Meredith Magazine - Spring 2012

A Publication for Alumnae and Friends of Meredith College

M a g a z i n e

Spring 2012, Volume 37, Number 1

Making History The Inauguration of Jo Allen, ’80

Contents Meredith Magazine Volume 37, Number 1 Spring 2012 Executive Editor Kristi Eaves-McLennan Managing Editors Melyssa Allen Karen T. Dunton Assistant Editor Gaye Hill Art Director Vanessa Harris Designer Lauren Sumner Alumnae Connection Editors Hilary Allen, ’01 Meredith Moody, ’10 Contributing Writers Leslie Maxwell, ’01 Katrina Kempney, ’11 Editorial Assistant Kaye Rains Photographers Katie Dow Christopher Ferrer Gary Knight Brian W. Lynn David Timberlake Doug Van de Zande

Meredith Magazine exists to serve the Meredith community by providing readers with insight and information about the news, activities, events, programs, plans and people of the College. Meredith Magazine is published three times a year by the Meredith College Department of Marketing. Questions or comments may be submitted to marketing@ meredith.edu. © 2012 Meredith College. The Meredith name and word mark are registered trademarks of Meredith College and may not be used without permission. All rights reserved. 12-001

Features 12 Making History

The Inauguration of Jo Allen,’80 14 “We Have Waited For Thy Coming”

Alumnae Reflections on Meredith’s First Alumna President 17 Defining Moments

News 2

Former Facebook Executive Randi Zuckerberg Delivers 2012 Woman of Achievement Lecture

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Meredith College Launches Its Own Teaching Fellows Program

8 2012 Faculty Distinguished Lecture Features Local Food, Film Premiere 11 History Faculty Member Helps Star Trace Family History

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From the President

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Newsmakers

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Dateline Meredith

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Meredith Experts in the News

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Athletics

22 Alumnae Connection

from the president

Educating Women of Achievement

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n today’s world of 24/7 news cycles, overly accessible technology, and all-too-eager commentators, posters, bloggers, video recorders and tweeters, the overexposure of us all can be almost too much to bear. Most of us are simply not that interesting—as these communications have amply demonstrated.

And yet they persist.

Most troubling is the confusion that seems to have arisen between celebrity and true achievement. Indeed, we are increasingly bombarded with oddities who are famous for being famous. How did it happen that such “celebrities” actually make money by attending parties? Why do we watch the excruciating machinations of their “private” lives, cobbled into television series with a dizzying cycle of reruns? Shrugs and “whatevers” abound, but how do we uphold the basic sensibilities of responsibility, goodness and self-respect in this context?

Increasingly, we must ask what it means to be famous. One of the long-standing points of pride at Meredith College is her reputation for educating women of quality and achievement. No, not stuffy prissiness—but genuine poise, integrity, character, and, yes, spirit. That spirit has led students and graduates to develop courage, persistence, and risktaking in ways that have led to accomplishments and achievements for which they—and we—can be proud.

This issue of the Meredith Magazine highlights nine women of extraordinary achievement who

faced a defining moment and seized it as an opportunity to do and to be something more.

Most important, perhaps, is that they are not anomalies; they are representative of the hundreds and thousands of women who, like them, have taken their strong education—both academic and social—and fought for their ideas and their ideals in a world that did not always want to hear from them.

We salute these women for their embodiment of the Meredith traditions of intelligence, confidence, character and determination. They may never be paid for showing up at a party, but they will always be honored for showing up in important ways at critical times to promote a better future for us all.

“One of the long-standing points of pride at Meredith College is her reputation for educating women of quality and achievement.”

Meredith Alumnae: Do you know of an alumna who exemplifies leadership? We’re gathering examples of alumnae success stories. Please contact us at marketing@meredith.edu. Thank you!

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Instructor, Student Earn Awards in International Competition

ampus news

By Melyssa Allen

An Update on the Events and the People of the Meredith College Campus

Former Facebook Executive Randi Zuckerberg Delivers 2012 Woman of Achievement Lecture

By Melyssa Allen

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andi Zuckerberg, former head of marketing for Facebook, presented Meredith College’s 2012 Woman of Achievement Lecture on February 27. The Woman of Achievement Award recognizes women who are inspirational role models.

When presenting the Woman of Achievement Award, Meredith College President Jo Allen called Zuckerberg “an extraordinary woman who has modeled success and vision… a woman who is smart, successful, compassionate, driven and fun.”

After accepting the award, Zuckerberg began her lecture by sharing stories from her nearly seven years as head of marketing at Facebook.

“I have experienced the American dream first-hand,” Zuckerberg said of her time with Facebook.

For Zuckerberg, an “a-ha moment” occurred after the Virginia Tech campus shootings, when Facebook users started changing their profile photos to black ribbons.

“That’s when I realized Facebook was going to change the world,” she said.

Her team leveraged Facebook’s power in social media in a variety of ways, including leading the company’s U.S. election and international politics strategy and launching the live streaming industry with her media partnerships around the U.S. presidential inauguration.

Building on what she learned with Facebook, Zuckerberg shared social media trends, including the idea that individual people are now media platforms.

“All of us are our own broadcasting platforms now – with a touch of a button you

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eredith’s fashion program made a winning impression in a design competition held at the International Textiles and Apparel Association, November 2-5, 2011, in Philadelphia.

Fashion Design Instructor Eunyoung Yang won first place in a juried live gallery exhibition. Her design “Water in the Sky,” won first prize in the “innovation in fashion” professional category.

“The design inspiration was a cumulus of creamy white and dark gray clouds with lightening piercing through a stormy sky,” Yang explained. “The purpose was to explore fabric manipulation and surface design to create the visual depth. This dress portrayed the form and feel of storm clouds using different textures of fabric.”

Student Cori Spade, a junior earning a

Winning designs by Instructor Eunyoung Yang (left) and Cori Spade, ’13 (below)

degree in fashion design, was one of 12 finalists selected for the Paris American Academy Scholarship, with a design piece called “Igniting the Change.”

The competition theme was “Fashion in

Green,” and Spade’s piece was inspired by the BP oil rig explosion off the Gulf coast.

Portraying an oil drenched bird using recycled fabrics and hand-dyed feathers, Spade’s aim was to raise awareness about this issue as a way of preventing future environmental problems. She earned an honorable mention, competing against 49 entries from the United States, Australia, Israel and Mexico.

Yang also made two presentations during the conference. Her presentations were titled “Technical Skills Needed by Fashion Design Graduates: Focus on Computer Skills,” and “Industry Knowledge Needed by Fashion Design Graduates: Focus on Merchandising.”

Meredith’s fashion program prepares graduates for careers in design or merchandising.

Recent graduates work for design companies including Michael Kors, BCBG and Coach.

Meredith Team Has Strong Finish in First NCICU Ethics Bowl

By Melyssa Allen

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can reach hundreds or thousands of people,” Zuckerberg said.

In August 2011, Zuckerberg left Facebook to start R to Z Media, a new type of media platform that will be launching in 2012. She was recently appointed to the United Nations Global Entrepreneurs Council, the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Social Media, and the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors Commission on Innovation.

“As an entrepreneur, I’ve had a crash course in all aspects of business,” Zuckerberg said. “I’m the CEO as well as the janitor of my company. That’s the most challenging

and also the most rewarding aspect of owning my own company.”

Another trend is social media as a vehicle for charity and social good, which Zuckerberg called the most inspiring examples of social media.

“If you can get tons of influencers to unify and share their voices in a coordinated manner, there’s nothing that can’t be accomplished,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg’s lecture was part of the Meredith College Presidential Lecture Series and in observance of the College’s annual Founders’ Day celebration. The lecture was sponsored by Wells Fargo.

eredith College’s team recently earned second place in its division in the first Ethics Bowl sponsored by the North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU).

Meredith also hosted this inaugural competition, which showcased ethics as a hallmark of the student experience at Meredith and other independent colleges and universities.

Meredith team members were Elizabeth Bodine, ’13, Mary Rawls,’13, Erica Rogers, ’13, Menjie Zhang, ’12, Mollie Schrull, ’14 and Saba Sodhi, ’15. Assistant Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Steven Benko and Associate Professor of Business Jane Barnes served as faculty coaches. Director of Student Leadership and Service Cheryl Jenkins was the campus coordinator of this event.

The Meredith team was one of 14 teams from colleges and universities across North Carolina that competed in the Ethics Bowl.

Wake Forest University earned first place, and High Point University took home the second place trophy.

The teams competed in four rounds of debate, with each round involving a hypothetical ethical case. The teams prepared a five minute response to the scenario and presented their claim. The debates were scored by a panel of trained judges that include business and community leaders from across the state. The teams were evaluated on the quality of their argument, research, presentation style and moral theory.

Benko believes the Ethics Bowl experience was beneficial for Meredith’s team.

“The students gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about ethical theory and how to apply ethical theory to the deci-

sions that people in different types of professional jobs deal with every day,” Benko said.

Barnes agreed that Meredith’s students gained many skills from the Ethics Bowl experience, including critical thinking skills and the ability to work with students from a variety of majors.

“They had to think on their feet, in a stressful situation, and answer questions in an area, ethics in the work environment, with which many of them were unfamiliar,” Barnes said. “I also think that the students enjoyed the close relationship that developed between them and the faculty. As one of them wrote to me in a thank you note, ‘This has been exactly the kind of experience with my professors and fellow students that I came to Meredith College for.’”

NCICU sponsored the event to provide an academic experience that increases awareness and discourse among students from NCICU colleges and universities about applying ethics in leadership, decision-making, interpersonal relations and other issues.

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Model United Nations Provides Unique Opportunities

President Jo Allen and her co-author Margaret Hundleby earned the 2012 Technical and Scientific Communication Award for best original collection of essays in technical or scientific communication from the Conference on College Composition and Communication.

The award was for Allen and Hundleby’s book “Assessment in Technical and Professional Communication.”

By Melyssa Allen

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eredith’s Model United Nations students had two unique learning opportunities during the 2011-12 academic year. During the fall, the College represented the United States in the Southern Regional Model United Nations (SRMUN) and in the spring Meredith participated in the Princeton Interactive Crisis Simulation (PICSim).

Representing their own country in the SRMUN added an unusual element for the 18 students on Meredith’s team.

“It was important for us to put just as much time and energy, if not more, into becoming experts on our own country, its flaws and perfections, and it can be hard to step back and look objectively at a country when you call it your home,” U.N. Team President English Clemmons said.

An additional difference from previous SRMUN events was the role the U.S. delegation plays in the United Nations.

“The U.S. is different because not only do

we hold a very significant amount of power at the SRMUN conference, but also it is important for us to be experts on everything that power ability has to offer and everything it has the ability to diminish,” Clemmons said.

In 2010, Meredith’s Model U.N. team represented three different countries in SRMUN. Associate Professor of Political Science Jeff Martinson, who advises the team, said representing a large delegation this year is an honor.

“The U.S. is always important, because its representatives serve on so many committees,” Martinson said. “To have been chosen means the organizers trusted Meredith’s capabilities.”

Eight students took part in the PICSim in February. This was Meredith’s first time participating in PICSim, which involves a specific international crisis. The 2012 event focused on North Africa, and participants represented not one delegation but specific representatives of different nations.

“Everyone was representing a different country which was both more difficult and more exciting,” said Clemmons. “We had more freedom to really delve into our own topics and research different aspects of an entire country, whereas before we had one country and had to stick to the parameters of our own committees.”

Clemmons portrayed Director of Algerian Intelligence Mohammed Mediene, while other students were in the roles of agriculture, planning and energy ministers for nations such as Sudan, Morocco and Egypt. Senior Sarah Phillips was portraying Al-Qaida’s finance chief, one of the nonstate actors (NSAs) that were also included in the crisis simulation.

Meredith offers a Model U.N. class in the fall, and students can also join the College’s Model U.N. team. The participants are students who are pursuing a variety of majors, including biology, business, English, and religious and ethical studies.

Agreement Simplifies Community College Transfer Process

By Melyssa Allen

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eredith College has become a signatory school on an articulation agreement with the North Carolina Community College System that will make it easier for students to complete four-year degrees at Meredith.

Students who complete the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree at a North Carolina community college will enter Meredith College as juniors. In addition to guaranteed transfer of all eligible credit hours, these students are eligible for additional needbased financial aid, and register early with the junior class. Meredith is also offering scholarships aimed at community college transfers.

“The primary benefit for students is the ability to plan and complete their A.A., A.S. or 44-General Education Core Diploma with the clear goal of completing their four-year degree at Meredith College,” said Vice President for Academic Planning Liz Wolfinger.

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“The transfer of course work is seamless, the students transfer all eligible courses as work toward meeting the 124 credit requirement of a B.A. or B.S. degree with one of 32 majors.”

In recognition of the new agreement, Meredith is offering a new $10,000 scholarship to N.C. community college graduates

who enter in Fall 2012.

Community college students have a history of success at Meredith College. In 2010-11, two of the six Academic Achievement Awards, an award for graduating seniors who earned 4.0 GPAs, were given to students with community college credits.

Newsmakers

Assistant Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Shannon Grimes presented a paper, “Under a Star-Spangled Banner: Politics and Astral Religion in the Roman Empire,” at an international conference on astronomy, myth and culture held at the University of Bristol, England, on October 14-16, 2011.

Meredith College Launches Its Own Teaching Fellows Program

By Melyssa Allen

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hen the North Carolina General Assembly voted to phase out funding for the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program, Meredith leaders decided to launch the College’s own version of the scholarship.

Like its statewide predecessor, the Meredith College Teaching Fellows Program is designed to attract motivated, high achieving N.C. high school seniors who are interested in teaching. At least 20 students will be in the first class of Meredith Teaching Fellows.

The Meredith College Teaching Fellows program continues the College’s legacy of recruiting and educating top students to lead public schools in North Carolina. Meredith has been a Teaching Fellows participant since 1987.

“Education has always been one of the crown jewels of Meredith’s curricular offerings,” said Meredith College President Jo Allen. “I am immensely pleased that we are continuing our commitment to the next generation of talented educators.”

The Meredith College Teaching Fellows Program will provide selected students with an academic scholarship that is renewable for four years, and special programming related to teaching and

learning in a complex society.

The program is open to North Carolina residents and out-of-state students.

Meredith Teaching Fellows will benefit from enrichment opportunities including: • Two-year internships in one of the nation’s leading school systems • An Honors core of 15-17 semester hours, including an honors thesis • Seminars on current topics in education • Focus on Excellence cultural and social events Meredith College students who have participated in the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program have been well-prepared for success. Of N.C. Teaching Fellows who have graduated from Meredith College in the last three years, 100% have passed PRAXIS II, and over 95 percent are currently employed or in graduate school.

The 2010 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Facciolini, ’98, was a N.C. Teaching Fellow at Meredith College. The 2010 Wake County Public School Teacher of the Year, Elizabeth Loftis Plotkin, ’06, was also a N.C. Teaching Fellow at Meredith College.

For more information, visit www.meredith.edu/teachfel.

Associate Professor Mary Jane Lenard and Assistant Professor Bing Yu are the authors of “Do Earnings Management and Audit Quality Influence Over-Investment by Chinese Companies?” in the International Journal of Economics and Finance (Vol. 4, No. 2). This paper was also presented at the 15th annual Financial Reporting and Business Communication Research conference held in Bristol, UK. Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Erin Lindquist was lead author on a correspondence letter published in the October 27, 2011, issue of Nature (Volume 478), titled “Small colleges aided by research networks.”

Professor Emeritus David Lynch was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine during a service at Christ Episcopal Church on January 8, 2012.

The event honored Lynch on the occasion of his retirement after more than 40 years of service to the church as choirmaster and organist.

Professor of Theatre Catherine Rodgers is the 2011 recipient of the North Carolina Theatre Conference Herman Middleton Distinguished Service Award. The award is one of the highest honors given by the NCTC. Rodgers is a past president of the North Carolina Theatre Conference Board of Directors.

Assistant Professor of Music Jim Waddelow has been appointed the associate editor of the College Orchestra Director Association Peer Review Journal.

Associate Professor of History Greg Vitarbo is the author of “Army of the Sky,” a new book on Russian military aviation. The book, published in 2012 by Peter Lang Publishing Group, covers the development of military aviation from 1904-14 and explores the relationship of modernization and Russian Imperial officer culture.

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Dateline Meredith

Meredith Event Aimed to Stop Dangerous Driving Practices

By Melyssa Allen NITE’s Arrive Alive Tour 2011 Program to Educate on Dangers of Texting While Driving and Drunken Driving visited the Meredith campus on November 15, 2011. More than 120 students, faculty and staff attended.

The Arrive Alive program uses a hightech simulator, impact video and other resources to educate students about the dangers of texting while driving. The simulator allows students to experience the potential consequences of distracted or drunken driving while in a controlled environment.

The Association of Meredith Commuters helped sponsor the event, and provided a banner-sized pledge for students to sign, promising to make good decisions while driving. The pledge asked signers to promise to make their car “a no texting and no drinking zone.”

AMC President Pooja Ghai, ’13, said the event was a way for her organization to “make a difference as an organization and bring all students together.”

“It’s a good idea for students to experience the effects of texting or drinking on the ability to drive, to see what it is like

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Meredith to Host 2012 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships

By Greg Jarvis Meredith College will be the host institution for the 2012 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, May 21-26, 2012. The event will be held at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. This is the first time that Meredith College has been a host of an NCAA championship.

“Meredith College is proud to be serving as the host school for the 2012 NCAA Division III tennis championships,” said Meredith Athletics Director Jackie Myers. “Cary is a wonderful town and the tennis park is a beautiful facility with a strong staff that will 6

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Dateline Meredith

without the danger,” Ghai said. She was the first student to do the driving simulation, lasting just 10 seconds before hitting a parked car.

After each simulation, an Arrive Alive staff member would detail the consequences had the accident been real. These included possible jail time, an increase in insurance premiums, the cost of legal fees or car repairs, and losing the driver’s license.

provide the student-athletes participating in the tournament an outstanding tennis experience. Meredith College has a rich history of success in the sport of tennis and this will be a great opportunity for our players to witness Division III tennis at the highest level.”

The Town of Cary is the facility host and will provide the courts and support for the tournament. They have held the Atlantic Coast Conference Tennis Championships at the facility and will use the same setup to make the tournament a success.

“The town is proud to partner with Meredith College to bring the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division III Tennis Championships to Cary in May 2012. The help and support provided by the staff and students at Meredith College will ensure the success of

Associate Professor of Communication Carla Ross brought students from her PRISM class to the event. PRISM courses at Meredith emphasize critical thinking, and the Arrive Alive simulation’s emphasis on the dangers of texting and driving was relevant to Ross’s class.

“We cover interpersonal netiquette, including ways to make wiser choices in technology use, so this simulation was a great opportunity,” Ross said.

the championship,” said Linda Smith, business development manager for the Town of Cary.

For more information about Avenging Angels athletics, visit goavengingangels.com.

Ruth Dial Woods, ’61, Inducted in N.C. Women’s Hall of Fame

By Melyssa Allen Ruth Dial Woods,’61, has been inducted into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame. She was one of four women to receive this honor in 2011 (see page 18 for more on Woods).

The North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame recognizes women for their outstanding accomplishments in the State of North Carolina. It was launched in 2009 as an

initiative of the N.C. Governor’s Conference for Women. Inductees have demonstrated a lifetime of achievements including community service, professional leadership and advocacy on women’s issues.

Woods was the first Native American to attend Meredith College. She is one of 100 alumnae included in the College’s Park Center Mural, created to honor outstanding alumnae as part of Meredith’s 1999 Centennial celebration.

On the profile accompanying the mural, Woods said “I believe my success was grounded in the Meredith experience. My education there provided me with a nurturing environment in which to grow academically, spiritually, morally and socially.”

A Robeson County, N.C. native, Woods is a longtime educator and civic leader who served public schools in Robeson County for more than 27 years. Woods was instrumental in lobbying for the creation of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, and has served as program consultant for the Lumbee Tribal Council of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She is currently the board chair of Sacred Pathways, Inc., a crisis ministry in Pembroke, North Carolina, that provides services for the hungry, the addicted, the dislocated, and those dealing with emergency situations.

Woods earned a B.A. in English and Spanish from Meredith College, an M.Ed. from Pembroke State University, an Ed.D. from South Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction at UNC-Chapel Hill.

N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker was also inducted into the N.C. Women’s Hall of Fame for 2011. Parker attended Meredith College from 1960-62 before earning a B.A. and a J.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill.

N.C. Governor’s School to Continue at Meredith in 2012

By Melyssa Allen Meredith College will host North Carolina Governor’s School East during summer 2012, thanks to a fundraising effort by Governor’s School alumni.

North Carolina’s Governor’s School was founded in 1963 and grew to become

the largest Governor’s School in the U.S. It was also the first program of its kind in the nation. The school’s future was in jeopardy after the North Carolina Legislature voted to eliminate 2012 funding for the program for academically gifted students.

Alumni of the program launched a fundraising effort that generated enough money to hold N.C. Governor’s School’s east campus at Meredith and a west campus at Salem College in Winston-Salem. The 2012 program will host 275 students at each campus for five weeks.

“Meredith College has been proud to host North Carolina Governor’s School East for the past 12 years, as part of our support of this important educational program,” said President Jo Allen. “We count Governor’s School alumni among our student body and our employees, and many Meredith faculty have taught in this prestigious program.”

Meredith Marks 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible

By Melyssa Allen Meredith College commemorated the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible with a panel discussion on November 15, 2011.

This “birthday celebration” panel discussion featured Assistant Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Shannon Grimes, Professor of History Michael Novak, and Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities Garry Walton.

Between each faculty member’s presentation, Meredith students Amy Hruby, ’13, and Ashley Matthews, ’13, read passages from the King James Version of the Bible. Musicians Ashleigh Phillips and Rebecca Brodney provided a musical version of Psalm 23.

Grimes’ presentation, “Translations Matter: Comparing King James and Modern Bibles,” explored some of the issues with any translation of the Bible, including omissions and insertions of words.

Novak spoke about the “King James Bible as Antidote to Protestant Theology.” He explained the historical context of the translation, and what King James and his translators hoped to accomplish with this new version.

Walton’s topic was the majesty of the King James Version, sharing that the poetic

nature of the language used is one of the reasons this version of the Bible is significant.

He said many important works of literature, including Paradise Lost and the Gettysburg Address, echo the language of the King James Version.

“The language is sonorous and stately, elevated and elegant,” Walton said.

This event was sponsored by the Meredith College School of the Arts and Humanities.

Meredith Mourns Loss of Trustee Charles Tate

By Melyssa Allen Meredith College Trustee Charles L. “Buddy” Tate, Jr., of Lake Waccamaw, N.C., passed away on November 5, 2011. He is survived by his wife, Mildred “Millie” Stone Tate and daughter Mary Lacey Tate of Lake Waccamaw, N.C. His 40 year career in forestry began with the North Carolina Forest Service as the Lincoln County Ranger. He was a management forester with Riegel Paper Cooperation Woodlands Division and later Federal Paper Board, Inc. He became a Consulting Forester and real estate broker in 1973 until present at Charles L. Tate, Jr. & Associates.

In addition to his service on Meredith’s Board of Trustees, Tate served his community as a commissioner of the Town of Lake Waccamaw, past chairman and vice-chairman of the Columbus County Board of Health, past president and vice-president of the Coastal Area Health Education Center (now SEAHEC), trustee emeritus and past treasurer of The Holden Beach Chapel, and past treasurer and honorary member of The North State Game Club.

Professionally Tate was a career member of Association of Consulting Foresters, Society of American Foresters, and the Forest Landowners Association. He recently completed an appointment on the North Carolina Board of Registered Foresters. He was a longtime member of Lake Waccamaw United Methodist Church.

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outlets such as The Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Beast and Scientific American.

You want to let people know, ‘We’re on top of this. Even if we don’t know everything, we’re going to get the answers quickly’.”

—Associate Professor of Marketing Karen Mishra was quoted in a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article about the public relations implications of the Penn State’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

[Santorum] has a much larger microphone than the average citizen, and this is a way to have a big microphone to respond to him. This is a political action by people offended by a political statement, and all politicians should be aware now that the public has tools like these to protest.”

—Professor of Sociology Lori Brown was quoted in a Christian Science Monitor article about the Internet and presidential campaign politics.

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Twinkies’ low cost, wide distribution and long shelf-life makes it easy to consume a lot of extra calories with almost no effort.”

—Professor of Nutrition Susan Fisher was quoted in an article in The Daily Beast about the nutritional impact of Twinkies, after the snack food’s parent company declared bankruptcy.

The Daily Beast is an online news magazine published by Newsweek.

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It is time to make bold and innovative changes to our future economic and environmental planning for our coast. In the past we worried about saving a few beach houses; we must see that the news we are receiving now threatens our entire coastal economy.”

—Assistant Professor of Geoscience Matt Stutz’s guest blog, “A Real Sea Change,” which discussed global climate change and its effect on sea levels, was published on Scientific American.com in December 2011.

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By Katrina Kempney, ’11

in a wide variety of news articles, in media

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Guest Coaches Enjoy New Opportunity to Support Student Athletes

Meredith faculty and staff have served as experts

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2012 Faculty Distinguished Lecture Features Local Food, Film Premiere

By Melyssa Allen

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ssociate Professor of Nutrition, Health and Human Performance Bill Landis presented the 2012 Faculty Distinguished Lecture on March 13.

His lecture, titled “FROM ONE SEED: a Journey from Farm, to Plate, to You,” focused on local food, and featured the premiere of his original short film, “Seed.” Using on-location footage and featuring interviews with growers, scientists, Meredith students, and farmer’s market consumers, the film follows the development of a single organicallygrown tomato plant from seed to market.

Prior to showing the film, Landis introduced the topic of local food, and how it relates to agricultural diversity issues.

“Cosmonaut Volkov, Red October, Black Truffle, Dr. Carolyn, Aunt Ruby’s green. For many of you in the audience, you might be surprised to learn that these are vegetables, varieties of tomatoes, in fact,” Landis said. “Yet, these many varieties with the funny names are disappearing fast.”

Landis offered many examples of the shrinking diversity of the modern food supply.

“In the U.S., 90% of our plant and animal varieties that were once part of our food supply have disappeared,” said Landis.

Landis described the array of emotions

an average grocery shopper might feel.

“We may laugh at the fact that organic jelly beans even exist, cry over the price of organic broccoli, and feel satisfaction because the coffee you bought was fair-trade and the grower, in some far-off land, is able to make a living wage for his work,” Landis said.

The presentation closed with a conversation with some of the farmers and other local food experts who appeared in “Seed.”

Landis is the program coordinator for the foods and nutrition program, and is the director of the M.S. program in nutrition. His interests and research background include local and organic foods, sustainable diets and methods of food production, vegetarianism and sports nutrition.

Landis started The Meredith Community Garden in 2005. The garden is a demonstration of the concepts and methods used in producing plants and food in an environmentally sound and ecologically sustainable manner.

The first Faculty Distinguished Lecture was presented by Norma Rose in December 1964. According to “Faculty Distinguished Lectures 1964-1981,” the lecture series was designed to “represent a significant achievement of research by a faculty member.”

Meredith’s athletes also enjoy the chance to student’s life,” said Losordo. “Typically we ttendees of the Meredith volinteract with faculty and staff in a new way. see the student side rather than the athlete leyball team’s home matches may Junior volleyball player Kara Baughman have been surprised this fall to see side.” Guest coaching allowed her to learn some different faces on the bench alongside more about the students she helps every day. was excited to have President Jo Allen guest coach.

For Losordo, supporting the team is what Coach Fiona Barkley and her team. Meredith’s new guest coaching program allows guest coaching is all about. “It’s really a spirit “Having President Allen sitting on our bench was especially memorable. It made the game very faculty and staff to interact with athletes by thing—being there for the athletes.” special for our team,” said Baughman. experiencing home games from the players’ Faculty member and guest coach Doug Junior Caroline Cobb recalled the Wakeman, professor of economics, said he side of the bench. enjoyed the chance to guest coach and plans encouragement the players gave the guest Guest coaches learn about the teams as they participate in team huddles and provide to participate again. “I thought it was terrific coaches in return.

“Dr. Martinson attended one of our close fun. It was a great way to interact with our encouragement during the games. This matches, and at a pivotal timeout, I asked student athletes in a way that was intense spring Meredith’s basketball team particihim if he would lead our cheer before we and personal.” pated, and the program may expand to the headed back into play. His face was so sur Another faculty guest coach, Jeffrey soccer team as well. prised, but he was honored, and it touched Martinson, assistant professor of history, The response of Meredith’s volleyball me to know that he genuinely appreciated has now become a volleyball fan. “The team and guest coaches to the program has guest coaching program is a brilliant idea. our invitation to him,” said Cobb. been enthusiastic.

Keep an eye out for more faculty and I’m now a confirmed volleyball fan and Coach Barkley commended the connecstaff at upcoming Meredith sporting events. can’t wait to introduce my kids— three tions formed between athletics and other areas of campus. “One of our objectives with daughters ages one and three—to the sport To learn more about Meredith athletics, visit goavengingangels.com. in a few years.” this program was to bring different areas of campus together. I think that was accomplished.” She is thrilled by the increased sup- “It means a lot to the athletes who are competing for Meredith port. “It means a lot to the athletes who are to have the campus community rally behind them.” —Fiona Barkley competing for Meredith to have the campus community rally behind them,” said Barkley.

Betsy Dunn-Williams, assistant director of Student Leadership & Service, enjoyed the chance to learn more about leadership while participating as a guest coach.

“As a learner and a teacher of leadership concepts, I often look to sports for leadership role models and examples of successful leadership behaviors. That was truly my favorite part of my guest coaching experience—to watch those leadership behaviors and concepts in action,” said Dunn-Williams. She praised the team for their positive attitudes and team spirit. “They were continually attentive to Coach Barkley and to each other, encouraging teammates and strategizing about how to gain the advantage in a tough match.”

Another recent guest coach who applauds the program is Amy Losordo, assistant director of career development in Academic & Career Planning.

“As staff, we tend to see students only President Jo Allen served as a guest coach for Meredith’s volleyball match versus Peace. The Avenging through our office, so we only see part of a Angels won the match 3-1.

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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N e w s

M e r e d i t h

N e w s

Meredith Ranks High in Student Engagement Survey

History Faculty Member Helps Star Trace Family History

By Melyssa Allen

By Melyssa Allen

M

eredith College students gave the College high marks in the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

The NSSE surveys first-year students and seniors. Meredith’s mean benchmark scores of both first-year and senior students surpassed the average scores of students at the participating colleges and universities in the national sample.

The benchmark areas are Level of Academic Challenge, Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, Enriching Educational Experiences and Supportive Campus Environment.

Meredith students reported high levels of engagement, rating Meredith higher in Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction and Enriching Educational Experiences than students at peer institutions and other women’s colleges.

Students also reported a high degree of satisfaction with their Meredith experience.

M

According to the 2011 NSSE survey: • 83% of first-year students felt Meredith placed substantial emphasis on academics; • 74% of first-year students frequently discussed readings or ideas from coursework outside of class; • 95% of seniors said they had discussed career plans with faculty; and • By their senior year, 77% of students had participated in community service or volunteer work, and 68% had participated in an internship, field experience or clinical assignment.

Meredith is one of the 673 colleges and universities that participated in the 2011 NSSE. The College participates in NSSE because it provides feedback on effective educational practices and reflects how involved students are in experiences that lead to learning and personal development.

The College’s strong results in the NSSE survey are the latest indication of excellence earned by Meredith. Other recent honors

include ranking third on the U.S. News & World Report list of the South’s Best Regional Colleges, being named to U.S. News’ “Great Schools, Great Prices” list, inclusion on Forbes’ 2011 Best Colleges list, and being called one of the “Best Colleges in the Southeast” by Princeton Review in 2011. Visit www.meredith.edu/ admissions/current_rankings/ for more.

New Grant will Support Sustainability Programs

By Melyssa Allen

A

gift of more than $380,000 from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation will support environmental sustainability programs at Meredith College.

Over a three-year period, this gift from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation will help support new and existing programs at Meredith in environmental sustainability, including research opportunities for students and faculty, campus lectures, the campus’ Three Sisters Garden and edible landscape, new sustainability curriculum, and support for making major campus events more environmentally friendly.

During the 2010-11 academic year, Meredith College became one of the first colleges in North Carolina to launch an interdisciplinary major focused on environmental sustainability.Meredith’senvironmentalsustainability major/minor is focused on three foundations: natural and mathematical sciences, social 10

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sciences, and economics and communication. The flexible nature of the environmental sustainability major at Meredith College allows students to tailor a program that fits their professional interests. Students take liberal arts courses, such as environmental ethics, economics and politics, in addition to science and math classes and also participate in a research or internship experience.

In addition to the environmental sustainability major, Meredith faculty have infused sustainability topics in courses from a variety of disciplines, including art, child development, interior design, religious and ethical studies and biological sciences. The Margaret A. Cargill gift will allow Meredith to expand these offerings.

An earlier grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation supported, and will continue to support through 2014, sustainability curriculum workshops for Meredith faculty,

and student research on campus and in Costa Rica. Both grants are coordinated by the Sustainability Learning and Teaching Circle, a faculty and staff group open to the Meredith community, and directed by Erin Lindquist, assistant professor in the biological sciences.

Sustainability at Meredith

Meredith’s expansion of academic programming in sustainability is the latest example of the College’s commitment to environmental efforts. In 2008, Meredith’s first sustainability coordinator was hired. The College’s Greenprint plan for integrating sustainability into its practices in education and daily operations was developed in 2009.

Visit www.meredith.edu/sustainability/ documents/greenprint_report.pdf to view Meredith’s Greenprint Mid-Point Report, which covers Meredith’s sustainability efforts from 2009-12.

eredith College Associate Professor Dan Fountain is most often found in a Meredith College classroom, but on February 24, he could be seen on national television. Fountain served as an expert on NBC’s primetime genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are?” and helped actor Blair Underwood uncover an intriguing piece of family history.

Fountain, who has been inducted into the Historical Society of North Carolina, was contacted by an NBC researcher who had read his book, “Slavery, Civil War & Salvation: African American Slaves and Christianity, 1830-1870.”

“They wanted experts writing in the field of African-American religion,” Fountain said. “It was a thoughtful, scholarship-driven production looking to fully understand the subject, not just get the best sound bites.”

Dan Fountain (right) shares documents with actor Blair Underwood.

The researcher shared stories from the Fountain said Underwood was adept at This was the Reconstruction, a period of family tree of an unnamed celebrity and transformation in the U.S. and in Southern following the information he was offered.

Fountain was asked to provide context to “He was like working with a very good society in particular.” the public documents the research team had student on a project you both enjoy in an The community where Early lived was found. Later, Fountain had conversations on area of interest for you both,” Fountain said. evenly divided along racial lines, which the phone and over Skype with the show’s production team before he was asked to travel Fountain said were the types of places where Fountain has kept in touch with Underwood, sending the actor additional informaconflict occurred. to Lynchburg, Virginia, to shoot segments for the show. He spent two and a half days in “This type of story played out all over the tion that he uncovered about Sawney Early.

South,” Fountain said. “Any black leader who The experience sparked a lasting interest Lynchburg, including a full day of filming. stuck out was a threat to the whites’ potential for Fountain.

Fountain wasn’t told the star’s identity “I’ll continue to chase Sawney’s story … control of the county.” until he met Underwood on the set. He he is fascinating, so I will keep trying to flesh Fountain also believes Early may have speculated that it was Blair Underwood him out,” Fountain said. “I’ll pass what I find been a conjurer, a position of religious imbecause the crew mentioned it was a male portance in slave and freedmen communities. on to the Underwood family.” celebrity named Blair.

Most people don’t have access to a TV Early was “someone with different religious Fountain was asked for his expert opinion show or a historian to help trace their family on one of Underwood’s ancestors, Sawney Early, ideas, which could have been interpreted as history. Fountain said sites like Ancestry.com a former slave who had been institutionalized in insane or imbalanced.” and the online database Heritagequest provide the 1890s after he had killed a neighbor’s cow. Producers asked Fountain to keep his access to documents such as census records, theories about Sawney Early from Blair Newspaper reports said Early had been shot but he believes the best sources are family Underwood. As the camera rolled, the actwice, and called himself “the second Jesus.” members who can share stories, names of rela “Who was this man and what would peo- tor was hearing what the research showed tives and places of importance. ple of his time have thought about him? After and Fountain’s ideas about Early for the “Most people’s lives aren’t captured in first time. we had as clear a picture of him as possible, “They asked me to go through the sourc- newspapers, but in family stories,” Fountain there were three possibilities,” Fountain said. said. “If you don’t get those down firsthand, “He could be insane, he could be a criminal or ing in chronological order, with the bigger he could be someone in a period of conflict.” moments at the end. I was to lead him but to they will be lost.”

Fountain believes Sawney Early “became let him wade through it so his understanding To watch “Who Do You Think You Are?” visitwww.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are. could be captured on film.” a target in a deeply divided community.

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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Photo courtesy of NBC

M e r e d i t h

Remembering our roots

Remembering our roots

Extending Our Reach

Extending Our Reach

Making History Inauguration Held for First Alumna President

By Melyssa Allen

“B

y virtue of the authority of the Board of Trustees, I commit into your hands this distinguished institution, and place over your shoulders the seal of the College, the symbol of the high office which you now hold.”

With these words by Board of Trustees Chair Nancy Cheek, history was made on March 22, 2012, when Jo Allen, ’80, was formally installed as the first alumna to assume the leadership of Meredith College.

The installation ceremony was the culmination of a week of inauguration events honoring Allen, who began as the College’s eighth president in July 2011. The event is traditionally held within the president’s first year in office.

Nearly 2,000 Meredith community members, higher education representatives and elected officials attended the installation ceremony for President Jo Allen, ’80.

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Allen’s kindergarten teacher, Grace Burke (Miss Grace), was one of many from Allen’s hometown of LaGrange, N.C., to attend the installation.

Widener University President Jim Harris (left), President Allen and Governor Bev Perdue react as Mayor Pro Tempore Russell Stephenson announced March 22 had been declared Jo Allen Day in the City of Raleigh.

Beginning an Important Chapter at Meredith

In her inaugural address, President Allen echoed the inauguration theme, “Remembering Our Roots, Extending Our Reach.”

Allen said the theme reflected her Meredith history, as well as the story of Meredith College.

“Whatever other timeless messages this College conveys, we demonstrate none more clearly than the power of connections, most often connections between our roots and our reach.”

Allen noted that Meredith had just begun a new strategic planning process, but indicated that preparing women for positions of leadership would continue to be a focus.

“At the undergraduate level, that means educating women to develop their strengths and their talents to prepare for leadership,” Allen said. “We are discussing what this model will be, but it is already clear that our focus will draw on women’s strengths: collaboration, connection, confidence – and even a little bit of defiance.”

The ceremony included greetings from state and local officials.

“Today as we celebrate the inauguration of

Jo Allen, Meredith’s eighth president, we mark the beginning of an important chapter for this marvelous college,” said Governor Bev Perdue. “On behalf of the 9.5 million people who call this state home, congratulations – we expect and demand great things from you.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Russ Stephenson read a proclamation from the City of Raleigh declaring March 22, 2012, as Dr. Jo Allen Day in Raleigh. The proclamation “welcomed her back to Raleigh to lead one of the city’s treasured institutions.”

Prior to her appointment as president of her alma mater, Allen served as senior vice president and provost and professor of English at Widener University in Chester, Pa. Widener President Jim Harris spoke during the installation ceremony, saying “we believe Meredith College has chosen wisely … she’s the best choice because of who she is as a person.”

Remembering Our Roots, Extending Our Reach

The installation ceremony was held in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium to symbolize Meredith’s original location in downtown Raleigh.

The crowd cheered as Jewel Balantine Stephens, ’34, led the alumnae procession into the installation ceremony.

Meredith’s fifth, sixth and seventh presidents, Bruce Heilman, John Weems and Maureen Hartford, attended the ceremony, representing 45 years of leadership at the College. In another nod to Meredith history, the Bible used during the presidential investiture had belonged to Richard Tilman Vann, Meredith’s second president. This Bible was one of the items sealed into the cornerstone of Faircloth Hall on the original campus of Baptist Female University (now Meredith) in 1904, and returned to Meredith in 1960.

Along with delegates from higher education institutions, and Meredith faculty, staff and trustees, alumnae representing classes from 1934 to 2011 participated in the academic procession. Many other alumnae attended to show their support for Meredith’s first alumna president, including a large contingent of Allen’s 1980 classmates.

“I think the energy that Dr. Allen has brought to Meredith has set the stage for the future. People are excited about what they believe she can do,” said Teri Meadows Hires, ’77. “Because she’s an alumna, she understands the mission of Meredith, and she understands the importance of women as leaders.”

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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Remembering our roots

Remembering our roots

Extending Our Reach

Extending Our Reach

“We Have Waited for Thy Coming” Alumnae Reflections on Meredith’s First Alumna President

By Leslie Maxwell, ’01

Alumnae from the Class of 1934 through 2011 attended the installation to show their support for Meredith’s first alumna president.

W

hen I arrived at Meredith College as a freshman in August of 1997, it was a sticky, sunny North Carolina day. My dad, along with my aunt and uncle, helped me move into my dorm room.

My residence assistant greeted me in the parlor, and my Big Sis had taped a “welcome” sign 14

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to my door. I had dinner that night in Belk Dining Hall. John Weems was the College’s president.

When my paternal grandmother, Nelda Wilson Maxwell, ’31, went to Meredith, Charles Brewer served as the College’s president. When my mother, Brooks McGirt Max-

well, ’70, attended Meredith, Bruce Heilman was the president.

In some ways, my first day of college was dramatically different from those of my grandmother and mother. Meredith had changed so much. And yet in some ways, Meredith had not changed at all. For instance, the president of our women’s college was a man.

Two years later, when Maureen Hartford was named Meredith’s first female president in 1999, I was a sophomore. I was a reporter for The Meredith Herald, and I was thrilled to attend the ceremony announcing Hartford’s selection as president, covering it for the newspaper. Finally, I thought, there’s someone like me, like my classmates, like my mother and like my grandmother leading our school.

There’s a woman in charge.

My mother died in 1994, and I wished so much then and still do now that she could have seen a female president take charge at Meredith. I feel certain that she would have been as excited as I was, as excited as my then88-year-old grandmother was when Hartford became our leader.

Meredith had a female president, and it was good. We got used to it, really, which was a good thing: It felt right and natural to have a woman in charge. It stopped being a novelty because it was obvious: of course there was a female president of one of the South’s premier— and largest—women’s colleges.

Just last year, in 2011, the Board of Trustees

President Allen celebrates with classmates from the Class of 1980 following the installation ceremony. named Jo Allen, ’80, as Meredith’s eighth president. And alumnae everywhere rejoiced; Facebook status updates proclaimed excitement. “She’s an alumna!” we said. We called and emailed and texted our roommates and suitemates: “She’s an alumna.”

It resounded with meaning, or we thought it did. We didn’t need to say more: Saying she’s an alumna, somehow, captured it all.

At least for a while. I told my fiancé about her selection. I talked about Dr. Allen’s selection with my dad, a proud Meredith supporter whose mother, wife and daughter attended the school. I talked to classmates. But I never got beyond, “She’s an alumna.” I didn’t ask myself why I cared about that or why that would be important to me, to my fellow alumnae, to the current and future students, to the faculty, or to the school itself.

A couple of months ago, I had the chance to meet Dr. Allen at an alumnae event in Washington, D.C., where I attend graduate school. I loved meeting her and hearing her observations of and plans for Meredith College. It was that meeting that made me ask myself: I’m excited, but why? Why are we all excited that Dr. Allen is an alumna?

Our interest when Dr. Hartford was

named president in 1999 seemed easier for me to explain: we were women, and she was the first woman selected to lead us. The reasons why we are excited about Dr. Allen’s presidency are perhaps more difficult to explain, more nuanced, but—I think—just as important.

I couldn’t ask my grandmother, who died in 2009 at age 98, what she thought about Dr. Allen’s presidency. I couldn’t ask my mother. But I wanted to know. I wanted to figure out why we were excited. Maybe other alumnae would have an idea. Maybe we could figure it out together.

Paula Tudor Gilbert,’70, my mother’s college roommate and best friend, brought up the Latin translation of alma mater: Meredith College as the nourishing mother.

“Dr. Allen really understands what ‘alma

mater’ means,” Paula said. “I know it sounds corny, but our class was a very close-knit family. Brooks would have been the first one to say that in those four short years, ‘our mother’ gave us the tools for living.”

According to Emily Campbell Tuck,’60, Dr. Allen’s presidency was needed, timely: “I felt like this was something we had waited for so long. I thought of the [line in Meredith’s] alma mater: ‘We have waited for thy coming.’

“She knows the ethos of the school, the traditions, the faculty,” Tuck said. “We don’t have to explain ourselves to her. She knows what we are about.”

They’ve articulated one reason I think we feel excited about Dr. Allen’s presidency: An alumna president understands the attributes of the school, the rigorous academics, the quirky

“I think it’s a great tribute to Meredith that an alumna rises to this level of leadership. It’s not surprising, but it’s a great tribute.”

—Emily Campbell Tuck,’60 M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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defining Moments

Remembering our roots

Extending Our Reach

traditions. She comes in with a rich understanding of the school.

My college classmate and friend, Hilary Allen, ’01, Meredith’s director of alumnae and parent relations, echoed those sentiments: “When Dr. Allen speaks to alumnae, parents, current students and prospective students, she can speak to the Meredith experience because she experienced it firsthand.”

What Gilbert, Tuck and Allen say is true.

For instance, freshmen at Meredith ask about Cornhuskin’ and are told, “You just have to experience it!” Some things, we just have to experience. Dr. Allen has already experienced them. Recently, I heard her speak to a group of high school juniors and their parents, and when she talked about the importance of fit when choosing a college, of finding a college where a young woman can picture herself on campus, it was authentic. She doesn’t just work for Meredith. She herself chose Meredith, 36 years ago.

Beth Howard, ’11, cited the recent transitions of some women’s colleges to co-ed institutions as one reason that she and other alumnae are eager for Dr. Allen’s tenure. Howard, who served on the presidential search committee her senior year at Meredith, said there was a concern from some alumnae “that the new president wouldn’t understand why Meredith should stay a women’s college—a strong women’s college at that.”

Here’s yet another idea: Dr. Allen’s presidency reflects positively on the College itself and helps us look to the past with respect.

“I think it’s a great tribute to Meredith that an alumna rises to this level of leadership. It’s not surprising, but it’s a great tribute,” Tuck said. She remembered the professors who shaped her own Meredith education— Norma Rose, Ione Knight, Sarah Lemmon, Lillian Parker Wallace—women who had also attended Meredith, women who, as Tuck says, “were just the smartest people [she] had met in her life.” She sees Allen’s presidency, now, as “just continuing the pattern of strong women.”

I think about my own Meredith-educated professors—Betty Webb, ’67; Jean Jackson, ’75; 16

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By Gaye Hill

Meredith is known for helping women develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to become true leaders—in the best sense of the word. Meredith alumnae are powerful women who render a positive and lasting impact on their communities, making them more humane, more efficient and more connected. Here, nine successful alumnae reflect on defining moments of their careers that helped them become the women they are today.

The Class of 2012 planted an oak tree on campus in honor of Jo Allen, ensuring that Meredith’s first alumna president will have a lasting impact on campus.

Allen has joined in student traditions, including Cornhuskin’ .

Robin Colby, ’81—and about the education they gave me, the way I felt as if I had more to achieve. I remember the day in English 111, the first semester of my freshman year, that Dr. Webb complimented an essay I’d written for her class (a review of a Squirrel Nut Zippers’ concert) and the way I felt: proud, as if I had reached the bar Dr. Webb had set for me. I also remember wanting to succeed again when I realized the bar was even higher the next time.

And yet as important as the past is to Meredith and its alumnae, the future is just as important. Alumnae see Dr. Allen’s future impact on the students. Current students will, according to Howard, be able to look up to Dr. Allen as an example of what it means to be a Meredith graduate.

Hilary Allen concurs.

“For an institution that has historically produced strong leaders, who better to lead our alma mater than one of our own,” said Allen.

“Dr. Allen’s presidency sets the best example of the importance of a Meredith education.

I believe so much that an alumna will lead Meredith to a bright future.”

We want someone to lead us, to lead alumnae and current students, to lead future students. We want someone who remembers the past, the history of our college, but we want someone who will not be stuck in the past.

“She can make sure that Meredith College, while meeting the challenges for the 21st century, can still stay focused on its ideals and traditions of the past century,” said Gilbert, my mother’s college roommate.

There is so much to be excited about. It is exciting to have an alumna as the College’s president. We should be excited that Jo Allen knows what it means to have attended our college, this place we all hold dear. Jo Allen has the same vested interest in Meredith that we all do. She knows about Cornhuskin’ and Stunt; she wants to preserve those traditions and experiences that make Meredith unique.

She wears the same ring we all do.

As Meredith women, we have always been told that we can do anything. And here’s the thing, here’s why we should be excited: With Jo Allen as our new president, we can believe it.

Jo S. Cooper, ’67 Chief executive of Josephine Cooper, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm.

“Bringing diverse groups together to resolve challenging and contentious public policy issues is a talent and skill that I have been able to apply in a variety of situations.

I learned this in government, on Capitol Hill and in the private sector. Some of these situations where I played a pivotal role related to serious issues concerning public health and the environment, others to vehicle safety. These experiences required bringing together industry and government to address contentious, challenging public policy issues. I was an honest broker between the parties and earned the trust and respect of those engaged in the process.

One defining moment relates to the setting of fuel economy standards for autos. I was instrumental in initiating a process that brought the auto industry and three crucial regulatory bodies together to establish one national program for fuel economy and CO2 reductions for autos. This program put an end to the uncertainty, legal maneuvering, mistrust and complexity surrounding multiple state and federal fuel economy and greenhouse gas regulations that had existed

for many years.

The negotiations were demanding, but the effort culminated in a ceremony with President Obama and the auto industry CEOs in the Rose Garden at the White

House to announce a groundbreaking commitment by the auto industry. This was a defining moment in my career.

Attending Meredith gave me the educational underpinnings and the confidence to explore new issues and take risks. I was never afraid to take on any challenge, work in any industry, manage any issue. I learned at Meredith to assume responsibility and be

“

Attending Meredith gave me the educational underpinnings and the confidence to explore new issues and take risks.”

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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Anne Burke, ’99

Sherri McGee, ’75

Ruth Dial Woods, ’61

Executive director of Urban Ministries of Wake County.

Deputy assistant administrator for human capital, NASA.

Lifelong educator and civic leader, was inducted into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011. (Read more about Woods’ induction on page 6).

“

From this point on I was committed to working on behalf of homeless people, which I continue to do today.”

“It was a bitterly cold Christmas morning in 1983. I had been working at Urban Ministries for a year and a half. We had invited some dedicated volunteers to help cook and serve a holiday breakfast for homeless men.

In those days there were no homeless programs or shelters that served holiday meals.

One of our homeless friends burst through the door in an agitated state, swearing there was a dead body on the train tracks nearby. The building that housed Urban Ministries in those days was a small carriage house behind the old round Holiday Inn. I put on my coat and with several of the other men followed him back to where he had seen the body.

He was right. A man was frozen to death on the tracks. We found out later he was one of the homeless men we had helped on several occasions. This tragedy was repeated the next week when another homeless man was found frozen to death in the doorway of a downtown building on New Year’s morning. The temperature on both holiday mornings that year was in the single digits.

What made these senseless deaths even more tragic was that the Board of Urban Ministries had been battling the City Council to get permission to open a shelter for homeless men for more than eight months. We had been turned down repeatedly for approval, the chief argument being that having a shelter would attract 18

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homeless men from all over the country to Raleigh. Both of the men who died on the streets were lifelong Raleigh residents who struggled with alcohol addictions. Needless to say, Urban Ministries was finally awarded a special zoning clearance to open the Ark Shelter to serve homeless men.

At this point in my life I was a full-time student at Meredith, enrolled in the older adult program and working at Urban Ministries part-time. From this point on I was committed to working on behalf of homeless people, which I continue to do today. This commitment led me to add a second major to my studies. I graduated in 1987 with a double major in both English and sociology. I wanted to understand the complexities of society and be able to write about them. I learned about both at Meredith.

After I graduated I became the executive director of Urban Ministries and have continued to dedicate my life to helping people improve their circumstances. Urban Ministries provides food, shelter, healthcare and other supports to low-income and homeless adults, serving more than 20,000 people a year. More than that, we help people believe in themselves and offer them hope for a better tomorrow. I wish I could say no other homeless person has died on the streets in Raleigh. Others have. But no other homeless person has been found frozen to death.”

“In 2006, I was asked to apply for a senior executive position in a field in which I had little to no formal knowledge. At that point, I had been at NASA for almost 20 years, and had advanced through a series of increasingly responsible—and comfortable—positions. The work was challenging, interesting, and I enjoyed my “behind the scenes” position, supporting my director and being involved in all aspects of our operations.

Several aspects of this opportunity were daunting. In particular, I had always seen myself as a great ‘deputy’ but had never really wanted to be the “out in front” leader or put myself in the spotlight.

As I went through my decision-making process, consulting with friends and colleagues, I also reflected on the many ways that Meredith prepared me to take on new challenges—the faculty and staff who encouraged me to take a risk, even when I was filled with doubt as to whether or not I would be able to succeed.

In the end, I did step into this executive leadership role, and have spent the last five years thoroughly enjoying the challenge of guiding a staff through interesting and demanding times for the NASA workforce. This experience has helped me become more confident in my leadership abilities. I have learned to be flexible in my role and forgiving of any shortcomings I might have, perceived or real. This newfound knowledge, and freedom, has now helped me move into my current role helping to guide an even larger staff as we prepare NASA’s workforce for our next adventures.”

“

The great role models I encountered at Meredith in the 1950s prepared me to build my confidence as a woman.”

“As I reflect back on my life and what has brought me to where I am today, I see a series of moments that have defined me.

Such moments include the lessons I learned at the apron strings of my grandmother— values of love and respect, of doing the right thing. My mother, a professional educator, encouraged me to think outside the box, and to accept the fact that hard work and an education could make a difference, while at the same time modeling compassion and nurturing for others.

The great role models I encountered at Meredith in the 1950s prepared me to build my confidence as a woman. They are the women who tore down the barriers so that other women could move ahead. I had opportunities to travel outside my isolated community, where segregation extended to

Suzanne Reynolds, ’71 Executive associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the Wake Forest University School of Law.

“ “In 1994, I drove to Raleigh from my teaching duties at Wake Forest Law School to attend an emergency meeting called by the director of the North Carolina Coalition against Domestic Violence. I wasn’t sure why the organizers had urged me to

My ‘moment’ happened as I listened and imagined what I could do. I could organize some of my wonderful students to represent the victims.”

attend, but I found myself in a roomful of other family law professors, social workers, government personnel, and nonprofit employees. Various speakers described the crisis in domestic violence courts. The state had no money to hire lawyers for the

white, black and Indian with separate restrooms, racist signs and segregated schools and systems. I observed what others did and what ‘could be.’ Eventually, when I followed the migration to the North, I discovered multi-culturalism—before the term was coined. I realized that being Indian wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

If I had to choose one ‘defining moment,’ it would be serving as a state delegate to the National Women’s Conference in 1977. I was part of the North Carolina ERA group, and I said, ‘why does this committee have no American Indians?’ That’s how I came to attend the conference and hear Senator Barbara Jordan speak. I had admired her from afar, and then to be in an audience and see a strong black woman who epitomized women’s leadership … the civil rights era truly opened doors.

I am a work in progress, and my goal is to inspire, enrich and empower. If I am to be remembered, I want to be remembered for the service I did, and for the impact I might have made on somebody else’s life.”

victims, and the number of women seeking assistance had overwhelmed legal aid offices across the state.

My ‘moment’ happened as I listened and imagined what I could do. I could organize some of my wonderful students to represent the victims. The students and the supervising lawyers I could convince to join us would provide these services pro bono.

With the help of other people in Winston Salem, we created the Domestic Violence Advocacy Center of Forsyth County, which eventually served hundreds of women who were victims and made lives better for even more children who escaped the trauma of living with domestic violence.

We don’t know where the moments will take us: that’s part of their wonder. But we’re wise to heed them. I thank Meredith for encouraging me to trust the still small voice that speaks to me. At Meredith I gained the confidence to listen to a voice that would take me far out of my comfort zone and the assurance that I was never really out there alone.”

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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Lori Moscato, ’99 Founder and chair of the Pay It Forward Fertility Foundation.

“ “Ten years ago, if someone had asked me what I would be doing in the year 2012, being a founder and chair of a not-for-profit would not have even been among the top five answers. My plan was to focus on a career and climb the corporate ladder.

Then I hit a roadblock in my personal life. My husband and I were faced with infertility problems that were prohibiting us from having a family. We eventually went

Meredith prepares you, so that when you are presented with a challenge or something new to learn, you face it confidently and embrace it, knowing that you have the tools to do it right.”

through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and I gave birth to our daughter in 2007. We immediately conceived our son, naturally, and I gave birth to him in 2008.

In December of 2008, I saw an ad in the local paper for a fertility clinic. It got me thinking of a story I heard earlier that day about a couple, a teacher and construction worker, who had gone through numerous fertility treatments and needed to go

Becca Correll McClendon, ’81 Senior vice president in FedEx services/CIO for FedEx Freight.

“ “I have been in the workforce since I was 14 years old. I have worked for three world class employers, held nine significant jobs, and professionally achieved more than I ever dreamed of when I left Meredith’s campus in May 1981. All of my full-time employers have been fabulous, with the exception of one.

I was headed to graduate school at the 20

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Life is just too short to work in any position or for any employer where you are not fulfilled and satisfied.”

University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I had little money, and decided to work as much as I could that summer to help fund my graduate school tuition. During the day, I worked for an exclusive retail establishment, and in the evening, I worked as a bookkeeper at a restaurant. I was excited about the night job as the pay was almost twice that of the day job! My “office” was a small desk

through IVF, but were unable to because their insurance did not cover it and they were out of money. It broke my heart to think someone was going to have to give up on their dream.

The next day changed my life forever.

I went back to the clinic where we were treated and made what I thought was a one-time donation to help one couple go through IVF. That donation turned into a not-for-profit that now has helped eight couples, with three healthy babies born and another on the way.

I had a business degree, but did not know too much about the nonprofit world.

I had to learn, and learn quickly. I dove right in, and while it was hard work, things started to fall into place.

There are a lot of things I take with me every day that I learned at Meredith—not always what was in the textbooks, but rather life experiences and relationships.

Meredith prepares you, so that when you are presented with a challenge or something new to learn, you face it confidently and embrace it, knowing that you have the tools to do it right.”

in the back of the kitchen, and I ordered food supplies, paid invoices, and cut payroll checks for the restaurant staff.

As the weeks passed, it became apparent my motivation to make money was conflicted with feeling good about the choice I had made for my second employer. Each week was a roller coaster ride, knowing I was writing checks against a bank account that might or might not have enough cash when my fellow employees went to cash their checks. The situation became increasingly unpredictable, and I finally quit after six weeks of employment.

That very brief job situation taught me an invaluable lesson about making certain the job and employer I consider match my needs and objectives. Just going after the money may seem lucrative, but often those situations turn into high-stress, low-satisfaction, and personal value challenges. Life is just too short to work in any position or for any employer where you are not fulfilled and satisfied.”

Ingrid Sanchez, ’01, MBA

Venera G. Ishmuratova, ’99 Finance director for Waterway Finance Ltd.

Founder and CEO of iSearchFinance, LLC, and an executive recruiter in the accounting and finance arena.

“A defining moment in any woman’s career is when she recognizes that her ability far exceeds that which she thought possible. For me, this moment took place when I realized that I could take my recruiting skills, my decade of experience and my business knowledge, and create an organization that was progressive and forward-thinking.

In 2007, I started my firm with the premise that my employees would be able to work from home, have trusted flexibility and be able to meet the needs of their families and their workplace.

This notion of being able to attend school events, pack daily lunches, assist with homework and somehow continue to be successful seemed incomprehensible in my early career. Five years later, my three-woman firm has surpassed any of my expectations. We now house three separate lines of business and review and manage contracts from office desks, kitchen counters, or bleachers when necessary.

Obtaining my MBA at Meredith raised my level of confidence and provided progressive ideas and examples through learning. These were the two greatest attributes that I required in order to take the risk. Ultimately, this career-defining moment was a ‘life changer’ as well—and now, the creativity continues.”

“

“‘Rahmet! Spasibo!’ (Thank you!) … I heard from people, as they shook my hands and thanked me near the railroad tracks of a small Siberian town. ‘Many jobs will be saved and many more will be added,’ said my client as he thanked me for the line of credit I managed to issue him through Bank of America.

This particular Russian financing is the most memorable to me, since just three years after my graduation from Meredith, I initiated, led and managed the entire process. My colleagues tried to dissuade me from doing the project. No one had ever worked with Russian clients, especially from Siberia, who requested an underwriting based on non-traditional collateral. My knowledge of the region and its various languages helped validate the integrity of the client and the purpose of the financing, which helped expand the company’s operations, save and create more jobs.

My work on the Russian financing proved valuable to me as well. The small contribution to the local economy in my homeland gave a clear direction to my future career choices and further studies. It also sparked my desire to focus on projects that support economic and

Attending Meredith College, with the access to professors and my involvement in its leadership development programs, prepared me to look forward to new challenges, take initiative and accept responsibility.”

social development.

This spark stayed with me throughout Harvard Business School, culminating in the pursuit of an independent research study and later on in a Ph.D. from a Russian university, both on the topic of poverty. This spark helped me choose a post-MBA opportunity at Credit Suisse Alternative Energy investment banking group that allowed me to continue ‘doing good while doing well’ by arranging financing for companies in the renewable energy sector. And this spark stays with me now while working on strategy and finance issues in alternative energy and innovative technology start-ups that strive to make a difference in the world.

My family upbringing and life experiences taught me to tolerate risk and change. However, attending Meredith College, with the access to professors and my involvement in its leadership development programs, also prepared me to look forward to new challenges, take initiative and accept responsibility. The support of Meredith alumna Carol C. Sloan gave me an opportunity to attend Meredith and encouraged me, in her words, to ‘aim high’ while pursuing my dreams.”

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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lumnae Connection Notes and news for Meredith alumnae

Highlights Where in the World is Meredith?....... 24 Alumna Profile: Christa Bucks Camacho, ’94........... ............... 25 Alumna Profile: Amanda Puckett, ’01..... 26 Memorable Moment..... ............... 28 The Crook Then and Now............... 30 Alumna Profile: Jennifer Hubbard, ’87.... 31

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Alumnae Help Young Women “Discover Meredith”

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his spring, Meredith College was introduced to a group of prospective students by those who know the College best – our alumnae. Nearly 40 alumnae returned to campus on January 28, 2012, to attend “Discover Meredith” with a total of 46 prospective students.

Alumnae were essential in making “Discover Meredith” a success. The Alumnae Association helped sponsor the event. The day featured an overview on Meredith presented

by President Jo Allen, ’80, and remarks during lunch by Alumnae Association President Elizabeth Dove, ’84, and Vice President for College Programs Jean Jackson, ’75.

Another highlight was a panel discussion featuring alumnae and students. Sarah Terrell, ’12, Michelle Cox, ’13, Audrey Tamer Harrell, ’07, and Christen Crouch, ’07, shared their experiences as Meredith College students.

Admissions staff members report that they heard many students say their decision to apply to Meredith was made because of their “Discover Meredith” experience. Alumnae enthusiasm does influence students who are considering Meredith, according to panelist Sarah Terrell.

“The energy and love that alumnae feel toward Meredith was and is such a big part of why I chose to go to Meredith,” Terrell said.

“It was wonderful to be able to share that enthusiasm with prospective students.”

Alumna Andrea Oakely Fox, ’95, appreciated the chance to introduce Meredith to a new generation of students.

“My favorite aspect of the day was hearing the student panel answer questions and talk about their experiences at Meredith,” Fox said.

“As an alumna, I was very proud to witness the focused, well-rounded, smart women describe just how wonderful it is to be an angel.”

Alumnae can continue to be Meredith College ambassadors by introducing prospective students to Meredith, and providing a voucher that waives a student’s application fee. Visit www.meredith.edu/admissions/alumnae for more information.

class notes Compiled by the Office of Alumnae & Parent Relations from September 2011 - January 2012. Information may be edited for space limitations and content restrictions. Submit class notes to your class agent, online at www.meredith.edu/alumnae, by email at alumnae@meredith.edu, by fax (919) 760-2818, or by phone to the Office of Alumnae and Parent Relations at (919) 760-8548.

Deadline for the Summer 2012 issue is May 25, 2012. Submissions received after this date will appear in the Fall 2012 issue.

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Dorothy Turlington Royal recently celebrated her 103rd birthday on December 7, 2011. She celebrated with her nieces Patricia Maynard Prather, ’59, Dorothy Maynard Carawan, ’61, Jennie Turlington Spell, ’61 and Gail Maynard Wells, ’73.

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Anne Simms Haskins, who lives at Springmoor Retirement Community in Raleigh, celebrated her 100th birthday in November. She enjoyed a big party with her four children’s families and seven of her nieces and nephews.

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Bess Peeler Averre recently spent a week at Brevard, exploring and relaxing in the N.C. Mountains, and a week in Florida, mostly driving to reach a beautiful ocean side resort on the Keys. Averre says that 2012 was a good year. Sandra Peterson Barber made a few short trips to Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland and Washington, D.C., with her husband. She also recently spent time in the Outer Banks with a high school group.

She writes that her “two great granddaughters are a joy.” Mary Lib Delbridge Blalock writes that she met up with the Borg-Warner Reunion Group in Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Ky., for an annual get together last September. Myra Bristol is doing fine and still plays a lot of bridge. Jennie Barbour Brooks is currently caring for her husband at home. Her son has moved in to help. Betty Ball Cope recently returned from a nice winter break in Hawaii. She enjoyed visiting with old friends who live there. Becky Calloway Daniel reports good news of the successful lives of her two boys and her granddaughters. She plans to move into a retirement center early in 2012. Cleo Jones Edwards has had a few health problems this past year but her most recent surgery was successful, and she is now back at home.

Effie Sneeden Green does water aerobics and writes that she had a wonderful Christmas. She attended the Russian Ballet at the Kennedy Center and thoroughly enjoyed the program. Nancy Hall still writes “Senior Musings” for her local newspaper. She was saddened last year at the death of her older sister and is still looking after a brother who is in a retirement home.

Vivian Stanley Hughes worked to plan a group event for Meredith’s “Alice in Wonderland” rehearsal in January.

Barbara Andrews Jones went to Alaska this summer

travel bridge companions. Her three grandchildren are doing great. Carolyn Wood Plowman is very active at church. She teaches an ESL Sunday School class and ESL class through Montgomery County Community College. One of her sons lives in Wyoming, with his family. Her other son and his family lives in Apex, N.C., with a blended family of six children. Joan Allen Rainey is bothered with sciatic nerve pain even after trying acupuncture, shots and massage therapy but writes that the weather in Florida is nice. Betty Best Rand writes that her husband discovered in June that he had prostate cancer and further testing showed that he had kidney cancer. He underwent operations in July and November. Recent testing showed no further cancer.

She is slowly improving after issues with an eye disease.

Rand and Barbara A. Jones talk often. Rand is going to be a grandmother again in June. Phoebe Barnhardt Satterwhite wrote in November that she was in the midst of moving into a brand new home. She appreciated several people helping with boxes, both packing and unpacking, and, surprising herself, is thoroughly enjoying being spoiled with the new living situation.

with her sister, her sister’s daughter, and husband.

Frances Carr Kratt has been on several trips, the last being to North Carolina for Christmas. Virginia Kime MacMillan reports that her life is “about the same, good!” Virginia Mumford Nance has been working with a personal trainer since July to counteract arthritis pain and stamina problems. She writes, “there is life in the old girl, yet!” Nance is involved with Bible Study Fellowship, where she has made many friends and been blessed with an environment that has strengthened her spiritual life. Mary Moore Newman says that she is “still alive and kicking and still playing piano each week for worship services.” She has a new greatgranddaughter and has a cruise through the Panama Canal planned for March. Newman also says that she is trying to keep up with technology and is currently learning to use Twitter on her iPhone. Kathleen Clemmons Parker writes that her son is doing well physically after his stroke. Her two older grandchildren are busy with married life and youngest one is in 8th grade. Bennie Farquharson Pendergrass enjoyed her 6th annual Thanksgiving cruise to the Caribbean with long time

Odds Win Meredith Mayhem Congratulations to the Class of 1955, who won Meredith Mayhem 2012 with a participation rate of 54%!

Donors from the class will receive a dinner with President Jo Allen, ’80, and a unique print of Meredith created by an alumna specifically for the competition.

New this year was a runners-up competition based on the percentage increase of donors. The Class of 1964 won with a participation increase of 32.1%.

The big winners of Meredith Mayhem are the students who benefit from your generous gifts!

Thank you for playing and supporting Meredith College.

Meredith Mayhem

www.meredith.edu/million M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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alumnae Connection Sarah Pate Styron is living in Davis, N.C., near the coast in a small town of about 400 people. She is in good health but adjusting to the loss of her husband in March of 2010. She says that she “stays busy in her church and community, reads a lot and can’t figure how time passes so fast.” Annette Claudle Tarlton writes that her husband recently had a pacemaker put in and is doing much better now. She is going to become a great grandparent in the coming weeks. Her children are nearby, and she sees all of them frequently.

’60

Mary Elizabeth Barnes recently published “The Dark Strip,” a novel that examines issues of character and hate crimes.

’62

Ruth Dial Woods has been inducted into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame. She was one of four women to receive this honor in 2011. The North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame recognizes women for their outstanding accomplishments in the State of North Carolina. Woods is a longtime educator and civic leader who served public schools in Robeson County for more than 27 years. Woods was instrumental in lobbying for the creation of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs.

’63

Peggy Klick Abernathy lives in Greensboro, N.C., with her husband. They enjoy conducting a tutoring program at their church. They have two married children and four grandchildren under the age of two.

Barbara Blanchard Allen is enjoying retirement, but is busy being a docent at the N.C. Museum of Art. She took a group of her classmates on a tour in January. She and her husband have three grandchildren who keep them busy. She has also been part of the “Meredith Traveling Gals.” Martha Spence Blount enjoys sewing and traveling. She and her husband have been to Hawaii and also San Diego to visit their son and his family. Nancy Williams Cheek has retired from public school work and now enjoys volunteering at Meredith. She and her husband also enjoy time with their granddaughters, ages 5 and 8. Her classmates are all so proud of her work as chair of Meredith Board of Trustees. Elizabeth Haywood Derreth retired eight years ago after more than 30 years in Wake County Schools. After five years of retirement, her husband bought another business and recruited her to run it. It has turned out to be fun, especially being her own boss.

Derreth says, “Life gets better and better!” Annette McFall Epps and her husband are still in Raleigh and continue to be connected to Sea Gull and all those many friends. Velma McGee Ferrell has joined an artists’ co-op in Chapel Hill and is sewing and creating 24

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alumnae Connection Where in the World is Meredith?

When you take a vacation, travel on a mission trip, or run into an alumna in another country, send us your photos! We’ll display them on the alumnae blog Beyond the Back Gate so that your classmates can see where you’ve been. If you have an upcoming trip and would like for us to send you a ‘Where in the World is Meredith’ T-shirt, just email us and we’ll be happy to mail one to you. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing photos very soon!

For questions, to submit a photo or to request a shirt, please email us at alumnae@meredith.edu.

in ere h W is orld w ith? d e the r Me

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Top: Amy Newsom Kennedy, ’98, and Karen Edwards Proctor, ’98, in London, England.

Bottom: Nancy Williams Cheek, ’63, in Maasai Boma, Tanzania. items to sell there. She and her husband have one granddaughter who is a senior in high school and will be at Columbia University in the fall. They are expecting a second grandchild in March. Jane Link Fleming loves retirement and finds herself busy with church activities like teaching Sunday school, choir, ringing hand bells and serving on committees. She and her husband enjoy spending time with their four grandchildren.

From February thru September she’ll be busy fighting the ‘Big C’, but then plans to return to all the old activities. Kappie Weede Griggs is busy volunteering, completing a year as chair of the local Chamber of Commerce; working three or four mornings a week at a free medical clinic and serving on its board; managing the maintenance of an historic cemetery; loving eight grandchildren; and traveling with those “Meredith Traveling Gals.” Beverlye Huff Hancock retired after 28 years at Wake Forest Anthropology Museum in 2008.

She has started painting again and taking long walks with friends. She is traveling with her grandchildren and enjoying her family. Mary Lou Davis Jackson is enjoying retirement after 43 years of teaching. She and her husband live in Sanford and he is an attorney in Fayetteville. Their son lives in Sanford so they find time to spend with “the light of our lives,” their grandchildren, ages 10 and 6. Over Christmas, her husband had brain surgery and is recovering well. Betty Jo Johnson Pearson, still in Raleigh, enjoys grandchil-

and has had a book published. Fran Gorham Stewart loves being retired from Wachovia Bank and Sears. She also taught school for 10 years. First Baptist Church in Winston Salem, N.C., keeps her busy teaching Sunday school, Baptist Women’s activities, Singing Servers (volunteer group) and lots of wonderful friends. Stewart says, “Good health! Life is good!” Brenda Bunn Taylor still lives in Raleigh and enjoys babysitting for the latest grandkid, traveling with her husband to visit family across the country, and volunteer work. She loves seeing a dozen plus classmates for lunch biannually, “What good gals graduated in ‘63!” Linda Baxter Thompson continues to enjoy retirement after 33 years of teaching Spanish and English. She spends as much time as possible at her house at Ocean Isle Beach. She dotes on her only grandchild and shares care giving for her 94-year-old mother. She is involved in Mt. Gilead’s cultural, social and religious activities and finds herself as busy as before retirement.

dren activities with her husband. They spend time at their home on Lake Gaston when not busy traveling.

Mary Fran Carver Perkinson “got a reality check this year celebrating a 70th birthday and wishing well her oldest grandchild as she left for college.” She and her husband have fun with five other grandchildren who are all in school, doing well and are happy. Retirement suits them, while church and family keep them busy.

“We are blessed.” Perkinson and Susan Leathers Burnette traveled with Meredith Alumnae to Tuscany in June and visited Meredith’s campus in Sansepolcro.

Bettie McManus Phillips has five wonderful grandchildren and enjoys babysitting and working on her house after damage from hail. She, too, loves to travel with those “gals.” In March, Barbara Allen, Kappie Griggs, Lou Argow, and Phillips went to Costa Rica.

“Bucket Lists were emptied by zip lining, riding horses and parasailing.” Anna Rickles will join them for the next trip to Paris. Matilda Dew Phillips is working for Mary Kay and is the president of the local Forsyth Chapter of American Business Women. She spends as much time as possible with her family and has three children, six grandchildren and two great grandsons.

Ellen Lockhart Rogers admits that she adores the gym and loosening up her bones each day! Philecta Clarke Staton is in Harrisonburg, Va., but came down to join the group of classmates for lunch in December.

Along with many other interests, she finds time to write

Sarah Parker has been inducted into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame. She was one of four women to receive this honor in 2011. The North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame recognizes women for their outstanding accomplishments in the State of North Carolina. Parker serves as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

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Donna Haverstock Fisher retired from teaching five years ago and then spent four years mentoring new teachers who were not fully credentialed. Fisher has two daughters who live nearby with their families.

She and her husband have two granddaughters, age one and 13. Billie Hartsell Freeman is pleased to announce the birth of her twin granddaughters.

Crystal Hartness Leathers and her husband retired to Winston-Salem, N.C., over two years ago and are enjoying it. Her daughter is married to the son of Sandra “Sandy” Flynt Canipe, ’66. Leathers has three wonderful grandchildren. Becky Parker Shue is enjoying cruising, being with her grandchildren, cooking and Bible study. She also enjoys having lunch with several of her Meredith classmates who live nearby.

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Judith Carroll Gardner has been spending a good deal of time traveling. In 2011 she visited Jamaica, Bermuda, Scandinavia, Estonia, Berlin, plus Staunton, Va., the Maryland coast, and her beach home.

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Mary-Stuart Parker Alderman is proud to report the births of two grandsons. Anne Luter Bromby is

International Experiences Pave the Way for Alumna’s Success

By Katrina Kempney, ’11

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hrista Bucks Camacho, ’94, who double-majored in international studies and Spanish, believes her Meredith education prepared her well for her international career.

“I have many fond memories of Meredith,” she said, “including history lectures, Cornhuskin’, and living in the international house, which was a dorm housing 18 women from around the world.”

Camacho studied abroad in Costa Rica during her junior year at Meredith.

After graduating from Meredith, she served as a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Paraguay from 1996-98. She was an Urban Youth Development “I have many fond memories of volunteer, teaching employment Meredith, including history lecreadiness and life-skills programs for underprivileged youth. The role tures, Cornhuskin’, and living in brought many surprises. the international house, which “On a morning review of the was a dorm housing 18 women classroom, I discovered I only had from around the world.” a ball of string and scissors,” she —Christa Bucks Camacho said, “I thought to myself, what can 20 kids do with this string?

After a few minutes of planning, I prepared a class on macramé. By the end of my two years as a volunteer, four of my students were selling their macramé.”

Camacho’s time in Paraguay allowed her to learn more about different cultures and overcoming challenges, experiences that would be useful after she left the Peace Corps.

“I worked as a public relations coordinator for an international disability organization where I edited a 658-page travel guide for persons with disabilities,” said Camacho.

Camacho currently works for the Social Security Administration. Her role there has included evaluating procedures to improve Social Security’s records management program and leading public meetings to align Social Security’s initiatives with public interests. She also managed the Youth Transition Demonstration, a major research demonstration project that promotes self-sufficiency among Supplemental Security Income recipients.

She was recently invited to take part in the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.

“It’s a 24-month program designed to develop high-potential federal employees by providing challenging assignments, formal training, and a greater awareness of public and government business,” she said.

Camacho is excited about the new challenges participating in the program will bring. “I am looking forward to becoming increasingly responsible for helping to define, communicate, and achieve Social Security’s goals regarding the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.”

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

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alumnae Connection

Alumna Finds Inspiration in Her Work to Improve Global Health

By Melyssa Allen

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lumna Amanda Puckett, ’01, may have her office in North Carolina, but her work as a program officer with IntraHealth International has an impact around the world.

“I work on a large, global project aimed at supporting health workers. We work with Ministries of Health, health professional schools and various other partners to ensure that doctors, nurses, midwives and other cadres of health workers in developing countries are trained and supported to provide quality health care services,” Puckett explained.

Her work with the nonprofit includes managing advocacy for health workers, support to in-country stakeholder leadership groups, and human resources for health management. She is also in charge of several country activity portfolios including Nigeria, Ghana and Latin America.

After graduating from Meredith with a Bachelor of Science in international business and French, Puckett worked as a journalist but always wanted to have a career in international development. She changed careers and began at IntraHealth in 2005.

“I started at the very bottom, literally filing contracts,” Puckett said. “What motivated me each day was the amazing work we were doing and the inspirational people at IntraAmanda Puckett, ’01 Health. I am fortunate to work with an awe-inspiring group of individuals who are dedicated to improving vulnerable populations’ access to health care.”

Having found her niche in a field she finds “extremely rewarding,” Puckett earned a master’s degree in public health from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2011. She continues to be inspired by the health workers she supports through her role at IntraHealth.

“I once toured a remote health clinic in Rwanda where we were able to provide the facility with basic equipment and supplies for HIV/AIDS testing,” Puckett said. “The nurses showing me around the clinic were extremely proud to have these supplies so they could help more people know their HIV status. Their enthusiasm, like many other health workers I’ve encountered, is extremely motivating and inspirational.”

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alumnae Connection enjoying retirement and spending more time with family and friends, both in Raleigh and at Holden Beach. Anne Bryan is a senior policy advisor to Governor Bev Perdue.

Anne, her husband, and daughters had a wonderful trip to Southeast Asia this summer. Chris Barker Calvert says that the most exciting part of her life now is her fairly new position as conference assistant to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the U.S. Supreme Court. She says, “The job was totally unexpected, yet a wonderful way to end my working career. I have to pinch myself every morning when I come into chambers at the Court, knowing what history has come before and what history will be made while I am here.” Boyd King Dimmock went on a nine-day mission trip to Cusco, Peru, in July 2011, accompanying about 60 youth from her church, Trinity Baptist in Raleigh, NC. Martha Lyday Dobbins reports that her daughter, Elizabeth Dobbins Smith, ’99, was recently married. Marilyn Ballard Gardner, ’71 and her daughter, Laurie Gardner Gould, ’98, traveled to Georgia to decorate, delegate and celebrate with us! Dobbins says, “It was wonderful to share this happy time with our Meredith generations!” Susan Sprouse Duckwall recently welcomed her first granddaughter. Duckwall also became a physician assistant (PA-C) after attending Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Marilyn Ballard Gardner represented her church, First United Methodist of Fuquay-Varina, on an eight-day mission trip to Carillos, Costa Rica in November 2011.

Paula Smith Hare, a teacher/media assistant at Smith Elementary near Graham, N.C., reports that she works with Meredith Angels Shelley Womack Lassiter, ’72, and Julie Haynes Hancock, ’93. Betty Alligood Harrington reports that she is principal of Morehead High School in Eden, N.C., and her husband is still employed at Karastan. Harrington says, “We have a wonderful school community of about 1,150 people. Life is good. Our older son is marrying a super young lady next year. We stay very busy with work, following MHS and UNC sports, and our family activities.” Judy Hunt has had a miraculous kidney/pancreas transplant, and is now cured of diabetes. She reports that she is now healthier than when she was in college! Jane Davis Knox is enjoying retirement in Charlotte, N.C., after 33 years of work in the field of information technology, followed by five years as a special education teacher.

Jennie Lancaster retired in 2004, but was called back into service in January 2009, when Governor Bev Perdue appointed her the Chief Operating Officer for the N.C. Department of Corrections. June White Lucas is director of research for Old Salem and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA). She studies, researches, and lectures on Piedmont North Carolina furniture. Judy Hubbard Marx has been retired from N.C. State Government employment since 1991, after working 30 years, mostly at Dorothea Dix Hospital’s child and adolescent program as a teacher and school ad-

ministrator. Since retirement, she has enjoyed painting, yard work, basketball and softball, as well as painting, and teaching Title I Reading classes for Wake County part-time. Jane Kiser Modlin recently celebrated the birth of her granddaughter and dental school graduation for son. Ellen Manson Moore is enjoying retirement. Her son, who was valedictorian of Midlothian High School in 2009, is now an engineering student at Virginia Tech. She spends her time handling financial affairs for her 91-year-old mom and an aunt, as well as driving them to appointments. Sara Kennemur Mountford is retired from teaching fourth grade, and loves spending time with husband at their beach home.

Carol Caddell Old is retired from teaching, having taught in Moore County, Alamance-Burlington, and Wake County Schools. She reports that her family has moved around the state as her husband received the call to a different ministry, including serving as Greenville district superintendent. Jean Davenport Peterson reports that she is retired from being a part-time nanny, and says she “put that Home Economics Degree with Child Development to work.” She is currently the primary caregiver for her 88-year-old mom, who is in an assisted living community in Morehead City, N.C. Elizabeth “Betsy” Best Phillips notes, “It has truly been a joy to reconnect with Meredith. We should be so proud of this school and its presence in the market place and world. It is my desire to promote Meredith in any way possible to reflect a positive image of “doing” in the world and make it visible.” Abby Warren Porter reports that she is thriving in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where she is an art teacher at Ocean Bay Middle School. Joyce Little Rhodes is retired as dean of continuing education for Sandhills Community College, and is now enjoying working parttime as the secretary/office manager for a two-person family counseling office. Eugenia Tull Rhoten is a professor in the Department of Education and Human Services, teaching graduate courses in reading at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. Pamela Leigh Lewis Riley retired in July 2010, as executive director of the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). Vivian “Vickie” Regan Rolfe reports she had the neat experience of running into Suzanne Reynolds at the Charlotte airport, as Reynolds and her daughter were off to some exotic hiking experience, and Rolfe was headed to the United Kingdom to see her daughter and family. Pamela Pruitt Sherman is minister of preschool activities at New Bridge Baptist Church in Highland Springs, Va., where she has been for over 35 years. Sherman’s projects outside the home include work on various committees with Baptist organizations for child care training and advocacy, and work with Horses in Service, which provides therapeutic horseback riding for children and adults. Susan Lynn Shipp has retired from teaching, and is serving as caregiver for her mother. Glenda Warren Smith and her husband have

Tuscan Intensive Courses – Fall 2012 Have you ever dreamed of studying in Italy?

Meredith College is offering two unique mini-courses, Drawing Under the Tuscan Sun: Visual Journaling (September 1227), and Justice and Liberty: World War II in Italy (October 3-16), at our beautiful Palazzo in Sansepolcro, Italy. The courses will be taught by retired faculty,

returned to North Carolina after 35 years in Acton, Mass.

Smith is living in Lexington near her mother and sister.

Bonnie Scott Truelove is retired and enjoying time to travel with her husband. She says meeting him is the most exciting thing to happen to her in the last 40 years!

Sharyn Hemrick West has loved seeing Meredith from several different perspectives-first, as a student, then as an alumna, as a parent when each of her daughters were students, and as the spouse of a Meredith employee. Her husband, Harold, is senior director of gift planning at Meredith. Peggy Williamson Wiggins left her position as ESL instructor at Wake Tech in 2007 and then lived three years with her parents as full-time caregiver. Peggy Allen Williamson is working as an English teacher at Mooresville High School and says, “The Meredith English Department continues to make an impact in public education as several of my students have now graduated from Meredith and are teaching English in N.C.” Martha Millard Worsley retired from teaching in 2009, and is enjoying splitting time between Cary and Ocean Isle Beach. She volunteers with prison MATCH, United Methodist Women, and babysitting grandchildren.

’72

Nancy Barnhill Aycock is serving as general counsel for University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, Inc, a 10-hospital system serving eastern North Carolina. Aycock and her husband have four grandchildren. Sandra McClain Buller is still living in Jupiter, Fla., teaching voice and coordinating music graduate studies at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

She now has four grandchildren, the latest born last February, and among whom are two grandsons and two potential Meredith Angels. Sandra writes, “One of my great pleasures is getting to spend more time again with my Meredith roomie, BA Haskins Schlegel, who conveniently lives halfway between me and my youngest daughter. We have great lunches together as often as possible. Looking forward to the 40th!”

Penny Gallins and Becky Hooper Michaels attended the Meredith production of Alice in Wonderland and wrote, “It was wonderful! Classmate Ellen Barney

and the costs are affordable to allow for as many participants as possible.

For more information, visit the study abroad website at www.meredith.edu/ abroad/italy/twoweek.htm or contact Linda FitzSimons, Coordinator of Tuscan Intensives, at lfitzsimons@nc.rr.com.

Williams made us proud as she led the dancing in two numbers! Way to go, Ellen!” Betty Anne Haskins Schlegel is still enjoying teaching piano full-time in St. Augustine, Fla. She also leads worship music in The Church at Vilano, where her husband serves as the pastor. Their son is studying math at Florida Atlantic University’s Wilkes Honors College in Jupiter, Fla.

’78

Jan Greer Nelson is an induction and support coach for the Guilford County Schools, a position in which she mentors first year teachers. She writes that it has been a wonderful way to continue her career in education without being in the classroom. Beth Wicker Walters is working as an adjunct instructor of art appreciation at Northeastern Technical College in Cheraw, S.C. She is also serving as co-president of the NC Society of Goldsmiths, is a past-president of the Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail, and is curating her second international online exhibition of jewelry for the Ganoksin website.

’80

Hunter Dudley Darden was recently listed as one of the “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading” by World Book and Press. She was included as one of the 50 through a vote as a result of her appearance on The Authors Show. Gloria Boyd Johnson is working as the associate pastor for community ministry at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, N.C.

’84

Edna Lovelace Gaston is an active master gardener, recently being awarded a pin in recognition of 1,000 hours of service, the first given to anyone in her local group. She also received the Gold Trowel Award for outstanding service. She is serving on the boards of two statewide organizations, the North Carolina Association of Volunteer Administration (NCAVA) as treasurer and the North Carolina Master Gardener Volunteer Association as delegate from Kerr Lake MGV. She and her husband are enjoying life at Hyco Lake with their five “children,” two rescued dogs and three rescued cats.

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

27

alumnae Connection

alumnae Connection

’93

Jill Barlow received her Master of Arts in religion with a concentration in theology this past May. Kim Peeples Reynolds is the author of three books, the “Alex Charles Series,” which has been a best seller several years now. Jessica Cook Smythe was recently chosen to speak at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). Smythe will be speaking on Emerging Trends in Medicare Compliance.

’95

“

Memorable

Moment

“

My Meredith experience was defined by support and consistent encouragement by my professors. Dr. Beth Mulvaney is a professor who stands out to me as a graphic design student.

I struggled in my first art history course, regardless of how many tools and methods I had tried. I went to her, with hope of being able to be enlightened about something I wasn’t doing correctly. She listened to me tell my story and gave me suggestions on how to study and other methods she had seen students use. After that conversation, I felt a lot better, and increased my overall score by an entire letter grade before the end of the semester.

Two years later, I found myself back in her classroom again. Since I knew how to use all of the helpful tools she provided upon entering the course, I achieved one of my final academic goals at Meredith with a shining “A” in her class. I’m so thankful for amazing professors like Dr. Mulvaney who truly changed how I look at life and formed the designer that I am today. Meredith wouldn’t be Meredith without them.” –Kristin Fowler, ’11

Allison Trabucco Cain is a Christian author and speaker. Her third book, “GodChick Devotions: Putting Down Roots,” came out in November 2011. Elizabeth “Betsy” Trible Reid is the Region 1 winner of the 2011 Thinkfinity Teacher Excellence Award.

’97

Sheila Barrett Barnes has recently moved to Raleigh and is the new volunteer manager for Duke Raleigh Hospital. Jennifer Sterling Snodgrass was recently named director of graduate studies for the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. She is anxious to recruit Meredith alumnae into the program.

’98

Elizabeth Briggs Drummond is a teacher at Poe Montessori Magnet School in Wake County. Nancy Ginger received her master’s degree in human resources from the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business in December 2011. Also, she recently began her new position as director of human resources at Lang-Mekra North America in Ridgeway, S.C.

’01

Sarah Whitworth McLamb has started a new job as choral director at Corinth Holders High School in Johnston County. Wallis Kirby Stott is now working for Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) as a safety specialist.

’85

’87

Kellie Falk-Tillett, managing director of Drucker & Falk, was honored by Business Leader Magazine as a Woman Extraordinaire. She received the award on December 6, 2012, during the annual awards luncheon at the Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh.

Marnie Stone Marlette is working at Cornerstone Premier Care in High Point, N.C. She received her medical degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University. Marlette is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

’86

’88

Stephana West is living in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. and working as associate director of enrollment communications in Coastal Carolina University’s Office of Admissions in Conway, SC. 28

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Dorothy Bass Burch was recognized for her extraordinary service and was re-elected to the Board of Directors for the NC Horse Council. She also recently served as a guest lecturer at N.C. State University.

’89

Michelle Tutherow Johnson is in her fifth year of teaching business education courses at North Lincoln High School, specializing in small business and entrepreneurship, she also runs the Microsoft IT Academy at her school. Johnson is the Future Business Leaders of America club advisor and serves on the School Improvement Team and Student Support Team board. She also serves on the North Lincoln High School Band Executive Board as the event/ committee coordinator. Johnson has two children, age 16 and 14.

’03

Lindsay Sutton Beavers is working as the marketing coordinator at the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence in Cary, N.C. Sallie Hedrick Bowman is currently working in the Office of North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue. Megan Deane Greer is working as the associate director for external relations with the Entrepreneurship Initiative at N.C. State University. Tara Licciardello Queen graduated from N.C. State University with a Ph.D. in psychology. She is now working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

’04

Denise Garcia Barnett is a K-5 Exceptional Children’s teacher at Meadow School in Johnston County.

Laura Bates was recently promoted to director of the Center for Student Involvement and assistant director of the Student Union Building at Truman State University. Sharla Smith Collins was promoted to risk analyst at Ally Financial. Sandee Jene Bizzell Hales was elected to WakeMed Hospital Systems Staff Nurse Council Chair for 2012-14. This gives her the opportunity to represent all of the system’s staff nurses in the system’s shared governance body.

Mary-Kathryn Pate Hixson was named Broughton High School’s 2011 Teacher of the Year and WRAL’s Teacher of the Week. Mary Huffstetler was appointed

by Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell, as deputy director of the Virginia Health Reform Initiative. Prior to this appointment, she served as the senior policy advisor to the Cabinet Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Marion D. Quaye, MBA, has joined BB&T as vice president/portfolio manager III in the North Atlanta Region. Prior to joining BB&T, Quaye held several positions with Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo) and was most recently the vice president of asset management with the Atlanta Housing Authority. Erin McGraw Worley was promoted to workforce management at Biogen Idec in July 2011.

’05

Sarah Anderson received National Board Certification in Family and Consumer Sciences for Middle School.

Blair Wannamaker is a case manager at Communities for People, Inc. Amanda Bordeaux was recently featured in Southwest Wake News in a Q&A about her business, Sitter Connection. Nicole Armstrong Cockerham is the branch director and coordinator of targeted case management services at Advanced Health Resources. Emily Mitchell Drake earned a Master of Library Science from East Carolina University in December 2011. Mary Sterling Winslow Grimes is the director of specialty services at Nash Health Care.

Kristin Smith Harris is a high school teacher at Union Academy and an exceptional children tutor. Katie Henderson has rejoined JDavis Architects as an interior designer. Ava Leigh Jackson is a certified exceptional children math teacher at Mac Williams Middle School in Fayetteville, N.C. Ann Morrison is the manager of card operations at State Employees Credit Union. Courtney Morris Newberry is a first grade teacher at Dillard Academy in Goldsboro, N.C. Elizabeth Newton is an adjunct professor of theatre at Campbell University in Buies Creek. Teresa Nichols is the communications and development manager at SAFE Haven. Katie Monaghan Nisbet started an interior design business and blog, Kate Nisbet Designs. Amy Beattie

Wilkinson earned National Board Certification, and she was named Teacher of the Year at Washington GT Magnet Elementary in Wake County.

’06

Emily Harkey recently accepted a job as membership coordinator at Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education. SCALE is a nonprofit that supports campus-based literacy programs locally, statewide and nationally. Marianne Idol recently received her master’s degree in psychology from UNC Wilmington and is now a board certified behavior analyst and a licensed clinical psychological associate. She is working with The Carbonne Clinic in New York.

’07

Jennifer Williams Bottoms is attending Charlotte School of Law and made Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester. Samara Pagan is the annual meeting program assistant for the Society for Neuroscience in Washington D.C. Charlotte Elizabeth Roberts was named Teacher of The Year at Jeffery’s Grove Elementary School in Raleigh, N.C.

’08

Whitney Phillips Goulding has accepted a position with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina as their senior graphic designer. She previously worked as the senior graphic designer at the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

’09

Stephanie Farmer is now an assistant account executive in public relations and social influence at Mullen, an advertising firm in Winston-Salem, N.C. Heather Jones Shepherd was recently featured in an article in The News and Observer newspaper for her record-breaking bear hunt.

’10

Sherri Alston received a promotion from social worker I to a social worker II. She will now be the employment counselor for Vance County Department of Social Services. Leah Meghan Grady received her M.S. in pharmacology from Georgetown University.

’11

Kristin Fowler is working at Meridian Zero Degrees in Morrisville, N.C., as a graphic and web designer. She is also the AIGA Raleigh co-director for emerging designer programming. Courtney Griffith is working in Washington, D.C., for the Congressional Budget Office as their Graphic Designer. She works with the CBO to design infographics that are based on reports and studies. The infographics are then presented to Congress so that the members will be able to better understand the data.

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

29

alumnae Connection

alumnae Connection 2005

The Crook 1978

Jennifer Burns Thompson, a daughter, Haley Renee, 5/18/11. Christi Roberson Coiner, a son, John Timothy Coiner, III “Tripp”, 9/15/11. Katie Fuller Dohrman, a son, Quinn Cirilo, 1/2/12. Ava Leigh Jackson, a son, Timothy Lee Naylor, II, 9/30/11. Alli Lawson Moore, a son, Lawson Wrenn, 8/10/11. Anna Kustra Morgan, a daughter, Emerson Ann, 1/4/12.

2006 Kristina McLamb Wilser, a daughter, Samara Kenlee, 2/18/2011.

2007 Caroline Medlin Schmidt, a daughter, Morgan Elizabeth, 2/3/12.

DEATHS

The Crook 2011 MARRIAGES

Laura Williams to Matthew Cosner, 12/31/12.

1984

2009

Valerre Wurst Aquitaine to Spencer Hoffman, 5/26/11.

Brittany Jones to Jeremy Flake, 7/21/11.

1997

Kellie Deaton to Marshall Chaney, 9/10/11.

Maggie Hart to Jonathan Behrooz, 10/22/11.

Meredith Moore to Seth Moody, 10/22/11.

Amy Fisher to Erik Wahus, 1/13/12.

2001 Ashley Nance to Ricardo Navarro, 6/5/08.

2002 Abbie Sirrine to Jeremy Stoner, 7/17/10.

2003 Sallie Hedrick to Nicholas Bowman, 7/2/11. Erin Taylor to Erik Rice, 9/3/12.

2004 Natalie Ellington to Kevin Long, 1/13/12. Kristin Siha to Marc Tillett, 5/5/11. Katherine Ward to Owen Fitzsimons Brice, Jr., 6/18/11.

2005 Taylor Newberry to Jeffrey Elliott, 5/21/11. Whitney Gower to Danny Richard Clayton, Jr., 11/5/11.

Jess Klein to William Horner, 10/1/11.

2006 Jane Watkins Langford to Sarah Elizabeth Lay, 10/2/11. Kristina McLamb to Alan Wilser, 7/19/08.

2007

2010

BIRTHS 1995 Holly Lennon Wilford, a daughter, Sloane Elizabeth, 10/20/11.

1996 Julie Currin Harris, a daughter, Chloe Elizabeth, 7/13/11. Shauna March King, a daughter, Anna Margaret, 11/25/11.

1997 Kimberly Parker McHose, a daughter, Audrey Katherine , 7/11/11.

1998 Elizabeth Briggs Drummond, a son, Thomas Patrick, 8/26/11. Jessica Smith Elliot, a daughter, Caroline Elizabeth, 3/ 11/11.

1999 Anna Taylor Freeman, two daughters, Anna Ricks and Lucy Fuller, 10/12/11.

Amber Caudle to Jonathan Beckwith, 10/15/11.

2000

2008

Amber Pittman Barnes, a daughter, Caroline Emerson, 1/20/11. Maridith Kenna Fitts, a daughter,

Nicole McGuinness to Matthew Hines, 11/5/11.

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Cailyn Lea, 1/31/11. Melissa McGee Meyer, a daughter, Elsbeth Louise, 01/15/11. Amy Turner Perry, a son, William “Will” Cooper, 8/15/11.

2001

1931 Lula McGougan Mallard, 11/11/11.

1933 Lois Sawyer Pritchard, 12/12/11. Martha Castlebury Shaw, 9/10/11.

1934 Ella Lee Yates Arledge, 2/1/12.

Kristen Monaco Johnson, a son, Chase, 4/9/11.

Rachel Tidwell Walker, a daughter, Charlotte Anna, 11/5/11.

1936

2002

Pauline “Pinkie” Davis Perry, 12/28/11.

Annette Snyder Deese, a son, Jeremiah Matthew, 1/11/12. Katie Vreeland Locklear, a son, Cannon Martin, 9/12/11. Suzanne Parker Miller, a son, Elijah Glenn, 11/19/11. Abbie Sirrine Stoner, a son, August Grey Thomas, 10/7/11. Katie Creech Yarbrough, a daughter, Amelia Rose, 8/13/11.

2003 Lindsay Sutton Beavers, a daughter, Madeline McNeel on 5/19/11. Abbey Nelson Clayton, a daughter, Harper Lily, 8/21/11. Lauren Strawbridge Cookson, a daughter, Keira Raye, 1/21/10 and daughter, Lucy Macon, 8/23/11. Cecile Robinson Herman, a daughter, Maggie, 12/6/10. Kendall Byrum Hussey, a daughter, Laura Gray, 4/25/11.

Jennifer Carter Short, a daughter, Isabella Claire, 12/6/09 and a son, Tristan Carter, 9/4/11.

2004 Jackie Cash Cook, a son, Noah Alexander, 10/15/11.

Elizabeth Bell Hunter, a daughter, Carmie Elizabeth, 9/21/11. Paige Kemmerer Kiser, a daughter, Meredith Avery, 9/24/11. Sarah Melody Olson, a daughter, Sophia Elizabeth McCoin, 12/14/11. Allison Koos Rash, a daughter, Stella Marie, 8/19/11.

Ida Warren Flax, 9/26/11.

1937 1939 Relieu Baucom Cratch, 11/6/11. Betty Lyon Veach, 10/18/11.

1940 Madge Glazener Cooke, 9/14/11. Eva Cotner Wilson, 12/25/11.

1941 Huldah Hall Berryhill, 11/22/11. Louise Combs Wall, 1/11/12.

1942 Mary Cooke “T. Cooke” Williford, 1/20/12.

1943 Geraldine Couch Mayer, 10/12/11.

1944 Mary Parrott Warren, 1/11/12.

1945 Priscilla Claire Nance Abee, 5/7/11.

1946 Peggy Haywood Gregory Jones, 10/30/11. Betsy Holt Pierce, 2/28/11.

Author Jenny Hubbard, ’87, Traded Teaching for Writing

By Katrina Kempney, ’11

A

uthor and Meredith alumna Jennifer Hubbard, ’87, taught high school and college English for almost two decades before leaving to pursue a writing career in 2005.

“I’d taught for 17 years and was pretty tired of grading bad essays,” says Hubbard, who writes under the name Jenny Hubbard.

Teaching teenagers helped her when she decided to write young adult fiction.

“They can sniff out dishonesty−in a person or in a piece of writing−in three seconds flat. I enjoy the challenge of honoring the authenticity of a teenager’s life,” she said.

Her first novel, “Paper Covers Rock,” was influenced by her classroom experiences. In the novel, 16-year-old Alex is devastated when he fails to save a drowning friend. When questioned, Alex and his friend Glenn, who was also at the river, begin weaving their web of lies.

Their English teacher, Miss Dovecott, suspects there’s more to what happened at the river when she perceives guilt in Alex’s writing for class.

For Hubbard, the writing process is one of diligence. “Writing is something I have to do, like exercise,” she says. It is the revision process that involves the most work but creates the most rewarding end result.

“The first draft is always a beginning−never an end,” she said.

“Complete a draft, put it aside for a few days, then re-read and mark Jennifer Hubbard, ’87 it up with your fresh insights and suggestions.”

Hubbard, who majored in English and minored in theatre at Meredith, has many fond memories of her college years. “For me, Meredith was about friends, but it is my professors most of all to whom I am grateful for taking a genuine interest in who I was and who I hoped to be,” she said.

Some of her favorite times at Meredith included diagramming sentences with Dr. Garry Walton and spending time with Dr. John Creagh. “(Creagh’s) generosity of time and spirit…I took up way too many precious hours in his office talking about literature and theatre and life.”

When not working on writing novels, Hubbard also writes plays and pursues acting in Charlotte, N.C. She currently serves as managing director for the St. Thomas Players.

Hubbard’s second novel is underway, with the working title “Exit, Little Sister,” due out in 2012.

M eredith Ma ga zine / Spring 2012 /

31

alumnae Connection New! Behind the Scenes Tours If you are a member of the Iris Club, you’re in luck! This year, we’re inviting all members to join us on exclusive “behind the scenes” tours at locations around North Carolina. Tour spots were selected through connections with Meredith alumnae, so you’ll have access not typically available to the public.

Members of the Iris Club give $1,000 or more to the College annually.

This year only, as part of the inaugural kickoff, donors of $500 or more will also be invited to participate in Behind the Scenes tours. Tour sites include a vineyard and movie set.

To become a member of the Iris Club today, you can easily make a secure gift online at www.meredith.edu/giving. For more information, contact Jane Mitchell, director of The Meredith Fund at (919) 760-8060 or mitchelj@meredith.edu.

Thank you for your support of Meredith College!

1975 Barbara Yates Clapp in the death of her husband.

1976 Barbara Heath Talley in the death of her mother.

Anne Reece Collins in the death of her brother.

1978 Georganne Branham Griffin in the death of her mother.

1979 Diane Bauer Hadley in the death of her mother. Ann Snead Daniel in the death of her husband. Emily “Lou” Graham Howell in the death of her father.

Katherine Keith Thomas in the death of her father.

1980 Kim Bright Hazelgrove in the death of her mother.

Sarah Kathryn Mundy in the death of her mother.

1947

1974

1983

Madge Futch Norwood, 1/19/12.

Linda Keith Ray, 12/11/11.

Melody West Parnell in the death of her mother.

1948

1981

1984

Mary Beth Thomas Buchholz, 12/24/11. Evelyn Works Raynor, 8/31/11.

Sharon Farrior Gurley, 9/24/11.

Janice Drach Reece in the death of her husband.

1949

1982

1986

Lottie Delores Powell Glenn, 12/26/11.

Margaret Beall Pollock in the death of her father.

Stephana West in the death of her mother.

1953 Sarah Coxe Leach, 11/27/11.

1954 Marjorie Barnes Hester, 7/29/11. Catherine McRacken Smith, 11/22/11.

1956 Elizabeth Jones Hunter, 10/19/10.

1984 Janet Kitchen Crumpler, 11/20/11.

1993

2004

Janie Mullis Farwell in the death of her grandmother. Karen Nipper North in the death of her two friends and grandmother. Angie Spillers Robinson in the death of her mother.

Kelly Jones Thornburg, 1/21/12.

SYMPATHY 1954

2000 Kelly Smith in the death of her mother. Sarabeth West in the death of her mother.

Shirley Styles Phillips, 10/23/11.

Anne Clark Dahle in the death of her brother.

Rebecca McRackan Moose in the death of her husband.

1960

1957

Helen “Boosie” Booe Marley, 11/21/11.

Eleanor Clark Adcock in the death of her brother.

1961

1958

Bettie Cole Brisson, 11/9/11.

Margaret Slate Walker in the death of her husband.

1963

1961

Eloise Sykes, 9/27/11.

Novella Rountree Spivey in the death of her husband.

Teresa Middleton in the death of her son. Blair Briggs Roberts in the death of her grandfather.

1964

1963

2006

Mary Judith Copeland Crawford, 10/24/11.

Elizabeth Holleman Muirhead in the death of her husband. Anna Shadoin Rickell in the death of her mother.

Lindsey de La Fosse Turnau in the death of her father.

1972 Susan Eagles Waters in the death of her husband.

Maggie Bizzell in the death of her grandmother and grandfather.

1973

2011

Ann Harden Whitford in the death of her mother.

Caitlin Griffin in the death of her grandmother.

1958

1965 Margaret Kelly Smith, 11/1/11. Elizabeth Anne Mintz Veach, 11/19/11.

1971 Linda Kay Ball Aiello, 11/14/11. Sibyl Sumner Hare, 10/27/11.

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Go Ahead and Brag!

1977

1981

Rebecca Spake Evans, 8/3/11.

It’s Okay…

2001 Amanda Puckett in the death of her mother.

2003 Malissa de La Fosse Albright in the death of her father.

2004

2009

Meredith has a long and proud history of academic excellence. Below are some Meredith “bragging points” to share with others who may not be aware of all Meredith has to offer.

Rankings (2011-12)

Outcomes

• ranks 3rd among colleges in the South by U.S. News & World Report.

• produces satisfied alumnae—of those surveyed, 96% would choose Meredith again, and 98% would recommend Meredith to others.

• ranks 7th for “Best Value” among colleges in the South

by U.S. News & World Report.

• ranks among the top 20% of colleges in the country by Forbes.

• has a 4-year graduation rate that is 16% higher than the average of N.C. private colleges and 21% higher than the average of N.C. public universities.

• is one of the “Best Colleges in the Southeast” according to Princeton Review.

• provides an exceptional education—90% of Meredith students rated their entire educational experience as good or excellent.

• was cited as one of the Top 20 “Most Popular” Liberal Arts Colleges by U.S. News & World Report.

Accreditation

• is among the “Top 50 Alma Maters of National Board Certified Teachers.” Meredith is one of only two private institutions in the U.S. to make the list compiled by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

• is one of only two women’s colleges in the world with a School of Business accredited by AACSB International.

Just one third of U.S. business schools and 5% of business schools worldwide are AACSB-accredited.

• holds the highest levels of program accreditation in education, social work, nutrition, music and interior design.

Department of Marketing 3800 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27607-5298 www.meredith.edu

The word is out You may have seen Meredith’s name popping up more lately! We’ve been taking steps to increase the College’s visibility locally, regionally and nationally.

Examples include a display in RDU International Airport, billboards, bus wraps, sponsorship of an academic quiz show on WRAL-TV, and increased online and print advertising of both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Remember, word of mouth is still our most effective form of advertising. We appreciate your efforts to tell prospective students and families about Meredith! For more information, including a voucher to waive the application fee, go to www.meredith.edu/admissions/alumnae.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Raleigh, NC Permit No. 369