Religion and the Liberal Arts
PC Athens symposium
examines religious diversity across the South
Barbara Brown Taylor will lead a symposium at Piedmont College in Athens that will explore how different religions in the South are coping with the growth in religious diversity. The symposium, titled “Who Is My Neighbor,” will be held Feb. 20-21, 2008, at the college’s Athens Campus and at the The Classic Center in Athens. The event is open to anyone, and registration information can be found at the college website, www.piedmont.edu. The fee for the two-day conference is $125. Taylor said that while the American South “has always held more religious di-
versity than meets the eye, that richness is increasingly evident in city skylines, neighborhood grocery stores and other community settings. We want to examine how different faith communities have built bridges with their neighbors of varied religious traditions and consider ways to acknowledge and honor multiple faiths in the places they call home.” More than 150 clergy, lay persons, academics and students participated in the first symposium on religion held at the Athens Campus in February 2007. The two-day event, titled “The Bible in the Christ-Haunted South,” examined religious influences in Southern literature, folk art, music and contemporary culture. Participants at this year’s conference on Religion and the Liberal Arts will gain an overview of the changing religious South, have the opportunity to meet with bridge-builders between people of different faiths, and consider ways to meet new neighbors in the places they call home. Taylor is the Butman Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Piedmont, where she has taught since 1998. An Episcopal priest since 1984, Taylor spent 15 years in parish ministry and is the author of numerous books on religion and preaching. For more information about the symposium, contact Brandy Aycock at the Piedmont College campus in Demorest at 1-800-868-1641; e-mail baycock@piedmont.edu; or visit www.piedmont.edu.
Business School establishes new student honor society
Students who excel in undergraduate and graduate business courses can now be part of a national honor society, Delta Mu Delta. The Piedmont chapter, known as the Lambda Iota Chapter, was established at the start of the fall semester. The society will elect undergraduate and graduate members who are in the top 20 percent of their respective classes. Delta Mu Delta was founded by the dean of Harvard University and four professors from Yale University and New York University in November 1913. The Greek letters in the Society’s name stand for “Dia Mathessos Dynamis,” signifying Delta Mu Delta’s motto: Through Knowledge, Power, the power to manage creatively for social and economic good. Induction ceremonies for the first members of the Piedmont chapter are planned for Nov. 17 in Demorest and Nov. 19 in Athens.
Thurmond to speak to high school business students Georgia Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond will keynote a conference on business and ethics for area high school students at Piedmont College in Athens Nov. 7. Titled “Entrepreneurship and Ethics: Making a Difference,” the daylong conference will feature Thurmond and professors in the college’s Walker School of Business who will conduct workshops on subjects ranging from avoiding ethical traps to using computer simulations to test decision making.
Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond Moderator Dr. Steve Carlson, a professor of business at the Piedmont Athens campus, said the event is designed for high school juniors and seniors thinking about majoring in business. High school advisors are also invited, he said. The conference registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Piedmont campus located at 595 Prince Avenue. For more information, contact Dr. Carlson at 706-548-8505 or e-mail scarlson@piedmont.edu. Conference participants are high school students from the seven counties surrounding Athens that exhibit their interest in business through participation in activities such as Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), DECA, and “Jobs for Georgia Graduates” programs. Faculty advisors are encouraged to accompany their students to the conference.
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