-fetched. The commission was born during the Civil Rights era and the lesser-known American Indian Movement in the late 60s, early 70s. According to Richardson, the commission provided the first chance for tribal leaders to work directly with the state to address concerns and set the stage for positive socioeconomic change.

s Campbell University’s partnership with the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs has led to programs and events on campus in the past year focusing on American Indian heritage. (Top) In November, Campbell welcomed Angelique Young from the Coharie Tribe to speak on cultural awareness and history of North Carolina’s eight recognized tribes. (Below) The commission has held multiple quarterly meetings on campus in the past year and is in talks with Campbell to begin a training program for tribal leaders.

One program born from the commission was the Educational Talent Search Program, which offers school and career counseling to young people ages 11-27 in counties where test scores are low and unemployment levels are high. Other programs focus on job development, services for the elderly and disabled, health awareness and substance abuse prevention. The commission also helps with coordinating and sponsoring events like the N.C. Indian Unity Conference, Native American Heritage Month and the N.C. Indian Senior Citizens Conference.

Greg Jacobs has seen the commission grow and mature over the last 50 years, and he credits its formation for opening the doors and providing opportunities for North Carolina American Indians today.

“When it started, it’s like we suddenly had this voice in the state that we didn’t have before, and there was this sense of pride that ran through our various communities that we were making progress,” Jacobs says. “I remember it felt like a ray of sunshine was here. A ray of hope was born.”

Not only did the commission get tribal leaders’ feet in the door in Raleigh, it sparked a revival of culture and traditions among tribes. The Coharie’s first pow wow was born around that time — the event last September enjoyed its 52nd anniversary.

“It’s almost like we were underground for so long,” Jacobs says. “It almost felt like we weren’t supposed to be here. We weren’t supposed to exist. It’s like when the commission was formed, the wall we hid behind for so long came down. And things started to flourish. We started practicing our traditions, we had better hope for education, we had better employment opportunities, and we had more access to political figures. And it’s as exciting today as it was then. I remember it very well. It changed my life.”

Fifty-one years later, he also feels excitement about the growing partnership with Campbell University.

“It’s a perfect situation,” he says. “Having Campbell in our backyard and having

1859

The Coharie community establishes subscription schools for Indian children.

1861-1865

Approximately 42,000 North Carolinians lose their lives in the Civil War. Native Americans have varying experiences during the war. Many Cherokee support the Confederacy. The Lumbee are treated quite differently, forced to work on Confederate fortifications near Wilmington. Many flee and form groups to resist impressment by the army. Henry Berry Lowry leads one such group, which continues to resist long after the war’s end.

1865-1874

The killings of Allen and William Lowry, the father and brother of Henry Berry Lowry, spark what becomes known as the Lowry War in Robeson County. The Lowry band employs guerilla tactics in its war against Robeson County’s power structure, robbing prominent citizens and killing law enforcement officers. Indians, blacks and poor whites unite in support of the outlaw group..

1887

A normal school for Indians opens in Pembroke, Robeson County. This school evolves into the present-day UNC Pembroke.

1958

A large group of Lumbee, angered by racist agitation and threats of cross burnings, descend on a Ku Klux Klan rally near Maxton, scattering the Klan. Two Klan members are later indicted for inciting a riot.

1971

The General Assembly establishes the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs.

Source: North Carolina Museum of History

access to the school just down the road, it’s a relationship I hope we continue to foster, because in the future, it’s going to be transformative to a lot of lives.”

Before he came to Campbell in 2019, Bryant served 19 years as a professor, program director, department chair, associate dean and finally dean at UNC-Pembroke, a school that got its start in 1887 (the same year as Campbell’s founding) as the Croatan Normal School, a school established to train American Indian teachers.

Bryant was director of the Southeast American Indian Studies Program at Pembroke, where 13 percent of the student population is American Indian.

Bryant wasn’t sure how on board a school like Campbell would be with his starting programs like the leadership program or inviting the commission to use its facilities to conduct its business. But, he says, Campbell has been nothing but welcoming to these projects.

“When I present ideas like this, the answer hasn’t been, ‘Maybe down the road’ or ‘Maybe that’s something we can look into.’ Instead, the answers have been, ‘Let’s talk about it now’ or ‘Let’s see what we can do to make this happen,’” Bryant says. “Campbell has been very open minded about everything involving this community.”

As for why he feels the need to develop these partnerships and launch these programs, Bryant says it’s a responsibility he feels as a university dean and leader in higher education.

“I’ve been blessed,” he says. “In my role, I have an opportunity to be a role model to young people. So if others like me can see me and think, ‘I can one day work at a place like Campbell and make a difference,’ then maybe they’ll be open to opportunities they didn’t know were out there.”

Hear Campbell University junior Dean Locklear talk about his research into Native American land acknowledgement statements on the Rhymes With Orange podcast, found online.

INSIDE THE

CLUB SHOUSE

Campbell’s PGA Golf Management program teaches both the business and sport of golf and now boasts an impressive indoor facility inside the former Shouse Dining Hall

Story by Evan Budrovich | Photos by Ben Brown

Nestled in the heart of Murray Residence hall — in an area formerly known as Shouse Dining Hall — Campbell

University PGA Golf Management students learn every aspect of golf from tee box to clubhouse.

“I remember when someone first taught me, and the joy I found in golf,” says sophomore Mia Stover. “I wanted to give that feeling to someone else.”

PGA Golf Management is a niche program.

Students earn a degree while becoming an expert in both the game of and the business of golf. Only 17 universities in the nation offer the program, which is accredited by The Professional Golfers’ Association of America.

Campbell stands strokes above the rest by offering a full Business Administration degree for every PGA Golf Management student, while opening the door to earn a master’s from the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business in the school’s 4+1 program.

“This is an opportunity, basically, that you’re not going to find anywhere else,” says senior Parker Spear.

“Golf” and “Campbell University” have become synonymous over the past 50plus years, starting with the program’s only national title — an NAIA title for the men’s team in 1970 — and the programs’ recent string of six consecutive Big South Championships.

Today, Keith Hills Golf Club and its course are home to the men’s and women’s programs, in addition to the PGAM

program. The golf teams’ success at the Division I level has rubbed off on their School of Business counterparts.

Each of the 17 PGA certified programs send their best athletes to compete for the national crown every November. Campbell has won of those six national titles, more than any program in the country. In fact, the Fighting Camels captured the 2021 Jones Cup by the largest scoring margin in tournament history.

“That’s just kind of the expectation that gets set from Day 1 is, ‘You’re going to come here, you’re going to get better,” says Kevin Nagy, the program’s assistant director and internship coordinator. “And if you’re not a competitive person, you kind of get turned into one eventually.”

“You’re going to come here, and you’re going to get better. If you’re not a competitive person, you get turned into one eventually.”

— PGA GOLF MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KEVIN NAGY —

(Left) State-of-the-art laser-assisted putting greens are among the new training features in the PGA Golf Management program’s indoor training facility in the former Shouse Dining Hall. Below, Gabriella Story took over as the program’s new director in the fall.

There’s a new face leading the Campbell’s PGAM program, its first female director Gabriella Story, who took over in the fall. A graduate of NC State, Story spent her first three years post-graduation working as an assistant golf professional at golf clubs in Florida and Maryland before returning to her alma mater in 2017 to be student services coordinator for NC State’s PGAM program. She climbed the ranks in Raleigh before coming to Buies Creek.

Her goals at Campbell include strengthening the University’s partnerships with other PGAM programs, introducing new recruitment tactics and increasing

the male-dominated program’s female representation. She also hopes to spread her love of the game in the form of lessons for faculty, staff and students.

“I’m thrilled to use my passion for golf and education to pour into young minds,” she says.

Her staff includes Campbell alum and current assistant director and internship coordinator Kevin Nagy, along with firstyear program assistant Quentin Cummings. Both graduates of PGAM programs and are PGA-certified professionals.

“As long as you enjoy being around the game of golf, you enjoy watching others get

better and you enjoy being around people, that’s where our program really shines,” says Cummings.

The real education blossoms in the internship setting.

Students are required to work multiple internships during their experience, spending three to six months traveling the country, learning every job imaginable at a given golf course.

Over the last three years, Campbell students have landed internships at 15 of the top 20 rated courses in the United States by Golf Digest.

“Being able to grow the game and help everybody out with the game I love is what makes me want to do this for the rest of my life.”

— PGA GOLF MANAGEMENT STUDENT CONNOR WOODS —

“I find the internships very rewarding in my journey, because we learned everything on a golf course,” says sophomore Matthew Gibbs.

Students continue to take online classes through the School of Business while managing a full workload on the course.

Parker Spear is preparing to graduate and begin his professional journey. His first internship witnessed the amazing views at Grandfather Country Club in Linville, North Carolina.

Spear also served time at the historic 100year old Deepdale Golf Club in North Hills, New York, along with a unique summer experience learning the ropes at Mountain Lakes Golf Course — the 10th best course in the state of Florida according to Golf Digest.

Every internship Spear landed was through a connection at Campbell and the PGAM program.

“When I tell you can get a job anywhere out there … I literally could call up somebody right now and land a golf job if I really needed it,” says Spear, the fifth-year senior. “It’s those small connections that add up, and that’s why I came here to Campbell.”

From the playing standpoint, PGAM students work to pass a PGA-certified 36hole playing ability test during their college career. These students are motivated to beat one another, while also ensuring everyone at Campbell improves their scores.

“My fellow students and I are practicing for five days a week, if not more,” says Connor Woods. “Being able to grow the game and helping everybody out with the game I love is so rewarding and makes me want to go to work every day.”

Stover, meanwhile, is on the front nine of her journey. She was formally introduced to golf during the COVID pandemic while living in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

Once she started playing competitively against her classmates, however, the switch flipped in her game.

“After struggling my first semester, I worked on my game a ton,” Stover says. “Now I can keep up with the competition, and it’s fun talking smack to the other people.”

“I mean, that’s what families do.”

Campbell recently made an investment in the analyticsdriven development of their players.

Based out of a converted dining hall on campus, students can study at the Shouse PGA Golf Management Learning Facility from PGA-certified professionals, practice on any course in the country and fine-tune their putting skills for every break and turn on the course. A former dining hall on campus, Shouse has traded collard greens for putting greens, iced tea for tee boxes and sandwiches for sand wedges.

“Everything you could ever need is right here on campus,” Story says. “You’ve got [Keith Hills], an amazing practice facility and indoor practice facility. You have faculty available and ready for help with class, to land internships and for life overall.”

The centerpiece of the indoor practice facility is the TrackMan golf simulator.

Pick any course in the country, find any pin location or wind conditions, you name it — the virtual simulator provides a nearly identical test for these golfers. Then you add in the state-of-the art putting simulator, which calculates bend, break and slope into a various shot. Combine that with a host of mats and devices that

measure speed, distance, and the various nuances of your short game for that holistic development as a golf student.

“Campbell is the best playing program in the country, that’s our reputation,” says Nagy. “When the students come in, you just kind of get swept into that culture and want to do everything possible to improve your game.”

And it’s obvious — the program is fun. It’s considered by some to be almost an extension of Greek Life for golf fanatics.

“We spend almost every waking second together,” says Spear. “When I first arrived in 2018, we had an awesome fall cookout — burgers, golf and cracking jokes all night. I had no clue who everyone was that first week on campus, but all of a sudden I felt right at home.”

That culture is fostered by Story and her staff, who regularly spend four to five hours on the course bonding over the game. Even if that means playing against them in a round of 18. It’s an approach that students like Mia Stover appreciate.

“I don’t want to be a number,” she says. “Coming here, so many people came up to me and they instantly knew me and cared about me as a golfer and a person. That really matters.”

(Left and above) PGA Golf Management students hang out in the new Shouse Learning Facility, which includes a course simulator, putting simulators and a host of mats and devices to help students become better golfers.

HOMECOMING 2022

Photos by Bennett Scarborough and Ashley Stephenson

MICHAEL WATKINS (‘20)

‘IT DOESN’T SEEM REAL’

It wasn’t the post-degree future he had imagined, but just months after earning his undergraduate degree from Campbell University — a journey preceded by 20plus years of homelessness — Michael Watkins found himself once again on the streets in downtown Raleigh.

The unexpected twist came in the form of an eviction notice before his first graduate school

courses were to begin. Unlike his first experience — spurred by a six-month prison sentence for breaking-and-entering and larceny and marred by addiction and an overall lack of self-worth and direction in his life — Watkins was equipped to handle the setback. He stayed in hotels, and when that funding ran out, he found shelters in local churches. He took to social media to journal his experience, which encouraged others to help him get back on his feet. Within a month, he was back on his feet and in a new apartment, ready to hit the books again.

He credits his growth as a person — helped in great deal by his experience as a student — and the generosity of others for helping him prevent a repeat of his previous experience.

“I just knew that was something I never wanted to go back to again,” he says. “And when I found myself in that situation again, I wanted to change it [immediately]. I knew I could, and I knew now that there were generous people out there willing to help me.”

Watkins’ struggles were chronicled in a 2018

Michael Watkins is working toward his doctorate degree in health care administration from Walden University. Hear him tell his story of overcoming homelessness on Campbell’s Rhymes With Orange podcast, found online.

Campbell Magazine feature story, “The degree — and the life — that slipped away.” Then, he was two years away from a day he long imagined — walking the stage, shaking the president’s hand and being handed his degree. When the day came, it wasn’t quite the same scene. Watkins’ graduation was virtual, the in-person event another casualty of the early months of the COVID pandemic.

This, too, failed to deter him. Watkins enrolled in graduate courses at Walden University, an online-only institution based in Minnesota and earned his master’s degree in health care administration this past May. He then applied for entry in the school’s doctoral program, which began in the fall.

When it’s all said and done, he’ll be Dr. Watkins. He’ll also be 64. A registered felon with hardly a “long future” in the field ahead of him, Watkins is aware that his three-framed diplomas won’t necessarily mean a lengthy career in the health care field.

But that’s not the point, he says. It’s about proving himself to himself.

“When I look back over my life, I think about all the things I’ve been through and where I came from — all of that to where I am now,” he says. “I know I certainly haven’t ‘made it,’ but I have to say … I’m so proud of myself. That’s one phrase I’ve never been able to use in my entire life. Michael Watkins, I’m proud of you. I went through this horrific struggle, and I emerged from it. And you know what, it blows me away. When I look at my bookcase and see these degrees, it just doesn’t seem real. But it’s real, and I’m proud of it.”

BILLY LIGGETT

Michael Watkins overcame addiction and homelessness to earn a Campbell degree. The 61-year-old alumnus’ sights are now set on a doctorate.

Photo courtesy of Michael Watkins

1970s

DANIEL MERRITT (’74) was named to the 2022 class of the Surry County Sports Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor. Merritt was the assistant coach of Surry Central High who aided the school in five cross country state titles and one for track and field. He also coached Elkin High cross country, being named three times as Coach of the Year while his teams won four MVAC Cross Country titles.

CHUCK TURNAGE (’75) announced his retirement after serving for 16 years as a Department of the Army civilian. Upon graduating from Campbell College in 1975, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army as a member of Campbell’s first four-year ROTC class. He served on installations in the U.S., Germany and Korea and served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. He served for 24 years before retiring in 1999 as a lieutenant colonel and master parachutist with more than 100 jumps.

1980s

JUDY SOUTHERN (’82) retired after 46 years as a registered nurse. Thirtytwo years were served in public health. She is the wife of deceased alumnus REV. DAVID SOUTHERN (’82) and mother of alumna, HANNAH SOUTHERN PHILLIPS (’09). Her first job in the health care field was as a tuberculosis nurse in Columbus County in the health department, and at retirement, she was director of nursing and clinical services at the Guilford County Department of Public Health in Greensboro.

SARAH CONNOR DALLMAN (‘17, ‘18 MBA) and Cody Dallman were married on Oct. 15 at a ceremony in Angier. Sarah is a senior fiduciary specialist for Wells Fargo in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

STEPHANIE WOOD MAXBAUER (‘03 PHARMD) and Robbie Maxbauer were married on June 28 in Asheville.

HOWARD MCGINN (‘85) began his eighth year as an academy admissions partner at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

GERALD F. HEMPHILL (’89) was installed as president of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents during the group’s board of directors meeting on Sept. 22 in San Diego, California. Hemphill has been an independent insurance agent in metroRichmond, Virginia, since 1993, representing all lines of insurance specializing in commercial and life insurance risks. He was an agent for a major domestic carrier for five years and has since been director of his own agency.

1990s

DR. SHANNON CECIL (’96) was named director of K-12 curriculum and instruction and federal programs for Martin County Schools. Cecil has 23 years of teaching and administration experience, serving the past year as principal at Riverside High School and leading Rodgers Elementary School from 2016-2021.

ASHLIE P. SHANLEY (’96 LAW) was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to serve as district attorney for District 25, serving Cabarrus County. Prior, Shanley was chief assistant district attorney at the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office. She was also an assistant DA and Safe Haven Special Victims Unit lead prosecutor at the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office.

ASHLYN JOHNSON COBLE (‘19) and LUKE COBLE (‘20) were married on April 9 in Chapel Hill. Ashlyn is a kindergarten teachder in Wake County, and Luke is an account manager for a software company in Raleigh.

VALERIE HALL (‘16) and Aaron Hall had a daughter, Vera Blair, on June 7, 2022.

JOSIE SMITH BERRY (’21) and WILL BERRY (’18) were married in August of 2021 in Chapel Hill.

REV. KHERESA HARMON (’96 BA, ‘02 MDIV) was awarded the 2022 Anne Thomas Neill Award for Clergy by Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina at the organization’s Fall Symposium in Raleigh. She is currently a minister to children and their families at St. John’s Baptist Church in Charlotte.

TARA TORRENCE (‘98) earned her credentials as a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

GILLIAN DEEGAN (‘99) was recognized in a U.S. News & World Report article for her reputation as a prosecutor and animal welfare advocate.

2000s

CHRISSY HOLLIDAY (’00) was appointed vice president for enrollment management and student success at Cal Poly Humboldt in California. Prior, Holliday was a senior system liaison for rural education and workforce initiatives for Colorado State University Pueblo.

LAMA SINNO (’01 LAW) was named to the board of directors for My Kid’s Club, a Johnston County nonprofit providing after-school programs and summer camps for youth to grow opportunities for academic success.

DEREK WALL (’07) was named executive director of the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. Wall joined the nonprofit organization after founding Triangle Aquatics LLC.

REBECA LAWHORN SISK (‘15) married Ben Sisk on April 9 in Coats. Rebeca is an associate for Florman Tannen LLC, and the couple currently resides in Raleigh.

2010s

RYAN DUNN (’10) and his wife Alicia Dunn are owners of TGA Premier Sports, a franchise business that brings sports programs to students in Pima County, Arizona. TGA (stands for Tennis/Golf/Athletics) brings sports programs to kids after school and at sports camps.

BRENNEN MCHUGH (’11) was named assistant coach of Skidmore College’s men’s ice hockey team. McHugh began his coaching career as a video coach at St. Lawrence University for three years from 2012-15. He then spent the 2015-16 season as the director of hockey operations at Cornell University before assuming the same position at the University of Massachusetts for two years.

MAUREEN ELIAS (‘12) was selected to serve as a Biden Administration Presidential Appointee, serving as the deputy chief of staff of the Office of the Secretary and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Homeland Security Investigations awarded ALEXIS I. SOLHEIM (’13 LAW) the agency’s “Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Year” award for her exemplary work in child exploitation cases in the Western District of North Carolina. Solheim is a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville and serves as the Western District’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator.

TYE VAUGHT (‘14) was named Chief of Staff of Cumberland County, NC government.

When he’s not working with the Red Cross as an advisor for International Humanitarian Law, THOMAS HARPER (‘10 LAW) can be found writing about, speaking on or taking part in the “geekier” side of pop culture. A massive Star Wars fan and collector, Harper is a popular writer for the website, thelegalgeeks.com, which analyzes the legal side of sci-fi, fantasy and comic book movies. He has written about everything from the legality of Princess Leia’s imprisonment in “A New Hope” to Ahsoka’s legal options in “The Clone Wars,” and most recently, the legal and political events in the new series “Andor.” Harper was a guest on the RHYMES WITH ORANGE podcast to talk about his love of the franchise and how he’s incorporated elements of it into his legal career.

MARY THOMAS KAYLOR (’08 MBA) and Joey Martin were married on May 14.

Vereen has dedicated 34 years of service in the U.S. Army in a variety of notable positions, most recently as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Army G-9, at the Pentagon.

She loved being a mother more than anything, even though she was, to put it mildly, not good at cooking, cleaning and almost every other domestic activity.

ALLYSON BRAKE FARMER (’14) joined the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Advancement team at NC State University as the associate director of leadership annual giving for the 4-H and FFA programs. Farmer is a former 4-H State Council president and a second-generation 4-H Honor Club member.

THE REV. LOUISA WARD (’14 MDIV) was named Dean for Spiritual Life and Campus Minister at Campbell University after serving for nearly a decade in various roles with the Office of Spiritual Life. Ward was named Campus Minister in 2020, succeeding the Rev. Faithe Beam, now the Vice President for Student Life and Christian Mission.

SIERRA FOX (’16) joined Fox 5 in Washington, D.C., as a news reporter. Prior, she was the lead nightside reporter and anchor for ABC 8 News in Richmond, Virginia, and was a bureau reporter at WDVM in Winchester, Virginia. She also interned at ABC’s Good Morning America.

In 1979 when she started practicing law, she was Smithfield’s only female attorney — though courthouse portraits show there was at least one before her.

Like all interesting people, Cindy Clayton Huntsberry was a mess of contradictions. She was a strident conservative, who opposed the death penalty. She thought people should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, but spent her entire career helping those who couldn’t. She scoffed at feminism but set a course for other women to be lawyers in this small Southern town — and argue big cases, just like the good ‘ol boys.

What she did well was reading and thinking. A member of the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law’s first graduating class in 1979, Huntsberry tried three capital murder cases and ran for district court judge four times. Smithfield, it turns out, wasn’t quite ready for its first female judge. But several ended up on the bench after her first run in 1988.

“You go into your job with big ideas about making changes,” she said once , “but your profession shapes you more than you shape it.”

Huntsberry died on Sept. 29 at the age of 72. She leaves behind her siblings ‚ Clint, Sue and Paul, and her two sons, Will Huntsberry and Thomas McNeill.

CASEY PERRIN (’16) was named assistant basketball coach at the University of LouisianaLafayette. Perrin spent the 2021-22 season as men’s basketball director of operations at the University of Texas and worked the previous five seasons at Texas Tech University. Perrin played four years at Campbell and was a Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll selection as a senior.

DANNY WATKINS (‘77, ‘80), JULIE KERR ADAMS (‘01) and LT. GEN. KEVIN VEREEN (‘88) were honored as Campbell University Distinguished Alumni during Homecoming Weekend in October. Watkins has dedicated 45 years of service in North Carolina’s education system, most recently as principal and administrative assistant for North Raleigh Christian Academy High School. Adams is widely recognized for her involvement in the community on both a legal and personal level. She has served as vice president of the statewide North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and on the Board of Directors for the Charlotte Women’s Bar.

Photo by Ashley Stephenson

A graduate of the law school’s first class, Huntsberry was a legal trailblazer in Smithfield

KAY BISSETTE (‘79)

A PLACE TO BECOME

Kay Bissette remembers seeing the billboards during her freshman year in 1975:  Campbell College; a place to be, a place to become . She had no idea at the time just how much those words would mean in her future.

She was driving to a place where she really didn’t know anybody. She had so many

questions — most importantly, “Would I make friends?” and “How would I get along with my professors?” It wasn’t long until she became involved in Baptist Student Union and other club opportunities for undergraduate religious education majors. Through BSU, she thought those she met would be lifelong friends. Such an easy thought for a 20-year-old. She began to feel she had found her place.

As a sophomore work study student in the religion department, she was the student assistant for Dr. Jerry Wallace, chair of the department and future Campbell president, working alongside Vivian Simpson, his administrative assistant. Aside from being a great team, Simpson provided wonderful ministry to the students through her listening ear. She also became a role model for Bissette as she made career decisions.

The department was also made up of Dr. Perry Langston, Dr. Don Keyser, Dr. Dean Martin and others at that time. Langston became her

Legacy Giving

In an effort to assist our loyal constitu ents and friends, Campbell has estab lished a planned giving website at legacy.campbell.edu. Develop a plan that coincides with your goals and to live with the security that your wishes will be met. Planned Giving Director Peter Don lon is available for a complimentary discussion to help you get started. Contact him at pdonlon@campbell.edu, or (910) 893-1847.

chief advisor and major professor while she was at Campbell and learned a great deal from him. He became a friend and one she could turn to regardless of if a need arose. She fell in love with the Campbell community — loved living on campus and met friends who indeed were lifelong. So it was difficult when it came time to graduate in 1979. Her fellow students and professors had become a profound part of her life.

Bissette met her husband David in 1981 on a blind date through a friend at Southeastern Seminary, where she attended after graduating from Campbell. David, now retired, would go on to a career with FCX and Southern States Cooperative. They married in ’82 after a whirlwind romance. A fun fact— while at Southeastern, Bissette babysat the children of Dr. Bruce Powers, who would later become the associate dean at Campbell Divinity School.

Today, Bissette considers Campbell “heaven and God’s place on earth.” She says her life trajectory would have turned out very differently if it weren’t for Campbell. Her initial Campbell financial aid was facilitated by her pastor, the Rev. James Burch. That financial aid was necessary at the time, as her parents were limited in their ability to provide for her college expenses. Scholarships, grants and the additional financial aid made it possible for her to attend.  And her Campbell education gave her the ability and the opportunity to become a public speaker, a writer and  a leader.

It gave her confidence and showed her she could accept a challenge and develop objectives, action plans and

Alumna’s love for Campbell has translated into a lifetime of service and giving back

Photo by Bennett Scarborough

goals. It also showed her she could achieve success in the process.

Professionally, Bissette has worked for the Baptist State Convention and the Woman’s Missionary Union, and in retirement, she volunteers with the Raleigh Baptist Association, where she recently led the Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer Conference. She was also the coordinator of the Convention’s annual meeting. She credits these skills from lessons learned under Perry Langston while at Campbell (Langston ended up serving on the undergraduate religion faculty for 35 years until his retirement in 1986).

Bissette has since experienced the ups and downs of life with both classmates and professors over the last 47 years — Campbell football games, alumni events, weddings, children and grandchildren, professional working relationships, holiday and birthday cards, phone calls (back when long distance charges applied), letters and more recently on social media. Recently, one member of this friend group passed away, and seven of the group members were there together, and still others had also been to visit. All coming full circle since her Campbell days.

As Bissette feels that Campbell gave her so much, she has found ways to give back. She established a fund through the N.C. Baptist Foundation that goes to a Divinity School AID fund to help students with emergency needs. She has also chosen to put Campbell in her estate plans to be a part of both the legacy and the future of the school. The next time you are in Butler Chapel on campus, look in the hymnals. They have been dedicated to the memory of Dr. Perry Langston, Clara Langston and Vivian Simpson as an additional gift from Bissette.

Speaking of a legacy — her son Keith Bissette is a 2013 graduate. Although he experienced Campbell much earlier — at 2 years old and in a stroller — his mother introduced him to the community as a prospective student years later. She arranged a prospective student tour for Keith, a tour that included a lunch opportunity with Wallace, who was now president. As they discussed scholarships and gifts to the school, Keith turned to Wallace and said, “I have to fight you for my mom’s money.” They all had a good laugh.

Keith graduated in 2013 with a degree in mathematics. His mother was able to give the invocation at his graduation ceremony, which was very meaningful to the family. He later met his wife LeAnne at Trinity Baptist, and they became an item shortly after chaperoning a youth trip together.

From Dr. Jeff Roberts, senior pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Raleigh:

“Kay’s leadership in the area of missions involvement and education has been vital to Trinity’s identity.  Kay led our Missions Steering Committee for more than 20 years and was instrumental in developing the Shaw Mission Fund to help our members go on mission trips. In addition, she helped us create our Trinity Baptist Church Heritage Scholarship for Campbell Divinity School. Each year the church honors a person who has been a leader in either our church or the greater Baptist family with the Baptist Heritage Award, which Kay received in 2012. In addition to the award, a donation is made to Campbell Divinity School in their honor.  It is a blessing to know that many Divinity students have benefited from this scholarship.”

Chancellor Jerry Wallace on his longtime friendship with Bissette:

“I love Kay Bissette. Kay was always good to and good for Campbell through her academic career. Her closeness to faculty in the Religion and Philosophy department was apparent, especially to Dr. Perry Langston. Kay’s life has been a life of service and an inspiration to others. Kay Bissette is exhibit number one of what it means to be a winsome Baptist and a Christian.”

ALUMNI NOTES

SUMMER BAREFOOT (’18) the first graduate of Campbell School of Education & Human Sciences and Adult & Online Education’s Teacher Education program, was named Teacher of the Year at Coats Elementary in Harnett County.

LOGAN JONES (’19 DO), a physician at North Canyon Medical Center, a critical access hospital in Idaho, became the first doctor to receive assistance from Primary Care Initiative’s medical education debt repayment award. PCI’s mission is to encourage new doctors to practice in rural and medically underserved areas of Idaho through scholarships and education debt repayments.

2020s

CAYLEE ADDISON (’20 TRUST, MBA) joined Austin, Texas-based Argent Trust Company, a subsidiary of Argent Financial Group, as a trust officer. In her role, Addison serves Argent’s clients by assisting with trust and estate planning.

LAUREN MCNAMARACLEMENT (’21) was named coordinator of athletics administration at Campbell University in September. In her role, McNamara-Clement serves as the main point of contact for the athletic director’s office as well as the human resources coordinator for the athletics department. She played basketball for four seasons at Campbell and was named Big South ScholarAthlete of the Year in 2021.

PETER DONLON

Kay Bissette (front) with her husband David, son Keith and daughter-in-law LeAnne. Keith would follow in his mother’s footsteps and graduate from Campbell in 2013.

SURPRISING TWIST IN MY TREE

Igrew up thinking I was part Chickasaw Indian. A very small part, but a part nonetheless.

The story on my mother’s side of the family was that my great-grandmother — a wise woman with a gentle smile whose little home in Texas was the setting for several of my holiday memories growing up — was full-blooded Chickasaw.

Born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma (the heart of Chickasaw Nation) in 1911, Effie Richardson Stearns was both my spiritual and, I thought, familial connection to Native Americans. This connection shaped my view as a kid — Indians were far more than the face-painted “savages” so stereotypically portrayed in the cartoons and movies I watched. I saw them as the good guys, even as a kid. Even when that wasn’t the point.

My great-grandmother died when I was 13. I was too young and too naive to really sit down with her to ask her about her childhood or her heritage. Thirty-three years later, as I wrote about the indigenous people of Noth Carolina and their history for this magazine, I decided to revisit my family’s Chickasaw claim, this time with the power of the internet at my disposal.

What I found isn’t so cut-and-dry as what I was told as a kid. The search was far more complicated and time-consuming than I had expected.

Yes, Effie Richardson was born in Pauls Valley in 1911, just four years after Oklahoma went from Indian Territory to a U.S. state. Census records show that Oklahoma more than doubled in population from 1900-1910 to 1.6 million people. Only 4.5 percent of the state’s people in 1910 — nearly 75,000 people — were listed as Native American. That number was 8 percent in 1900 and 25 percent in 1890.

I present this Census lesson to say that the vast majority of the families that moved to Oklahoma around the time my great-grandmother was born were from another state. And they were white.

I navigated a lot of branches on my family tree. I pored through Census cards, birth certificates and death certificates — all of which are surprisingly available on sites like ancestry.com (apologies for the advertisement). Under “race,” a capital “W” appeared next to my great-grandmother’s name, her parents’ names and her parents’ parents’ names.

Does this research officially kill the idea that I am a descendant of Native Americans? Unfortunately, for the most part, yes. Geneology sites like Ancestry factor in family histories from several sources, and

in my family’s case, the sources were almost always in-step with each other. There were few variables. Does learning that this storied part of my family’s history wasn’t necessarily the truth disappoint me? Yes, to some extent. I’d say many of us want to believe that we’re part of something bigger than us — something important. Learning the truth in no way changes the man I am today, but had I learned that I did, indeed, descend from the Chickasaw — the “Spartans of the Lower Mississippi Valley” — it would have certainly been a source of pride.

Not that I’m not proud. The wonderful thing about family trees is the branches go in many directions — and each of them tell a fascinating story. I followed the Liggett name on my dad’s side to the mid-1700s and Patrick Liggett, an Irish farmer in southern Pennsylvania who came to America as an indentured servant to pay for the boat ride. He was a pew-holder in his town’s Presbyterian church, and he served in the local militia as a private during the American Revolution.

Back on Effie’s side, her great grandfather was a man named Marmaduke Murphy, a Union soldier who died in a raid on a Confederate prison in Tennessee in 1864. Marmaduke’s daughter, Hannah Murphy, married a man named William B. Richardson (Effie’s grandfather) in 1856.

And this is where the branch gets interesting for me. William Richardson came from a long line of Richardsons from Moore County, North Carolina.

I may not have Native American blood, but I am distantly related to a lot of common names in this area — Maness, Keller, Britt, Seawell, McNeill, Yow, Purvis and Wallace all appear in my family history. For a guy born in Ohio who grew up in Texas who only moved to North Carolina in the last 15 years, this was a pleasant surprise. To know some of these names played a role in Campbell University’s early history — well, that’s certainly something to be proud of.

As for my connection with the Native American people, I still have opportunities to share their stories and their histories in publications like this one. And I will still take the opportunity to learn more of their culture and their survivance. It doesn’t matter where I come from, it’s a history worth learning and sharing.

Billy Liggett | Editor

FROM

VAULT

PHOTO BY BEN BROWN