Reinhardt Magazine Fall 2016

FALL 2016 | REINHARDT.EDU

RU Making A Difference

Creating an Environment where each student

THRIVES

Radiant

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At the heart of campus is Lake Mullenix, which is in process for a total renovation begun this past summer. Featured is a fountain that is lit at night, a series of cascading ponds creating a unique water feature and infusing the lake with a vital oxygen source, a wide walking path completely circling the lake and an outdoor patio. Phase I has been completed with a $100,000 gift from a generous donor, and funds are being received now to complete the renovation, including the addition of an amphitheater, at a cost of approximately $150,000.

For more information about supporting this project, contact the Advancement Office at (770) 720-5621.

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TH I S I S S U E | FA LL 201 6 FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E S

6 Around Reinhardt

Campus News and Happenings The magazine of Reinhardt University

18 RU Academics

Price School of Education New Nursing Program

VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 1 President Kina S. Mallard, Ph.D.

22 RU Legacy

Oldest Living Alumna

Dr. Glynis Blackard | 21

32 RU Faith

Strengthening a Faith Community

Vice President for Enrollment Management Julie C. Fleming

34 RU Arts and Culture

Arts Around the Lake

40 RU Sports

Athletes Hit the High Mark Hall of Fame

RU ALUMNI PROFILES

David Nisbet | 36

Mathew Pinson ’05

Mallory Chastain Childers ’10

PAGE 16

44

Alumni Notes

Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Mark A. Roberts, Ph.D.

PAGE 38

46

RU Remembers

48

Our Donors

On the Cover UNCOMMON PAGE 26

In this issue, discover what it means to ‘create a unique Reinhardt Experience where each student thrives’ – the Reinhardt University vision.

Vice President for Finance and Administration David R. Leopard Vice President for Advancement and Marketing Timothy A. Norton Director of Athletics William C. Popp EDITOR Erika Neldner DESIGN Lure Design CONTRIBUTORS Jessica Akers Amanda Brown Julie Fleming Allie Hale Jason Hanes Kina Mallard Erika Neldner Tim Norton Huitt Rabel PHOTOGRAPHERS Darleen Prem Jeff Reed ’16 Kara Johnson Photography

FRONT COVER: Senior Marianella Lopez Clothing provided by B. Loved (Historic Downtown Canton, Ga.) BACK COVER: Sophomore Thomas May

GET CONNECTED

Keep up with all that’s happening with the Reinhardt weekly online newsletter: Reinhardt Recap. Visit www.reinhardt.edu/recap to read and/or register for a weekly email update.

4 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

ReinhardtUniversity ReinhardtAlumni ReinhardtAthletics ReinhardtAdmissions

@Reinhardt_Univ @RU_Eagles @RU_Admissions

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L et t e r f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t

Dear Reinhardt Family,

Cool, crisp autumn weather has arrived in North Georgia. It is the season of Thanksgiving. As I write this letter, I am thankful to God for many blessings including the largest enrollment in Reinhardt history, the development of new majors and programs in academics, a successful start in athletics with our undefeated football team named Mid-South West Division Champions and our women’s soccer team dominating its regular season and performing well in postseason play.

I am thankful for the many alumni who returned to our campus this fall during Family and Homecoming Weekends and the more than 60 alumni we welcomed from the classes of ’78, ’79 and ’80.

Finally, I am thankful for the increasing reputation of Reinhardt throughout the Southeast and for the loyalty and encouragement we receive from donors and friends who are supporting our students through scholarships and our overall vision as we continue to build a vibrant, thriving campus.

Strategic Planning for a Campus on the Rise Reinhardt’s Strategic Plan calls for continued growth in our traditional undergraduate population from an enrollment when I became President of 1,386 to 2,000 by 2020. This population will evolve with the addition of new programs/sports including nursing, cybersecurity, computer science, wrestling and bowling.

Our graduate and degree completion population is also growing both online and in our face-to-face formats. Our plan calls for an increase from 371 adult learners in 2015 to almost 500 by 2017. New programs to assist in our adult student growth include a Bachelor of Business Administration online, an MFA in Creative Writing, and an increase in our MBA students by adding an online option.

To support this growth, Reinhardt’s beautiful campus will see the addition of a new Theater building by mid-fall 2017 (read more on pages

36-37), two new residence halls by spring 2018, and an addition to Gordy Dining Center by fall 2018. As good stewards of our beautiful University in a Park, we are re-designing Lake Mullenix, (see picture on pages 2-3), renovating existing residence halls and upgrading classrooms.

You Will Be Our new recruiting materials follow the theme, You Will Be. As I have listened to alumni stories over the past 18 months, I have learned that graduates of Reinhardt can BE anything they want. Reinhardt transforms lives by helping students develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to see and achieve possibilities beyond anything they can imagine.

Thrive For my inauguration, I asked vice president and dean for academic affairs, Dr. Mark Roberts, to write a poem that would embody who Reinhardt is - to students, to faculty, to staff, to alumni and friends. His poem, “Thrive in the Fullness of Light” (see page 26) has become both an inspiration and vision for our campus as we create a unique Reinhardt Experience where each student thrives.

Won’t you join us as we continue to build a thriving Reinhardt University – a place where you as alumni, friends, patrons, fans and donors can feel good about your investment in our future.

Thank you for supporting Reinhardt with your prayers, your gifts and your involvement.

You Will Be… A thinker Inspired A major player On the path to your dreams Your own success story On your way to great things Students who choose Reinhardt will be in a place where they feel like they belong.

They will be surrounded by people who care about them as a person. They will be pointed down the right path and prepared to succeed. And when they’re done, they will be on their way to becoming exactly who they want to be. www.reinhardt. edu/youwillbe

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Thankful

Sweeney Todd

Above: Lynn Chopp, administrative assistant for the Office of Admission, participates in the #RUThankful campaign started four years ago.

Right: Brett Mullinix, assistant professor of art, works alongside of student Carlo Kasey Corvil creating pottery.

FALL FAMILY DAY

Dr. Karen Owen, assistant professor of political science, and her family joined in the fun for Fall Family Weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

WHITEWATER RAFTING Students participating in Reinhardt Outdoors enjoyed a Nantahala River whitewater rafting trip Sept. 17.

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Ca mpu s Ne w s a nd Happ en i ngs

Reinhardt University’s Theatre Department’s adaption of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” performed to full houses at the Falany Performing Arts Center Nov. 18-20.

The musical featured seniors Nick Cothran in the role of Todd and Mary Echols as his sidekick Mrs. Lovett. David Nisbet, coordinator of Reinhardt’s Theatre program, directed the musical. Music Instructor Brian Osborne was the musical director.

Stop Hunger Now During Homecoming Week, Reinhardt students, faculty and staff gathered together in the Bannister Glasshouse, Hasty Student Center, to prepare meals to send to Zambia. The group prepared more than 10,000 meals in just a couple of hours.

Board of Trustees member Gin Miller instructs students on how to use the FITtrees she developed and later donated to the University for the Gin Miller Fitness Studio at Reinhardt University. The studio officially opened earlier this fall at the East/West Apartments.

Burgess Administration Building

R E - D E D I C AT I O N The Burgess Administration Building was re-dedicated with a ceremony and ribbon cutting Oct. 28 to honor Dr. Rowland Burgess and his wife, Martha. Dr. Burgess was president of Reinhardt University from 1944-1973. The University added the Burgess name on the building and hung the Burgesses’ portraits inside the building.

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Women’s Leadership Program Inspires

Jamie Williams, a member of the Reinhardt Women’s Leadership Program advisory board, speaks to one of the scholarship recipients.

I

Reinhardt President Dr. Kina S. Mallard introduced the Reinhardt Women’s Leadership Program this year with 10 freshmen being invited to join. Through the experience, they receive mentoring from older female students who are in leadership positions on campus, including SGA President Katie Purcell and Senior Marianella Lopez, who is the president of two campus clubs.

“A women’s leadership program is something I have been wanting to do for a long time and the timing seemed right at Reinhardt,” Mallard said.

“One of the things that any 18-year-old needs coming to college is confidence. Reinhardt does a great job in leadership development for both men and women, but this is an extra opportunity for young women to be exposed to successful women in a diversity of fields and to develop relationships with them.”

Mallard feels that her role as a female president offered a great opportunity to lead a competitive scholarship leadership program for female students, and she has enlisted the help of some of the Southeast’s most successful women for an advisory board.

“I got involved with the Women’s Leadership Program because I felt like it was a great opportunity to be 8 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Photographer: Jeff Reed

n a day and age when women are leading corporations across the country, Reinhardt is doing its part in preparing young women to be their best selves and to use their Godgiven talents to be successful.

Reinhardt Women’s Leadership Program Inaugural Class surrounded by successful women in various fields,” said freshman Brittney Cunningham, a Biology major from Thomaston, Georgia. “Being a part of the group gives such a feeling of belonging and it is really informative.”

Cunningham also is a Lady Eagles soccer player.

“... it [is] a great opportunity to be surrounded by successful women in various fields.”

Brittney Cunningham | Freshman

Two Reinhardt University Trustees, Sharon Bartels and Katherine Dunlop, are among the advisory board members from whom Cunningham and the nine other freshmen will learn. Bartels is retired from Gwinnett Technical College where she served as president, and Dunlop is the Director of National Sales for the Atlanta area for Coca-Cola.

The RWLP is a competitive scholarship program designed to provide professional and career development for female students who have achieved at least a 3.75 high school GPA, 1000 SAT or 22 ACT, and have strong leadership experience and potential. The goal is to empower and equip young women to seek leadership positions in the workplace, church and community.

Dunlop said she sees a great benefit in the program and having role models in

Ca mpu s Ne w s a nd Happ en i ngs

leadership because it’s important young women see what leadership looks like.

“Leadership is a journey,” Dunlop said. “This whole thing is about diversity and inclusion. This generation and the generation coming, they are going to realize that being in leadership expands all aspects. We can’t be diverse if we don’t have diversity in leadership.”

Jamie Williams, president of Five Talents Wealth Management in Woodstock, said she feels honored to be a part of the advisory team.

“Imagine for a moment, having a dozen or so accomplished women investing in your life with mentoring, programming, one-on-one skill enhancements, networking and monetary scholarship support,” Williams said. “Now imagine taking full advantage of such an opportunity.

That is impact! Powerful impact!”

Williams feels she can impact the RU freshmen in the program through what she has learned through life experience and business.

“My strengths are in the form of encouraging women, that despite your circumstances or how you began in this life, you can finish strong. I urge the ladies to be bold and be willing to step out in faith when God calls you to pursue a certain path,” she said.

The program is built upon three components: One Word, One Vision and One Read. Each month, members of the RWLP are introduced to successful women in a variety of fields.

Students are able to casually interact over a meal with female leaders who share “One Word” that has been instrumental in their success. Twice a year, the leadership program sponsors a Leadership Symposium for all students. It is led by a notable female leader who shares the importance of vision for leaders. And each semester, the leadership program students read one book and engage in dialogue with Dr. Mallard and female faculty and staff at the President’s Home.

•

New Admissions Marketing Campaign You Will Be is a vision in and of itself. It focuses on the aspirations of Reinhardt’s students and how the faculty and staff will help them reach their goals. The mission behind it is to show students they can be anything they want to be and that they should use their God-given talents and be the best “You” they can be. Reinhardt University contracted Lure Design Inc. to put together the campaign and in March 2016, Lure associates visited Reinhardt’s picturesque campus to see what the University is all about, met with its administration, students, faculty and staff and got an overall sense of the RU community. What they found was a University in a Park that embodies helping each student accomplish his/her own unique mission in life. They found a place with a goal of digging deep and giving students what they need to succeed mentally, physically, spiritually, intellectually, socially, vocationally and personally. You Will Be allows potential Reinhardt students to focus on what they do best and fill in the blank of what they can and want to be. Through other design components - such as “The Reinhardt Advantage” - Reinhardt can share with potential students and their parents key information that can help them make a more educated decision about choosing

You Will Be

where to take their next step. The campaign includes both undergraduate and graduate materials, information for high school guidance counselors and specific program information.

– Julie Fleming, Vice President for Enrollment Management

You will be a thinker.

Inside and outside our classrooms and lecture halls, you will be challenged to look close, think hard and lean in. To ask questions boldly and chase after knowledge fearlessly.

To learn as much as you can from your professors, so they can bring the best out of you in return.

At Reinhardt, you will be a scholar. And that’s just the beginning. Because we care about the person you are and the person you want to become. Personally and profession ally. Inside and out.

The

The

ADVANTAGE

ADVANTAGE

REINHARDT

All of our degree programs have a strong liberal arts focus. No matter what you’re studying, you’ll The develop the REINHARDT skills you need to think critically, act ethically ADVANTAGE and choose wisely in all areas of your life.

REINHARDT

The

REINHARDT

ADVANTAGE

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The

The

ADVANTAGE

ADVANTAGE

REINHARDT

TAKE A LOOK

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REINHARDT

See Reinhardt’s You Will Be campaign at reinhardt.edu/youwillbe.

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Reinhardt is here to HELP you become a better...

YOU

Full Page Ad Goes Here 8.375 x 10.75

Reward yourself with a DEGREE.

Give yourself a boost.

Enroll in a GRADUATE degree program today.

The online Business Administration, Criminal Justice and Healthcare Master of Business Administration Administration programs at Reinhardt Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing are designed with the busy, working Master of Arts in Teaching professional in mind. Our virtual classroom experience allows you the flexibility to complete your degree in an effective learning environment – “... it was a great 100% ONLINE opportunity to be surrounded by successful women in various fields.”

INVEST IN YOURSELF TODAY! Brittany Cunningham | Freshman

Online.Reinhardt.edu | (770) 720-5526 | Reinhardt.edu/Graduate 10 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Ca mpu s Ne w s a nd Happ en i ngs

A ro u n d Rei n h a rd t

U N D E R The 2016-2017 Class of 10 Under 10 Alumni was announced during the Homecoming Alumni Awards and Recognition Dinner held Oct. 28, 2016.

D

uring the dinner, President Kina Mallard gave an update on the University including Reinhardt’s increased ranking to 29th place in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Regional Colleges in the Southeast and the Colleges of Distinction honors.

Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood, representing the Class of 1967 - the Golden Anniversary Class - gave remarks about the institution that helped shape him.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years. When Dale Morrissey asked me to deliver a few remarks tonight, I was hesitant until she told me that transcripts are destroyed after 30 years,” he jokingly said.

He said 50 years ago was a different time.

They did not have family support for college educations and if they wanted it, they had to work hard and secure as much scholarship support as possible. He spoke of his and his wife, Elly’s, experience at Reinhardt.

“There was never any doubt that we intended to get a college education,” Hobgood said.

“Reinhardt was so good to us that they gave us jobs on campus. I spent long hours cleaning restrooms and stripping and waxing floors in the administration and other buildings on campus. Elly worked at that time in the main central office. We worked four hours each day.”

Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood ’67

Ben Garrett ’92

Nelson Karpeh ’05

Both also worked at Reinhardt during the summers as they continued their education.

“They also instilled in me that if you want something bad enough, there are good people like those at Reinhardt willing to encourage you and help you along the way,” Hobgood said.

Ben Garrett, the Class of 1992 SGA President and speaker for the Silver Anniversary Class, echoed Hobgood’s sentiments.

Retired in October from the U.S. Army after 22 years, Garrett has served tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan and now serves as Chief of Public Affairs for the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning.

“It’s amazing to see how Reinhardt has grown but has still maintained that family atmosphere,” Garrett said. “Reinhardt has a certain character that develops the whole person.”

He said it is the people who make up the character of Reinhardt, and he treasures the lasting relationships he made at Reinhardt.

Garrett, fighting back tears, said it was his Reinhardt family that kept him going with letters and notes while he served in what he called the “hell” of war in the Middle East.

“It has been 20 something years since I have returned to this beautiful slice of God’s country. Although I had not physically returned to Reinhardt, Reinhardt never forgot about me,” he said. “I served 22 years in the

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UNDER TEN CONTINUED

U.S. Army. There were some lonely times. But Reinhardt never left me.

Reinhardt was there through those bonds I formed so many years ago. My brothers and sisters from Reinhardt never failed to send me notes, support and call my family and touch base.

“Yes, this is an academic institution, but it is so much more,” he added.

Nelson Karpeh ’05 also spoke during the dinner, and said it was the connections and support at Reinhardt that helped him thrive.

“Professors and students didn’t care that I came from a war-torn country,” he said. “What they care about is the potential and the right attitude I brought.”

All three men who spoke offered their congratulations to the new 10 Under 10 class.

The 10 Under 10 Award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated excellence in their careers, service in their communities and support of their alma mater. Reinhardt is proud of the exemplary accomplishments of its alumni, particularly these who have distinguished themselves within 10 years of graduation.

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SEAN BOGGESS ’13 ’15 is a battalion chief with Cobb Fire and Emergency Services.

He currently commands Cobb’s 4th Battalion which consists of eight stations in the Kennesaw/Acworth area, as well as the hazardous materials special operations team. Sean has 28 years of fire service experience and holds numerous instructor and firefighting certifications. He has earned degrees in Fire Science, Organizational Management and Leadership, an MBA from the McCamish School of Business, and he is currently working toward a degree in Occupational Safety and Health. Sean is a board member of the Metro Atlanta Firefighters Conference and is a volunteer with the Terry Ferrell Firefighters Fund. He lives in Acworth with his wife, Sharon, and enjoys fishing, reading and spending time with his grandchildren.

DR. KERSTIN EDBERG ’07 knew at the age of 12 that she would enter the field of science, but she would soon find a passion for teaching and all things volleyball. Kerstin attended Reinhardt on academic and volleyball scholarships and received her B.S. in Biology in 2007. She went on to earn her M.S. in Biology in 2009 from Western Kentucky University. While at WKU, Kerstin discovered her love for teaching, and she pursued that love when she was accepted into the biology doctoral program at St. Louis University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Biology. In 2016, Kerstin was hired as the head coach of girls’ volleyball and as a Biology teacher at Glasgow High School in Kentucky. Her experiences at RU were integral in shaping the coach and teacher she is today.

DR. HEATH HOOPER ’09 stayed at Reinhardt as the head coach of the JV basketball team and assistant

coach for varsity after graduating in 2009. While working with the Pre-K program at Waleska United Methodist Church, at the Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency and as a fourthgrade basketball coach, he continued on to graduate school at Georgia State University. He was later named assistant basketball coach in his hometown at Young Harris College.

He coached for two seasons and then entered academia at Shorter University, where he was an assistant professor of sport management, chair of the sport management department and dean of the Ledbetter College of Business.

Heath completed his Ph.D. in 2016.

He resides in Rome with his wife, Ann Marie, who is a first-grade teacher.

ALEXA HUSTON ’11 graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Reinhardt University in 2011. After graduation, she was hired by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners after completing her internship. While employed by Cherokee County, she completed her Master of Business Administration online through Mississippi State University in 2013. Since 2014, Alexa has worked for Macy’s Systems and Technology as a project lead. She was promoted to project manager in 2016 after completing her PMP certification.

As project manager, she leads project enterprise planning and implementation for Macy’s infrastructure projects. Alexa is a member of the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton counties and serves as Secretary for the Georgia League’s State Public Affairs Committee. She enjoys the leadership opportunities the Junior League provides while giving direct service to the community.

STEPHEN KARAFA ’13 serves as an associate director of admissions and recruitment and coordinator of the Stamps Scholars Program at Mercer

Ca mpu s Ne w s a nd Happ en i ngs University. He earned his degree from RU in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in History, Religion and English. At Reinhardt, Stephen held multiple student leadership positions including SGA Vice President of Administration and Chief of Staff, as well as president of the Wesley Fellowship. At Reinhardt, Stephen participated in many student leadership positions and opportunities including SGA, campus ministry and Office of Admission. Stephen is pursuing an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership at Mercer. He is involved with the National Association of College Admissions Counseling’s (NACAC) Southern Affiliate (SACAC) as Georgia drive-in co-chair and state and area initiatives co-chair.

Stephen was named SACAC’s 2016 Rising Star of the Year. Stephen credits his success to his experience at Reinhardt including his fellow students, his professors and the many staff members who have become his lifelong mentors and friends.

NATALIE KING ’08 graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2008.

After trying many careers ranging from insurance subagent to flight attendant, Natalie found occupational therapy and graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University. She is now an occupational therapist at Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse in Stone Mountain. At Side

by Side, Natalie works with individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury by aiding them in developing necessary life skills in order to regain their independence in daily roles and activities, as well as social, occupational and community roles.

While in graduate school, Natalie was president of her student association, was a member of Pi Theta Epsilon, and was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Award at Brenau.

AMANDA LAM ’13 graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting. While at Reinhardt, Amanda was honored to say the invocation at the Baccalaureate of her graduating class and was named 2013 Student of the Year.

Amanda is the Operations Manager at Flint, Connolly & Walker, LLP, a law firm in Canton that represents individuals and businesses throughout metro Atlanta and northwest Georgia in a wide range of personal, financial and corporate matters. Amanda manages the firm’s accounts receivable, coordinates new staff member training and oversees the daily operations of the firm. She is also heavily involved in planning firm events. Amanda is a native to Canton and loves working in her hometown.

JAMIE LANDERS ’12 graduated from Reinhardt University magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

During her time at RU, Jamie won first place in both the “Year Of” Speech Competition and the Business Ethics Essay Contest for two consecutive years. She was honored to be selected to provide detailed class notes to the RU Academic Support Office, and she was also nominated by the Dean of the McCamish School of Business for the Business Leadership Luncheon in 2011. Jamie completed her Master of Business Administration with a specialization in marketing in 2014 at the Florida Institute of Technology.

While working on her MBA, she began working as the marketing director for Complete Cash in Rome. Jamie accepted a new position earlier this year as the executive assistant to the president and CEO of Greater Community Bank. She also performs at the Rome Little Theatre and other theatrical organizations.

JEFF McCURRY ’09 accepted a role working for the Scotts Miracle-Grow company in Atlanta upon graduation in 2009. His current position is manager for supply chain execution where he leads a team that supports the forecasting, inventory management and cross-functional collaboration with its largest retail partner as well as its supply chain counterparts at the corporate office in Marysville, Ohio in order to drive sales at the lowest cost possible and meet Key Performance Indicator goals. When he’s not working, he enjoys being outdoors riding mountain bikes and motorcycles, fishing, watching college football and spending time with his family. Jeff lives in Canton with his wife, Holly, and daughter, Natalie.

DONOVAN McMULLEN ’09 graduated from Reinhardt in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. After graduation, he completed a professional basketball tour in Shanghai, China. He also played semi-professional basketball in the American Basketball Association and the Premier Basketball League.

He earned his Master of Arts in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine and a Master of Education from Grand Canyon University. He also earned his certification from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.

He has volunteered his time for Bankshot Basketball and taught at Charles R. Drew High School in Riverdale. He moved on to Forest Park High School and now teaches seventh-grade science and English/ language arts at Forest Park Middle School. His coaching career includes an Elite 8 appearance, a Class 4A state championship appearance and two county championships. He and his wife, Andrea, have three children: Jaidyn, Jordan and Jace.

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The Court is in session

Cameron Gibson, Danielle Pray, Ben Porter, Ashley See, Abel Ramirez, Charlotte Davenport, L.J. Stegall, and Katie Purcell were selected to represent their respective classes on the 2016 Homecoming Court.

LEFT: Dr. Walter May was given the Captain A.M. Reinhardt Award and Stephanie Marchant was bestowed the Jason Gamel Blue and Gold Award.

RIGHT: Elijah Hirsh and Erika Woodfin represented the men’s and women’s basketball teams as they participated in the 3-point challenge during Moonlight Madness.

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Moonlight Madness

Ca mpu s Ne w s a nd Happ en i ngs

Billy Hasty, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Kina Mallard stand with the Rev. Dr. Curt Lindquist, professor of Religion and Faculty Member of the Week, and John Padgett, Physical Plant employee and Staff Member of the Week, before the Homecoming football game started.

REINHARDT

HOMECOMING OCTOBER 28 - 30 | 2016

HOMECOMING GAMES

RU Football vs. Georgetown College Women’s Basketball vs. Webber University Men’s Basketball vs. Webber University Women’s Soccer vs. Truett McConnell College

Cheerleaders Karyn Arnold, Ashley Williams, Rabecca Bennett and Queenise Watkins show their excitement to see Chewbacca as they take a picture with him during Waleska UMC Trunk or Treat. Jeffrey Matthis, Emory Deloach and Brent Johnson volunteered at the Trunk or Treat.

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R U Al u m n i

By Erika Neldner

ALUMNI PROFILE

Mathew Pinson

Visionary Leader

’05

Family: Married to Susan Moore Pinson ’04, President of Reinhardt’s Alumni Board of Governors; daughter, Elizabeth Degree: History, with Religion minor Job: Assistant dean of development and alumni relations at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology Service: Lay Leader, North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church and Chair of the North Georgia Delegation.

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athew Pinson ’05 came to Reinhardt with the engines at full throttle.

Originally planning to stay in his hometown of Rome, the Hagan Scholarship at Reinhardt opened new doors for him that would allow him to complete his education, meet his wife, Susan Moore Pinson ’04, and soar to new heights professionally.

“Reinhardt made sense only because of the Hagan Scholarship. Hagan, at that time, covered all of my tuition and a good part of room and board,” he said, adding he worked on a local farm and with Dr. Joe Kitchens at the Funk Heritage Center. His only loan came from his father – the $800 was paid back with interest just several months later.

A commitment to the church Pinson found himself unlike many other high school students. He was in high school in Rome and attended the North Georgia United Methodist Conference when he was chosen as part of the first wave of youth delegates in 1997.

Two years later, he found himself home one night when Eleanor Richardson called. Following a 30-second briefing from his mother, he learned Richardson was a member of the State House of Representatives and a force among the United Methodist Women, in DeKalb County and the Atlanta region.

Richardson wanted him to serve as a lay delegate to the General Conference in 2000.

“I did it at her urging,” Pinson said. “She encouraged me to do that.

My church involvement took off like a jet off an aircraft carrier. Bishop [Lindsey] Davis asked me as I was preparing to go to college if I would let him nominate me from the Council of Bishops to serve as a member of

the board of directors of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA). GCFA functions as the board of trustees for the denomination. At 19, here I was catapulted to this board of directors that had some really stellar people on it. I went to college joining this board – which functioned like a corporate board in the sense.

“Every time there would be a General Conference election, I would put my name in the ring. I would make a few phone calls and was elected to all the delegations up to this most recent one.

Five total,” he said, adding that’s enough for him but he is committed to chairing the current delegation until a new one is elected in the summer of 2019.

Bishop Sharma D. Lewis, who is the current resident bishop of the Richmond Episcopal Area but previously served

“Society demands leadership from a learned people and Reinhardt can do that.” in the North Georgia Conference, calls Pinson a visionary in his work and his dedication to the church.

“Mathew Pinson is a collaborative and visionary leader that is passionate about The United Methodist Church,” Bishop Lewis said. “He believes that laity and clergy partnerships can further the work of the Kingdom if we recognize our gifts.”

Education is everywhere Learning comes from all different places, and Pinson’s experience in higher education has been no different.

“I got as much education from Betty [Ledbetter], Peggy Parker and Clara Chambers, the three women who were

responsible for cleaning my dorm rooms, and Rachel Satterfield who worked in Gordy, as I got from the faculty in the classroom.”

Dr. Kenneth Wheeler made a lasting impression on Pinson, and they still keep in touch today.

“He helped me figure out that I enjoyed reading and thinking critically.

He helped me establish a framework of what I felt of my experience at Reinhardt, and he helped me put words to my feelings of what kind of institution Reinhardt is and can be.

“There is so much rhetoric about our need to create job ready graduates, placement rates and starting salaries but Reinhardt and all of its sister schools’ purpose was not to create job ready graduates but to create life ready citizens. Society demands leadership from a learned people and Reinhardt can do that,” Pinson added.

Eyeing the future for Reinhardt, name recognition and higher visibility are paramount to Reinhardt’s success.

From academia to athletics, getting closer to the main stage and making the University a viable competitor nationwide is something he said should be at the forefront.

“I would run headlong into the liberal arts tradition and think about enhancing that and playing it up in a major way,” he said.

“When you hit a corner driving a car, you accelerate to pull yourself through it. You don’t put on the brakes.

Reinhardt is at that corner and can accelerate through that corner and come out like a bolt of lightning, or it will be like a first-time driver and it will slow down and then take another decade or more to get back up to speed.”

Much like his life and the course it has taken in such a short time, Pinson sees Reinhardt and its leadership going full throttle and making it out successful ahead of the curve.

•

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 17

R U Ac a d e m ic s

PSOE Moves, Learns, Connects

By Erika Neldner | Photos by Jeff Reed

P

reparing new teachers for today’s classrooms and what they will face takes a supportive atmosphere and rigorous, thought-provoking curriculum.

Reinhardt’s Price School of Education (PSOE) has dedicated faculty to get the job done and is up to the challenge.

Reinhardt offers undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood Education, Middle Grades Education, Secondary English Language Arts Education, Secondary Mathematics Education, Secondary Biology Education and Music Education. Secondary History Education is in the development pipeline.

The Sport Studies program also falls under the PSOE umbrella. Sport Studies majors complete their program of study with a minor of choice.

Internships are an integral part of all programs in the PSOE and provide students opportunities for real-world connections early in their studies.

Dr. Cindy Kiernan, who recently completed her first year as Dean, said she has been incredibly impressed with the dedication and commitment among faculty and students.

“When I moved into this position a year ago, I worked with faculty to create a shared vision and establish goals for the PSOE,” she said. “Having been a 18 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Dr. Cindy Kiernan, dean of the Price School of Education, works with Master of Arts in Teaching students in the new Collaborative Learning Space.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Price School of Education, visit reinhardt.edu/Academics/Education

full-time faculty member during the previous five years, I understood the programs and recognized the various strengths among faculty. As a team, I knew we could accomplish great things as we move forward at Reinhardt.”

Kiernan organized the PSOE goals in the same fashion as the Reinhardt Strategic Plan that was developed last year. Each PSOE goal and accompanying initiative is connected with Reinhardt Moves, Reinhardt Learns and Reinhardt Connects. Evidence of these goals can be seen throughout Paul Jones Hall, home of the Price School of Education.

“When there is collaboration developing a shared vision, there is buy-in from faculty in all that we do,” Kiernan said.

PSOE goals include growth as a first choice Educator Preparation Program (EPP), investment in professional learning for faculty in support of students and development of community partnerships.

Giving students those to succeed is the reason behind the creation of the PSOE collaborative learning environment in Paul Jones Hall, including displays of benchmarks for the new, consequential senior capstone. edTPA is a performancebased, subject-specific assessment that measures the skills teachers need to be successful in today’s classrooms.

Knowing how to meet the needs of a diverse classroom of students is one of the many challenges in 21st century classrooms.

“The Collaborative Learning Space,” according to Analicia Blanco, a current student, “is interactive and a perfect classroom environment. The visuals support the information presented in class. The academic language used in classes is the language we will use in our own future classrooms.

“Having links to course content, such as these visuals and interactive stations, are always present and have become common language for education majors,” she said.

•

“The PSOE prepared me for teaching. My first interview went well and I was offered the job before I graduated!”

Samantha Croce Class of 2016

Teacher, Vickery Creek Elementary School

P S O E S TAT S

Developed

by Stanford University, edTPA is a performancebased, subjectspecific assessment that measures the skills teachers need to be successful in today’s classrooms.

RU EXCEEDING

During 2015-16, the PSOE students exceeded state and national averages on 18 of 18 rubrics used to assess student performance.

HIGH PASS RATE

Two Master of Arts in Teaching cohorts and two cohorts of undergraduate education students have taken the edTPA and have a 100 percent and 96 percent pass rate, respectively.

STRONG FRAMEWORK

The PSOE attributes such success to the strong conceptual framework of the PSOE Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) at Reinhardt University.

In the School of Education, all faculty support all students.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 19

R U Ac a d e m ic s

Nursing on the horizon Reinhardt aims to develop world-class nurses for the future Maya Angelou, perhaps America’s best known poet of the 20th Century, famously said, “As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

As Reinhardt University officially launches its Nursing program next fall, these words will become reality for the students who will matriculate as a part of Reinhardt’s first nursing class. At the helm of the program is Dr. Glynis Blackard, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Blackard dreams big, and with her at the helm of the program great things lie ahead as Reinhardt works to develop caring and knowledgeable healthcare workers.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Blackard in this desire is Kina Mallard, president of Reinhardt, who has been feverishly working on building and launching the Nursing program since arriving on campus in April 2015.

“Our goals for health sciences at Reinhardt include our launch of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in 2017-2018 with 40 students. We plan to add an additional 40 students annually,” Mallard said. “We also plan to launch an RN to BSN online degree completion program by fall 2018. We are working with health professionals in the area to plan for future programs that will meet community needs.”

Reinhardt’s nursing program first will focus on the traditional program: students who want to become a registered nurse through a baccalaureate program. The University also plans to offer a path 20 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

for current registered nurses who have their associate degrees in nursing but want to obtain their four-year degree through the RN to BSN program.

Entry into Reinhardt’s nursing program will include an application process that will review grade-point averages, essay components and an entrance exam. Once they enter and then complete the program, they must pass the NCLEX exam, which is required for a nurse to receive his/her license.

While classroom knowledge is important for a registered nurse, Blackard sees offering a program that includes much more than that.

“A registered nurse’s role is to be the coordinator of care,” she said, adding an RN will work alongside of the doctors and other nurses to ensure a plan of care is formed, implemented and assessed. Part of that plan of care, she said, goes beyond the patient, so it’s important to have “patient/family-centered care.”

“As nurses, we believe that individuals are biological, psychological, social and spiritual beings. So when we think of the patient’s plan of care and the impact and where they are on their healthcare journey and their plan of care, we think of those four components and how they relate to how we are as human beings,” she said.

Reinhardt nursing students – like

Reinhardt’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program begins in the 20172018 academic year.

Reinhardt’s BSN is pending Georgia Board of Nursing and SACSCOC approval.

its other students – will be instilled with the tools they need, in this case to serve the community and care for their patients and their families. Training them well in industry standards and beyond are part of the plan making RU nursing graduates the best in the area.

“I want the nation’s healthcare institutions to be seeking out RU graduates because we are that good,” Blackard said.

When the first class of nurses graduate in 2020, be assured that these RU alumni will be wellprepared to serve in such a way as to be remembered for how they make a patient feel as well as how well they delivered lifesaving care.

– Erika Neldner

FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E

Dr. Glynis Blackard Dean | School of Nursing Dr. Glynis Blackard has come full circle in her nursing career, but not without roadblocks she thought may be in the way.

“God has opened and closed doors” for [me] along the way, mused Blackard in a recent interview. Ultimately taking a step of faith was what led her to Reinhardt.

B

lackard started nursing school at the age of 16 becoming what is known as a “diploma graduate nurse” at Baptist Memorial Healthcare (BMH) in Memphis, Tenn. She gained a lot of clinical experience through Baptist’s School of Nursing and working at the hospital. After marrying and starting her family with her husband of 32 years, Ron, Blackard went back to school, earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The Blackards have two children, Candice, 28, and Andrew, 24, who are both teachers.

“I started working in surgical neuro ICU right out of nursing school,” she said. “I was there for a while and decided I wanted to make a change and went to the recovery room (now known as the PACU-post anesthesia care unit).”

That was an exciting job for her, as every case was different and she never knew who would come out of the operating room, from a child to a highrisk cardiovascular patient.

“It kept my skills sharp,” Blackard said, adding the hospital had a bedside clinical ladder, meaning nurses could earn promotions while continuing the patient “bedside” care that she so enjoyed. “That’s also when I learned that I loved to teach.”

Blackard’s career would continue over the next several years to take twist and turns, and at no point was she actively looking to switch her focus.

When case manager positions were unheard of, Blackard got the opportunity to write a proposal for a position. She presented it and was granted the position. “I learned that I

loved to dream and develop programs,” she said.

Her next unexpected move was to become the director of surgical services for BMH, and as the hospital grew, more changes were coming her way. Her job began to turn more corporate including traveling

throughout Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi working on hospital accreditation. Eventually, she would assume a corporate executive role handling patient safety and quality.

But on Feb. 5, 2008, Blackard got a “wake-up call.” She was home with the flu while also monitoring what would become known as the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak. Her phone rang, and on the other end of the line was her daughter, Candice, a student at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Having just returned to her dorm

room, the other students were on the main level as they planned to ride out an incoming tornado. Blackard would tell her daughter to stay put.

The next call was filled with sirens and screams and cries.

Candice was trapped in the bathtub underneath rubble. The EF-4 tornado decimated Union University’s campus.

Naturally, when the line went dead, Blackard began to panic. Soon, television news outlets were reporting from the university’s campus, and clear as day was an image of Candice’s destroyed dormitory. “I knew she was buried beneath all of that.”

It would be another 45 minutes or so before her phone rang again from a number she did not know.

Candice’s friends had dug her out of the rubble and she was running to safety.

It was in that moment that Blackard realized life is short and it was time for her to make some decisions.

“That event changed my family’s life. It made me re-evaluate and decide what I really wanted to do.

Life is really short,” she said. “I had always wanted to be a professor to teach nursing and it got my attention that maybe this is where God wanted me to be.”

So she stepped out in faith and quit her well-paying job of 25 years to go back to school. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing and went on to get her Ph.D. Her path would lead her to Union University where she started as a faculty member and later would be promoted to department chair. While at Union, she opened the university’s School of Nursing satellite campus in Hendersonville, Tenn. Now, she gets to do a similar project at Reinhardt.

“I prayed about it long and hard and that is how I ended up here,” she said.

“I feel like God has led me here.”

•

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 21

R U Leg a c y

Oldest Living Alumna Marjorie Hubbard has seen Reinhardt change greatly since she called it her college home in the 1930s.

By Erika Neldner

22 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 23

R U Leg a c y

Mrs. Hubbard, Reinhardt’s oldest living alumna at 100 years old, shared her memories of the University with President Dr. Kina Mallard sitting in her quaint living room of her Woodstock home just before her milestone birthday over the summer.

“W

hen I was there, there wasn’t much there,” the centenarian recalls. “The administration building had the classrooms and the school office. I don’t remember if there was anything else in there at the time or not.”

She recalled a boys’ dormitory that burned down and a girls’ dormitory that was where the Price School of Education now is housed.

“It seems there was a really nice boys’ dormitory. I recall one burned at one time. The boys must have set it on fire,” she said with a chuckle. “The girls’ dormitory was a two-story building right there at the corner of Main Street and that church (now Ga. 140 and Ga. 108).”

The president’s home was in the Admissions House, and the Dobbs Science Building was relatively new, she recalled. The student center and dining hall were where the Gordy Dining Hall is now, but, at that time, it also included a gym.

Buildings and presidents have come and gone, and she said she sees a strong effort on the University’s part in offering more programs and courses for its students.

“I think it is great because it increases what it offers and gives more options and more people can take advantage of getting an education,” she said.

Life at Reinhardt 80 years ago College life was not like it is now. It had only been a few years since the soda ban had been lifted, and dating was not a commonplace. “Dr. Bratton was so strict you didn’t dare look at anybody,” Mrs. Hubbard recalled. “He didn’t have to do anything but speak. They all respected him.”

Top of her class Mrs. Hubbard’s education focused on teaching the young minds of her community. Her classes included the basics like history and literature, as well as different math classes.

“Some of them said they were but I didn’t think so,” she said about the difficulty of the curriculum.

Too humble to call herself the smartest one in class, Mrs. Hubbard’s daughter, Dr. Elaine Hubbard, said that’s exactly who she was.

24 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

“Elaine didn’t believe I took it. You thought it was more advanced than it was,” she said looking at her daughter.

“But it was,” said Elaine, a mathematician. “She had a catalog and I read the description of the math class and the first math class was mostly calculus.”

Mrs. Hubbard does not recall chapel being a part of the curriculum, adding, “if it was, it didn’t stick too well. I don’t recall any of that.”

A classroom teacher early on Mrs. Hubbard attended Reinhardt when it was both a high school and college and even found herself teaching when she was not in class as a student. In the 1930s, there were not many job opportunities for women. They could choose one of three things if they wanted to enter the workforce: teacher, nurse or secretary.

Reminiscing about her days at Reinhardt, Mrs. Hubbard said there was not much to talk about regarding her being asked to teach high school math classes while she was still a student herself.

“A math teacher left for some reason and, of course, the high school was in with the college at that time,” she said. “The dean asked if I would be willing to take the class and teach it in that man’s place.”

So she taught the high-school level mathematics class when she was still studying to be a teacher.

“I had all morning classes that term, and I would go after lunchtime and spend it with that high school math class every Tuesday through Saturday,” she said. “They were a nice group of students.”

Back then, classes met on Saturdays instead of Monday, and Mrs. Hubbard recalls that Monday was reserved for laundry and chores.

‘Dormitories’ off campus While she did not live on campus, Mrs. Hubbard lived just down the street renting a room with Nettie Lee Lovelace, who also became a well-loved teacher and administrator in Cherokee County Schools. It was common place for Reinhardt students to rent rooms in town and walk to school.

OLDEST LIVING ALUMNA

“Mrs. Hubbard is a true gift to Reinhardt University.”

Dr. Kina Mallard

“Oh yes,” she said, referring to walking to school. “I lived in town. Nettie Lee and I lived together there. We were in Bill Hasty’s grandmother’s home. It was almost like a dormitory there. Some of the Carpenter family girls lived in the area, not in that house.”

Love for Reinhardt, a family affair While both Mrs. Hubbard, and her late husband, Glenn, attended Reinhardt (he graduated in 1936), they never really knew each other until the two educators worked together at New Bethel School. “I saw him and knew of him but we weren’t together,” she said of knowing her future husband at Reinhardt.

They later married in 1940 and settled into their Woodstock home.

After the birth of their daughter, Elaine, Mrs. Hubbard stayed home until Elaine was ready to enter the first grade and they both went back to school at Woodstock Elementary.

Mrs. Hubbard stayed there working until her retirement in the mid-1970s. Meanwhile, Mr. Hubbard left teaching to pursue a career at an aircraft plant in Marietta. He taught for a short time after World War II and later pursued a career in accounting until his retirement in the 1980s.

Lifelong educator Before Mrs. Hubbard retired from teaching, she was given an opportunity to run a school. During World War II, she was named principal at New Bethel by then-Superintendent E.T. Booth. When he asked if she would do it, Mrs. Hubbard said she simply replied with “I will try.”

Teaching has changed over the years, and Mrs. Hubbard said it was much more difficult at the time of her retirement than when she started. Paperwork became a big component of the job. As time has gone on and more regulations have been added to the education profession, she advises current teachers and those going into the profession to make sure they are diligent in achieving the goals they want.

“Teaching was harder work when I retired than when I started. There was more to do. We were covered up with paperwork,” she said. “They should apply themselves to what they are hoping to achieve.”

Hubbard: “A true gift to Reinhardt University” Mrs. Hubbard and her family, including daughter Elaine Hubbard – a fellow educator – have always kept Reinhardt in their hearts. The men’s residence hall is named for Glenn & Marjorie Hubbard, as a generous donation made the construction of the building possible. The residence hall is suite-style with study areas that join two rooms together.

More than 70 students are housed in Hubbard Blue-Gold, as the hall is known.

But their giving goes further. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard were honored in 2012 with a special alumni recognition and presentation at the Talon Awards. In the early 1990s, the classes of 1934-1938 collaborated on a fundraising campaign for a Carillon on campus. The Hubbards cochaired a committee and wrote letters and called friends to raise money for the cause. More than $200,000 was raised to build the Bell Tower and establish the William M. Bratton Scholarship Endowment.

“Mrs. Hubbard is a true gift to Reinhardt University,” Dr. Mallard said. “We appreciate her dedication to her alma mater and have enjoyed visiting with her and hearing her Reinhardt stories. She is forever part of the Reinhardt family.”

•

Dr. Elaine Hubbard passed away Nov. 18, 2016, at the age of 66. She and her family have been instrumental in Reinhardt’s growth over the years, including fundraising campaigns and donations that have led to the construction of the Hubbard Blue-Gold residence hall, among others. Dr. Hubbard was a dedicated member of not only the Reinhardt family but of the Woodstock community at large. She was a founding member of the Centennial Commission, now known as Preservation Woodstock. She was chosen as Woodstock’s Citizen of the Year in 2009 - 10 years after her father was honored with the same awrd. Dr. Hubbard also was the founding member of the Hightower Trail Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Dr. Hubbard was laid to rest Nov. 23. Her family has requested that donations be made in her name to honor her life, including Reinhardt University, The Georgia Tech Foundation or the Sequoyah Regional Library System.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 25

Thrive In the Fullness of Light Poem for the Inauguration of Kina S. Mallard, 20th President of Reinhardt University

Here where the goldenrod grows Here where wisteria weaves about the pines Where the eagle flies from Brasstown Bald to Pine Log Here where the mountains wind down to Salacoa Valley Here where the rich Etowah flows Where fertile green hills roll Here at the edge of Appalachia Here between the city and the mountain Thrive.

Thrive Because you are uncommon, thrive Because you are rare, thrive because you are Growing daily ever keener— a Georgia Aster, rays fanning, Emerging, in fall, blue bursting Into community with wild flowers galore, Thriving in the fullness of light, a rare vision in the strength of fields* Between mountain and city, Radiant in your deep blue bloomery, bursting like a universe Creating a constellation of legacies.

Here thriving in the fullness of light Let the musicians play the music Let the warriors fight the fight Let the artists make the art Let the poets say the word Let the thinkers think the thing Let the doers do the deed Let the singers sing the song That is beauty and truth.

Mark A. Roberts 15 April 2016 *Strength of Fields refers to James Dickey’s poem of the same name, which was read at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration.

A video version of “Thrive in the Fullness of Light” has been produced and is available at www.reinhardt.edu/thrive.

26 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

RU Feature

U NCOM MON Symphyotrichum georgianum, the uncommon name for a common, but rare flower – the Georgia aster – has taken center stage as a metaphor of Reinhardt University and each Reinhardt student.

DR. MARK A. ROBERTS, vice president and dean for academic affairs and RU’s “occasional poet,” crafted the poem “Thrive in the Fullness of Light” at the request of Reinhardt President Dr. Kina Mallard upon the occasion of her inauguration in April. In it, he highlights the Georgia aster using it as an expression of encouragement for students to thrive.

“When Dr. Mallard asked me to write a poem for the inauguration, I was scared to death,” Roberts said.

“I simply asked him to write a poem that would express the essence of Reinhardt and our students and who we are,” Mallard said. “Mark went far beyond my expectation with a remarkable work that perfectly captures the core principles and reflects the soul of all that we are working hard to make happen here at Reinhardt.”

A place where everyone thrives But just what does it mean to create a place where each student can thrive?

According to Mallard, “it’s a place where Godgiven talent, passion, creativity, and a willingness to work hard intersect and find a common stream in this big world in which we live.”

Today’s Reinhardt is focused, much like it has been since its founding in 1883, on preparing its students to thrive in whatever profession they choose, in the community where they live and as citizens of a much bigger world.

“You can look at Reinhardt and say ‘it’s just like any other’ university, yet when you come to

Reinhardt you realize that there are some very unique things going on here,” said Roberts.

By many measures, Reinhardt isn’t “just like any other” university, it is an uncommon place, uniquely placed “between the highest point in Georgia, Brasstown Bald, and Midtown Atlanta occupying the very rural and the urban.”

Wedged between an agriculture-based economy in rural communities in North Georgia and an ever-evolving economy whose growth in jobs is in fields like cybersecurity, high-tech manufacturing, film and medical technologies, Reinhardt is growing and emerging in its own right.

Though rock-solid in its commitment to the liberal arts, the University is adding programs of study in nursing, strengthening its teacher education program, building a full complement of online offerings, all the while remaining laserfocused on creating a place where each student can succeed.

“Reinhardt is extremely steeped in community,” says Roberts. He attributes the small community that is Reinhardt with creating the kind of atmosphere that forces you to interact with a larger number of different kinds of people who are remarkable.

Examples he gives include Matt Anderson, a world-renowned guitarist and faculty member in the School of Performing Arts, Jonathan Good, associate professor of history, whose work in ancient and medieval history helps inform the University as to the influences related to culture, and Drew Cronic, head football coach, who

By Timothy A. Norton, Vice President for Advancement & Marketing | Photographs by Darleen Prem REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 27

R U Feat u re TYLER MARTIN ’17

Roberts sees as a “great motivator, strategist and coach.”

“The Reinhardt community includes an amazing array of talented people, and that kind of community is uncommon,” Roberts explained.

Thriving in the Classroom Beyond the uncommon community, Reinhardt is thriving in the classroom as recognized by peers whose evaluations affect rankings.

Acknowledging what Reinhardt faculty, staff and alumni already know, Reinhardt has recently been recognized as a College of Distinction and has risen in the rankings by U.S. News & World Report moving from 54th in 2015 to 29th in 2016.

Grade point averages across the University are increasing led by studentathletes whose cumulative GPA for last academic year was 3.28. According to Julie Fleming, vice president for enrollment management, the incoming freshman class this fall was the bestprepared class ever at Reinhardt with an incoming GPA of 3.11.

Just this fall Reinhardt received a report that 92 percent of its students participated in “High Impact Practices” like undergraduate research, servicelearning projects, diversity/global learning, collaborative projects, writing intensive courses, internships/co-ops, a first-year experience program, and capstone courses or projects.

These “High Impact Practices” are a metric by which universities like Reinhardt gauge student engagement and which are shown to be instrumental in student success following graduation.

Reaching out toward success At the same time, Reinhardt is seeking to support its home City of Waleska and the larger, fast-growing Cherokee County.

“Reinhardt Connects” is one of three main objectives in its five-year strategic plan and envisions that Reinhardt 28 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

is a senior majoring in Quantitative Sciences.

He is a member of the Reinhardt Football Team for which he plays linebacker. Tyler was named the Mid-South Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week, after the Eagles 28-9 win over No. 15 Georgetown in Reinhardt’s homecoming game. Tyler is originally from Albertsville, Ala. and participates in various activities on campus in addition to football, including Track & Field (javelin, discus and shot put). Tyler is the two-time conference javelin champion. He also is involved in RU L.I.F.T., which is a campus ministry looking to build community, grow in faith, serve others and encourage students to live for God passionately.

Why I Thrive “At Reinhardt, you’re a name rather than a number. The atmosphere is very family oriented and everyone genuinely wants to see each student do well.”

BRITTNEY

BRITTNEY CUNNINGHAM ’20

is a freshman Biology major, who has jumped right in at Reinhardt University. The Thomaston, Ga. native is a midfielder for the Lady Eagles soccer team. Although she has not been at Reinhardt but only for a few months, she already is a part of a new leadership program developed by Reinhardt President Kina Mallard.

Why I Thrive “Through Reinhardt’s services and support, I have been able to thrive both in the classroom and on the field.”

TYLER

Why I Thrive “Reinhardt has allowed me to learn and develop as a successful student academically, spiritually and as a leader.

The professors, the faculty, the landscape, the buildings and the students really make this place my one true home.”

MARIANELLA

THOMAS MAY ’19

is a sophomore Communication and Media Studies major with a passion for words. Thomas is a reporter for the Eagle Eye, Reinhardt University’s student media publication. He also is a student ambassador for Career Services where he has created information cards and devised a method for getting more involved. In addition, Thomas has helped Career Services by revisiting the department’s social media strategy to engage more students.

MARIANELLA LOPEZ ’17

is a senior Voice Performance major. Originally from Venezuela, Reinhardt gave her the opportunity, not only through academics but extracurricular and co-curricular activities, to help her develop as a wellrounded individual.

She participates in the University opera.

Marianella is also the president and founder of two clubs on campus: R.U. C.A.R.E.S. (Reinhardt University Cares for Animal Rights and Environmental Sustainability) and R.U. Runners (the university running club). She has spent every spring break trip volunteering with Campus Ministrysponsored mission trips.

Why I Thrive “Reinhardt has provided me with a unique learning experience with its friendly, close-knit community of faculty, staff and students.”

THOMAS

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 29

R U Feat u re

ABOUT RU’S “OCCASIONAL POET”

Dr. Mark A. Roberts Who better to communicate the heart and soul of Reinhardt University than its chief academic officer who, by training and practice, is an English professor, musician and songwriter?

Early on in life, Dr. Mark A. Roberts appreciated the beauty of language and song. As an adolescent, Roberts embarked on a journey that would inform his thought and action, eventually leading to a career as an educator and administrator.

Roberts credits his love of poetry and language to a number of influences in his life starting with the influence of

University will increasingly become a destination for faith, arts and culture in the region.

Already known for the Falany Performing Arts Center, now in its 15th year, the University broke ground earlier this fall on its first-ever theater that will house its growing programs of theatre and musical theatre.

This past summer, the University renovated Lake Mullenix as a part of President Mallard’s “Arts Around the Lake” project, which included a series of cascading ponds, clearing a wide path around the lake and the addition of an outdoor patio. That project was completed with the gift of a generous donor, and a second phase is planned that includes completion of access to the Falany Performing Arts Center from the lakeside and an amphitheater to be completed as funds become available.

Early next year the University will break ground for two new residence halls, and plans are in the works to expand the Gordy Dining Facility as enrollment continues to grow.

the church.

“As a child I loved hearing and reading the stories of the Old and New Testament. Hymns, in particular, were so meaningful in my traditional Southern Baptist upbringing because they told stories of redemption, mercy and love.”

And, he says, “My uncle, a country western musician, was a powerful influence in my life. We would be at my grandparents on Saturday morning, my uncle would arise after a night playing music elsewhere and he would start playing the piano and singing songs. So, I was influenced to a great extent by the Bible and country western music.”

Originally enrolling at Middle Tennessee State University as a music and music production major, Roberts says that he quickly realized that his interests were “more centered on what songs meant.”

“I came to understand the power of language to affect people’s emotions and the power of language to persuade their reason,” he said.

Roberts credits other influences – among them Pink Floyd and the albums Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, Leonard Cohen – the late singer, songwriter, poet and novelist extraordinaire, and Bob Dylan – who, he says, “drove me to seeking out music that really emphasized lyrics.”

“Those of us who love the craft of song don’t distinguish that as something different from literature or poetry.

Both are studies in life and performances in language and thought.”

Using the uncommon to mold the future All of these things are what it means to be a thriving university that is educating thriving students for a lifetime of service.

As Dr. Mallard said recently to students, “Whatever you bring to the table; whatever talents that you have; whatever you are called to contribute to this great universe, do it!”

“Do it in the fullness of who you are. Do it in the fullness of how God has designed you. Embrace how you’re different and unique, and do what you’re good at, and thrive at what you’re designed to do.”

Dr. Roberts envisions a day when each student, aided by the community that is Reinhardt University, experiences beauty and truth in an uncommon way as proud citizens of the world.

“Reinhardt exhibits the best characteristics like the value for diverse citizenship of its community, a connectedness to its internal and external community” and, surmises Roberts, “we see a better world and we try to bring it about on our campus every day.”

Like the uncommon flower, symphyotrichum georgianum – the Georgia aster, says Roberts, “Reinhardt University is uncommon [and] unique.”

At the end of the day, says Roberts, “beauty and truth is what we’re all after, and the truth is what makes you thrive.”

•

30 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Thrive in action

J

amie Palmer ’15 spent his

Land Development

summer writing and revising

Ordinance that takes

city ordinances. For most people,

developers from the

that may sound humdrum and

end of the zoning

cumbersome. To Palmer, it was an

process to their ribbon

experience of a lifetime. And to his

cutting.

supervisor, it was much needed

Many cities across

help in cleaning up the city of

the country were dealt

Woodstock’s Land Development

an expensive hand

Ordinance.

when the economy

Palmer, who earned his

crashed in 2008,

bachelor’s degree in political

leaving pipe farms

science last spring, has had a

and unfinished roads.

knack for research but it was his

The new ordinance

lessons at Reinhardt that helped

protects Woodstock

him turn the fruits of his research

taxpayers from that

into something worthwhile.

expense.

“The ability to implement it

“I created what we call local

and build an idea all came from

and national economic distress

Reinhardt. My professors taught

stipulations. These are trigger

me how to think critically,” said

measures that we can look at on the

Palmer, who transferred to

planning side to better track how the

Reinhardt to earn his bachelor’s

economy is doing,” Palmer said.

Moon to thank, he said he

degree and is pursuing an MBA

Through the ordinance, the city no

appreciates Dr. Karen L. Owen,

at Reinhardt.

longer accepts letters of credit from

assistant professor of political

Palmer’s summer was spent

builders for things like road toppings.

science, who guided him to the

delving into research through

“It’s brilliant,” Day said. “And I bet

opportunity with the City of

internet searches and phone calls

there’s not another government in

Woodstock.

to local governments. His final

the state of Georgia that has this.”

“This has been an amazing

product – what his supervisor,

Day did not take over the final

opportunity and I’m so grateful

Brantley Day, Woodstock’s

steps – he let Palmer finish the

to Dr. Owen,” Palmer said. “It has

community development director,

process, presenting his hard work to

not only been awesome to work

called a super-ordinance – was a

the Woodstock planning commission

with Brantley but it has been

114-page change to the city’s

on July 7, which recommended

awesome to have an opportunity

approval to the City Council. He

like this. Many can say they

again presented the draft ordinance

worked in city government but

on Aug. 22, but this time it was to

they all can’t say they worked in

the elected City Council. Council

such a booming city.”

approved both readings of the draft

Palmer’s work with the city has

and the mayor signed it into law in

been extended through the end

September.

of the year. Who knows what’s

“The ability to implement it and build an idea all came from Reinhardt. My professors taught me how to think critically.”

J A M I E PA L M E R

While many interns might have

Jamie Palmer, left, works with City of Woodstock’s Brantley Day on plan review.

next for him, or the challenge

been filing papers and running

he’ll take up next?

errands, Palmer experienced what

“One thing is for certain,

life would be like in a community

there is no challenge too great

development office for local

for Reinhardt graduate Jamie

government, and he has not

Palmer,” said Owen. “You can

only Day and City Manager Jeff

count on it!”

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 31

R U Fa i t h

By Erika Neldner

REINHARDT’S MISSION

To Strengthen a Faith Community Faith. Learning. Leading. With these three words – Reinhardt’s values – the University has embarked on a mission to provide students with the education and experience to help them thrive as whole persons.

In its search for its president two years ago, the Reinhardt University Board of Trustees believed it was important to ensure that the University’s next leader have experience with combining faith and learning.

“We wanted a president who came from a faith-based school who understood the integration of faith and learning,” said Reinhardt Board of Trustees Chairman Billy Hasty. “We needed someone who could strengthen and maintain this connection.”

And Dr. Kina S. Mallard fit that bill. Her previous roles at faith-based institutions gave her a better understanding of how to make the integration of faith and learning successful.

“I knew this was important,” Mallard said. “It also fit who I was and the experiences I have had in higher education.”

She said learning about the faith community at the University was high on her to-do list so she

could figure out the best strategy to strengthen it campus-wide.

“I wasn’t asked to change it, I was asked to strengthen it,” Mallard said. “I first had to know what ‘it’ was.”

What she found out quickly was Reinhardt’s community was not afraid of open conversations about faith, prayer and community. She also found that Reinhardt’s community likes to act on its faith.

“A University whose integration of faith and learning is really through service, through deed more than word,” she said to describe what she learned about Reinhardt.

She also found that Reinhardt is comfortable praying – “I’ve experienced a culture of prayer. It is expected and common and comfortable to pray,” she added.

Reinhardt also is a place that is accepting of everyone from any faith and those with no faith. She said it is a place where people can openly practice their faith as well as explore their own and others.

“I found a place that was welcome to people of all faiths and no faith but had the strong faith foundation and opportunities to explore or practice their faiths,” Mallard said.

RU’s campus faith life infused by student leaders Building a growing, vibrant faith culture at Reinhardt requires involving and investing in student leaders who lead a worshipping, serving, ministering community. “Reinhardt’s vibrant spiritual environment promotes personal growth and is welcoming to students of all faiths,” said Walter May, assistant dean of students and director of student activities. With leadership from student leaders like senior Ansley Avera, and six others, Reinhardt’s Ansley Avera

Campus Ministry office is creating engaging campus worship experiences, investing in service and ministry opportunities – on

campus and elsewhere and leading students to consider faith as a central component of what it means to be a person who thrives. “This year we are focusing on revamping worship services and launching small group Bible studies,” said Avera. “As student leaders, our hope is to work to infuse campus with the vibrancy of the life of Christ.”

32 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY GATHERINGS | visit reinhardt.edu/communitygathering.

T H E C O M M U N I T Y G AT H E R I N G S E R I E S

A

key component of building a strong community in faith and leadership is ensuring everyone can come together in one central location for not only faith-based activities, but also events that strengthen knowledge and communication across campus.

The Community Gathering Series is doing just that.

“Reinhardt is a place of learning, not just for students in classes but for all who are connected to our community,” said Dr. Mark Roberts, vice president and dean for academic affairs.

“Community Gathering is one way that all members of our University can participate in an on-going, critical engagement with our complex world.”

The Community Gathering Series, held on select Wednesdays at 1 p.m. in the Falany Performing Arts Center, is proving to be a solution to strengthening the Reinhardt Community.

Over the last few months, the Community Gathering Series brought relevant topics for education and discussion, including Dr. David Gushee’s presentation “The Elusive Quest for Racial Justice in America” and Sachi Koto’s talk “Breaking Barriers: First Female Asian On-air Talent in the Southeast.”

Sachi Koto Gushee focused on the racial divide, beginning his presentation with Biblical references, and how to come together. Koto spoke of her life experience as an Asian-American striving for success in a time that was not ideal.

The Community Gathering Series will continue in the spring with plans in the works lining up notable speakers to deliver messages on relevant topics. For more information, see www.reinhardt. edu/communitygathering.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 33

R U A r t s & Cu l t u re

Reinhardt University’s Arts Around the Lake project is more than just beautifying the area. The recent renovation of Lake Mullenix, including cascading ponds and a fountain, while beautiful, also plays an ecological role for the campus.

The University made great progress this year with a groundbreaking for the muchanticipated theater building.

For more information on the fundraising effort for the project, visit reinhardt.edu/thrive.

34 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Arts Around the Lake A vision of arts and learning in a picturesque setting

By Erika Neldner

A

mean that our students have a new statepicturesque setting where the arts of-the-art theater alongside one of the thrive and all students, faculty best concert halls in the region, the Falany and staff can enjoy Reinhardt as a Performing Arts Center,” he added. “We University in a Park. are creating an environment where our That vision is becoming a reality as work students are truly immersed in the arts. over the summer cleared the way for a With live musical events and theatre walking path that will include hammock productions, as well as visual art exhibits pods and benches for the Reinhardt displayed in both the Fincher Art Center community to revel in the campus beauty as and the Falany Performing Arts Center, Reinhardt embarks on its “Arts Around the we are committed to enriching the lives of Lake” project.

The new theater building the Reinhardt community and the entire When completed, Lake Mullenix will be as part of the “Arts Around the Lake” Project. region.” surrounding by a thriving arts community One of the most anticipated components with structures to house the theatre of the “Arts Around the Lake” project is the new theater department, fine arts and music programs. The Falany building – a place where Reinhardt’s ever-growing theatre Performing Arts Center sits at the highest point overlooking program and musical theatre concentration students can the pristine lake, which now includes cascading ponds and a call home. picturesque fountain that illuminates in the darkness The University broke ground on the project Sept. 20 of night. with its Board of Trustees, Waleska Mayor Doris Jones, “The Arts Around the Lake project complements the bigger RU faculty, staff and members of the community in picture of Reinhardt’s vision of becoming a destination attendance. university for learning, arts, faith and culture,” Dr. Kina The Arts Around the Lake project encompasses all of Mallard said. the arts at Reinhardt University. With Lake Mullenix Dr. Wayne Glowka, dean of the School of Arts and positioned in the center, and the FPAC sitting high on Humanities, said the placement of the project has a deeper the hill across from the Fincher Art Building, the theater meaning. will sit between the two overlooking the lake. As funding “It places the arts at the deep psychological center of the becomes available, an amphitheater will be erected on the university,” he said. “We are all drawn to water as we are other side of the lake. drawn to the arts. We see our reflection in the water — just While the community is always welcome to enjoy the as we see ourselves reflected in the mimesis of the arts. We arts at Reinhardt, with concerts and plays at the FPAC and imaginatively plunge into the depths of the water as the arts art shows at the Fincher Art Building, the amphitheater take us to the archetypal centers of our sense of self and will bring a new destination for community members to community.” enjoy. Mallard said she envisions a place for not only the Dr. Fred Tarrant, dean of the School of Performing Arts, university but the community to host outdoor concerts said he feels the overall project will lend the University to and plays at the amphitheater. becoming a sought-after institution for education in the arts.

As the vision becomes a reality and the arts are centered “The Arts Around the Lake Project will make Reinhardt on campus, drawing the students nearer, Reinhardt will University an even more sought-out destination for the continue on its path to thriving among its educational performing and visual arts,” Tarrant said. counterparts.

“For the School of Performing Arts in particular, it will

•

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 35

R U A r t s & Cu l t u re FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E

TURNING

15

The Falany Performing Arts Center celebrated its opening in February 2002, with three music majors and several communication majors enrolled at Reinhardt.

Now, hundreds of students utilize the space day after day whether they are practicing an instrument, getting vocal instruction or learning how to edit video.

In addition to classroom space, the FPAC is home to a beautiful marble atrium leading to a 350seat concert hall that has seen the likes of many notable artists, including Doc Severinsen, The Manhattan Transfer and The Drifters earlier this year. The Performing Arts Series has grown from what it was 15 years ago to now offering more than 20 professional shows each season, in addition to the well-done performances by Reinhardt’s own School of Performing Arts.

The Falany’s existence would not have come about without several donors who put their hardearned money behind the venture, including Dr. Floyd A. and Fay Falany, for whom the building is named.

The Falany has a rare feature of a tunable stage to provide perfect acoustics for performances. Before it opened, the school’s Music Department and performance area was limited to the Burgess Administration Building.

36 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

David Nisbet Coordinator | RU Theatre Program

By Erika Neldner

S

taring at the sky seemingly in disbelief, David Nisbet’s eyes could been seen welling up with tears.

He was not sad. He had not suffered great loss. Instead his heart filled with excitement.

So much work, so much time and so much dedication was blossoming into something bigger than he imagined when he came to Reinhardt in 2012.

Nisbet is the coordinator for Reinhardt’s theatre program and what filled his heart with so much joy was the image he could see on the horizon: Reinhardt’s new theater building, a place he, his faculty and students could finally call home.

After the program concluded, he kissed his finger, put it to his heart and pointed to the sky, thanking God for opening the path that he hopes will propel Reinhardt’s Theatre Program to a place it has yet to be. He also was signaling a “We did it,” to Kevin

Crawford, an RU theatre professor who passed away almost three years ago.

And then one by one, his current and former students approached him offering hugs of hope and congratulations.

Nisbet is a veteran actor, spending 30 years on the acting scene in Chicago.

“It’s a vicious little virus that gets in you and you can’t get rid of,” he said of his love of acting, which he started in college.

He followed his dream, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Milliken University and a Master of Fine Arts from Illinois State University.

He started his teaching career at Columbia College and realized how much he loved educating tomorrow’s performers. So, the Nisbet family moved to the South and he began teaching at another private university when he said he was “rescued” and brought to Reinhardt.

At Reinhardt, Nisbet found a theatre club, very little money and no theater.

But he dreamed of something bigger.

“I started with $800 a year to produce plays. We did ‘Almost Maine’ in the Hoke with very few props and no set. It went over well because I had talented kids,” Nisbet recalls. “I started the Friends of the Theatre program and literally would go out and beg for money for every show. We produced ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ in the Falany Performing Arts Center solely on donations.”

Over the years under Nisbet’s leadership, the theatre program has grown. He said he has seen a change in response when he visits outside events and mentions Reinhardt.

“We used to go to recruiting events and kids would say ‘what’s Reinhardt?’

‘Where’s Reinhardt?’ I’d have to

FPAC 2016-2017 SEASON

The FPAC performances are open to the public and many wonderful performances remain for the 2016-17 season. For more information, visit www.reinhardt.edu/fpac.

“I am proud of this program knowing these kids can leave here armed with the skills to get work and that they get jobs.”

explain what we are doing here and after now my fifth year, we go to recruiting events and they go ‘Oh, I’ve heard of Reinhardt,’” Nisbet beamingly said. “It’s a testament to the faculty hired that I work with.”

Nisbet sees a bright future for Reinhardt’s Theatre Program. Ground has been broken on that new theater building, and it’s no longer just a pipe dream. He sees a home equipped with the needs of a thriving theatre program,

like a black box, dressing rooms, true theater lighting and more. He sees stability and a sense of belonging for the students, a place to call their own.

“For the kids, it means a sense of permanency. They will have their own dedicated space they can go hang out and be with other theatre people and bounce ideas off other theatre people.

We will have everything they need there,” Nisbet said, as his excitement exuded through his voice. “These kids have worked really hard.”

And he hopes the new building will propel the theatre program making Reinhardt a destination for students wanting to further their education.

“I am proud of this program knowing these kids can leave here armed with the skills to get work and that they get jobs,” he said. “Once the theater is built I think the program will grow exponentially.”

“We are thrilled. I am thrilled,” Nisbet said of the new facilities. “The FPAC is a lovely space, but it is not a theatre space. In the black box, we will be able to focus lights anywhere we want them. We will be able to mount productions much more theatrical.

It will be more intimate. And we will have our own space.”

President Dr. Kina S. Mallard said at the groundbreaking earlier this fall that she is hopeful the seniors this year will perform their last production of their college experience in the new theatre.

•

In September, Reinhardt broke ground on a new theater building – construction is slated to get underway in early 2017. The building will include a black box theater, box office, classrooms, faculty offices, a dance studio and more.

CAM PAIG N

To help fund the new theater building, Reinhardt President Dr. Kina Mallard and the Office of Advancement have launched the Thrive Campaign. It allows taxdeductible donations to be made and earmarked specifically for the theater.

For more information, visit www.reinhardt.edu/thrive.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 37

R U Al u m n i

By Erika Neldner

R

einhardt is in her blood, but Mallory Chastain Childers fought that legacy when she was choosing what college would be her next step.

It didn’t take her long to realize that Reinhardt was her home, and it is where she would end up finding one of her strongest support systems in the most heart-wrenching time of her young life.

“My parents went to Reinhardt and they met at Reinhardt,” she said. “I swore I would never go there.”

“It was about Christmastime [of my freshman year],” Childers said. “I had several friends at Reinhardt. And my parents told me that they would support me transferring if I finished out the year where I was.”

Childers applied to Reinhardt in the spring and worked with now-Director of Admissions Lacey Satterfield to get everything ready for her to start that next fall semester. Her experience with the family atmosphere and close-knit campus was immediate, she said. She found her place with people she knew and with people to whom she was introduced by her now husband, Patton Childers II. “I was wanting a smaller community and somewhere that felt more like home,” Childers said.

While Patton graduated from Reinhardt in 2007, Mallory Childers continued on and graduated with a degree in early childhood education in 2010.

In her final year of college, her life took an unforeseen challenge that hit hard just a week before graduation. Her father, Lou Chastain, unexpectedly passed away. Childers was not sure if she would follow through with giving the commencement address she was selected to deliver, but her Reinhardt 38 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Family Legacy family stood alongside of her and behind her giving her the strength to follow through.

“She decided to speak because of the strength she got from the Reinhardt family. It led her to continue with that commitment,” said Dale Morrissey, Reinhardt’s director of development and external relations.

Morrissey has known the Chastain family for more than 40 years and recalls Childers as a baby and watching her grow up.

“They are such an exceptional family,” Morrissey said. “Mallory has such great character in her leadership abilities, family connection and her enthusiasm and creativity.”

During her 2010 commencement speech, Childers dedicated her presence on stage and the words she delivered to her father. And she used that sadness in her heart and the knowledge of the challenges she and her fellow graduates would face during a tough economic climate to

“I felt very prepared for my job. I felt it from the moment I stepped into my classroom that I was ready because Reinhardt prepared me.” hurt and sadness, I have searched to find positive points. There will be times in your journey where this will happen to you. You must remember that God has a purpose for each of us and will be there Family: Married to Patton Childers II to answer your ‘What’s ’07; daughters, Harper and Henley Next?’”

Childers’ “What’s Degrees: Bachelor of Science in Next?” included becoming Early Childhood Education; Master of Science in Special Education engaged outside the Fincher Art Building on Job: Lead Special Education campus after graduation Teacher, Tate Elementary School and moving on Recognition: 2013-2014 Teacher of to teach. the Year; 2016 Reinhardt’s 10 Under Patton and Mallory now 10 Award are married and welcomed twin girls Harper and Henley in June. While pregnant, Childers completed her Master of Special Education, strengthening even more her place teaching and molding the younger generation for their next steps.

In mid-October, maternity leave ended for Childers and she is back in the classroom at Tate Elementary deliver words of inspiration to those School in Pickens County balancing completing their rite of passage that her children at school and her spring day. children at home. Prior to heading “Reinhardt has taught me, and back to class, she said her new hopefully many of you, to take challenge would be “interesting” and challenges, look them in the face, she was going to have to learn how to persevere and overcome. While at get more done at school and utilize Reinhardt, I have overcome many early bedtimes as she moves ahead to challenges including standing here her what’s next. today,” she said. “My personal ‘what’s In the Pickens County elementary next’ has certainly changed over the school, Childers is the teacher many past couple of weeks with the death others look up to and request for of my father. Even through my shock, their classrooms. She is the lead ALUMNI PROFILE

Mallory Chastain Childers

’10

special education teacher and has students come to her classroom, but she also visits other teachers’ classrooms to help students.

“Mallory is a real leader here at school,” said Tate Elementary School Principal Sandy Layman. “She is one of the teachers that when other teachers have concerns they seek her out and ask for her advice. She is one of those teachers who is always willing to help her peer teachers and students. They are always glad to seek her out and have her in their rooms so they can learn from and work with her. She is very soft spoken and gentle, and you can see in her children that they calm and come back to that point where they are willing to learn and listen.

“Her demeanor almost pulls them in,” Layman continued.

Childers’ classroom is her home away from home, and she said she never felt nervous about managing a classroom because of her training in the Price School of Education.

“Everything we had to do in the PSOE is something that is now applicable to my daily life,” Childers said, adding that at the time, the detailed reflections of her teaching and field experience and the long lesson plans seemed overwhelming. “I felt very prepared for my job. I felt it from the moment I stepped into my classroom that I was ready because Reinhardt prepared me.”

The Tate Elementary School lead special education teacher has been named the school’s Teacher of the Year in 2013-14 and was bestowed Reinhardt’s prestigious 10 Under 10 award in 2016.

•

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 39

RU Sports

RU STUDENT ATHLETES HIT THE

MARK IN ACADEMICS More than just success on the field, Reinhardt student-athletes are demonstrating excellence in the classroom as well.

ALL 16 PROGRAMS that were up and running during the 201516 school year were given the prestigious title of NAIA Scholar Teams.

Reinhardt is only one of 10 schools in the nation to have 16 teams receive this award.

According to the NAIA, a team must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average to be considered for the award. The team GPA includes all eligible student-athletes.

The Reinhardt University teams that received the NAIA Scholar-Team Award are baseball, football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, softball, volleyball, men’s outdoor track and field, and women’s outdoor track and field.

“I could not be more proud of the academic performance of all of our student-athletes and the continued effort of the athletic department staff for making sure that these young men and women understand the value of the whole college experience, and not just their love of athletics,” said Reinhardt Athletic Director Bill Popp. “We continue to talk about how important academic success has been to all of our programs overall success, and this year we went out and proved that it was more than just talk with all 16 of our NAIA championship or invitational eligible teams making a 3.0 or better.

– Allie Hale 40 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

“I am proud and honored to be the coach of such an amazing group of young women.”

Andy Kaplan Head Coach Women’s Soccer

TEAM STAND OUTS

While 16 Reinhardt teams received the award, the women’s soccer team, women’s tennis team and men’s soccer stood out.

WOMEN’S SOCCER During the 2015-16 academic year, the Reinhardt University women’s soccer team maintained their academic reputation in the NAIA by earning an average GPA of 3.77. The women’s soccer team was tied for

GO EAGLES | Learn more about our sports teams at reinhardteagles.com

R U/ N A I A S TAT S

3.77 3.76 3.63 3.60 15th in the nation among all NAIA athletic teams. Also, their GPA of 3.77 is the second-highest among women’s soccer teams.

This is the second year the team has represented Reinhardt academically. In the 2014-15 academic year, the Reinhardt women’s soccer team had an identical GPA which put them 6th in the nation and first for all women’s soccer teams in the NAIA. “The 2015 team has set the standard for all teams to follow.

Our players have embraced the

WOMEN’S SOCCER AVERAGE GPA WOMEN’S TENNIS AVERAGE GPA MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY AVERAGE GPA

MEN’S SOCCER AVERAGE GPA

pursuit of excellence in all facets of their lives.”

Earning a 3.77 team GPA while winning a third consecutive conference championship and a national ranking is extraordinary.

“I am proud and honored to be the coach of such an amazing group of young women,” said Andy Kaplan, head coach for the women’s soccer team.

WOMEN’S TENNIS The women’s tennis team also had a successful academic year and

gained recognition. With an average GPA of 3.76, they are ranked 19th in the nation of all NAIA athletic teams and have the highest GPA of all women’s tennis teams in the NAIA. “I’m very happy with the effort of our team in the classroom last year,” said RU tennis head coach Jennifer Pourchier. “To make the national tournament and win the conference championship for the first time was great, but to have the best GPA for a women’s tennis program in the country is just outstanding.”

MEN’S SOCCER Additionally, the men’s soccer team had the highest GPA of all men’s soccer teams in the NAIA with an average GPA of 3.60. The 2014-15 Eagles had a 3.53 GPA and was ranked the second-highest in the country.

“I am pleased to see the players recognized for their hard work in the classroom,” said RU head men’s soccer coach Joey Johnson. “In the end, the character traits that enabled these young men to be successful on the field have translated into success in the classroom. To be successful in both arenas simultaneously takes discipline, commitment and hard work. I am proud of these young men for the way they represent our program, our institution and our community.”

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RU’s men’s cross country team had a mark of 3.63, which was the highest for an RU men’s team and tied for the fourth-highest GPA for a men’s cross country program in the country.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 41

RU Sports

The 1998 RU Men’s Soccer team, coached by Lars Andersson, went 21-1-1 during the season, losing the National Junior College Athletic Association’s national championship game to a team that would be found to have used ineligible players. While the championship would be vacated, that 1998

By Jason Hanes

HALL OF FAME

On an emotional evening Sept. 30 at the Gordy Center, Reinhardt Athletics inducted the inaugural class into the Reinhardt Athletics Hall of Fame.

Nine individuals and one team were given the highest recognition that the athletic department can give. The event was months in the making, with RU director of athletics Bill Popp singling out assistant athletic director Jeffrey Pourchier for his work in bringing the evening together.

history. Brickhouse gave an emotional speech where she thanked her family, especially her mother and father. “Every game day, my mother made sure to have my favorite meal cooked for dinner,” she said. “My father would go out and rebound for me for two hours a day while I practiced.”

squad has Reinhardt’s

Ken Dixon (’02), Reinhardt’s

best claim to an athletic

current director of golf

national championship.

operations, was honored for

With many members of

his work on the course as a

the team in attendance,

student-athlete. He was the

coach Andersson spoke

first three-time All-American

of when he knew he had a

in Reinhardt’s history,

special squad after a tie at

earning NJCAA honors

Young Harris. “They told

in 1998-99 and NCCAA

me, ‘Coach, we didn’t come

recognition in 1999-2000

here to tie. We came here

and 2000-01. As a freshman,

to win.’”

he finished fourth at the NJCAA Division III National

Daniel Jape (’08), who was

THEN AND NOW

Reinhardt’s first baseball

Men’s 1998 Soccer team.

NAIA All-American. In the 2008 season, Jape hit 18

Tournament and helped the team to a fourth-place finish overall at the championship event. Dixon became

home runs and drove in 83

emotional during his brief

runs to lead the Southern

her during her career.

was a route he was glad that

speech when he remarked

States Athletic Conference.

Baker-Prather expressed her

he took. “I drove down here

about receiving his honor

Jape posted a .573 slugging

thanks to her family, many

from Ohio, and I had to have

in front of his former coach

percentage in his three

of whom were in attendance

passed 70 different NAIA

and fellow inductee Gerald

years with the Eagles. Jape

for the ceremony. She also

schools along the way,”

Sharpe.

recognized his family during

spoke about the importance

Jennings said.

his brief remarks, in addition

of Reinhardt University in

to singling out Popp, the

her life during her remarks.

former baseball coach at RU

Carsten Krogh (’00), a Amanda Clonts-Brickhouse

native of Denmark, went

(’05) is widely regarded

into the Hall of Fame as a

who was Jape’s coach when

Brandon Jennings (’06)

as the best player ever to

member of the 1998 men’s

he played for the Eagles.

scored more than 1,500

suit up for the Lady Eagles

soccer team and also as an

points in his career for RU’s

basketball team. Clonts was

individual. A men’s soccer

Leigh Baker-Prather (’07)

men’s basketball team. He

an NAIA Honorable Mention

player, he was an NJCAA

A two-time softball All-

led the country in scoring

All-American her senior year

All-Region Team member

American and a 13-time

in 2005-06, averaging 29.8

and scored more than 1,800

in 1997 and then was an

SSAC Pitcher of the Week,

points per game. A native

points for the Lady Eagles

NJCAA and NSCAA All-

Baker posted a 1.07 ERA in

of Canal Winchester, Ohio,

during her career. She led

American in 1998. Krogh is

her two seasons with RU.

Jennings was a two-time

Reinhardt to 20-win seasons

believed to be Reinhardt’s

She struck out 683 batters

NAIA All-American with the

in 2003-04 and 2004-05,

first First Team All-American

over those two seasons and

Eagles. Jennings took a long

still the only 20-win seasons

athlete. Krogh spoke

batters hit just .158 against

route to Reinhardt, but it

in RU’s women’s basketball

about how Reinhardt really

42 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

GO EAGLES | Follow us on

became home for him.

She headed Reinhardt’s

“Driving into Waleska and

physical education

seeing the four-way stop

program, which would

sign, that was the first time I

morph into the current

had ever seen one of those,”

sport studies program.

he said. “In Denmark, we

Reinhardt’s Silver Eagle

had roundabouts. Other

award is named in her

people would get to go

honor and goes to honor

home on weekends, but for

a male and female student

us international students, we

athlete for their “Loyalty

couldn’t go home. Reinhardt

and Team Spirit.” Rogers

quickly became home.”

spoke of her love for the students and student-

Gerald Sharpe was athletic

athletes during her speech.

director at Reinhardt during

“I prayed that everyone that

its big period of transition

walked through the doors

from 1993-2003. He led

of the [Brown Athletic

Reinhardt’s move from the

Center] would feel as

NJCAA to the NAIA. The

though they were loved and

Georgia Alabama Carolina

were important,” she said.

Conference Athletic Director of the Year in 2003,

Ken White (’61) is a

Sharpe also coached men’s

member of Reinhardt’s

basketball and golf during

Board of Trustees, and

his time with Reinhardt

perhaps no one has helped

College. He was 241-149

to mold Reinhardt’s athletic

as the men’s basketball

programs in the same way

coach from 1988-2001,

as White. A successful

and he coached men’s golf

businessman in the carpet

from 1991-2003. He was a

industry, all of Reinhardt’s

four-time NJCAA Division

outdoor athletic facilities

III men’s golf Coach of the

bear his name thanks to his

Year and the 1997 NJCAA

generosity. He also helped

Division II District 7 men’s

spearhead a practice facility

basketball Coach of the Year.

for Reinhardt’s softball

Sharpe became emotional

program and laid the

when talking about his

foundation for Reinhardt’s

family. He spoke of what a

football success with the

special place Reinhardt is

turf field that is named in

and remarked on how much

his honor. “I really don’t

the school had grown.

know why I’m up here,”

GRAPPLING TO THE TOP Reinhardt’s wrestling team gets new facility to start inaugural season off right

H

ard work, dedication and support for Reinhardt got the University’s wrestling team in its new facility at the beginning of fall semester. An official ribbon-cutting was held in September with practices starting the same month. Matches were underway in November. The facility was made possible by a generous $250,000 from the Brown-Whitworth Foundation of Dalton.

“The response to our wrestling program has been strong with 28 wrestlers joining for the inaugural season,” said Reinhardt Athletic Director Bill Popp. “We are thankful to the Brown-Whitworth Foundation for its dedication to Reinhardt University and the generous donation to help make this facility a reality.”

The renovations to the Blue Gym included a locker room, wrestling mats and a trainer’s room. “Being a brand new program, it is a blessing to have a nice, new facility for our team,” Wrestling Coach Jeff Bedard said. “We are very fortunate to have a facility this nice. We are lucky to have an opportunity like this being an inaugural team.”

said White. “I always Thelma Rogers was a

just wanted our student-

mainstay of Reinhardt’s

athletes to maybe have

athletic programs in its

just a little better than the

formative years. She

other guys,” he said. “I can

coached many sports and

tell you why you’re here,”

was a role model for young

Popp said to White in his

women who wanted to get

closing remarks. “You’re

a job in physical education

here because you love

following graduation.

Reinhardt.”

Chip Whitworth, Keith Whitworth, Lynn Whitworth, coach Jeff Bedard, President Kina Mallard and assistant wrestling coach Matthew Pitts, among others, participated the ribbon-cutting unveiling the new wrestling facility.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 43

Al u m n i N otes

MILESTONES ’00 Misty D. Manous Norton and husband Jeremiah H. Norton ’01 celebrated the birth of their son, Knox, on Jan. 22, 2016.

’10 Christopher A. Bryan and his wife, Jessica, welcomed their new son, Jace Bryan, into their family on Feb. 10, 2016.

’04 Dr. Jennifer DeBord Reynolds graduated from Liberty University in 2015 with a Doctorate in Education. She is currently serving as the Chair of the Special Education Department at Teasley Middle School in Canton, Ga.

’10 Mallory L. Childers and husband Patton W. Childers II ’07 welcomed two new members to their family on June 28, 2016, Harper Jaymes and Henley Shay.

’08 Samuel S. Patton Jr. “Pat” was named the Director of Development and Alumni Relations for Reinhardt University.

’10 Brandi Berger Furr married Matt Furr on July 4, 2016. ’12 David L. Prather is currently in Pharmacy school at UGA.

’09 Billy Jones was named Residence Life Coordinator at Reinhardt University. ’10 Nancy A. Riccardi “Alex” earned her DMD and is in private dental practice in Americus, Ga.

A

’12 Christopher Benz married Kimberly Dillon on July 2, 2016. ’13 Kaitlyn E. Ellis currently works as a research technician at Emory University while applying to graduate schools for Molecular & Cellular Biology.

’13 Melanie Lambert and husband Kris welcomed their son, Connor James, to their family on March 4, 2016. ’14 Sarah K. Yoder will finish her nursing degree from Emory University in 2016. ’94 Kirk S. Sims recently finished a Ph.D. with the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and Middlesex University.

T

LU MNI

O

A

SN

’09 Heath Hooper received his Ph.D. and was named the Dean of the Shorter University Robert H. Ledbetter College of Business.

’12 Lauren E. Long Bagley currently works for the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She is the Coordinator of Volunteers & Programs.

P SH

Women’s Alumni Basketball Team LEFT TO RIGHT:

Lauren Mullinax ’16 Jordan Marsh ’11 April Beasley (Not graduated) Kayla Aiken ’13 Hannah Mayo ’13 Jessie Clark ’12

IN MEMORY 2016 Rebecca W. Ray ’74 Aug. 18, 2016 Curtis Chapman Aug. 7, 2016 Garry W. Smith ’73 July 13, 2016 J.R. Huddleston July 10, 2016 Jimmie F. Duncan ’56 June 8, 2016 Rev. Dr. Allen O. Jernigan June 8, 2016 James W. Norton ’65 May 27, 2016

44 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Robert E. Leonard ’61 March 4, 2016 Donnie Haney ’73 Feb. 18, 2016 Janeal Orr ’59 Feb. 13, 2016 Randall C. Bagwell ’48 Jan. 27, 2016

2015 Wilma P. Weatherby ’51 Dec. 25, 2015 Jackie J. Puckett ’65 Dec. 24, 2015 Edward D. Lacey ’58 Nov. 21, 2015

Patricia H. Dunn ’57 Aug. 29, 2015 James H. Johnson ’61 July 29, 2015 Samuel E. Kilgore ’66 June 18, 2015 Jerald G. McCollum ’50 May 14, 2015 Larry L. Pearson ’79 May 13, 2015 Evelyn T. Healan ’36 May 9, 2015 Annabelle D. Selph ’39 April 7, 2015 M. Alton Willard ’65 May 27, 2015

Nan K. Cobb ’46 March 20, 2015 Jimmy C. Blalock ’61 March 16, 2015 Delores M. Odum ’50 March 12, 2015 Harold D. Ricks ’64 Feb. 5, 2015 Steve Cole ’62 Jan. 11, 2015

2014

James Linn ’62 Dec. 3, 2014 James Cline ’48 Nov. 24, 2014

Harvey C. Boyd ’48 Nov. 20, 2014 David L. Strickland ’58 Nov. 12, 2014 H.M. Wilson ’51 Sept. 20, 2014 Malcolm C. Goss ’59 Aug. 22, 2014 Richard L. Blackstock ’53 Aug. 16, 2014 Shawn C. Knowles ’91 July 23, 2014

2013

David E. Darby ’92 April 13, 2013

Where are You and What are You doing?

Stay in touch and share your life accomplishments and professional endeavors at reinhardt.edu/alumni.

ASHLEY WEST ’11 ’13 BS in Early Childhood Education Master of Education Kindergarten teacher at Avery Elementary School

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 45

RU Re m e m b e rs

The Rev. Dr. Allen O. Jernigan SERVED REINHARDT AS ITS PRESIDENT FROM JULY 1, 1973 TO MARCH 14, 1984

T

HE REV. DR. ALLEN O. JERNIGAN, one of Reinhardt’s most esteemed leaders, passed away June 8, 2016. He was 93.

An ordained minister, Dr. Jernigan led Reinhardt as its president from July 1, 1973 to March 14, 1984.

Dr. Jernigan and his wife, Linnie Lou, came to Reinhardt after spending several years in China as missionaries. In the mid-1970s, he was appointed by the North Georgia United Methodist Conference as Reinhardt’s new president. Soon after, he brought in Dr. Floyd Falany, who had taken a two-year sabbatical from the University of Georgia to serve as Reinhardt’s Academic Dean and to help with curriculum.

“At the suggestion of Reinhardt Trustee Dennis Harris, I met with the college’s new president Allen Jernigan 43 years ago,” Dr. Falany said. “This was the beginning of a lifetime, professional and personal

relationship with a very special Christian friend. I worked in Allen’s administration for 10 years and will always remember him as a true friend and colleague.

He made a significant difference during his tenure at Reinhardt College.”

Dr. Jernigan’s efforts and support for Reinhardt led to him receiving the John Wesley Ministerial Award in 1998. Additionally in the late 1990s, his name was forever emblazoned on campus as Jernigan Way, which runs behind the Burgess Administration Building.

Dr. Jernigan was living in Penney Farms, Florida at the time of his death. His survivors include his three children, Dr. Peter Jernigan, Mark Jernigan and Linda Jernigan, as well as six grandchildren. He was predeceased by his lovely and dedicated wife, Linnie Lou, and his brother, Jim Jernigan, who served as Reinhardt’s coordinator of ministerial relations for about 20 years.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Dr. Allen & Linnie Lou Jernigan Endowment for Campus Ministry by mail to the RU Office of Advancement, online at www.reinhardt.edu/givenow, or by calling (770) 720-5621.

46 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Reverend J.R. Huddlestun Rev. J.R. Huddlestun, former faculty member in religion and

Revered art professor, Curtis Chapman, leaves a grand legacy at RU

history, passed away July 10.

He was 86. Rev. Huddleston joined Reinhardt in 1970 as a full-time faculty member. He continued that position until 1994 when he transitioned to be an adjunct. While at

Curtis Chapman II, a mainstay in Reinhardt’s art department for four decades, passed away on Aug. 7 at the age of 73, but his legacy lives on at Reinhardt through the newly established Curtis Chapman Art Scholarship.

Believing it important to extend his legacy, and with encouragement from the Office of Advancement and the Art Department, the Chapman scholarship will benefit generations of students yet to enroll at Reinhardt.

A man with grand artistic talent and a passion for teaching, Chapman was a pillar of the Reinhardt art department for four decades.

“I became friends with Curtis Chapman when I came to Reinhardt as Alumni Director in the 1990s.

My memories of him are as a man of humility with many talents,” said JoEllen Wilson, former vice president for advancement and longtime RU staff member. “His willingness to work on any project, whether in the field of art, as a supporter of Reinhardt or as a member of the community is unparalleled. His giving heart and honest love of people was apparent in all aspects of his life. I miss him!”

He began his career as an art professor at Reinhardt in January 1966 earning tenure in 1978. Over the years, he taught studio art to art history, something he really enjoyed.

Chapman retired in May 2005 and continued as an adjunct professor during the 2005-06 school year. The Reinhardt Board of Trustees granted him Professor Emeritus status in 2006.

Chapman was bestowed an Honoree Award at the 2012 Talon Awards for his dedication to Reinhardt. During the awards gala, he told the crowd “it was a special privilege to work [at Reinhardt],” adding, “I didn’t apply to Reinhardt. I was recruited. I think many times I stood trembling, wondering why I was given such a wonderful privilege to discover my calling. …

Reinhardt changed my life, as it has so many other people I have worked with and met there.”

A memorial service for Chapman was held on Saturday, Aug. 13, at Waynesville First United Methodist Church, Waynesville, N.C.

Reinhardt, Rev. Huddlestun was the advisor for the Baptist Student Union. He was a member and founding pastor of Heritage Fellowship, A Cooperative Baptist Church located in Canton, a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Jasper Lions Club. He enjoyed traveling, reading and spending time with family. Rev. Huddlestun was preceded in death by his wife, Hallene. He is survived by his daughter, Joy Huddlestun; son and daughter-in-law, Carey and Denise Huddlestun; and grandson, John Huddlestun.

Curtis Chapman II (left) with Reverend J.R. Huddlestun

Memorial gifts may be made to the Curtis Chapman Art Scholarship by mail to the RU Office of Advancement, online at www.reinhardt.edu/givenow, or by calling (770) 720-5621.

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 47

J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 5 TO J U N E 3 0 , 2 0 1 6

OUR

Reinhardt University is extremely grateful for all who gave this past fiscal year.

Your gift matters as we work to create a thriving University. Thank you!

Pinnacle Society $100,000 + Brown-Whitworth Foundation The Goizueta Foundation United Methodist Commission on Higher Education Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation W. I. H. & Lula E. Pitts Foundation

Tower Club $50,000 + Anonymous The Evelyn and Frank Gordy Foundation Northside Hospital, Inc. Northside Hospital-Cherokee Steven H. & Nancy Gordy Simms

Benefactor’s Club $25,000 + Amicalola EMC Mrs. Mary “Sis” Brown Churches Homes Foundation, Inc. Kina S. Mallard & Stephen P. Dietz Scholarship America The Scott Hudgens Family Foundation United Methodist Higher Education Foundation

Leadership Circle $10,000 + Fincher-Loughridge Foundation, Inc. Dr. L. Austin & Beatrice Flint Georgia Amateur Wrestling Association, Inc.

48 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Georgia Independent College Association Georgia United Methodist Foundation, Inc. Greene-Sawtell Foundation Higher Education & Ministry, UMC Dr. Peter Allen Jernigan John and Mary Franklin Foundation, Inc. Paul W. Jones Fund Deborah A. Marlowe Joan U. McFather Metz Culinary Management Padgett Group – Steve O’Donnell, Brad Jovaag Savant Learning Systems C. Kenneth & Myra White ’61 White Family Foundation, Inc.

Pacesetter’s Club $5,000 + Bank of North Georgia BB & T Insurance Services Thomas M. & Karen L. Beman Thomas W. & Carolyn B. Carter ’61 Coca-Cola North America – Katherine Dunlop David & Charla Collings Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia Dr. Franklin R. & Carolyn R. Croker ’54 ’54 Duke Realty Services LP – Ron Penix Robert M. Dyer & Ellen McElyea Fannin County Scholarship Foundation Frances Wood Wilson Foundation William F. & Evelyn C. Garrett Estate

Ms. Sharon Gay & Mr. Neil Schemm Glenn D. Warren Family Fund Goodwill of North Georgia, Inc. James K. & Jayne Hasson, Jr. William G. & Martha McIntyre Hasty, Jr. ’67 Hawkins Foundation, Inc. – Scott D. & Susan Hawkins Fred and Terry Henritze Family Fund Joe E. Johnston Foundation Robert L. & Jackie McEntire ’62 The Honorable Kipling L. McVay-Stubbs Merrill Lynch National Christian Foundation Mrs. Russell O. Neal Jimmy Tallent Ty Cobb Educational Foundation UBS Financial Services, Inc. United Community Banks Anonymous The Varsity, Inc. Venette Morgan Williams

Chairman’s Club $2,500 + Acorn Food Group LLC Allgood Pest Solutions – Bubba Tindol Amerisure Insurance Anonymous Asbury-Warren Foundation Bank of the Ozarks Bill & Sharon Johnston Bartels John H. & Joy Adams Bennett, Jr. ’65 ’90 Thomas A. & Jenny Bethel Ken & Beth Adams Bowser ’68

Daryl Buffenstein Warren & Debbie Calvert Merle W. Campbell Care Solutions, Inc. Center for Scholarship Administration, Inc. Cherokee Retired Educators Association Lewis A. & Lisa Cline ’91 Cobb EMC Community Foundation, Inc. Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc. Raymon H. & Jeanne Marie Cox Dash LP Marshall & Kathy Day, Sr. The Ray Dellinger Scholarship Fund, Inc. Georgia Power Foundation Lt. Col. Richard Hall & Dr. Dana Hall Hasty Pope LLP William & Brittany Hayes William J. & Cindy Hearn, Jr. Hunter H. Henritze David & Margaret Howe Royce L. & Jane Karr Hughes ’67 ’68 International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. Lynn H. Johnston Kipp Metro Atlanta Collaborative, Inc. Lois & Lucy Lampkin Foundation Gin D. Miller Timothy A. & Dawn E. Norton William G. Pritchard, Jr. Renasant Bank Mayor A. R. & Elaine Fraser Roberts, III ’84 Arthur Rollins Stacey Smith Scanlon ’00

SEI Kyle & Elizabeth Sherman Southeast Restoration Group – Ben Looper Charles Austin Stephens The Etowah Scholarship Foundation, Inc. The Landon Group, Inc. – Donald Hausfeld Universal Alloy Corporation – Chip Poth Ed Voyles Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram – Drew Tutton James & Emily Washburn Fred & Hollie Weir Carlton & Janet Wellborn

President’s Club $1,000 + Dr. Alan D. & Judith Allen Andrew Oswald Memorial Fund, LTD Anonymous Anonymous James G. Ashley AT&T Georgia Barnes Law Group, LLC Batson-Cook Company – L. Scott Thompson Walter H. Beck Bent Tree Foundation, Inc. Wayne & Marie Berkner Big Canoe Chapel, Inc. Colonel Steve K. & Betty C. Black ’76 ’79 Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC Norman E. & Charlotte W. Brenner Cartersville Medical Center Auxillary, Inc. Randolph & Lynda Case Charles K. & Carolyn Cobb, Jr. Coca-Cola Refreshments Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Inc. Community Pharmacy, Inc. Jerry W. & Sherry Cooper Todd P. Crawford Brenda Daly & Chuck Green Dentons US LLP Martha Driscoll Dr. Bill & Donna Early ExxonMobil Foundation Faith Outreach Christian Life Center, Inc. William & Carole P. Fanning Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Georgia Guard Insurance Trust Gordon County Board of Education Habersham Properties, Inc. Frances Lanning Hardin ’45 G. Dennis & Jeanette W. Harris, Jr. ’58 ’58 Hero for Children, INC The Reverend Dr. C. R. & Jackie Hill, Jr.

James C. & Margaret Nesbitt Hobbs ’65 Robert P. & Barbara Hunter, Jr. Dr. J. Thomas & Bettye Jo Isherwood ISSUES Jackson County Community Outreach Dr. William J. & Mary Beavers Johnston ’56 Kingdom Dominion Church Thomas H. & Jean Krueger William D. & Nell Magruder McClure Family Foundation Sammy & Dean McCullers Milton L. & Betty Moss Bailey McGuirt ’55 Dr. Dennis K. McIntire Flora Ella McIntire McIntosh High School Tip Off Club Robert G. & Nancy McKinnon Millennium Mats LLP Ernest & Jeanene N. Moore ’52 Morgan Stanley Myrtie A. Black Estate National Distributing Company Susan E. Naylor NeoCom Solutions, Inc. Barry Nix Northside United Methodist Church Northwest Georgia Senior Golfers Association Oak Grove United Methodist Church Ann M. Owens Glenda & Dean Owens Paulding Education Foundation, Inc. L. Lamar & Melody Pendley ’01 Hugh & Mary Jane Peterson, Jr. Larry & Sandra Pickel Pickens County Board of Education Mathew Avary & Susan Moore Pinson ’05 ’04 Bill & Jennifer Popp Eric J. Puckett ’89 R. T. Jones Memorial Community Foundation, Inc. Richard Reaves & Elizabeth C. Burmeister Dr. Harrison & Dorothy Reeves Revolution Church Richland County Foundation – Warner-Kafer Family Fund James M. Rivera The Sandridge Foundation Sandy Springs United Methodist Church The Scottish Rite Foundation of Georgia Franklin D. Self Service League of Cherokee County Wilson B. & Theresa R. Shannon

Sisson Company Contractors Pamela J. Smith Ruby A. Smith James D. Spratt, Jr. Ann H. Steed Steve & Virginia Tumlin Foundation Don F. & Lila Stevens Surgical Hope Foundation William A. Teasley The Bowden Spratt Law Firm PC The Dial Family Foundation The Kroger Company Foundation The Louis and Betty Cambra Trust The S-Club Alumni Letterwinners Association, Inc. The Sigma Youth Leadership The Touchdown Club of Atlanta Jeffrey Tindall Trail of Tears Association Randell E. Trammell ’03, ’09 Buddy L. & Sonya Chilton Turner Jr. ’83 ’83 Angela Bennett Ulm ’90 Valic Victory Fellowship Center Vulcan Materials Company Walmart Foundation WFHS Dugout Club, Inc. Steve & Robin Williams ’73 Charles Wilson John H. & JoEllen Bell Wilson ’60 ’61 Melody Wilder Wilson & David D. Wilson Woodall Family Enterprises, LLLP – Oran Woodall Neely & Kathy T. Young

Dean’s Club $500 + Herbert & Martha Alford American Legion Auxiliary Unit 215 Anonymous Lucie B. Atkerson Ann Moore Bailey ’10 Steve & Linda Baker Mark D. & Amy Saxon Belcher ’99 Agnes L. Blazier Paul Boone Brian Maloney State Farm Agency BridgeMill Golf Venture BridgeMill Sixes Service League Jeremy Buckner W. G. Van Buskirk Robert E. Byrd & Dr. Michelle DeHaven Thomas E. & Martha Carlton

Cascade United Methodist Church Dr. John A. & Sara Jo Cauble Robert & Robyn Cherrie Marguerite Thigpen Cline ’58 Edna S. Cook ’75 Copper Basin Federal Credit Union Corblu Ecology Group, LLC – Rick Whiteside Craft, Inc. Steve Crain Credit Union of Georgia Crigler Enterprises, Inc. William L. Davenport Charles L. Davidson III Danny & Bonnie Hobgood DeBord Louis & Jeanne DeMartinis Jerome E. & Gwen Pritchard Dobson ’65 ’64 Earl Dolive Elizabeth J. Driscoll Duluth First United Methodist Church Dunwoody United Methodist Church John & Nancy Farris Fellowship of Christian Athletes First Tennessee Bank Jeff & Julie Clark Fleming Russell & Lisa Flint The Reverend Dr. Ron & Yvonne Flowers Jerry & Carol Foster Foundation of the 1st Cavalry Division Association Thomas E. Fox General Board of Higher Education and Ministry George T. Lucktenberg Trust Georgia United Credit Union Jeweldine Goodlet Greg Elwell, DMD, PC Billy Guy Dr. Donna Haley & Mr. Robert Casteel Hamilton State Bank Rex & Joan Hamilton Peggy McIntosh Hancock ’61 Alan & Carol Hanson The Honorable Joe Frank & Elizabeth Harris David E. & Susan Harrison Martha Hendrix Hillgrove Boys Lacrosse Booster Club Betty Holland Jefferson A. & Lana Tibbetts Holt ’05 Hurricane Booster Club, Inc. IBM International Foundation Margaret C. Jackson Janton Custom Works Jeff Boynton Scholarship Fund

REINHARDT | FALL 2016 | 49

Jonesboro First United Methodist Church KBC Investments, LLC Dr. Cynthia M. Kiernan Dr. Joseph H. & Karen Kitchens Kiwanis Club of Rome The Kroger Company Joel & Sheila Ingle Langford ’91 Dr. Stephen and Jane W. Law ’69 ’71 Steve Lawrence David R. & Beth Leopard LGE Community Credit Union Little & Smith, Inc. Robert & Margaret Logan William Manns & Mary Sawyer Barbara L. Manous Marine Trade Association of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. Barbara H. Martin The Reverend Dr. & Mrs. Aquiles Martinez Robert S. & Judy K. Mason Maxine Bridges Jackson Scholarship Thomas F. & Martha Fincher McLaughlin, III ’72 The Reverend H. David & Joy T. Melton Mill Creek High School PTSA Maurice M. & Pansie G. Moore ’67 New Mountain Hill PTA Noonday Baptist Association Foundation, Inc. North Georgia Community Foundation North Georgia CPA Services PC Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia L. Eugene & Yvonne Harris Norton ’60 ’60 Clifford L. & Dr. Karen P. Owen ’97 B. Maurneen Ozmore ’61 Parkside Partners, LLC – Kyle Jenks Garland & Darsa Pinholster Larry L. & Janice Prather Purdy Electric Company, Inc. Rabun County Board of Education David & Cecelia Ratcliffe Mr. & Mrs. Horace L. Richards Mark & Kelley Roberts Saint Smyrna Baptist Church Rebecca Ann Salter Pamela & Robert Schindler Shady Dale Rodeo, Inc. Martha Pearce Shaw Lanier Shelnutt

Ken & Geraldine H. Slaughter Sonoraville High School South State Bank Johnny L. Stone Fredrick & Melissa Tarrant Earle & Christine Taylor, III TCSG Foundation, Inc. Jordan & Meredith Thrasher Patricia A. Toth James H. & Anna S. Turner ’76 Philip J. Unger Edwin N. Varner Gary C. Waddell ’68 WJLA Radio - 93.5 FM Woodstock Outlet Katie Carmichael Zeigler ’08

Patron’s Club $250 + AAA Commercial Floors, Inc. Jessica C. Akers ’05 ’11 Gloria C. Anderson Michael Anderson AT&T Danielle Bailey Balint ’84 Katherine U. Barbosa Anne Vickers Barton ’65 Gwendolyn Baum Kenneth E. & Sandra M. Bedelle ’67 Robert Blackburn J. Kent & Jeanette Blazier Kathy & Noel Bouyett Roger & Sherry Branka Wally & Lisa Bryan R. Martin Burnett ’94 The Reverend Dr. Noel & Elizabeth Burt ’76 Canton Tire and Wheel – Steve Garrison Beverly Cardell & Eugene T. Roberts Steve Chambers* & Joan Chambers Arthur E. & Toni B. Chapman John & Patricia Chastain Cherokee County Tennis Association Cherokee Music Teachers Association Chick-fil-A at Canton – Kevin Williams Gordon & Sharon Christensen Alexander & Hilda Clark Julie & Greg Clark Anne Johnson Coffman ’65 Mr. Tom & Dr. Pam Colvin Cool River Tubing Co. Steve & Margaret Crowe Patricia Dame

George W. & Lillian B. Darden Lynn DeWolfe David G. & Laurel Doster Jimmie Foxx Duncan ’56* & Joyce Duncan ’56 Dyer & Rusbridge, P.C. Catherine B. Emanuel Robert & Norma Emerson Sherilyn R. Emerton Paul & Karen Evans Mary Faulkner Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC John & Joyce Fipps, Jr. Mr. Oscar L. Fleckner Ben Fuller & Dr. Janice Fuller Russell Gardner Ullman & Ellen Garrett Jr. Philip & Resa Glennon Dr. A. Wayne Glowka Dr. Jonathan Good & Dr. Anne M. Good Gordon Central High School Vernon W. & Norma Gordon ’57 Brian K. & Angela Galloway Griffin ’87 ’86 Heartside Cabin Rentals LLC Mitchel & Nancy Henson Claude B. Hicks ’65 Brian & Sue Hart Hightower, Ed.D. ’83 ’84 Hill City Elementary School Tom E. Hill Andy & Hannah Hise ’09 ’09 Paul & Carole Holley Hildegard K. Husar Jasper United Methodist Church – The Rev. R. Greg Meadows Eric T. & Carol C. Johnson Mayor Doris Jones Kiker Wealth Management, LLC Edgar L. Lary ’62 Mary Leidig Pierre & Janik Leman Liberty Hill United Methodist Church Macy’s/Bloomingdale’s Jane R. Marcucci Mr. J. Edward Marsh The Reverends Zack & Leigh Sparks Martin Michael & Laura Keele Martinez ’75 Walter H. McCreary Bess A. McDaris Tom McElhinny Edward Ferko & Mary McLaughlin Martha H. Mobley

The Reverend Dr. James B. & Jo Poore Mooneyhan ’66 ’66 Janna Melissa Moore ’04 Margaret M. Morlier Todd & Dale Scarlett Morrissey ’76 ’99 Debra Murdock J. M. Nix Norfolk Southern Foundation Morris & Ruth Nunes Brian S. Osborne James & Nancy Osborne Parkway Truck Painting, Inc. Gerald F. Perry ’54 Pickens County Chamber of Commerce Plaza Cleaners Bob & Pam Priest G. Cecil & Myrna Pruett Michael G. & Pamela S. Radford Scott & Delphine Reed A. Clayton & Anne Reid, Jr. Jordan & Michelle Rothstein Virginia A. Ruskell Lacey L. Satterfield ’02 David & Sandy Schnee Jane Shelnutt Lecreshia Shields Norman K. Shove ’68 Ann Singleton Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey K. Smith Ken Newman & Margaret Katrina Smith Southcore Construction John & Dixie Tailor Poppy Tanner Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Teodorescu The J&P Weddington’s Scholarship Fund The Little Red Schoolhouse Child Care Learning Center Tommy & Kathy Thompson Doyle & Anne Marie Treesh Jordan E. & Martie L. Turner ’07 ’12 United Methodist Connectional Federal Credit Union Dennis Waldrep Dianne Walker Wesley C. & Linda Wallace Walraven, Jr. ’65 ’65 James L. Watkins, Sr. Buckley C. & Callie E. Wheeler ’13 ’11 Kenneth & Melanie Williams Jey & Casi Willis Dr. Pamela S. Wilson Zoo Atlanta *Deceased

Additional donors to the University are listed at www.reinhardt.edu/donors

50 | REINHARDT | FALL 2016

Thrive CREATING A THRIVING COMMUNITY of teachers, learners and performers requires energetic and determined leaders. As Reinhardt

University builds its FIRST-EVER THEATER BUILDING as a center

for teaching, learning and performing – in the context of what we call our ‘University in a Park’ – WE NEED YOUR HELP.

– DR. KINA MALLARD

Learn more at...

Reinhardt.edu/thrive or call (770) 720-5545.

7300 Reinhardt Circle | Waleska GA 30183 ELECTRONIC SERVICE REQUESTED