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Jessica Lynch Keynotes Veterans Day Observance

From left to right, Alicia Besenyei, Vice President for Advancement, Jessica Lynch, President Kendra Boggess and Veterans Advocate, Dr. George WIlliams '11

Acknowledgingtheserviceandsacrificeofournation’s veterans on Veterans Day has become tradition at Concord University, and for 2019, the observance took onspecialsignificance.Thisyear,formerAmerican Prisoner of War (POW) Jessica Lynch served as the keynote speaker for the annual program held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 in University’s Point’s Wilkes Family Chapel.

Lynch, a former Private First Class (PFC) with the UnitedStatesArmyandnativeWestVirginian,was injured and captured by Iraqi forces after her unit wasambushedinIraqonMarch23,2003.Jessica’s recoverybyU.S.SpecialOperationsForcesonApril1, 2003isrecognizedasthefirstsuccessfulrescueofan AmericanPOWsinceWorldWarIIandthefirstever ofanAmericanfemale.SheisarecipientoftheBronze StarMedal,thePurpleHeartandthePrisonerofWar Medal.

Today, 16 years since her capture and rescue, Jessica speaks around the United States about overcoming her obstacles and how perseverance helped her survive. The Concord University community was honored to be latest audience to hear her firsthandaccountandlearnthroughherinspirational presentation about courage and patriotism.

Debbie Brown, Jessica Lynch and West Virginia House of Delegates, Jeff Campbell '96

“No matter what kind of obstacles or struggles (you face), know that you have that strength inside you,” she said. “Youfindawilltokeepon…tomakeitonemore day,” she said.

Offering a powerful account of her experiences in Iraq, Jessica shared how her will to persevere carried her through terrifying and painful days of captivity and how she calls on it today as she continues with physical therapy to deal with lingering effects from her injuries.

Lynch is intent on sharing that despite the most difficultcircumstances–whatevertheymightbe –apositiveoutlookanddeterminationcantruly helpindividualslivefulfillinglivesandaccomplish theirgoals.Afterhermilitaryservice,Jessicawent ontoearnaBachelorofArtsdegreeinElementary EducationK-6andaMasterofArtsdegreein Communication Studies. She is currently teaching in Wirt County, West Virginia as part of a long-term substitute job.

Talking with the media following her presentation, Jessica said that on most Veterans Days speaking engagements take her away from her home state. But for this year, “being here and local, being home and close to family” made the day especially meaningful. She said that the prayers and knowing “that they had my back” got her through her ordeal. Acknowledgingthesacrifices–andstories–ofall veterans, Jessica said, “I love hearing from the older veterans. I get to tell mine (story) and they share a piece of what they went through.”

The welcome for Concord’s Veterans Day observancewasprovidedbyAliciaBesenyei,Vice PresidentforAdvancement.ConcordPresidentKendra Boggess offered remarks on behalf of the University. The ConChords performed the national anthem. The Concord University Foundation sponsored this event.

PHOTO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

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If you have questions, please contact the Office of Advancement at advancement@ concord.edu or 304-384-6311. Thank you!

West Virginia Director of Homeland Security Addresses Patriot Day Ceremony

Inaspeechfilledwithreflectionand patriotism,MichaelL.Todorovich, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and EmergencyManagement,delivered the keynote address during Concord’s Patriot Day observance on Sept. 11. The program was held in University Point’s Wilkes Family Chapel during the national day of service and remembrance that honors the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

“It’s been 18 years since those attacks, but the memories are real,” he said.

“I was at the Pentagon a month after this and saw the tarps and saw the hole where that plane had gone into the Pentagon and it tore at the heart of who I am. Why? Because

I’manAmerican.I’mapatriot.Ilove what our country stands for,” he said.

Realizing that some of the students seated before him may be too young to have recollections of Sept. 11, 2001, Todorovich asked the audience two questions: ‘Where were you when the attacks came? What were you doing?’

He recalled personally, that as he watched news coverage of the events of that day unfolding, tears ran down his cheeks, “because our land, our nation, my home, was being attacked.”

Todorovich was appointed by Gov. Jim Justice as director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management(WVDHSEM)in October 2018. He had served the previous year as the agency’s deputy director. His other leadership positions since December 1999 include Statewide Interoperable Coordinator (SWIC), liaison to the W.Va. National Guard’s Joint Operations Center (JOC), and specialprojectsofficer. Prior to December 1999, Todorovich served over 40 years intheW.Va.ArmyNational Guard. Enlisting as a private, after graduatingfromtheW.Va.Military Academyasasecondlieutenant, he progressed through the ranks to become lieutenant colonel.

During his military service, Todorovich earned multiple awards includingtheArmyCommendation Medal,ArmyAchievementMedal andtheArmyMeritoriousService Medal. HeholdsaBachelorof ArtsinMilitaryLeadershipfrom the University of Charleston and aMasterofReligionfromLiberty University.

Todorovich Closed with another question: “Will you, will I, will we remember 9/11? I pray that we do.” The PikeView High School JROTC presented the colors. The Concord ConChords performed the national anthem. The program concluded with a stirring rendition of taps performed by Concord sophomore Zac White of Princeton, WV.

Chess Club Hosts Tournament at Erma Byrd Center

On July 13, 2019, 16 chess players participated in the Beckley Summer Open at the Erma Byrd Center. The event was organized by the Concord University Beckley Chess Club. David Hundley served as tournament director. Afterfourroundsofplay,MikeBakerofBridgeport,WV won the tournament. The tournament was a United States Chess Federation rated event. It was also a grand prix tournamentfortheWestVirginiaChessAssociation. ConcordInstructorofHistoryKeithLillysaysthatplayersof all levels from beginners to more experienced competitors are invited to be part of the club. To learn more contact Lilly at rklilly@concord.edu or 304-384-5615.

CALENDAR

JANUARY 13 Spring Semester Begins

FEBRUARY 3 Groundhog Day Breakfast 8 am Pais Fellowship Hall University Point

FEBRUARY 29 President's Ball Student Center Ballroom

MARCH 2 Concord University Day at the Legislature State Capital

MARCH 28 Murder Mystery Fundraising Dinner for the Alexander Fine Arts Main Theatre

OCTOBER 03 Homecoming Weekend 2020

Phi Sig 60th Reunion Contact John Lecco for details. jlec@carolina.rr.com

Concord Recognized Among Most Affordable Online Schools

Concord University has been recognized as one of the “MostAffordableOnlineColleges”inthenationbyStudy. com. Concord is ranked at #29 among the 50 institutions named in the 2019 rankings recently published by the online learning platform.

Concord is the only West Virginia college or university appearing in the recognition. AccordingtoStudy.com,Concordwasselectedforthe honorbasedon“financialaid,affordability,academicand career resources for students, the quality of education, faculty, and more.”

“It is nice that Concord University has once again been nationally recognized for our affordability,” stated WilliamAllen,VicePresidentofEnrollmentManagement. “The University continues to work hard to make a college education affordable for all students including working adults.” AvarietyofonlinecoursesareavailableatConcordfor students pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Concord also offers online classes for individuals seeking the Regents Bachelor ofArtsdegree. The graduate degree programs at Concord are all online. TheseincludeMasterofEducation,MasterofArtsin Teaching,MasterofSocialWorkandMasterofArtsinHealth Promotion.

For additional information go to https://study.com/ resources/most-affordable-online-schools

Keeping Up With Concord

Social media has allowed people to keep in touch with individuals, groups and activities all across the globe and Concord is using some of these tools to keep its alumniconnectedtotheUniversityandeachother.YoucankeepupwithConcord through any (or all!) of the following outlets:

Facebook:ConcordUniversityAlumni Association,Inc. and Concord University

Twitter: @CampusBeautiful and @ConcordUAlumni

LinkedIn:OfficialConcordUniversitypage and the OfficialConcordUniversityAlumnigroup

Snapchat: ConcordU1872

Instagram:ConcordUAlumni

We hope you will take advantage of each of these sites as a quick and easy way to keep up with Concord!

Partnership Established with Raleigh General Hospital for Foster and Adoptive Care Training

In order to address the growing need for foster parents in West Virginia, Concord University has partnered with Raleigh General Hospital to provide foster and adoptive care training. Raleigh General is providing the training facilities for the Concord University Social Work Department to provide pre-service training to foster and adoptive parents in the region. The partnership began on July 1 of this year.

“We are grateful that Raleigh General Hospital shares a strong commitment to our community including our foster/adoptive families,” stated Dr. Scott Inghram, AssistantProfessor/MSWProgram

Director. “This is evidenced though our new partnership, of which I am confident,willbefruitfulformany years to come.”

The West Virginia Foster and AdoptiveCareTraining(WVFACT) provides mandated training to potential foster and adoptive parents (Pre-Service) in order to becomeacertifiedfosterfamily. Additionally,familiesreceive continuous training (In-Service) to ensure that children are in a safe and healthy environment. Asthemostpopulouscounty in this region, Raleigh County is the site of six series of pre-service trainings annually. Each series or round of training is made up of seven three hour classes, for a total of 21 hours of training.

While some of the trainings are held at the Raleigh County Department of Health and Human ResourcesofficesonNeville Street in Beckley, Raleigh General Hospital’s Training Center will serve as the secondary site. The Training Center is located on the campus of Raleigh General Hospital on Harper Road in Beckley. MatthewRobertsistheCEOof Raleigh General Hospital. Joyce Pitsenbarger, RN, CPCE, is the Training Center Coordinator. For additional information please contact Dr. Scott Inghram at inghramcs@concord.edu or 304-384-5215. Those who are interested in learning more about becoming foster and/or adoptive parentsshouldvisitwww.WVFACT. com or call 304-716-4498.

Find Our Magazines ONLINE!

Look for past issues oftheConcordUniversityMagazine on issuu at: issuu.com/concord.university

Students’ Physical and Academic Health Spotlighted in Ribbon Cuttings

Back-to-back ribbon cuttings in Augustcelebratedtheopening of two new centers for Concord students. The ribbon was snipped onAug.28fortheStudentHealth Center,locatedonthefirstfloorof Wooddell Hall. The following day, Aug.29,theStudyandTutoring Center on the mezzanine level of MarshLibrarywasofficiallyopened. Student Health Center

“We are thrilled to be opening the Concord University Student Health Center!” stated Dr. Sarah Beasley, VicePresidentofStudentAffairs and Dean of Students. “Having an accessible and affordable walk-in health clinic on campus for our students is critical to their health and well-being.”

Dr. Beasley spoke outside of Wooddell Hall’s front entrance during the morning ribbon cutting ceremony.

“We are committed at Concord to providing services and support to our students so that their priority and focus can be academics and earning their college degree,” she said. AccordingtoDr.Beasley,student health has been one of the three top concerns of the Student Government Association. “Fortunatelyfor Concord Dr. David Campbell and TracyMcCallisterrecognizedthis student need and were determined tofindasolution,”shesaid. Physician assistant Ruth Rhodes and Jennifer Stull, a registered nurse, will staff the health center. It will be open for use by Concord students on days that classes are in session at the university. Hours will beMonday–Thursday,8:30a.m. –2:30p.m.andFriday,8:30a.m.–noon. Mostoftheservicesprovided by the center will be covered by the health services fee that is part of the student tuition package. Students will be responsible, however, for costs incurred outside of the health center including lab work, x-rays and prescriptions. In the event that medical care beyond what can be provided by the on-campus health center is deemed necessary, referrals will be made to area health care facilities for specialty care and other procedures. Study and Tutoring Center

With students already taking advantage of the space on the Physician assistant Ruth Rhodes accompanies Dr. David Campbell and Dr. Sarah Beasley as they cut the ribbon on the Concord Student Health Center.

library’s mezzanine, the Study and TutoringCenterofficiallymarkedits opening with an afternoon ribbon cutting. “Yesterdaywecelebratedthe opening of the student health center to support students’ physical health and today we celebrate our new Study and Tutoring Center to support students’ academic health and success,” Dr. Beasley said. “Here students will be able to access our drop-in tutoring, which we have for every freshman level course and many of our upper level classes as well,” she said. “Our students who are in our federally funded Student Support Services program can get one-on-one tutoring. Students will have a place to study quietly alone or with a study group.”

Dr. Beasley explained that the center is “a collaborative effort amongStudentAffairs,including ourCenterforAcademicand Career Development, our Bonner Scholars Program, and Student SupportServices,andAthletics,and Academics.

She acknowledged the contributions of Dr. Sheila Womack, Director of Student Success; Beth Sampson, Student Support Services AcademicCoordinator;LukeDuffy, Head Women’s Soccer Coach and CoordinatoroftheAthleticGRIP program;KathyBall,Directorof theBonnerProgram;KevinGarrett, AthleticDirector;ConnieShumate, Director of the Library; and AlyceaWatsonandothergraduate assistants working at the center.

High School Graduates Getting a Jump Start on Their Teaching Degrees by Lindsey Byars '03

American Medical Association President and Bluefield, WV native Dr. Patrice Harris giving a presentation.

Since Concord’s founding as a Normal School in 1872, the institution’s roots have been deeply planted in preparing teachers for the education profession. Not only has this mission not changed, it hasgrowntomeetthediversified needsofthefieldandtheeconomic demands that face West Virginia. AccordingtoaU.S.Department of Education report, the nine highest areas that experienced teacher vacancies in West Virginia during the 2018 to 2019 school year were Special Education (19.19%), Science (18.86%), Wellness (11.78%), Elementary (11.11%), English (11.11%), Social Studies (10.77%), Business (8.75%),Art(4.71%)andMusic (3.75%).Alloftheseshortageareas could be met by education majors at Concord University. Our mission is to serve the needs of the region, and that is exactly what Concord’s Education Department is doing. Recently, CU collaborated with the West Virginia Department of Education to give vocational completers a jump start on their Education degree. In a continued effort to make college more affordable, students who completed the state’s Careers in Education program will receive credit for tworequirededucationcourses–that’s six hours of college credit for free! These classes are EDUC 210, a requirement for all education majors, and SPED 265, a class required for students pursuing Special Education or Elementary Education.

On top of free credit, these students can also be admitted into Concord’s Teacher Education program without submitting a portfolio or doing 75 volunteer hours working with children. This agreementwillbenefitcurrent students who completed the vocational program while in high school as well, as long as it’s within three years of their completion date. Dr.AndreaCampbell,CU Department of Education Chair, says, “These individuals have already demonstrated a heart for kids and an interest in a career as an educator prior to graduating high school.” OnAugust8,Dr.KathyD’Antoni, AssistantSuperintendentof Schools in the Division of Technical andAdultEducation,traveledto The Campus Beautiful with Tami Maynard,acoordinatorfromthe

Hospitality, Education and Training office,tosigntheagreementwith President Boggess.

“This agreement merges two great programs that will ultimately lead to more outstanding educators in the classroom serving students of West Virginia and beyond,” Dr. Campbell adds. Alsonewthisfallisatwiston the traditional student teaching experience. Instead of spending one semester in the classroom, education majors will do a yearlong residency. Beginning in the fall, students will experience a block semester, which alternates between learning on campus and applying what they’ve learned in the actual classroom with students of their own. By spring, they’ll be ready to take over a classroom full time. The goal is for our education majors to spend 400 hours in the classroomtheirfinalyearbefore graduation, ensuring that our graduates are prepared for the career ahead.

Dr. Campbell explains that this approach will not only provide Concord students with more onthe-job training, but a better idea of what the profession requires because they’ll be in the classroom from the start of the school year to the end. She adds that this approach does lean heavily on mentoring teachers as a key element to a student teacher’s education: “The year-long residency is a true partnership between the community and the university.” Concord education graduates are amongthebestintheirfields.The 2019 West Virginia Teacher of the Year,Ms.JadaReeves,isaConcord University graduate. She teaches 5th grade at Bradley Elementary inMt.Hope,WV.Aftergraduating from Concord University, she continued her education with aMaster’sDegreeasaReading SpecialistfromMarshall,andin 2013, achieved National Board

Certification.Sheisanonline facilitator and the Lead Coordinator for the Southern WV National Board CertificationCohortthroughWest Virginia Department of Education. She is on the planning committee for the WV division of Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching, she’s a blogger for the National Board for Professional Teaching’s blog, and she is the Board of Director for the Education Alliance.Ms.Reevesisoneofthe many successful graduates we are proud to call a Concord alumni.

If education is a career path you are considering, Concord does offer aMasterofArtsinTeaching,a36 hour, online program to prepare individualsforteachinginaspecific contentareaingradesPreK-Adult, 5-Adult,or9-Adult.Forgraduates looking to advance their education degree,ConcordoffersaMaster of Education with four different areas of concentration: Educational Leadership and Supervision, Reading Specialist, Special EducationExcludingAutism,and SpecialEducationIncludingAutism. These degrees, like all of Concord’s masters programs, are offered entirely online, so no matter where you live, Concord can help youfurtheryourcareer.InAugust of this year, Concord University wasrecognizedasoneofthe“Most AffordableOnlineColleges”inthe nation by Study.com. CU was ranked 29 among the 50 institutions named basedonfinancialaid,affordability, academic and career resources for students, the quality of education, faculty, and more. Even if you have graduated and moved away from “The Campus Beautiful,” Concord is still here to help you achieve your next educational goal.

If you have any questions about what Concord’s Department of Education offers, please visit our website at concord.edu/education. YoucanalsocontactDr.Andrea Campbell at 304-384-5362 or acampbell@concord.edu. From high school students expressing an interest in teaching to seasoned veterans ready to advance their career, the Department of Education is here to help our students achieve their goals. Concord Esports Victorious in First Tournament Action

Concord University’s Call of Duty esports team won the Collegiate Call of Duty “Goodbye Black Ops 4” tournament Oct. 19. CU claimed victory in the national competition with full 3-0 sweeps, with a 15-0 record to end the tournament. Thewincomesinthefirsttournamentactionfor Concord Esports since announcing formation of its inauguralvarsityteam–CallofDuty–thissummer. On the way to the crown, Concord beat Purdue, Florida State(twice),IlliniEsports,Utah,andSAU.Concord competed in the event from the University’s esports training facility in the Nick Rahall Technology Center on theAthenscampus. MembersofConcord’swinningCallofDutyvarsity teamareJamieNickell(WV),AndrewThompson(VA), Chase Daffron (TN), Niko Thibeault (CT) and Brandon Ridgeway (WV).

“We knew going into the tournament we would probablywinit,wewereincrediblyconfident.”Concord Esports Head Coach Jacob Neerland said. “No one wanted to win more than we did, and the 15-0 map count is pretty good proof of that.”

“Our games were streamed as the main event throughout the entire tournament, and the casters seemed pretty impressed with our synergy as a team,” Neerland said. “Our sub machine players Jamie Nickell andAndrewThompsonespeciallycouldn’tbestopped. Everyone on the team played exceptionally, but Jamie andAndrewkepteveryopponentonthebackfoot. This opened up a lot of options for what we could do andletourmainARBrandondictateeverymoveour opponents could make.

“Finally, Chase and Niko kept us grounded, coming up clutch multiple times when we needed a big play. Overall, I’m incredibly proud of what such a young team was able to pull off. I think that speaks to the level of talent we have on this team and I’m excited to see what we can do moving forward,” Neerland said. Concordholdsthedistinctionofbeingthefirst public college or university in West Virginia to offer varsity esports to its students. Call of Duty is one of three teams Concord has registered with the National AssociationofCollegiateEsports.LeagueofLegends and Overwatch are also part of CU’s esports competitive lineup.

For additional information on Concord University’s esports program, contact Jacob Neerland at jneerland@ concord.edu or 304-384-5320.

Concord University welcomed 20 new faculty members for the Fall 2019 semester.

Dr. Germain Badang is joining Concord’sfacultyasanAssistant Professor of Foreign Languages. He earned a bachelor’s degree from UniversitédeYaoundé;amaster’s degree from Universidad de Salamanca; and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. He comes to Concord from Dayton, Ohio.

Dr. Maya Bhatt is serving as a VisitingAssistantProfessorof Chemistry. HereceivedhisM.Sc. fromTribhuvanUniversity;M.S. from Nagoya University; and Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Bhatt comes here from State College, Pennsylvania. He comes to Concord from North Oxford,Massachusetts.

Ms. Katherine Bowe has been named an Instructor in Mathematics. Sheholdsabachelor’s degree from Concord University and amaster’sdegreefromTexasA&M University. Bowe has taught adjunct for Concord and lives in Princeton.

Dr. Manjunath Burdekar is servingasanAssistantProfessorof Psychology. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Franklin Pierce University,andbothanM.Ed.and Psy.D.fromSpringfieldCollege.

Mr. Rafael Castañeda-Saldaña is joining the faculty as an Instructor in Biology. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree from Virginia Tech. He lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Dr. Anita Deck is serving as an AssociateProfessorofEducation. Deck earned a B.S. and a B.S.Ed. from Concord University. She receivedaM.A.fromWestVirginia University and an Ed.D. from

Virginia Tech. She lives in Crab Orchard.

Ms. Nola Gum is joining Concord’s faculty as an Instructor in Social Work. She holds a B.S.W. from ConcordUniversityandanM.S.W. from West Virginia University. Ms.Gumhastaughtadjunctfor Concord and lives in Princeton.

Ms. Nia Key has been named an Instructor in Social Work. She earnedaB.A.fromKentState UniversityandanM.S.W.from TempleUniversity. Ms.Keycomes to Concord from Sioux City, Iowa.

Mr. Kyle Moore is serving as Instructor in English as a Second Language. He received a bachelor’s degree from Otterbein University and a master’s degree from NorthernArizonaUniversity. Mr. MoorearrivesatConcordfrom Memphis,Tennessee.

Dr. Santanu Nandi is joining the facultyasanAssistantProfessor ofMathematics. Dr.Nandiholds a B.Sc. from Calcutta University; M.Sc.fromTataInstituteof FundamentalResearch;M.A.and M.Phil.fromGraduateCenter CUNY,andanticipatescompletinga Ph.D. this year. Dr. Nandi comes to Concord from Toledo, Ohio.

Ms. Terri Philpott has been named an Instructor in Social Work. She earned a B.S. from BluefieldStateCollegeand anM.S.W.fromWestVirginia University.Ms.PhilpottisaPh.D.

candidate at Walden University. AresidentofAthens,shehas been Director of Student Support Services at Concord while also teaching adjunct at the University.

Dr. Stephen Pridgen is serving as anAssistantProfessorofSociology. HeholdsaB.A.,M.A.,andPh.D. from the University of Florida. Dr. Pridgen has taught adjunct for Concord and lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Dr. Prabin Rai is serving as a VisitingAssistantProfessorof Chemistry. He earned a B.Sc. and M.Sc.fromTribhuvanUniversity andaPh.D.fromKentState University. Dr. Rai comes to Concord from San Luis Obispo, California.

Ms. Jacqueline Sampson is joining Concord’s faculty as an Instructor in Geology. She earned anA.A.fromPasco-Hernando CommunityCollegeandM.S.from the University of South Florida. She comes to Concord from Spring Hill, Florida.

Dr. Gregory Simonian has been namedanAssistantProfessor ofAstronomyandPhysics. He received a B.S. from California Institute of Technology and an M.S.andPh.D.fromTheOhioState University. Dr. Simonian comes here from Columbus, Ohio.

Dr. Shukhrat Usmanov is serving asanAssistantProfessorof Mathematics. Dr.Usmanovearned aB.S.andM.S.fromTashkent State University and a Ph.D. from North Dakota State University. Dr. Usmanov comes here from Forest City, Iowa.

Mr. Garrett Walker has been named an Instructor in CommunicationArtsandMedia. HeholdsaB.A.andM.A.from MarshallUniversity. Mr.Walker has taught adjunct for Concord and lives in Shady Spring.

Dr. Kenroy Wedderburn is joining Concord’sfacultyasAssociate Professor of Finance. He received a B.Sc. from the University of Technology,Jamaica;anM.B.A. fromPaceUniversity,andaD.B.A. from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Wedderburn comes here from Plainview, Texas.

Dr. George Williams has been namedanAssistantProfessorof English. HeearnedaB.A.from ConcordUniversity;M.Litt.from UniversityofAberdeen;andPh.D. from University of Dundee. Dr. Williams has taught adjunct for Concord and lives in Princeton.

Mr. Kevin Zhang is serving as anInstructorinMathematics. HeholdsaB.S.fromMethodist UniversityandM.S.fromNorth CarolinaA&TStateUniversity. He comes to Concord from Greensboro, North Carolina.

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Nominate them for a 2020 CUAA Award! Nominations due March 1, 2020

https://apps.concord.edu/forms/view.php?id=54213

FreshFest Added to Welcome Week Lineup

CU welcomed new and returning students to campus for the fall semester with a variety of activities. MoversandShakersreturned for another year to help students with the task of moving their belongings into the residence halls during move-in day. Students and their families appreciated the help from this faculty brigade. FreshFest2023–anewevent forstudents–welcomedfreshmen to campus this year. With a focus on fun and learning about life as a MountainLion,FreshFestandthe CU Organizational Fair were held theafternoonofAug.19,thefirst day of the semester.

The FreshFest celebration included a rally in the Carter Center main gym featuring the band, cheerleaders, athletes and Roar.PresidentKendraBoggess was among those who spoke to the freshmen gathered on the bleachers for the event.

“Please take advantage of every

opportunity here,” she encouraged the Class of 2023. “This is the beginning of your college experience.” Asshecelebratedtheirfirst day of class with the freshmen, Dr. Boggess said she looked forward to the time when they would be college graduates and she could shake their hands in congratulations at commencement. The CU Organizational Fair introduced the Class of 2023 to campus life, and was held following therallyintheFineArtsCenter. Greek organizations, academic clubs,andothergroupsfilledthe lobby and art gallery with exhibits. Representatives explained how their particular group offered ways for the freshmen to connect with classmates, volunteer, have fun, expand their horizons and become involved with the many great opportunities available to Concord students. Lots of giveaways, inflatablesonthelawnandicy, coldsnacksfromtheAdvancement

Officeroundedouttheenjoyable afternoon.

The week’s activities continued with UP Welcomes U. The gathering provided all CU students with a mid-day activity under the UniversityPointporticoonAug. 21. With a spin of the prize wheel, students won free items such as T-shirts and fanny packs. The AdvancementOfficehostedthis event. Advancementalsohosted CU Night at the Princeton Rays onAug.22.Alumniandfriends were invited to join the campus community for an evening of baseball action at Hunnicutt Field in Princeton.