'Southern Magazine_Spring 2005

’s

outhern

a p u b l i cat i o n f o r a lu m n i a n d f r i e n d s o f b i r m i n g h am - s o u t h e r n c o l l e g e

Spring 2005

Volume 31, Number 2

inside College prepares to turn 150 Karen Bentley Pollick’s passionate pursuits Alumni artists fill starring roles Music professor wins Rome Prize BSC student named Truman Scholar Rifle Squad wins second championship

postCards , from

Southern Rich Fine and Performing Arts tradition continues at Birmingham-Southern by

le ste r seige l

I am pleased to write the introduction to this issue of ’Southern, which focuses on the fine and performing arts. The arts are truly alive and well at Birmingham-Southern, continuing a long legacy that includes such memorable professors as Hugh Thomas, Arnold Powell, “Doc” Slone, Andrew Gainey, Raymond Anderson, Ray McMahon, Bill Baxter, Karoly Barta, and continues today in the teaching and mentoring of Mira Popovich, Michael Flowers, Bob Shelton, Tom Gibbs, Bill DeVan, and the other dedicated members of our faculty. All of them continue the tradition of dedication to our students that has been the hallmark of the arts on the Hilltop.

Our faculty members continue to grow as scholars and artists. We are proud of Charles Seigel Norman Mason, professor of music, who will spend 2005-06 composing in Italy as a winner of the Samuel Barber Rome Prize—an honor he shares with such illustrious names as Berlioz, Bizet, and Debussy! William DeVan, who is the only solo artist in Alabama on the distinguished roster of Steinway Presenters, continues to give concerts worldwide and has attracted international attention for his scholarly work on performance-related injury prevention, together with music alum Robert Poczatek, M.D. ’92. Art History Professor Kathleen Spies is completing a landmark book on the artist Reginald Marsh, and Art Professor Bob Shelton recently published a two-volume work on the cultural study of the art film.

Professors Alan Litsey in theatre and Jim Neel in visual art have won significant grants for their work in playwriting and sculpture, respectively. And this is just a representative sampling of the fine work our faculty continues to engage in.

On the pages of this issue you will read about a few of our representative alumni in the arts. I hope you appreciate the variety of their interests and achievements. We are proud of all of them, and of our many other graduates who teach students every day, make music in houses of worship, research, perform, and create on stage and off.

They are truly making art every day. Others have taken their arts training and used it as a springboard for careers in law, medicine, government, education, and business. They all reflect our passionate belief that the arts teach one the importance of discipline, of dedication, and of the joy of fulfillment in studying that which you love.

Our division continues to grow and explore new ideas for teach-

’79

ing, learning, and service. The art history program has quintupled the number of majors in the last five years. The new master of music degree program in piano, voice, organ, and composition continues to grow. Our first MM degree since the days of the Birmingham Conservatory of Music (our parent institution) was conferred last May. The dance faculty and students have added a winter holiday performance to their already busy calendar, and a new first-year Foundations program in dance was begun by Professor Ruth Henry. The Hugh and Barbara Thomas Masterclass Series, generously funded by David and Beverly ’73 Hosokawa, continues to bring outstanding artists to work with our students, and our partnership program with St. Aloysius School in Harlem is ongoing, with a service-learning team visiting regularly during Interim, and through the work of music education alumnae Andrea Parker, and currently Kirstin Anderson, teaching there. The BSC Concert Choir has added the performance of major works with orchestra as a regular part of its repertoire, in addition to its regional and national tours.

Teaching is only one aspect of the continuum. Our students make up another. Each year, they continue to discover and develop their artistic and intellectual growth through the many exhibitions, productions, concerts, and recitals that fill the calendar. If you haven’t been on campus for one of our season events, I cordially invite you to experience this for yourself!

Finally, there is the support from the many alumni, parents, and friends who are part of the BSC family. As we embark on the college’s Sesquicentennial next year, we will be honoring our past.

More important, however, we will embrace the future, continuing the commitment to excellence that has always characterized academic and artistic life, and seeking new challenges to our growth as artists and teachers. Come along for the journey!

Editor’s Note: Dr. Lester Seigel is Joseph Hugh Thomas Professor of Music and chair of the Division of Fine and Performing Arts at Birmingham-Southern. The Grammy-nominated 1979 BSC graduate serves as director of BSC’s Concert Choir and the Hilltop Singers. He also is pianist for the local Chagall Trio and is choirmaster and organist at Canterbury United Methodist Church.

bsc

Table of Contents PostCards from ‘Southern

’Southern

BSC@150

Spring 2005 Volume 31, Number 2 USPS 087-600

Dr. G. David Pollick, President James T. Stephens, Chair, Board of Trustees

’Southern magazine is published three times a year by the Office of Alumni Affairs and the Office of Communications at Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama 35254.

Periodical Postage paid at Birmingham, AL 35203. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Alumni Affairs, Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL 35254; telephone 205/226-4909; or access at www.bsc.edu/alumni.

Features

14

Karen Bentley Pollick’s Passionate Pursuits

22

Alumni artists fill starring roles

34

BSC’s designing woman Patti Manning Departments

4

Community News

7

Faculty News

10

Student News

36

Alumni Affairs

40

Philanthropy

43

Athletics

Managing Editor: Lisa Harrison ’85 MPPM, Associate Director for Communications--Media Relations

45

Class Notes

Art Director: Tracy Thomas ’92, Associate Director for Communications--Publications

60

End Notes

Editorial Offices: 15 Stockham Building 900 Arkadelphia Road Box 549004 Birmingham, AL 35254 Phone: 205/226-4900 Fax: 205/226-4931 E-mail: bwagnon@bsc.edu Editor: Bill Wagnon,Vice President for Communications

Contributing Writers: Sarah Barbee, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations Will Chandler, Director of Athletic Media Relations Pat Cole, Communications Specialist Carol Hagood ’70, Class Notes Editor Fred Sington, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations Photography: Marc Bondarenko Pat Cole Ashley Fleming Lisa Harrison Thom Kendall Michael Lutch Andy Snow Bill Wagnon CBC TV Archives College Archives Office of Athletic Media Relations Submitted Photos

Parting Shot On the cover—BirminghamSouthern’s new First Lady Karen Bentley Pollick (with violin at left) manages to balance her busy life as wife of BSC President Dr. David Pollick with her unique career as a violinist, violist, conductor, and pianist. Six years ago, Bentley Pollick began to explore her musical ancestry—playing the hardangerfele (cover photo). Read more about this unusual instrument and the passionate pursuits of BSC’s first lady beginning on page 14.

www.bsc.edu

,SOUTHERN

BSC@150

BSC@150 Birmingham-Southern begins plans for yearlong Sesquicentennial Celebration Birmingham-Southern is turning 150 years old. Let the celebration begin!

Beginning in fall 2005, the college will salute yesterday, celebrate today, and plan for tomorrow during a yearlong Sesquicentennial Celebration.

A Sesquicentennial Committee of alumni, faculty, staff, students, trustees, and friends currently is planning several events that will give the entire college community opportunities to come together to celebrate Birmingham-Southern’s storied history of liberal arts education.

Birmingham-Southern is the result of a merger of Southern University, founded in Greensboro in 1856, with Birmingham College, opened in 1898 in Birmingham. These two institutions were consolidated on May 30, 1918, under the name of Birmingham-Southern College.

“The Sesquicentennial will celebrate the 150-year history of the college, its outstanding alumni, its beloved faculty members, its commitment to service, and its value to the world in terms of liberal arts education and the graduates it has sent forth,” says Jeanne Jackson, the college’s director of leadership and environmental studies and coordinator of the Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Several Sesquicentennial events are being planned.

A major musical event in October 2005 at the Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham will include music by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Artist-in-Residence and pianist Bill DeVan, First Lady and violinist Karen Bentley Pollick, the college choirs, and others. It also will feature works by composers Professor of Music Dr. Charles Norman Mason and Assistant Professor of Music Dr. Dorothy Hindman.

The event is being coordinated by Joseph Hugh Thomas Professor of Music Dr. Lester Seigel.

A 150th birthday party open to the entire college community is scheduled for November 2005.

A major conference on the role of women in today’s society is scheduled on campus in winter 2006. It is being coordinated by Professor of Political Science Dr. Natalie Davis and Sheila Atchison, a member of the college’s Arts Council and wife of Mike Atchison, chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

2 ’SOUTHERN

A Week of Service through alumni chapters around the world is planned for spring 2006 to highlight BSC’s long commitment to serving others.

An Alumni Reunion celebration in May 2006 that will bring the entire campus community together to look back at 150 years and look forward to the future.

Special events such as noted speakers, theater and musical performances, art exhibits, and a foreign film series will provide other opportunities for alumni and friends to return to campus to celebrate Birmingham-Southern’s history.

Birmingham-Southern also anticipates the launch of a new website design for www.bsc.edu which will include a special section devoted entirely to the Sesquicentennial Celebration and to the history of the college.

More details about the Sesquicentennial events will be announced in the next issue of ’Southern magazine, as well as through other means such as www.bsc.edu and the college’s monthly e-newsletter From The Hilltop. To subscribe to From The Hilltop, visit www.bsc.edu/communications/hilltop_sub.htm.

Forward, Ever: Birmingham-Southern College at its Sesquicentennial In anticipation of the celebration of this historic time in the life of Birmingham-Southern, the college has published Forward, Ever: Birmingham-Southern College at its Sesquicentennial, a commemorative history written by Donald A. Brown, a 1958 Hilltop graduate and an awardwinning career journalist. The title Forward, Ever comes from the college’s alma mater.

Forward, Ever features 224 pages and more than 600 photographs; seven major sections on college history and presidents, student life, faculty and curriculum, campus development, defining moments, alumni, and college and church relationship; a Foreword by graduate and former Executive Editor of The New York Times Howell Raines; and a coffee table book format that is a must-have keepsake for every graduate, friend, and supporter of BirminghamSouthern.

See page 3 of this issue of ’Southern to order your copy of Forward, Ever.

BSC@150

Forward,Ever Order Form To order your copy of Forward, Ever by telephone using a credit card, please call the Birmingham-Southern Bookstore at 205/226-4736 or 800-523-5793, extension 4736 (toll-free).

To order online using a credit card at the BSC Bookstore’s secure website, visit bscstore.bsc.edu and follow the instructions found there.

Please detach order form here and mail to the BSC Bookstore. Thank you!

Note: If your order is a gift, please indicate where to ship the gift when ordering by phone or online.

To order by check, money order, or credit card through the U.S. Mail, complete and return this form to: Birmingham-Southern Bookstore, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549067, Birmingham, AL 35254.

Number of copies of Forward, Ever at $49.95 each (includes sales tax, handling, and shipping): ________ Total of enclosed check or money order at $49.95 x number of books ordered: _________ Or Total to be charged to your credit card: _________ Name _____________________________________________________________________________________________ First

Middle

Last

Street Address ______________________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________

State _______

ZIP _______________________________

Daytime Phone _____________________________________________________________________________________ E-mail _____________________________________________________________________________________________ If paying by credit card:

VISA

MasterCard

Discover

Credit Card No.: _______________________________________________ Expiration Date: _____________________ Name As It Appears On Card: ________________________________________________________________________ Signature: __________________________________________________________________________________________

If your order is a gift, please complete the information below: Send gift orders to: Name _____________________________________________________________________________________________ First

Middle

Last

Street Address ______________________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________

State _______

ZIP _______________________________

Daytime Phone _____________________________________________________________________________________ E-mail ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Please make check or money order payable to Birmingham-Southern College.

Orders will be processed within five business days of receipt of order and payment and will be delivered by FedEx Ground within 1 to 5 business days of actual shipment. Orders must be shipped to a street address. FedEx Ground will not deliver to a P.O. Box address. The BSC Bookstore will be closed May 30-June 4 and no books will be shipped during that time. ’SOUTHERN 3

communityNews Alumni speak at spring ceremonies

Kirkland

Sisson

Thomaskutty

Rik Kirkland, a 1973 summa cum laude graduate of BirminghamSouthern and former managing editor and current global editor of FORTUNE magazine, delivered BSC’s 2005 Commencement address.

Kirkland, who oversaw and directed all editorial operations at the magazine, addressed the Class of 2005 during annual Commencement ceremonies May 28 in Boutwell Auditorium in downtown Birmingham.

In Kirkland’s years as managing editor, FORTUNE was twice nominated as a National Magazine Award Finalist for general excellence. Since 1995, he has consistently been named to the upper tier of a list of America’s Top 100 Business Journalists. Joining the magazine in 1978 as a reporter, he also has served as deputy managing editor of Time Inc.’s Business Information Group and has produced two primetime PBS/FORTUNE specials on the economy. He is a regular contributor on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Kirkland also earned a master’s degree in English from Duke University.

Rev. Jerry Sisson, a 1958 BSC graduate and lifetime member of the BSC Board of Trustees, delivered the annual Baccalaureate address that same day in Bill Battle Coliseum on campus.

A former chairman of the BSC Board of Trustees and its Executive Committee, Sisson is pastor emeritus at Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook. He served as a clergy for 45 years in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving churches in Gadsden, Glencoe, Arab, Fayette, Tuscaloosa, Scottsboro, Huntsville, and Birmingham. He was district superintendent for the Birmingham-West and Birmingham-East districts.

Sisson received his master of divinity degree from Emory’s Candler School of Theology and an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Birmingham-Southern.

The speaker for Honors Day April 21 was Christopher Thomaskutty, a 1999 BSC graduate and CitiStat operations analyst for the city of Baltimore Mayor’s Office, where he serves as one of four analysts on an award-winning governance team that reports to Mayor Martin J. O’Malley. CitiStat has produced more than $100 million in financial benefits and received national attention from The New York Times and Governing magazine.

Recently, CitiStat won the Innovations in American Government Award from Harvard University.

Prior to joining CitiStat, Thomaskutty received a master’s degree in public policy and urban planning from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While at Birmingham-Southern, he was named a Truman Scholar.

4 ‘’SOUTHERN

Celebrating good writing—The 25th Anniversary Writing Today Conference at BirminghamSouthern March 11-12 honored previous Grand Masters of the conference as well as the craft of writing. Pictured (top photo, from left) are Bill Carter, 2005 Writing Today committee chair; Andrei Codrescu, keynote speaker and NPR commentator; Steve Chiotakis, local WBHM radio host; and Dr. John Tatter, BSC professor of English and chair of the Division of Humanities. Shown (bottom photo, from left) after the luncheon honoring past Grand Masters are Ron Council, 2006 Writing Today committee chair; Horton Foote, 1998 Writing Today Grand Master and screenwriter; and Carter.

communityNews Birmingham-Southern College Calendar of Events June/July

Summer Sports Camps in baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball, campus.

205/226-4935.

June 4

North Alabama Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Youth Rally, noon, Striplin Fitness Center lawn. 205/226-7950.

June 5-7

North Alabama Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, campus. 205/226-7950.

June 12-17

Student Leaders in Service, campus. 205/226-4689.

June 12-August 1

Summer Scholar Program, campus. 205/226-4684.

June 13-24

Intensive Summer Dance Workshop for ages 12-18, BSC Dance Studios. 205/323-5390.

June 13-24

Theatre Art Camps for ages 6-14, BSC Conservatory. 205/226-4960.

June 25

“Planet Hopping with Astro” General Show, 2 p.m., Robert R. Meyer Planetarium.

205/226-4771.

June 28

Summer Preview Day for Prospective Students, campus. 205/226-4696.

July 11-15

Music Alive 2005, summer music camp for youth ages 9-13, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., BSC Conservatory.

205/226-4960.

July 14

Summer Preview Day for Prospective Students, campus. 205/226-4696.

Career counseling services offered to Classes of 2000-04 The BSC Career Counseling Center and the Alumni Affairs Office are offering online career management capabilities for the Classes of 2000-04.

New opportunities include the ability to access fulltime and part-time job postings from a site within the Birmingham-Southern website. Alumni may also upload resumes, making them available for potential employers to review. Employers also are encouraged to post their websites to make it easy for alumni to conduct research on their organizations.

Additionally, alumni are encouraged to post job openings that might be opportunities for Birmingham-Southern students or new graduates.

BSC graduates also may sign up for the BSC Mentor Program, a unique job shadowing program that matches students with successful professionals in the students’ fields of interest. (In most cases, these alumni need to be local in Birmingham so that students can participate during the school year.)

For more information on alumni career counseling services, go to: www.bsc.edu/campus/counseling/ career-alumni.htm.

Stirling lecturer—Author, actor, lawyer, and humorist Ben Stein delivered the 2005 Alex P. Stirling Lecture on campus March 14. Pictured with Stein (second from right) are (from left) 2005-06 SGA President George Nelson IV, 2004-05 SGA First Vice President Kelly DeLoach, and 2004-05 SGA President Chris Friedman. The Stirling Lecture is sponsored annually by the SGA in memory of the BSC student who died of cancer in 1995.

‘’SOUTHERN 5

communityNews

BSC offers summer opportunities for youth Leadership and service, an introduction to college life, sports, and fine arts are just some of the experiences that will be available for youth this summer at Birmingham-Southern.

The 12th annual Student Leaders in Service program June 12-17 will expose high school students to leadership theories and provide opportunities to practice leadership through community service projects.

The weeklong residential program for students who will be high school freshmen or sophomores in the 2005-06 school year is sponsored by the Hess Center for Leadership and Service and the Office of Admission and facilitated by BSC faculty members.

The program will enhance participants’ understanding of themselves, expand their knowledge of leadership theories, and increase their understanding of the relationship between leadership and service. The participants then will apply these theories to hypothetical scenarios, experiences with community service projects, and other activities.

For more information on Student Leaders in Service, contact the BSC Office of Admission at 205/226-4689 or visit www.bsc.edu/ academics/special/hess_center/leadershipstudies/sls.htm.

The Summer Scholar Program will introduce rising high school seniors to college life at Birmingham-Southern, while awarding them college credit for coursework completed.

This year’s Summer Scholar Program is scheduled for June 12-August 1.

Summer Scholars are enrolled in two courses taught by full-time faculty. Courses are taught in the areas of mathematics, science, humanities, social sciences, art, philosophy, and religion. Credit awarded for completion of coursework can be applied toward future work at BSC or transferred to other institutions for credit toward a baccalaureate degree.

The Summer Scholar Program is not all about coursework, however.

Participants will enjoy Movie Nights, Ultimate Frisbee, and other campus activities, as well as some of Birmingham’s cultural, athletic, shopping, and dining offerings.

In addition, at the end of the program, three Summer Scholars will be awarded scholarships worth as much as $16,000 over four years to attend BirminghamSouthern.

For more information on the Summer Scholar Program, contact the Office of Admission at 205/226-4684 or visit www.bsc.edu/admission/summer/ summerscholar.htm.

Youth ranging in age from 7 to 18 also can attend summer sports camps at Birmingham-Southern. Information on baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball camps can be found at www.bscsports.net.

Birmingham-Southern also hosts camps each summer for youth interested in music, dance, and theatre. For more information on the music and theatre camps, contact the BSC Conservatory at 205/226-4960. For information on the BSC Intensive Dance Workshop for ages 12-18, call 205/323-5390.

Application deadlines vary for all of BSC’s summer youth opportunities.

6

,

SOUTHERN

Global gathering—BirminghamSouthern’s Office of International Programs recently hosted Dr. Alena Hromadkova, distinguished Czech scholar and professor of political science at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. Referred to by her students as a “veteran of the Cold War,” Hromadkova was the spokesperson for Charter 77, the famous human rights manifesto in Czechoslovakia which was signed in 1977 by 230 prominent Czech intellectuals. She is credited with establishing a nonparliamentary democratic party after the fall of Communism in 1989. She is pictured (second from left) at a reception with (from left) Dr. Milan Tomana, Czech-born Birmingham resident who emigrated to the United States in 1968; Anne Ledvina, BSC associate director of international programs; and Herb Sklenar, current trustee and former chairman of the BSC Board of Trustees and son of Czech parents.

facultyNews Dr. Kathleen Murray named new BSC provost The dean of the faculty and professor of music at Lawrence University will become the new BirminghamSouthern provost. aaaBSC President Dr. David Pollick announced the appointment of Dr. Kathleen M. Murray April 4 following a national search. aaaShe will assume her new position Murray June 15, 2005. aaaThe BSC provost reports directly to the college president and is the chief academic officer with broad responsibilities for the full range of the college’s academic programs and support services. aaa“After a thorough national search, we felt that Dr. Murray best addresses all the values that our community set forth for a chief academic officer,” Pollick said. “She’s excited by our faculty, staff, and students, and enthusiastic about the directions we have begun to set as a college.” aaaMurray has been dean of the faculty at Lawrence University since

2003. She previously was dean of the institution’s Conservatory from 1999-2004. She has been a member of the Lawrence music faculty since 1986, serving as chair of the Piano Department from 1992-99.

Lawrence is a nationally recognized residential liberal arts college in Appleton, Wis. aaaAn accomplished musician, Murray has performed solo piano recitals throughout the Midwest, performed frequently on Wisconsin Public Radio, recorded on the CRI label, and served as an accompanist for other performers and groups. She also has published numerous articles on piano performance and teaching. aaaShe received her bachelor’s degree in music from Illinois Wesleyan University, her master’s in music from Bowling Green State University, and her doctorate in music from Northwestern University. aaaLongtime Birmingham-Southern Provost Dr. Irvin Penfield retired in May 2004 after 18 years in the position. Dr. Wayne Shew, Ada Rittenhouse Snavely Professor of Biology, is serving as interim provost during the 2004-05 academic year.

BSC receives research grant for computer science program Birmingham-Southern is receiving a $233,000 award from the National Science Foundation to provide undergraduate research opportunities to full-time computer science students attending any of the five member institutions in the Birmingham Area Consortium of Higher Education.

The program, BACHE Research Experiences for Undergraduates-Scholarship in Computer Science, will allow students to conduct research supervised by faculty mentors from the BACHE institutions. The research will focus on the fields of computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and software engineering.

Students will work 10 hours per week during the academic year and full-time during the summer in a wide variety of disciplines and approaches. They also will participate in monthly research-in-progress meetings and present their work at a BACHE symposium.

“Fourteen students will be selected for the two-year program,” said Dr. Marietta Cameron, BSC associate professor of computer science and coordinator of the grant. “The primary goal of the program is to give students the experience and confidence to pursue graduate study in computer science, which only one BACHE school offers.”

In addition to BSC, the other institutions in the BACHE consortium include Miles College, Samford University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Montevallo.

Faculty member, alumnus dies Sammie L. Speigner III of Birmingham, an adjunct professor of sociology at Birmingham-Southern, died Feb. 17, 2005. He was 37.

Speigner graduated from BSC in 1989 cum laude with a double major in political science and sociology. While in college, he was a member of Mortar Board, Omicron Delta Kappa, Student Government Association, and Hilltop News, among other organizations.

From January 1997 to August 2003, he served as assistant professor of sociology and was visiting assistant professor of sociology from September to December 2004.

BSC President Dr. David Pollick called Speigner “a valued member of our community as a student, colleague, professor, and friend.”

,SOUTHERN 7

facultyNews Rome Prize is another feather in music professor’s cap

Mason Dr. Charles Norman Mason, Birmingham-Southern professor of music, is definitely making his mark as a composer. Already a recipient of a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and of many commissions of his work, Mason was awarded the much sought-after Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Musical Composition April 14 in New York City.

The American Academy in Rome awards the Rome Prize each year to 15 emerging artists and 15 scholars. Established in 1894 and chartered by an Act of Congress in 1905, the academy sustains independent artistic pursuits and humanistic studies. It is situated on the Janiculum, Rome’s highest hill.

Rome Prize winners in architecture, landscape architecture, design, historic preservation and conservation, literature, musical composition, or visual arts, and in ancient, medieval, renaissance, and early modern or modern Italian studies, spend almost a year in Rome refining and expanding their own professional, artistic, or scholarly aptitudes.

“Some very famous composers have been associated with the Rome Prize, including Berlioz, Bizet, and Debussy (when it was associated with France), and a number of prestigious American composers such as Paul Moravec, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize,” says Mason.

“It is one of the four main awards you can win as a composer.

8

,

SOUTHERN

“For a composer, one of the best awards is time and the opportunity to be taken away from your normal routine so that you can compose. That’s what the Rome Prize will give me.”

Mason will spend 11 months in Rome composing. Among the pieces he plans to work on are a commission from Karen Bentley Pollick for a violin and piano duet, and a guitar quartet and chamber orchestra piece for the Corona Guitar Kvartet of Denmark.

Mason is looking forward to working in Rome. “Being in Rome surrounded by art that had taken centuries to make and that has lasted for centuries will give me a different perspective on my work and its substance,” he explains.

Mason said he also is “excited about having the opportunity to be in residence with other scholars who are tops in their fields.”

“I’ve found that with some creative problems, talking to others—a writer or someone in another field—I come up with new solutions that I might not have thought about,” he notes.

Mason, who says he is very much a composer who is true to his own time, describes his style of writing as “Hyper-Connectivism.”

“Connectivism has to do with disparate elements working together towards a common goal,” he explains. “The Hyper portion has to do with the feeling that at any moment everything could fall into disarray, being at the border of chaos that is the edge where great things happen.”

Mason and other Rome Prize finalists were flown to New York City to be interviewed in a very confidential process.

“They’re very careful that you don’t know who else they’re interviewing,” says Mason. “You come in one door and go out a side door so that you don’t run into the next person being interviewed.

By the time you are a finalist, you have already proven yourself with your compositions, so at this point, the three judges mainly want to find out who you are and what you believe you’ll get out of being in Rome.”

Mason gives credit to his grandfather, who was head of endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic.

“I once said to him that I was impressed that he had been part of the team that won the Nobel Prize for discovering cortisone,” says Mason. “He was quick to tell me that winning the prize was not his goal. He said he just loved chemistry and was at the right place at the right time. He also told me that in whatever he did, he was determined to do his very best … that if he were a ditch digger, he would dig the very best ditch.

“In my work, like his, what keeps me creative is the joy of doing it.

It’s the process that keeps me doing it. I have seen other composers who hit a brick wall once they won a major prize because the prize was the goal rather than the process. If I compose for the love of composing rather than winning awards, winning an award as prestigious as the Rome Prize will not have a detrimental affect on me and will serve to be a gift that will provide me with time to improve my work. Despite winning this prize, I’m fully aware that there’s room for improvement in my music. Ultimately it is me I have to prove myself to … I’m always trying to improve.”

Mason joined the BSC faculty in 1982 after receiving his doctorate at the University of Illinois.

facultyNews

Longtime art professor Shelton retires Birmingham-Southern Professor of Art Bob Shelton is retiring from the college following the 2005 spring academic semester.

Shelton, who joined the faculty in 1968, has served the college for 37 years. By his estimation, he has taught approximately 4,200 students in art and film courses and maintained a large reference file of design projects and a continuing exhibit of exemplar senior students’ prints.

He says that his main academic interests (and hobbies) include foreign film, beer can collecting, tennis, Italian bocce, British snooker, an “odd fascination” with wind mills, Duke basketball (where his daughter attended law school), the New York Mets and Shea Stadium, and travel to New York City where his daughter now lives.

“Some of my fond memories of my years at the college include meeting Julia, the love of my life; seeing my offspring (David and Susan) graduate from BSC and find success in their careers; being given the present of ‘Daisy’ the beagle from them; eco-exhibit designs and tennis with Roald Hazelhoff; baseball stories with Lloyd Slone; working on the Honors Program with Nancy Davis; interacting with fellow art faculty; working on Birmingham Festival Theater set designs for Roger Casey and local entrepreneur Alan Hunter; hosting bocce parties; meeting film idol Wim Wenders at Cannes and Nicole Kidman, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Shelton. Photo courtesy of Alabama Power Co. Media Services.

Johns in New York; conversation with my artist idol James Rosenquist at his solo exhibition in Soho; Portico magazine feature on snooker and my beer can collection; and a WBHM interview with Greg Bass on my film books,” Shelton recalls.

Among his many achievements, Shelton has had numerous selections of his artwork in juried exhibitions and many cash and purchase awards. One of his original prints was published by Wycross Press. He is a member of Who’s Who in American Art and has had two gallery exhibitions in New York City. Several corporations have commissioned his work through the Maralyn Wilson Gallery in Birmingham. He wrote two textbooks—based on his development of film courses—which were published by Mellen Press of New York, and he attended the Cannes Film Festival to promote one of the books.

“And I purchased a snooker table, built two bocce courts, and one working windmill,” he adds.

Hindman’s work honored in composition contest Dr. Dorothy Hindman, assistant music professor, received a Special Commendation in the 2004 Nancy Van de Vate International Composition Prize for Opera for her work Louise: the Story of a Magdalen. aaaHer opera, on a libretto by Sally M. Gall, was commissioned by Alabama Operaworks. The Van de Vate prize is given annually by American music publishers Vienna Masterworks. Her work was selected from 27 entries that represented three continents and nine countries. aaaHindman’s other recent honors and awards include 2005 Almquist Choral Composition Competition winner and 2004 International Society of Bassists Composition Prize. aaaJoining the BSC faculty in 2000, she received her master’s degree from Duke University and both her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Miami.

Hindman

,SOUTHERN 9

studentNews

BSC student named 2005 Truman Scholar Birmingham-Southern student Webb Lyons of Centre is a 2005 Harry S. Truman Scholar. aaaThe announcement was made March 29 by the Truman Scholarship Foundation of Washington, D.C. aaaLyons, a junior political science major, was one of only 75 students from 65 U.S. colleges and universities selected for the prestigious Lyons aaaTruman honor.

Scholars receive $30,000 awards—up to $15,000 each year for the first two years of graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at several graduate institutions nationwide, in addition to leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities with federal agencies. aaaThe scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit to junior-level students at four-year colleges and universities who have extensive records of public and community service, are committed to careers in government or elsewhere in public service, and have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills. aaaLyons plans to pursue a public service career as an advocate against social injustice after completing a doctorate in government and social policy. At Birmingham-Southern, he is active in the Leadership Studies and Service Learning programs and Young Democrats. aaa“My goal is to work for a city or government agency or administration that advocates against social injustice and one day possibly run for public office,” said Lyons of his future plans. aaaMore than 600 students from 299 colleges and universities were nominated for 2005 Truman Scholarships. Some 237 finalists from 152 institutions were interviewed in early March by regional selection panels, which typically included a university president, a federal judge, a distinguished public servant, and a past Truman Scholarship winner, among others. aaaLyons interviewed in Nashville, Tenn., on March 11, along with 11 other finalists from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Among his panel of interviewers was the president of the University of Memphis, the deputy governor of Tennessee, two federal judges, and a representative from the Stennis Center for Public Service at Mississippi State University.

10 ‘’SOUTHERN

aaaTruman officials commented that they were “blown away” by Lyons’ interview. aaa“I had several mock interviews with faculty to prepare, as well as did all I could on my own, such as understanding current events, knowing all I could about my policy project, and being articulate about my goals,” said Lyons. aaa“I knew it would be a challenging and intense interview, but felt I was prepared. I don’t think our faculty could have prepared me any better than they did.” aaaFollowing the 20-minute interview, Lyons tried to do what he could to help future Truman Scholar finalists from BirminghamSouthern. aaa“I was the last one to interview,” he explained. “As I left, I tried to remember what I was asked, but I couldn’t. About 30 minutes later, it came back to me. I knew that it would benefit future finalists, even though no two interviews are the same. So I went to a coffee shop and sat down and wrote out as much as I could remember, and, interestingly, most of it came back to me.” aaaA committee of BSC faculty picked the college’s Truman Scholar nominees based on those students who were interested in a Truman Scholarship and whose life goals matched those set out by the Truman Foundation. The students selected worked throughout the fall semester on the application, which consisted of 15 questions, including several essay questions; three letters of recommendation; and a policy proposal. aaa“This has been the biggest part of my life since the end of last September,” noted Lyons. “The most difficult and arduous part of the process was putting together the application. It really was a group effort with the faculty involved and with Jeanne Jackson (director of BSC’s Leadership Studies Program in the Hess Center for Leadership and Service and the college’s faculty advisor for the Truman Scholars program). aaa“The application process also requires that you come up with your own policy. The policy must have a legitimate opposing side and address a good number of individuals.” aaaLyons’ policy dealt with developing a living wage ordinance for Birmingham, which proposes raising the minimum wage in the city to $8.15 an hour so that no working individual would have to pay more than 30 percent of his or her income on housing. aaa“I found it would affect more than 10,000 people in Birmingham,” he said. “The benefits far outweigh the negatives.” aaaThe Truman Scholarship Foundation was established in 1975 by Congress as the official memorial to the nation’s 33rd president.

studentNews SGA president, officers elected for 2005-06 George Nelson IV, a junior biological chemistry major from Mountain Brook, has been elected president of BirminghamSouthern’s Student Government Association for the 2005-06 academic year.

Also elected to executive office for 2005-06 were Kris Sornsin, a sophomore international studies major from Alexander City, first vice president; Cal NeSmith, a sophomore business administration major from Oneonta, second vice president; Justin Philpot, a junior undecided major from Homewood, treasurer; and Julie Deupree, a sophomore business administration major from Vestavia Hills, secretary.

A crowning celebration—Susan Petty of Mountain Brook (center) was crowned the 2005 Birmingham-Southern Homecoming Queen during halftime ceremonies of the men’s basketball game against Virginia Military Institute Feb. 19. The senior religion major was selected in a campus-wide vote of the student body. She is shown here with (from left) BSC President Dr. David Pollick; Callie Shields, granddaughter of Camille Ennis, BSC Bookstore merchandise manager; and Amanda Latifi, 2004 BSC Homecoming Queen.

BSC students take top prizes in national cello composition contest Birmingham-Southern students recently took the top prizes in the inaugural Wheaton College Internet2 cello composition competition.

Erika Pipkin of Irondale, a senior music composition major, won first place for her composition Taj America. Chris Adkins, a sophomore music major from Marietta, Ga., and Brad Sims, a junior music major from Katy, Texas, tied for second place with their compositions The Juxtaposition of Fragmented Music Cells and The Curtailment.

The competition invited music students from high schools, colleges, and universities across the nation to submit solo cello pieces. The winners had their pieces performed and critiqued via video conferencing that was conducted with the new and faster high-capacity network “Internet2” created for colleges and universities. Cash prizes were awarded.

Craig Hultgren, BSC adjunct professor of music and cellist, performed and recorded the winning compositions this spring.

Whittington Competition winners Erin Wakeman (left) and Bonnie McClure with BSC Music Professor Dr. Thomas Gibbs.

(Not pictured is winner Katie Hall.)

Whittington Competition winners perform with orchestra Three student winners of the fifth annual Whittington Competition at Birmingham-Southern performed Feb. 20 with the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra.

The orchestra, led by BSC Music Professor Dr. Thomas Gibbs, accompanied the 2005 Whittington Competition winners, including vocalist Katie Hall, a senior music-voice major from Opelika; pianist Bonnie McClure, a sophomore music major from Fortson, Ga.; and vocalist Erin Wakeman, a junior undecided major from Mobile.

The Whittington Competition is named for Frances and Dorsey Whittington, who were leaders of The Birmingham Conservatory of Music, which later became the Music Department at BirminghamSouthern. ‘’SOUTHERN 11

studentNews

The Institute for Marine Sciences in Roatan, Honduras, was the destination for a group of students who spent 14 days experiencing coral reefs and studying dolphin behavior.

Interim 2005: Students created, explored, experimented, researched, performed, inquired, and more The Interim Term is one of the cornerstones of the BirminghamSouthern educational experience. The four-week period each January allows students to develop their potential for creative activity and independent study by exploring one topic or interest through on- and off-campus projects, independent study or research, foreign study experiences, and challenging and unusual internships—all for academic credit.

More than 200 BSC students spent Interim 2005 involved in service-learning and study projects locally, nationally, and internationally.

Interim projects this year ranged from travel to the Caribbean to learn about its naval history to constructing a school in Mozambique to studying the economy and social policies in Southeast Asia. Students in Southeast Asia also observed some of the effects of the tsunami disaster. Locally, a group of students worked to improve the communities of east and west Birmingham.

More than 100 other students spent Interim Term in individually contracted study experiences across the state and nation while others participated in more than 60 creative course offerings on the BSC campus.

12

,

SOUTHERN

While space does not allow mention of all the innovative experiences this year, the following photos provide a snapshot of Interim 2005.

In one Interim art course, students studied alternative photographic processes, such as this Anthrotype print made from crushed blueberries in an alcohol emulsion exposed to UV light held here by student D.B. Irwin.

studentNews

Several BSC students and staff members spent the January Interim Term helping build a church just outside Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, Africa.

BSC student Sara Midyette worked with children at St. Aloysius School during an Interim Service Learning trip to Harlem, N.Y.

Putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls of a school in the Woodlawn community are students in a local Service Learning Interim that explored issues of service and urban change.

In “Cahaba River Ecology and Conservation,” students explored river ecology and how it is affected by human natural resource use through lectures, discussions, guest speakers, readings, and field trips.

These students spent three weeks visiting the major cultural and historical sites in Italy and focusing on how art, architecture, and urban life express cultural and intellectual history.

The city/nature relationship that is vital to the Pacific Northwest was the focus of one Interim trip in and around Seattle.

An ensemble of theatre students produced two plays from start to finish during Interim— All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, and the one being rehearsed above, Agnes of God. ,

SOUTHERN

13

K AREN B ENTLEY P OLLICK ’ S

Passionate P U R S U I T S by

lisa harrison

Most of us strive to be passionate about our lives, about our careers, about our dreams. Fewer of us can say we truly live a passionate life. But Birmingham-Southern’s new first lady, Karen Bentley Pollick, has a boundless enthusiasm for life, especially for her career as a concert violinist, violist, conductor, and pianist—and also for her new role as host and ambassador for the college.

14

,

SOUTHERN

southernFeatures

,

SOUTHERN

15

southernFeatures

A

typical morning finds Karen Pollick doing yoga poses, eating her usual bowl of oatmeal, and then practicing three or more hours—which she says is “never enough”—on her violin or other instruments (and that doesn’t include rehearsal time for upcoming concerts). At lunch, she might attend a meet-the-president lunch with BSC alumni and friends. Many evenings are spent representing the college with her husband and Birmingham-Southern president, Dr. David Pollick. And, sometime in there, she manages to give concerts throughout the nation and world. This past fall—her first fall as Birmingham-Southern’s first lady—she even performed in Carnegie Hall. And, if that’s not enough, this statuesque beauty finds time for a few rounds of golf, writing poetry, and pursuing a variety of other interests.

She makes it all look easy.

“Being a president’s wife is not taxing for me,” Bentley Pollick explains. “For example, all the inauguration events were not stressful. I show up. I enjoy it. So many others make such days possible. But, making the switch from socializing to playing my music is more difficult. I have to juggle how much I socialize, what I eat, how much I eat, what I can’t drink … before I play.

That is challenging. I’m used to juggling instruments within a Karen and David Pollick enjoy the President’s Home on campus, which concert, but this is different.” they recently decorated together.

She also says that people are what she enjoys most about her role as first lady.

“I always love meeting people,” she says. “I enjoy being part of existence … very dynamic. Once David and I met, it was of an exchange of ideas. We’ve been hosting discussion sessions very clear that we were destined for each other. We do everyin our home with groups of faculty regarding the college’s future thing together. We enjoy doing joint projects … decorating direction. David and I sit quietly on the perimeter, carefully listogether and shopping together. I’ve learned to love things that I tening. We want to do more and more of this with other didn’t even know I liked to do. He listens to more Bartók—and groups across a broad range of topics. I love to entertain in this I listen to the occasional Jimmy Buffet.” house. It’s strange. It goes from absolute monasticism and disciA match made in identity and difference. pline with my music … to people. It requires quite a switch. I’m very lucky to have the resources and a support system that enable me to do both. I’m usually BSC President Dr. David Pollick on Karen Bentley Pollick: practicing right up until a half-hour before an “I’m immensely proud of her. Presidents tend to have to be in the event in our home. And I just go up and get front row all the time—they are never left alone in a room. It com dressed and come down. The way the house is set up, I have my studio and it doesn’t diswith the territory. But what’s really great is when I’m involved with turb me. But, it is all a joy.”

Bentley Pollick, who first met her husband Karen’s work and we’re out on the road at one of her concerts, no after performing a concert at Lebanon Valley one cares about me, no one knows me. I can show up in Levi’s an College, where he previously was president, is a sweatshirt and sit in the back row and just be her biggest fan.” quick to point out that there’s more to it for her than simply being a president’s wife.

It comes naturally for her.

“I also think that beyond being a college president’s wife, it is about being David’s wife. I’d never been married before. In fact, I’d never particularly wanted to be married. Everything changed.

Being at home on a college campus, being a musician, even I was going through life happily as a single woman. I was being in the South—it all makes sense for Karen Pollick. Raised watching my sister, who had children—I was watching that evoin the Palo Alto, Calif., community surrounding Stanford lution and I was on a different life path … a simpler ‘artiste’ kind University, her mother worked in the Microbiology, German, 16 ’SOUTHERN

:

mes h o nd

southernFeatures History and Lively Arts departments at the university. Her father town as I reached adulthood.” is a physicist who was educated at MIT and Stanford and who Being in the South at a Methodist-related college comes natuworked for NASA. rally, too.

“It is second nature for me to be on a college campus,” she “My father comes from a family with both Southern and says. “My Palo Alto neighborhood was called ‘Professorville’ and Methodist roots,” she explains. was inhabited mostly by Stanford professors and their families in Her father’s side of the family is Scotch-Irish. Her grandfather the brown shingle craftsman bungalows that were representative was a Methodist minister in Virginia. “That side of the family is of the area. The neighborhood children would flock from house really tall, like I am,” says the 5’11” Bentley Pollick. to house in games of hide-and-seek, or raiding each other’s “My father’s mother is from Macon, Ga., and we have a famirefrigerators. We would all enjoy being caught in conversation ly burial plot there that spans five generations.” by one of the parents and their coterie and would hang around Music, especially, is in her blood. to hear the subtleties of Ulysses, Plato, and Socrates, the discovery of quarks, or our relationship with China being discussed between rounds of croquet or ping pong.

“I was influenced by both parents,” Bentley Pollick says. “My “As I grew taller and taller, I began to spend more time on father and my mother both played piano and my mother sings. the Stanford campus visiting My father took great interest in my mother, Nan, in her various From The Peninsula Times Tribune: piano rebuilding. In fact, we roles there. I would either ride two grands and an upright “ … the absolute precision, intonation, beauty, had my bike over or hitch a ride in our living room. He took with her and go jogging and depth of feeling of Karen Bentley’s rendition lessons as an adult and I would around Lake Lagunita, work hear him practicing when I was of Mozart’s Violin Concerto #5 in A Major out at the gym, or raid the a very, very little girl and I was flawless. I don’t believe Mozart would have would always want to play. I music library. If it were early morning, I would join the just remember always reaching wished it otherwise.” emeritus professors for tea in for the keys and trying to play the political science lounge. Having access to a university as a his pieces by ear. I still remember all the pieces that he was resource as a young person is an enormous privilege. practicing.”

“Besides overseeing the Lively Arts at Stanford Concert Series, She started playing piano at age 5 and violin at 9. She studied my mother kept track of visiting lecturers and encouraged us to with revered violin masters such as Joseph Gingold, Nathan attend often. Among others, I vividly remember listening to Milstein, and Glenn Dicterow. She earned both bachelor’s and Edward Said, Czeslaw Milosz, Steve Martin, Douglas Hofstadter, master’s degrees from Indiana University. Orchestral positions Marvin Minsky, Ernst Krenek, Mario Cuomo,Vaclav Havel, and with the New York Philharmonic and Seattle Symphony folTom Hayden. At Frost Amphitheatre, I heard many concerts by lowed, along with a number of smaller San Francisco Bay Area Joan Baez, and even had picnics with the Grateful Dead before orchestras, the Bolshoi Ballet orchestra, and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s their performances. A university setting is a magnet for all these White Oak Dance Project. various personalities. Due to my mother’s position as an arts preBut, she also enjoys and promotes contemporary music and senter, I met Itzhak Perlman, as well as the Guarneri, Juilliard, composers. Mixed in with classical concerts, she has played with Prague, Amadeus, Chilingirian, and Emerson quartets, and perBarbra Streisand and the Dave Matthews Band, and currently formed in master classes both with my string quartet and as a performs with Paul Dresher’s Electro-Acoustic Band and her own soloist. It was always an honor to receive a few pointers from ensemble, the Four Horizons Quartet. Because of her interest in the masters. contemporary music, she travels to many festivals, takes commis“Another one of my mother’s duties was organizing comsions, and premieres new music. mencement in Stanford Stadium. She enlisted me in the weeks Her latest album, Dancing Suite to Suite, recently was awarded prior to the grand event to traverse the quad by bicycle and to second place in the Best Classical Soloist Album category in the hand-deliver materials in person to all of the professors. This job “Just Plain Folks” 2004 Music Awards. According to Bentley guaranteed my meeting most of the faculty in their own Pollick, the album is very close to a live music experience. It was domains, and I enjoyed seeing them in other contexts around recorded at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch Soundstage near San Francisco, where she also has recorded numerous film scores.

In addition to Dancing Suite to Suite, Bentley Pollick has several recordings of original music including Electric Diamond, Angel, Konzerto and Succubus, and Ariel Selected CD covers from Bentley Pollick’s repertoire.

’SOUTHERN 17

southernFeatures From The New York Times: “Musically, the most riveting moment of the evening came in the Largo of a Leclair Sonata in A for Flute and Violin, with its sinuously, sensuously intertwining lines. Karen Bentley was the fine violinist.”

View. She has played concerts as a soloist throughout the capitals of Europe, Asia, the United States, Canada, and Russia, where she performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the Beethoven Violin Concerto. She plays in concert with pianist Dmitriy Cogan, with whom she has collaborated for 18 years, most recently presented by the Washington Composers Forum in a program of world premieres.

Championing contemporary music, she has premiered compositions by David Felder, John Halle, Cindy Cox, Stuart Diamond, and Bruce Hanifan, among others, for violin and piano, solo violin, and violin with electronics.

She has been concertmaster of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie Kammerorchester, as well as the New York String Orchestra. During the summers, she has participated in the June in Buffalo Composers Seminar, the Wellesley Composers Conference, the Olympic Music Festival, the Tanglewood Festival, and the Next Generation Festival in Harrisburg, Pa. In the San Francisco Bay Area, she was associate concertmaster of the Monterey County Symphony and conducted the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra Preparatory Orchestra. She was music director of the PACO Bach Celebration series and has conducted the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra on numerous occasions.

Bentley Pollick received a grant from the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley for the world premiere of Swedish composer Ole Saxe’s Dance Suite for Solo Violin in December 2000, and premiered Saxe’s Dance Suite for Solo Violin and Orchestra with Redwood Symphony, with whom Hardangerfele. she also has performed John Corigliano’s Chaconne from The Red Violin, as well as violin concertos of Bela Bartók and Sergei Prokofiev.

She currently is the violinist in Paul Dresher’s Electro-Acoustic Band, which performed at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in November 2004 as part of the In Your Ear Festival, hosted by John Adams.

She also has collaborated with the Moscow-based contemporary music group Opus Posthumous under the direction of Tatiana Grindenko and with the Seattle Chamber Players in its Icebreaker II: Baltic Voices Festival, which was featured in April on NPR’s St. Paul Sunday. Her new chamber group, Four Horizons, debuted at the University of Pennsylvania and Lebanon

18 ’SOUTHERN

Valley College in March 2004, featuring a world premiere by Pennsylvania composer Jay Reise for violin, cello, clarinet, and piano, and also performed this spring at Haverford College.

She has explored her musical ancestry.

Six years ago, Bentley Pollick began an exploration into her musical ancestry—playing the hardangerfele. She first encountered the Norwegian folk instrument as a child, where she lived near a large community of Norwegians.

“In addition to my mother’s family being third-generation Norwegian immigrants, we had neighbors whose father made a hardangerfele,” she recalls. “Usually an heirloom passed down between generations, old hardangerfeles are extremely difficult to procure. Our neighbor had a display case in her foyer full of violins, which her father had made at the turn of the century, including one hardangerfele. I spent much time at their house playing violin duos with one of the grandsons whenever he visited and we would take out the violins to give them all a test drive. We were both intrigued by the hardangerfele and would attempt to play it like a violin. It was not until July 1998, when I first visited Norway and had lessons with Tarjei Romtveit, that I learned more about playing it. Upon returning to the United States, I went to Norwegian fiddle camp at Julian in the mountains near San Diego and began to fraternize with the Scandinavian community in the San Francisco Bay Area. I took lessons with fiddlers as they passed through town and spent many late nights at the dance hall with an expert fiddler, who showed me his personal arsenal of tunes from his home region. I then began to improvise on the hardangerfele alongside my percussionist, Ian Dogole, who usually joins in on the udu (Nigerian clay pot). We later added a cellist to the mix for a Nordic romp.”

The Birmingham News’ Music Critic Michael Huebner describes her hardangerfele as “a beautiful instrument made from thickly lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl inlay and a scrolled animal head and nine strings which has a mellow, almost viola-like tone.

It was made in 2000 by Oslo instrument maker Erling Aaning. The four bowed strings can be tuned in a variety of ways, and the remaining sympathetic, or vibrating, strings are tuned to reflect the notes of each piece of music.”

The hardangerfele was invented in the mid-17th century and is named for the western Norwegian region near Hardanger Fjord.

Bentley Pollick recorded hardangerfele tunes on a digital recorder when she visited there in 1998.

“The hardangerfele is one of the few folk instruments that still exists in its original condition,” she says. “Each region of Norway has a unique style and repertoire of tunes which are transmitted by example from one fiddler to another. Many of the older players in Norway do not read or write music and their tunes are

southernFeatures

that process, I settle on a fingering that I prefer. Once you decide what you want to do, then you drill it in and make it routine and consistent. Then, you think about the performing aspect of it and how to add the extra spices.

“There is never enough time to practice. As with anything you desire to do, it requires passion. If I can get in three hours a day, I’m good, but it still isn’t enough. But life is more complex now. I’m not living in a little studio apartment like I was when I started out in New York. It is a juggling act. I’m always working on my schedule—my in-town schedule, my out-of-town schedule, along with David’s schedule. I’m always concerned with the map of where we’re supposed to be.”

She’s passionate about music and the instruments she plays.

preserved by students and archivists who transcribe the notes from a live performance for the sake of posterity.”

Practice makes perfect.

She loves playing the violin, viola, piano, and especially the hardangerfele.

“The violin is the closest instrument to the soprano voice in range and expressivity,” Bentley Pollick says. “The sound of a violin and its overtones under the left ear are soothing and highly addictive. On the violin, expressive intonation is possible by shrinking or widening half steps, as opposed to the piano where the pitches are set. I also enjoy the practice routine necessary to keep in peak condition, which is a combination of athletics and meditation. I integrate aspects of yoga into my performance and transfer the benefits of practicing yoga postures into increased

From a review of Dancing Suite to Suite

Bentley Pollick spends three or more hours a day on Musicweb practicing, and more if she’s preparing for an upcoming concert. Something she says she has to juggle with per- “Her latest CD is another shining example of her incredible forming. versatility as a soloist and as a vibrant musician … The “It’s a fine line—how much to perform and how sheer tonal beauty of her violin playing, her clarity, her much to practice,” she explains. “You never get enough phrasing, her ability to give each movement a special quality practice and you love the adulation when you’re on stage. But, when I’m on stage, it is really just a fraction of its own captivates. Surely, this work should soon be part of what I am. It’s just what I’m doing that day—the pieces I’ve selected for that time. I’ve always loved per- of every violinist’s repertoire. The technical quality of this forming and being around people. A musician’s life is CD is excellent and matches its contents.” interesting because we do spend so many hours alone to stamina and control. I believe a committed dedication to cultihone our art and ‘be warm.’ My body temperature has to be vating an art form leads to superior mental and physical health. perfect … the hall has to be the perfect temperature … the “In the Renaissance and Baroque eras, the role of the violin instrument has to be the right temperature. It is a hyper-awareevolved from its use as a dance instrument, its sonority projecting ness, and I believe that being inside the music keeps you healthy. over the other instruments and thus taking over the lead role. In It requires constant reinforcement and feedback—a kind of the Classical period, composers wrote the melody for violin with wellness. accompaniment in the instruments below.”

“When I practice, I map out exactly how I want to play each She says that the hardangerfele has always been used as a gesture, searching for different fingerings and bowings. And in

’SOUTHERN 19

southernFeatures dance instrument and is played today in score. Her passion for the piano repermuch the same manner as it has been toire and individual interpretation was an traditionally. “It is thrilling to be on stage early influence and I was blessed to have with virtuoso Norwegian dancers and to her as my initial tour guide on the keywatch their footwork as they twirl, leap, board.” and spin about the room,” she says.

When asked about passion, Bentley “I also perform on the viola, which Pollick says it is what drives artists. resembles a contralto voice and vibrates “Perhaps passion is the driving force that near the heart. Mozart preferred to play propels an artist to manipulate the exterthe viola during string quartet readings nal world to conform to their inner ideals and wrote exquisitely for the instrument and create a utopian lifestyle through art in his later works. Navigating the sinuand personal vision. We strive to brightous inner lines of a string quartet on the en our corners of the universe on a daily, viola and enhancing the efforts of the moment-to-moment basis.” other instruments is pure pleasure. I am fortunate to play viola with marvelous She’s impressed with colleagues in various chamber music setBirmingham and its music tings as we explore the far reaches of the repertoire, past and present. My sister, scene.

Heather, is a violist in Seattle, and I admit to having learned viola by osmosis by lis“We toured and visited here three tening to her practice during our formatimes before moving down from tive years.”

Pennsylvania in August,” Bentley Pollick Why does she love music? says. “It is a homecoming of sorts “A life surrounded by music is an because of my Southern roots. Plus, I exhilarating one,” Bentley Pollick says. enjoy the climate. We’ve enjoyed every“For each performer, it is possible to perone we’ve met here. They’re all so warm fect and share on stage a mere fraction of and welcoming.” the repertoire one has heard as a listener, Even before coming to Birmingham, thus quenching the thirst for infinity and Bentley Pollick had networked with local for connection through the muse only new music aficionados—BSC Assistant temporarily. The abundance of compositions and styles to Professor of Music Dorothy Hindman and Professor of Music explore both as performer and listener is expansive. Music is a Charles Norman Mason. And she already has performed with life force, and I am blessed to have entered into a life in music BSC Adjunct Professor of Music Craig Hultgren and Adjunct from an early age. We tend to gravitate towards activities and Professor of the Conservatory Adam Bowles. She’s also connectevents which trigger a sense of home and comfort. I was raised ed through the Birmingham Art Music Alliance. in a home where we listened to the Metropolitan Opera broad“I’m impressed with how people here come together and cast every Saturday and played many recordings of the great perforge alliances,” she says. “We’ve also been attending the symformers, especially pianists, phony as often as possible. violinists, singers, symI’m impressed with the From the San Francisco Chronicle: phonies, and string quarlocal love for music and “Karen Bentley’s violin represented the mind in creative especially the large appetite tets.”

Bentley Pollick says that tumult, a beautiful lyric performance in which her fellow for the Alabama Symphony she started playing in the and Opera Birmingham. instrumentalists joined in with comments, agreement Palo Alto Chamber “I hope to be a cultural Orchestra when she was and disagreement.” ambassador within and 11. “A sense of commubeyond Birmingham. I am nity and healthy competition permeated the organization under beginning a series of salon concerts that will feature chamber the direction of conductor William Whitson,” she explains. “I music and develop an audience in the city. Music is a social catproceeded throughout high school with the same crop of talentalyst and by spending time with others in a common vibration ed string players, and the friendships that were forged during we have the opportunity to bond and share a mutual experience those years in PACO endure to this day. My piano teacher in which is unique. I hope to increase awareness of Birmingham Palo Alto, Rusana Sysoyev, cultivated a respect for the lives of the and Birmingham-Southern while I travel by representing both great composers and emphasized the importance of loyalty to the with enthusiasm and welcoming all to come and visit and enjoy

20 ’SOUTHERN

our beautiful city, which is truly a culinary mecca. David and I rotate our rounds of restaurants and are amazed at the breadth and depth of gourmet possibilities.”

Bentley Pollick says that they are starting to feel right at home in Birmingham.

“We are impressed with the numerous welcomes we have received and are delighted to be cultivating relationships with diverse groups around town,” she says. “The weather here is appealing, especially since we can play golf nearly year-round.”

She’s excited about the college and her husband’s vision for its future.

Bentley Pollick’s impressions of Birmingham-Southern also are positive.

“I was impressed with the seriousness of the students from the very first time I set foot on campus,” she says. “Each time I meet someone for the first time, I never cease to be amazed at the eloquence and presentation of self that accompanies the meeting.

The campus is gorgeous and keeps us physically fit walking up and down the hills and stairs. I am inspired by the dedication of the faculty in regard to coursework across the curriculum and the enthusiasm they bring into the classroom and their individual areas of research. And coming home to the Hilltop is a pleasure for there is always a warm welcome at the entrance gate by the campus police who wear their uniforms proudly.

“My wish for all BSC students is to continue being curious, ask questions, make the effort to hear numerous points of view, expose themselves to many different experiences, and most of all follow their own muse with courage and conviction.”

When asked about David Pollick’s vision for the college, especially about his hopes surrounding issues of human dignity, Bentley Pollick also shows the kind of enthusiasm that she shows about everything in her life.

“It is all a continuation of the role of hosting and fostering,” she says. “We all need to be talking right now, across political, economic, and racial lines. We need to be more connected, and, if David and I can be the catalyst for bringing people together, that is wonderful. I have a very strong, good gut feeling about how this will all unfold—as it continues to unfold in our living room. I look around Birmingham and see where history has been made, and I believe we are poised right here on the Hilltop to offer a vision to the world.”

Editor’s Note: Karen Bentley Pollick’s CD recordings Ariel View, Konzerto and Succubus, and Dancing Suite to Suite are available through the Birmingham-Southern College Bookstore and in Birmingham at Laser’s Edge. For more information about her, her life, her upcoming concerts, and her poetry, go to www.kbentley.com.

Portable Paradise

By Karen Bentley Pollick (written after snorkeling at Caneel Bay on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.)

Traversing the planet duty free, no baggage to check unencumbered, ethereally hopping from capacious caverns to coral reefs spelunking to snorkeling marveling at the pristine perfection of a full moon over Caneel Bay auras enveloped by waves of azure underwater environment teeming with schools piccolo grey, medium yellow, iridescent blue tanks, swaying anemones inviting glimpse of netherworlds etching limestone into speleothems humbled by nature the master sculptor utopia abounds within perceptions and feelings controlling illusions transforming potential into kinetic manifestations

southernFeatures

Alumni artists fill starring roles pat cole, carol hagood, lisa harrison by

and

Where there are exhibits, music, theatre, and dance, there also are BirminghamSouthern alumni “stars” who owe much of their success to their educations and the outstanding faculty they worked with at the college. Whether their work is seen or performed locally, nationally, or internationally, BSC graduates are making quite a creative impact in the arts world. Here, ’Southern magazine profiles just a few of our outstanding alumni artists.

22 ’SOUTHERN

southernFeatures

Jame s Bagwe ll ’88 Red Hook, New York ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MUSIC AT BARD COLLEGE IN ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y., WHO ALSO MAINTAINS AN ACTIVE GUEST CONDUCTING SCHEDULE

On career: “I have taught at Bard College—which has just opened a new performing arts center—since 2000. I’m now chairman of the Music Department. I also serve as chorus master of the Bard Music Festival in August and as music director for the May Festival Youth Choir in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as maintain an active schedule as a guest conductor.”

On BSC: “BSC provided me with an outstanding undergraduate education, which brought me up to a high level of performance.

Among my special mentors were Hugh Thomas (late music professor, Music Department chair, and choral director), who taught me how to rehearse a group; Bill DeVan (piano professor), who taught me discipline and how to practice a piece; and Tom Gibbs

On recent and upcoming engagements: “On March 12 in On why he loves conducting: “I enjoy New York, I was guest conductor of The Dessoff Choirs; working with people. I see my role as during 2004-05, I served as chorus master, preparing the someone who allows people to do their New York Concert Chorale for three performances with The American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall in best work.”

New York City. On May 14, I will be conductor of The (music professor), who taught me technical mastery and music Berkshire Bach Society Chorus and Orchestra in Great history, preparing me for graduate study in music history at Barrington, Mass. As music director for the Light Opera Florida State University. I am glad that the liberal arts program Oklahoma in Tulsa, I will conduct three productions and a conI’m now involved in at Bard offers students something of the cert version of La Perichole this summer (the company will same experience I received at ’Southern.” make its debut with the OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville); I’ll also serve as conductor of Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land at CH the Bard Festival in August.”

’SOUTHERN 23

southernFeatures

Phillip Velinov ’00 Indianapolis, Indiana PROFESSIONAL BALLET DANCER WITH BALLET INTERNATIONALE, AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED BALLET COMPANY BASED IN INDIANAPOLIS On career: “My job allows me to work with world-renowned stars in the field of ballet, and it has enabled me to travel on tour nationally and internationally, in countries like Canada, Taiwan, and China. Some of my lead roles have included Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, and Zuniga in Carmen.”

On family: “My parents still live in my native Bulgaria. They first came to America to attend my BSC graduation ceremony. I help them visit me in the United States as often as I can since I cannot return to Bulgaria due to the mandatory military requirement for all males under 30. Besides, I believe I serve Bulgaria far more effectively through the powerful, eloquent, and universal language of dance than the use of any size military boots.”

On accomplishments: “I feel extremely grateful for all the blessings that followed my graduation from BSC. Along with contracts from several professional U.S. ballet companies, I was offered a spot at Ballet Internationale immediately following my

BSC graduation. In 2002, I was a semifinalist in the Varna International Ballet Competition and won a cash award at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Miss., that same year. I also was chosen to be the first teacher for the newly developing male dance division at BI’s Clara Noise Academy of Dance, creating a class geared toward sparking an interest and attraction to dance in male youth. On an even brighter note, artistic director Eldar Aliev just promoted me to the position of a soloist with Ballet Internationale for the upcoming season.”

On BSC: “Even now, five years later, the words of one of Serbia’s brightest prima ballerinas, BSC Dance Professor Mira Popovich, echo in my mind both on- and off-stage. The seeds she planted in me, along with BSC Dance Professor Ruth Henry and other college faculty, are beginning to bear the sweet fruits of accomplishment, maturity, and mastery in everything I do—fruits that continue to feed my deep love and passion for dance and life.”

PC

24 ’SOUTHERN

southernFeatures

Miche lle Ladd ’92 Los Angeles MOTION CAPTURE FIGHT DIRECTOR FOR MAJOR MOTION PICTURES, INCLUDING THE LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES

For the past few years, Michelle Ladd has been working as a motion capture fight director for films. “Motion capture” has been used in the video game industry for years to create more realistic looking action. Now it is being used in major motion pictures along with specific artificial intelligence software, called Massive, to fill in crowd scenes and create specialty characters. It works by capturing human motion in three-dimensions into a computer file, which can then be edited and adapted as needed by motion editors and animators as they create characters, either as humans or as creatures. This motion is placed into scenes in the movie and creates CG (computer graphic) creatures with very natural motion that blend in well with the live action performers.

Most recently, Ladd has been involved in the production of Lord of the Rings-Return of the King and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which will be released later this year. As a motion capture fight director, her job has been to develop character movement styles and direct motion capture fight sequences for various creatures in these movies.

Ladd reports that hers has been an interesting career path. “I have training as an actress, dancer, fight choreographer, and stunt performer,” she says. “This work requires knowledge and understanding of each of those disciplines to create well-rounded, believable battle creatures and simulations.” And one of the most rewarding aspects of this work, she says, is being part of a creative

team (production, talent, motion editors, animators, visual effects supervisors, etc.) that pulls together to create such exciting action that looks so incredibly real in the films.

Although this career didn’t exist when Ladd attended Birmingham-Southern, she believes that the education she received from the Fine and Performing Arts Division prepared her well for this venture. “The Theatre Department’s focus on being a well-rounded student showed me how to recognize opportunities for creative growth and to take advantage of new ideas and technologies,” she explains. “I also owe traits taught to me such as focus, organization, and success via tenacity from great teachers like Michael Flowers (theatre professor) and RuthAmmons Henry.” But her most influential mentor, Ladd says, was Patti Manning, costumer for the Theatre Department. “She taught me the value of hard work and the pride that comes from it, and showed me how to lead others with great grace and dignity—a very important trait as a director in a studio.”

This specific job Michelle Ladd is doing is very new in the world of visual effects. But as these effects continue to play such a vital role in films, and with film action becoming more spectacular each year, she realizes that hers is a career that has great opportunity to grow, and says she feels blessed to have had the opportunity to work on such wonderful projects over the years.

CH

’SOUTHERN 25

southernFeatures

Kim Hawthorne ’9 0 Vancouver, B.C., Canada TV/FILM/THEATRE ACTRESS KNOWN FOR HER ROLE AS THEO IN JEREMIAH AND LAWYER BELINDA KEEFER IN ALL MY CHILDREN, AS WELL AS STARRING IN CY COLEMAN’S BROADWAY MUSICAL, THE LIFE, THE MOVIE ALONG CAME A SPIDER, AND MOST RECENTLY ON THE BIG SCREEN IN THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK On career: “Currently I am in Los Angeles shooting a pilot for HBO. When that wraps, I will be co-starring in an independent MGM movie called Harvest Moon. I feel extremely blessed and fortunate to be getting paid to do what I love. I’ve even had the opportunity to work with actors whose work I respect and admire such as Morgan Freeman, Carroll O’Connor, and Dame Judi Dench.”

On family: “My biggest accomplishment so far has got to be motherhood. My son is the light of my world and has really put everything into perspective for me. I’ve always been a focused person, but having my son has made me want to live my life as fearlessly as possible. It’s what I want for him so I have to walk the walk. I want him to witness me being the best I can be every day.”

On BSC: “The experience at BSC taught me to start what you finish, don’t let the lack of money stop you from pursuing something you want, and to take myself seriously. The excellent training I received continues to be a foundation for me out here in the real world as I work as a professional actor.”

On favorite professors and others at BSC: “Some professors who challenged and inspired me were Pat (former adjunct theatre professor) and Michael Flowers, Karen Drews (former theatre professor), and Mildred Allen (voice professor).

26 ’SOUTHERN

Mrs. Ammons (Ruth Ammons Henry), my dance instructor, embarrassed me in front of the entire jazz class when she told me I’d go a lot further in life if I took myself seriously. She was right. I’d also like to mention my classmate, Effie Johnson, who let me crash on her couch when I moved to New York City and was living out of a suitcase. And, Mrs. Octavia, who worked in the BSC cafeteria and who bought me a pair of new boots when I was literally walking out of the ones I was wearing. And thanks go to all my friends for letting me borrow punches from your meal tickets when mine ran out. And Dr. (Neal) Berte (former president) who was always in my corner encouraging me to be the best I could be because he believed in my potential. His constant wishes of continued success have come to fruition and helped me to stay focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.”

LH

Hawthorne (second from right) on the set of DaVinci’s Inquest, a CBC television series. CBC TV Archives.

Tom Bankston ’74 Centerville, Ohio OPERATIC BARITONE WHO JOINED THE DAYTON OPERA ASSOCIATION IN 1996 AND HAS SERVED AS FULL-TIME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SINCE 2001, WHEN HE ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SELECTION OF ARTISTS, CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION STAFFS, SEASON PRODUCTIONS, AND REPERTORY, AND WHO WAS NAMED GENERAL AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IN 2004, ADDING ADMINISTRATION TO HIS DUTIES

Bankston. Above left, interior of Mead Theare in the Schuster Center.

Above right, the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. Theatre photos by Andy Snow.

On career accomplishments: “The breadth of experience that I received during 19 years at the Cincinnati Opera in the artistic and production/technical aspects, administration and operations, and in education/outreach programming, all gave me practical experience preparing me for my current position at Dayton Opera. It is so fulfilling and challenging now to be charting the course of my own company. …” A particular thrill has been to

be a part of the opening of a new performing arts center, the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, and new home for Dayton Opera. I’m also proud to have recently received the 2004 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. It was indeed meaningful to receive this honor from one of the United States’ most prestigious conservatories, the place where I did my graduate work and the place along with BSC that helped shape my professional life.”

On family: “I am married to Frances Golson Bankston, who is also a graduate of BSC (’73), and our interests center around travel and cooking. We enjoy entertaining and preparing meals together for ourselves and our friends. We have a group of friends with whom we regularly do B&B weekends, and we also make regular trips to New York City and enjoy theater, opera, museums, and restaurants. We also try to get to Europe whenever possible, with a special love for Paris.”

On BSC: “My time at BSC was absolutely some of the most special of my life, first of all because it was the time when I met Frances, my wife of 31 years, but also because of the musical and life grounding that it provided for me, and for some real “for life” friendships that it has provided. My first opera performing experiences were at BSC, and while the performing side of the business is not where I landed, those quality experiences certainly shaped my love for the great art form that I now produce and promote.”

On favorite BSC professors: “ … I was most influenced by my voice teacher, Andrew Gainey, and by the conductor of the BSC Concert Choir, Hugh Thomas. Andy Gainey was the ultimate ‘cheerleader’ for his students, passing on to them not only his knowledge of singing and performing, but also qualities of selfassuredness that were lessons of great value even if your life’s career didn’t wind up in the performing realm. And, of course, Hugh Thomas, for the ultimate musicianship that he represented and passed on to each of us who were fortunate enough to be able to make music together under his leadership.”

LH

’SOUTHERN 27

southernFeatures

The Gallery works

by

alumni visual artists

J I M N E E L ’71 B R A N K O M E D I N I C A ’ 72 INTERNATIONAL SCULPTOR, BIRMINGHAM

Sacred Tears, cast bronze, 8’ “This piece installed in Tuscumbia, Alabama, is a memorial to the forced march of the Native Americans during the Trail of Tears. The essence of my work evolves from an exploration of both the physical and psychological movement in man in interaction with the spectrum of influences inherent in nature. …

I incorporate fluid forms, minimal line, segments of motion, or combinations of these and other elements to create a visual dialogue of movement.”

JOHN BAXTER ’02 SENIOR MANAGER, THOMAS MOORE STUDIOS, BALTIMORE, MD.

Falling Away, color photograph “Inspired by the natural architectural features that surround me, this piece speaks of the color and vibrance of the true ‘inner city.’ Most residents bypass everyday infrastructure without a thought, while some revel in the ingenuity and commitment of generations of laborers who built the sewers, waterways, and runoffs in any major city. This photograph depicts an $8.3 million sewer renovation in Baltimore … from the inside out.”

28 ’SOUTHERN

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ART AND DIRECTOR OF THE DURBIN GALLERY, BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE

Dejar las Huellas en la Tierra Dura (To Leave One’s Mark in the Hard Earth), installation, terra cotta, black river stones, and petroleum oil, 120” in diameter “The footprints of a small child track an arc across a field of wet clay.

The clay dries and hardens in the sun, preserving the path. A pool of black petroleum oil seems to float in the middle of the cracked and broken circle, a perfect elliptical mirror. The child’s footprints in the clay reference the track of Australopithicus Afarensis prints discovered in Laetoli, Tanzania—the dried, cracked clay the plight of cultures across the globe that are marginalized by the unchecked consumption of the technologically driven.”

W I L L A R D W H I T S O N ’70 DIRECTOR OF EXHIBITS, THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Canada Sky to Michigan, oil on canvas, 48” x 72” “This painting is typical of one facet of my work; I vacillate between two approaches to painting. I usually either create expansive landscapes with lots of sky that, although representational, stylistically have their roots in abstract expressionism, or I paint figurative images and still lifes that are tightly realistic, tending toward trompe l’oeil.

A compulsive photographer, I take many images on my frequent journeys, documenting the routes as well as the destinations. This painting resulted from one of those travels.”

M E L M A C H E N ’71 RETIRED ART TEACHER (NOW TEACHING PARTTIME), MOUNTAIN BROOK HIGH SCHOOL, BIRMINGHAM

Reflected Color, oil on canvas, 36” x 48” “I was inspired by a Whistler etching of a bridge in Venice … that’s where the circle and square come from … the rest is from my imagination. It is made up of intense colors contrasting warm and cool. All my career I’ve been interested in colors … the relationships of colors.”

C O L L I N A S M U S ’90 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ART AND FOUNDATIONS COORDINATOR, BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE, BRIDGEWATER, MASS.

Café Einstein, oil on linen, 24” x 29” “My paintings are derived from images taken off of public Web cameras around the world. Café Einstein depicts people sitting around a table at a café in Vienna, Austria. In most of my images, the individuals in the paintings have no idea they are being observed by others via the Internet, let alone that they are having their image painted and preserved. … I want these paintings to raise questions of privacy and how modern technology is affecting our lives. …”

’SOUTHERN 29

southernFeatures

really enjoy what I am doing. I find it really wonderful to wake up in the morning and think, “All I have to do today is dance!”

Bethany Butts ’04 Marietta, Georgia PROFESSIONAL BALLERINA WITH THE GEORGIA BALLET, WHO ALSO IS A PRIVATE TEACHER AND CHOREOGRAPHER On performing in a professional company: “I mostly enjoy being able to do what I love and get paid for it. I enjoy the challenge of the technique, learning different roles and characters, the excitement and magic of being on stage in front of an audience, and the freedom of transforming yourself and becoming someone or something else on stage. I also like that the company is close to home and where I grew up. The first ballet company I ever saw perform was The Georgia Ballet, and I am so excited to be performing with that company this season.”

On other work: “To supplement my income, I teach dance at local studios in the evenings. I usually go straight from Georgia Ballet to teach four days a week. I teach ballet, pointe, modern, tap, and jazz, as well as private coaching. I teach all levels of students, ages 6-18. I also spend one evening a week setting choreography on a local pre-professional company and rehearsing them. Although I am very busy, I

On BSC: “I received very invaluable and in-depth technical training that was absolutely essential to getting hired by a professional company … at BSC, I really developed an even greater curiosity for dance and every aspect of it. Several classes outside the Dance Department have directly benefited my career, such as piano and French. Indirectly, the well-rounded education I received has had a great impact on me by opening my mind to different ways of thinking. In choreography and performing, I often realize that what I choreograph or dance about might be relative to something I learned or thought about during a sociology, art, history, philosophy, or literature class I took at ’Southern.”

On favorite BSC professors: “Ballet Professor Mira Popovich had a great deal of influence on my life. The knowledge she bestowed upon us all is really just irreplaceable. … Her teaching style was enthusiastic, demanding, encouraging, strict, and honest. … When I am working in class now, I often think about what she would be saying, and hear her voice in my head saying, ‘Deeper plie!’ or ‘Stronger arms!’ Ruth Henry, another BSC dance professor, also had a great impact on me. The information I learned from her, especially during dance history and anatomy classes, is useful to me every day, especially in teaching. Now when students ask me, ‘Why do ballerinas wear tutus?’ or, ‘Who came up with the idea for pointe shoes?’, I know the answers. I also have used the information she taught me during choreography class to make my students’ recital dances better. Some of the other dance professors, such as Teri Weksler and Sissy Monroe, also bestowed upon me valuable knowledge and experience that I cherish. I also enjoyed being in classes with French professors Dr. (Dominique) Linchet and Dr. (Renee) Norrell. I learned a great deal from them, as I was a French minor.”

LH

30 ’SOUTHERN

southernFeatures

Amy May and David Southe rland ’93 and ’9 6 Passaic Park, New Jersey NEW YORK CITY MUSICAL THEATRE DIRECTORS, WHO PROMOTE NEW WORKS AND TRAIN YOUNG ACTORS Amy and David Southerland discovered they shared basically the same interests and talents as music-voice majors at Birmingham-Southern. Now the two have been married 10 years and have started two companies together in New York City fostering new works of musical theatre.

AWOL Project Inc. (Artists Without Limits) is a nonprofit theatre company devoted to developing new musical theatre works by emerging and undiscovered writers. Intensive Music Theatre Experience is a private musical theatre training program originally designed for advanced teens in the NYC area that now has expanded to additional programs in New Jersey and Ohio.

In addition, the Southerlands are teaching private and group voice lessons at the Performers’ Theatre Workshop in Livingston, N.J., and Amy is teaching choir at a private middle school in Gladstone, N.J. She even performed on keyboards for a recent live CD featuring The Duprees (a doo-wop singing group). And David has received training in musical conducting from the University of Southern California.

The Southerlands always have preferred staying busy, even as students performing in the BSC Concert Choir and as part of the Hilltop Singers. “The music faculty, including the late choral music legend Hugh Thomas, really cared about us and individually helped us develop our talents, and that continues to influence our teaching skills today,” recalls Amy. She also mentions the influence of BSC Theatre Director Michael Flowers and BSC Music Professor and organist Dr. James Cook. “Dr. Cook was a teacher, mentor, boss, father, and friend to us both.”

David conducted AWOL Projects’ first musical, The Mistress Cycle, starring Birmingham native and two-time Tony Award nominee Rebecca Luker. In 2002, they both were invited to music direct the NYC Off-Broadway run of A.R. Gurney’s Strictly Academic, and, in 2003, served as musical directors of the musical Slut, a sold-out hit at the NYC Fringe Festival. The Southerlands also were awarded New Jersey’s 2003 Perry Award for Outstanding Musical Direction for their work on the theatrical premiere Songs for a New World.

Wondering what their next addition will be to their growing list of accomplishments? “I just learned that AWOL Project will join with national PenneySeal Productions to bring the hit musical The Shaggs—the story of arguably the worst band of all time—to NYC later this fall,” says David.

PC

’SOUTHERN 31

southernFeatures

Jana Eule r Gime nez ’91 Melrose, Massachusetts OPERATIONS MANAGER, RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CONCERT LOGISTICS FOR THE BOSTON POPS “Basically, it is my job to manage the day-to-day operations of our performances,” says Jana Euler Gimenez, who has been with the Boston Pops for 10 years, five as operations manager.

“The complexity of concert production is based on the location and type of show,” she says. “We own Symphony Hall, so when we’re not traveling, we use our own equipment here. The details become more complex with a Pops Tour, when I’m responsible for getting the orchestra where they’re going, our equipment where it needs to be, and advancing our performance requirements with the different venues so that they’re ready for us when we arrive. Our concert venues range from regular concert halls, like Carnegie Hall, to sporting arenas and colleges to rather unorthodox locations like a minor league baseball field in Ohio, a beach in Nantucket, a shopping mall near Boston, and an outdoor park in Florida.

“The most complicated type of show we play is one in which electronic media is involved, such as our annual Fourth of July TV show on CBS, our pre-game show at the Super Bowl in 2001, or our concerts for the Democratic National Convention last summer. And, of course, the complexity level goes up when we travel internationally. When we tour Japan, the staff processes visas for the orchestra and sends the orchestra gear through customs,” Gimenez explains.

“The heart of my job is translating the pieces of music on our program sheet into the numerous technical requirements that carry out the conductor’s vision and make the show run

smoothly. That’s where my musical background comes in. I work through the program with our technical crew and artistic staff to determine stage setup, audio and lighting equipment, and general flow of the concert,” she adds.

Gimenez says what she enjoys most about her duties is taking a show from a piece of paper to a live performance that brings the audience to its feet.

“I also enjoy all the cool people I get to work with on the Pops staff,” she notes. “There’s nothing better than being part of a team that works well together. In addition, artists like Yo-Yo Ma walk around Symphony Hall on a daily basis, and I’ve had the honor of working with John Williams, Bono, and Broadway stars like Audra McDonald.”

After graduating from Birmingham-Southern, Gimenez attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, where she received a master’s degree in music composition. And she credits her BSC education to her success there. “’Southern prepared me well for NEC,” she says. “We all have a lot of pride in Birmingham-Southern’s program, but I don’t think there is enough national recognition of the quality of the Music Department … not yet, anyway. I was absolutely ready for graduate school. In fact, my BSC recital was more taxing than my master’s recital. We have a treasure there in that department.”

Gimenez says that the people who influenced her most at Birmingham-Southern included Hugh Thomas, who taught her “not only musical lessons, but life lessons,” Dr. Stewart Jackson (dean of chapel), with whom she worked as chapel intern, and Dr. Jim Cook, who “put up with my hilarious attempts at the organ.” She also says she appreciated Voice Professor Dr. David Smith and Religion Professor Dr. Earl Gossett, who taught his students to ask questions in “Introduction to Christianity.”

A member of the BSC Concert Choir the entire time she was at the college, Gimenez says that during one Interim she was the tour manager for the choir.

“Little did I know that I would someday be doing what I do now,” she says. “So the Interim experience works.”

LH

Re becca Gilman ’87

Gimenez (above). Keith Lockhart (below), conductor for the Boston Pops in two performance scenes. Photos by Michael Lutch.

32 ’SOUTHERN

Chicago AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT, GUGGENHEIM FELLOW, AND AUTHOR OF THE GLORY OF LIVING, SPINNING INTO BUTTER, BOY GETS GIRL, BLUE SURGE, THE LAND OF LITTLE HORSES, AND MY SIN AND NOTHING MORE, AMONG OTHERS Rebecca Gilman has an impressive career which includes writing plays that were commissioned and originally produced by the Goodman Theater in Chicago, along with plays that premiered in New York at the Lincoln Center Theatre, as well as those that have played in regional theaters throughout the world.

Her play Spinning into Butter received a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Play, as well as the Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays.

Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl and The Glory of Living also received Jefferson Awards. Spinning into Butter was included in Time magazine’s list of Best New Plays for 1999 and has been optioned for film. Boy Gets Girl was named No. 1 play of the year by Time in 2000. The Glory of Living garnered two prestigious awards for Gilman: the George Devine Award and the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. Named one of Time magazine’s top 10 plays of 2001, The Glory of Living also was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Gilman says that she loves much about being a playwright, but what she enjoys most is the collaborative nature of the theatre.

“I’m lucky in that I get to spend my time with a lot of talented, inspiring artists,” she says. “Between the work of the director, actors, and designers, the end result on stage is often better than anything I imagined on the page. It’s very satisfying work.”

When asked where she finds the inspiration for her plays, she says that she gets ideas from many places, but primarily from her own personal experience.

“I get ideas from the newspaper, fiction, poetry, even people I see on the street,” Gilman explains. “My play Blue Surge was inspired by a Bruce Springsteen song. I try to be open to anything and not to judge ideas one way or the other until I’ve had a chance to play with them. Some of what I thought were my

best ideas have turned into train-wrecks of plays. Others I’ve had to sit with for a couple of years, but then something good comes out of it.”

Gilman recently opened her adaptation of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Rehearsals will soon start for her adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at Goodman Theatre in Chicago. After that, she says she’ll start writing an adaptation of Emile Zola’s Germinal.

“All these adaptations are commissions and it’s just a coincidence that they’ve all come at the same time, but I’m really enjoying them,” she says. “After Germinal, I’m going to write something from scratch.”

Gilman credits her education at Birmingham-Southern for her initial interest in writing for theatre.

“My senior year at Birmingham-Southern I decided to write a play for an independent study credit and the college was so supportive of my idea,” she recalls. “Michael Flowers and John Tatter (English professor) were my advisors, and they were both so helpful and encouraging. The play was The Land of Little Horses, and when it was finished Michael Flowers offered to let me use the theatre over the summer to mount a production. I don’t think that would have happened at a larger university where the competition for resources can be fierce, and the faculty doesn’t have the time to become as involved with their students.

“The production turned out well and I had a blast, and then I headed up to the University of Virginia to start work on a Ph.D. in English. I was planning on teaching, but I’d had such a great experience with my play at ’Southern that I started taking playwriting courses and spent more time in the Theatre Department than I should have. Then The Land of Little Horses won a playwriting contest that Ole Miss once sponsored and that pretty much decided it for me. I left Virginia and went to the University of Iowa to get my MFA in playwriting, and I’m happy that I did. And I don’t think the world of academia is mourning my decision either.”

LH

‘’SOUTHERN 33

southernFeatures

BSC’s designing woman Patti Manning uses clothing artistry to liven stage productions by

pat cole

D

uring the final weeks leading up to the BirminghamSouthern theatrical production The Diary of Anne Frank, which was featured in March, Patti Manning’s impassioned work was taking place at a location on campus few people even know about.

Manning spends much of her time tucked away in the basement of the College Theatre, away from the limelight, in a costume shop she refers to as “a thrift store and theatrical supply.”

For the past 24 years, she has worked as the costumer for every major performance the college has staged. “Some folks think I’m just ‘a little old sewing lady,’” says Manning, “but my job is much more involved than that and requires a lot of hard work.

I have to make sure my product satisfies me, serves my young actor, and is the vision of the director.”

The rooms inside her shop are filled with racks of hanging clothes, cartons of shoes, small tables with sewing machines, a mannequin, and shelves full of props including masks and feather hats. It is with these surroundings that she sketches, sews, and assembles to help create the fantasy that theatre is all about.

Manning also employs a number of craft techniques to costumes when necessary like hand-painting and airbrush, reviews scripts and sound recordings for character detail, and researches historical sources for period styles. She fixes wigs, helps to apply makeup, and is always on hand during shows to help actors make quick changes.

Before a production, she sits down with the theatre director, music conductor, lighting and set designers, and choreographer (if dance is involved). “We’ll go over the script, score, and libretto and decide a definite place in time and the look—whether it will be somber or cheerful—and we troubleshoot,” says Manning.

“We try to be as authentic as possible for every production, but every now and then, we ‘fudge’ a little bit. Theatre is magic and optical illusion, so the audience doesn’t know the tricks we’re playing.”

Born in Chicago, Manning began hand sewing when she was seven, and was still very young when her family moved to Birmingham. After high school, she began taking art classes at Birmingham-Southern. Her father, who was unconvinced she could earn a living as an artist, insisted Manning apply for a real estate license instead. And she did, though it was followed by some unhappy years. “By the time I was 24, I was devastated and without a purpose or direction,” she recalls.

34 ’SOUTHERN

Patti Manning fits junior musical theatre major Morgan Smith with a costume prior to a recent theatrical production.

“A friend encouraged me to apply to the Birmingham Civic Opera, where I eventually became the apprentice of an opera director and designer who was new in the city after spending many years in the opera world of Vienna, Austria. After working on four major operas with him, he told me I would become a designer.”

BSC Music Professor Dr. Thomas Gibbs was one of the opera professionals with whom she worked and the reason she came to Birmingham-Southern once the opera company fell on hard times. Since then, Manning’s loyalty and her visual artistry have continued to unfold.

southernFeatures

During one break in the college’s production schedule, she was fortunate to serve behind the curtain for the ’80s television film Benny’s Place featuring actors Louis Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson, and, later, served as an assistant to an Emmy Award-winning costume designer noted for the film Holocaust. In the last decade, Manning has won several honorable mentions and awards for exquisite costume design, including an award from the Alabama Conference of Theatre and Speech for the BSC production Hamlet: the Musical. The BSC student honorary Alpha Psi Omega even added to her awards with a plaque honoring her long years of work in theatre.

She received an additional benefit several years ago when her mom joined her on the Hilltop as a contract employee to create a mother-daughter sewing team. “My mom can do amazing things as a seamstress and she handles the really hard sewing,” notes Manning. “I bounce quite a few of my ideas off her. Plus, she remembers the clothes and shoes of the World War II era, which helps me out a lot.”

Manning at one time was heavily involved in freelance work during production breaks. She has designed costumes for local and statewide ballet, opera, and theatre circuits, and has led several fine arts workshops. Now, she is often called on as a consultant and teaches a children’s theatre art camp at BSC during summers.

Throughout the years, Manning has acquired a reputation for her kindness, and admits she and her mom have taught many students, including work-study students, the life skill of sewing.

She also has provided contacts for alumni pursuing jobs in theatre. “She teaches students about the dedication and discipline it takes to be successful in a creative endeavor,” says BSC Professor of Theatre Michael Flowers. “She cares passionately about them and about doing her best work all the time.”

Being good to people has been important for the networks she has established with local, regional, national, and international costume resources. A director in Los Angeles once used Manning’s Mayan headbands in an 80,000-audience show, and her hand puppets have been used in South Africa.

She says the drama community is tightly knit and mutually dependent upon one another. “We often have to call on each other to find items that are missing for a production,” Manning explains. “Plus, I get a lot of help on campus too, for instance, when BSC history professors give me information about a specific time period. I learn a lot from contacting people and doing research.”

During tech week, the crunch time right before a show, Manning says she may put in 70-80 hours of work. “My goal is to make sure the students look really good in the costumes they wear,” she says. “But the most important part for me is encouraging young actors.”

Manning’s costume sketches from various productions.

‘’SOUTHERN 35

alumniAffairs

BSC alumni: Here’s to our past, and our future!

As we approach Birmingham-Southern’s Sesquicentennial year, BSC alumni are finding a variety of ways to explore and celebrate our college’s first 150 years (see page 2) and to preserve glimpses of our past that will be meaningful to the BSC community in years to come.

Pieces of the past

Bertha Cummins Tyler ’26 is pictured above with a letter of congratulations from then-president Guy E. Snavely on maintaining an “A” grade average for the spring 1926 semester. Cummins’ grade report is shown, lower left.

Theatre ticket stubs from the mid-1920s.

36 ’SOUTHERN

Kudos to our BSC alumni who have responded to the call for memorabilia to enrich our archives and provide images for our Sesquicentennial Quilt and other commemorative projects. Their gifts of yearbooks, T-shirts, scrapbook materials, copies of personal photos, and more recall past years on the Hilltop with the vivid detail of personal record.

And recently, two particularly fine gifts were presented to the archives by generous alumni who rescued significant materials that might well have been lost.

Gary Sexton ’00, a recent Adult Studies graduate in accounting and father of current BSC student Matt Sexton, is an E-bay watcher. Some weeks ago, he spotted an unusual offering: two scrapbooks completed in the 1920s by BSC coed Bertha Cummins Tyler ’26, who passed away in October 2002.

With quick action and a donation that made possible the purchase, Sexton secured these treasure troves for the BSC archives.

Crammed with photos, college programs, invitations, period greeting and calling cards, travel records, town and campus newspaper articles (including a rollicking account of the “kidnap” and flamboyant return of the BSC stuffed panther by rival Howard students), these two scrapbooks offer a rich picture of the life of a BSC coed at a significant period in the college’s history.

The 1925-26 Student Directory.

Joe Boyles ’01 and wife Laura Soule Boyles ’01 snatched another important piece of BSC and Methodist history from the jaws of Hurricane Ivan, when they found and restored materials stored at Joe’s parents’ home in Pensacola, which had been ravaged by the storm. Joe’s family history for generations has been closely entwined with that

alumniAffairs

of BSC: his grandmother was the late Elizabeth Perry Boyles ’35, a staunch supporter of Birmingham-Southern, and his great uncle was Morton H. Perry ’38, a geologist. Their father (Joe’s great-grandfather) was Dr. Wilbur Dow Perry ’05, a turn-of-the-century graduate of Southern University and later head of the English Department at Birmingham-Southern. His father was the Rev. Dow M. Perry, a mid-19th century Methodist minister. In assisting with the cleanup after Ivan’s rampage, Joe and Laura found and carefully dried and restored BSC yearbooks from both his grandmother’s and his greatgrandfather’s eras at ’Southern, as well as other family papers and publications, including a beautifully handwritten collection of sermons and other writings of his great-great grandfather, which they have subsequently presented to the BSC and Methodist archives.

Thanks to these and all the other loyal BSC alumni who recognize the importance of preserving our college’s history.

The approach to Sunshine Slopes, showing a group of faculty houses (mid-1920s). Alumna Bertha Cummins Tyler quipped, “This climb is noted by us (the students) as one of the most breathless moments of our lives.”

The Birmingham News’ account of the “kidnap” and flamboyant return of the BSC stuffed panther by rival Howard students.

’SOUTHERN 37

alumniAffairs

More treasures from the Cummins collection. Left to right, her 1926 commencement program, a period graduation greeting card, and the coed’s tuition receipt for the spring semester of her junior year.

Shown right is a tribute to coed Cummins upon her graduation in spring 1926.

It hailed her as a scholar and a chaffeur for many students who hitched rides to the Hilltop in her Ford.

Do you have a piece of BSC’s past to contribute?

Do you have special photos that speak volumes about your time at ’Southern like this great one sent in by Sherrill Lamppin Bohart ’62 of Seattle, Wash., head BSC cheerleader in 1960? If so, please consider sharing copies (originals cannot be returned) or other significant memorabilia with the Sesquicentennial Quilt Project. To make contributions, contact the Alumni Office at 205/226-4913; 800-523-5793, ext. 4913; or chagood@bsc.edu.

38

,

SOUTHERN

Methodist church memorabilia from the Boyles collection.

Shown left is the first page of an introduction from a handwritten sermon by Dow M. Perry.

The sermon topic was “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

alumniAffairs

Distinguished graduates honored at Reunion 2005 Lauded as a “college that changes lives,” BSC offers more than a strong liberal arts education. Time after time, former students tell how time spent on the Hilltop offered a sense of direction and purpose and set them on the pathway to high achievement. At the Meet the President/Alumni Awards Luncheon during Reunion 2005, five outstanding graduates of the college were honored for careers of distinction. (For more information on each honoree, visit www.bsc.edu/alumni/reunion2005/honorees.htm.)

Distinguished Alumni Theresa Bruno Sprain ’57 Noted educator, and, since 1982, founder and director of the Joseph Bruno Montessori Academy near Birmingham. Sprain developed the school from a student body of four preschool students to a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-accredited academy of 250 students and 35 staff members.

Dr. Carol A. Newsom ’71 Professor of Old Testament in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, her current research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, and apocalyptic literature. She is author, editor, or co-editor of nine books, including The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations, The Women’s Bible Commentary: Expanded Edition, and the New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Outstanding Young Alumni Charles Gaines ’64 Prize-winning freelance print, film, and television writer, he has been a screenwriter for projects including the 1974 film Stay Hungry, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and author of 23 books, among them the international bestseller Pumping Iron and A Family Place: A Man Returns to the Center of His Life.

Rebecca Gilman ’87 An internationally acclaimed playwright, her list of highly successful plays such as Spinning Into Butter and Boy Gets Girl has won numerous prestigious awards. She was a 2001 Guggenheim Fellow and has been lauded by The New York Times and Time and New York magazines, among others.

Karen McElroy Carroll ’87 Editor of Southern Accents magazine, a Southern Progress Corporation publication devoted to the interiors, art, antiques, and gardens of the South, she also is author of three books on decorating and entertaining, among them Entertaining with Southern Style.

‘’SOUTHERN 39

philanthropy

Longtime VP for development Jenkins to retire George L. Jenkins, who has overseen Birmingham-Southern’s fundraising efforts for 23 years and more than $250 million in private contributions, is retiring May 31. In his desire to step down, Jenkins stated that with the successful completion last May of The 21st Century Campaign and the completion of a transition year to a new president, that now was a good time for the college and for him to make this change.

In announcing to the campus community Jenkins’ retirement plans, BSC President Dr. David Pollick stated, “When a new person comes into a community such as that at Birmingham-Southern, regardless of the position they hold, they are deeply dependent on the good will and loyalty of an endless number of people. There is so much to learn. With Dr. Berte’s transition, we were dependent upon the continuity and institutional memory of so many people, George in particular. I was, and am, deeply grateful. Truly, Birmingham-Southern College is far better for the years of dedication George has shown this institution.”

A 1967 graduate of Birmingham-Southern and a third generation alumnus, Jenkins assumed the responsibilities as vice president for development in 1982. He earned a master’s degree in higher education from Florida State University and also held teaching and administrative positions at the University of South Florida and Tulane University. Prior to his employment at the college, Jenkins served as president of the BSC National Alumni Association.

Over the years, Jenkins played a pivotal role in securing funds for such facilities as the Elton B. Stephens Science Center, Edward L. and Corinne Norton Campus Center, Larry D. Striplin Jr. Fitness Center, Jemile and Adele Pharo Azar Art Studios, Marguerite Jones Harbert Building, and Lee and Nancy Bruno Residence Hall, among others.

He has helped secure donations for numerous scholarships, professorships, and other endowed funds. He coordinated the college’s largestever major gifts campaign which concluded in May 2004 with $156 million in gifts and pledges. During his development tenure, Jenkins established the Office of Planned Giving, the Office of Grants and Foundation Relations, and initiated the annual Parents Fund.

“George was always mindful that the purpose of the fundraising was ultimately to benefit the students we serve,” observed BSC Chancellor Dr. Neal Berte. “When he learned of certain needs of individual students, particularly study-travel opportunities, he often took it upon himself to secure the required funds. In these and other ways, George always helped to advance the interests of our students.”

“Birmingham-Southern College and liberal arts education have always been very important to me,” said Jenkins. “I have been fortunate to work closely with two outstanding presidents and a wonderfully supportive Board of Trustees. It has been meaningful to observe the philanthropy, both great and small, of persons who have given of their financial resources to support the educational mission of this institution. Good development work is about good relationships.

40 ’SOUTHERN

George Jenkins photographed in the Development Office in the Stockham Building, which honors early benefactors of BSC Mr. and Mrs. William H. Stockham.

They are in place and will continue.”

Jenkins’ civic endeavors have included serving on the board of the Birmingham Public Library, member of the initial steering committee for Leadership Birmingham, and involvement with the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way. President Pollick currently is conducting a search for Jenkins’ replacement.

Editor’s Note: For alumni and friends wishing to make note of the retirement of George Jenkins from BSC, in addition to personal communications of appreciation and best wishes, there is the option of making a gift to the Jenkins Family Student Travel Fund at the college. Checks should be made payable to Birmingham-Southern College with notation “Jenkins Travel Fund.” Mail to BirminghamSouthern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL 35254.

G IVING

ANNUALLY TO L OYALTY F UND HAS BIG IMPACT ON H ILLTOP

G

iving annually to the BirminghamSouthern Loyalty Fund provides a way to make an immediate impact on current BSC students.

Gifts designated to the Loyalty Fund directly enhance every aspect of the educational experience, from faculty salaries and library books to laboratory equipment and cultural events.

Loyalty Fund support also enables the college to attract the nation’s best students and offer them the finest academic resources and learning environment—the things for which BirminghamSouthern is known.

Foundations and charitable organizations, as

well as rankings such as U.S.News & World Report, use alumni giving as their primary measure of alumni satisfaction with the college.

The goal for 2005 is 40 percent alumni giving.

A gift to the Loyalty Fund is a vote “yes” in favor of BSC, and it increases scholarships and instructional support for students.

Alumni can make contributions to the Loyalty Fund when a BSC student calls during the college’s phonathon or by giving online at www.bsc.edu/egiving. For more information, contact Maggie McDonald, associate director of annual giving, at 205/226-7737 or mmcdonal@bsc.edu.

BSC

b i r m i n g h a m - s o u t h e r n c o l l e g e

philanthropy

Whether recently graduated or recently retired, you can have a significant impact through gift planning Gift planning is a term that relates to donors of all ages. The education and experiences that students receive from their years on the Hilltop are not suddenly appreciated upon retirement. Alumni of all ages feel a similar desire to give something back in recognition for all they gained from Birmingham-Southern. The difference between a recent graduate and someone looking forward to retirement can simply relate to having the financial means to support the college in a significant way. Alumni and friends can have an impact throughout their lives.

One important role of the Development Office at BSC is to prepare young donors to confront charitable giving-related issues. It is similar to learning how to drive a car for the first time. Even if your parents set a great example, it requires a hands-on approach. What young donors have in abundance is enthusiasm and a desire to make a difference.

There also are options that are only available to donors early in their careers. The effect of compound returns means that small amounts set aside at a young age can grow to very large sums later in life. Life insurance premiums are generally very affordable for younger donors, and donating a policy at a young age also can result in a significant contribution to the college in the future. The key is to learn about the alternatives and decide how they best fit with your individual goals.

For alumni and friends who have been supporters of the college for many years, the best solutions are those that take their personal and financial goals into consideration while allowing them to support the education mission of Birmingham-Southern for generations of students to come. The following table provides an overview of some ideas that can help meet your philanthropic goals.

Meeting Your Philanthropic Goals Identify your goals

Avoid taxes on sale of stock, land, or other assets

Establish fixed income stream for life; avoid taxes

Make gift effective after your death

Make large gift at minimal cost

Avoid double taxation (income and estate taxes) on IRA or retirement plan

Consider this solution

Donate appreciated asset rather than selling it

Create charitable remainder trust, or gift annuity with annual returns up to 11.3%

Name BSC in your will, or add codicil to will

Contribute existing life insurance policy, or purchase policy for BSC

Name BSC beneficiary of retirement plan assets

Enjoy the benefits of a gift

1. Receive charitable income tax deduction

1. Receive charitable income tax deduction

1. Control over your assets during your life

1. Receive charitable income tax deduction

1. Avoid income taxes on planned assets donated to BSC

2. Avoid capital gains taxes

2. Avoid capital gains taxes on assets used to create the trust or gift annuity

2. Estate receives gift tax deduction before paying estate taxes

2. Ensure that specific amount will be given to BSC

3. Make immediate gift to BSC

3. Create income stream that is fixed or variable, for your life or specified term

2. Estate receives gift tax deduction before paying estate taxes 3. Using this approach optimizes amount available for your family

4. Make gift to BSC at end of trust or gift annuity

Philanthropy is a lifelong process. No matter what your age or financial resources, you have the ability to impact the lives of future Birmingham-Southern students in a very meaningful way. For more information, contact David Arias, director of planned giving, 205/226-4987; 800-523-5793, extension 4987; or darias@bsc.edu.

42 ’SOUTHERN

at

bscAthletics

Sarah Hibbard (left) and Dawn Stanfield led BSC to its second SEARC Championship in three seasons.

Birmingham-Southern rifle squad caps off historic season Can you name the Birmingham-Southern athletic team that has won more conference championships than any other since the college’s move to NCAA Division I? If you guessed the BSC rifle team, you are correct.

For the second time in three seasons, the Panthers took home the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference Championship after defeating North Carolina State on Feb. 26 in Milledgeville, Ga. It was the fourth meet win of the year for the Panthers, who capped off the most successful season in the program’s brief, four-year history.

Leading the way for BSC all season long were senior Sarah Hibbard of Louisville, Ky., and junior Dawn Stanfield of Clanton, who finished third and fifth, respectively, in the final SEARC standings. In the championship match, Stanfield was the top overall shooter, while Hibbard finished third.

When you consider that half of the team’s eight members are former walk-ons, the feat is quite remarkable.

“During the conference match, I saw a team that was doing everything right,” Head Coach Sam Gladden said. “Shots were executed with perfection, and there were very few technical errors.

“Every team member was a contributor to BSC’s success this year.

Everyone was striving to improve at every practice and to perform at their very best at every match. As a result, they brought a conference title back to BSC.” The rest of the SEARC championship squad is composed of seniors Kristen Kurtts of Hoover and Kate Peinhardt of Cullman; juniors Dory Nash of Homewood and Ashley Powell of Fort Mill, S.C.; and freshmen Katie Furr of Corryton, Tenn., and Sirena Wang of Beijing, China.

Women’s basketball reaches semifinals of conference tournament With six new faces, including four freshmen, and only two seniors, the 2004-05 Birmingham-Southern women’s basketball team went 13-15 overall and 7-7 in the Big South Conference this past season.

The squad took on traditional in-state rivals Troy and Samford and also hosted the 2004 Sheraton Roundball Classic early in the season, taking on Wofford and Lipscomb. BSC also made trips to SEC powers South Carolina and Mississippi State before opening conference play.

The Panthers battled through league play and had a 4-7 record in the conference heading into the final stretch. Three straight wins over Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, and UNC Asheville to end the regular season helped the Panthers clinch the fourth spot in

the standings and earn the right to host a first-round 2005 Big South Conference Tournament game.

The first-round game against No. 5 seed Charleston Southern marked the Panthers’ first time hosting a women’s tournament game since joining the NCAA Division I ranks two years ago. BSC won the game convincingly, beating the Lady Buccaneers by 15 to extend the winning streak to four games. In the semifinals, Coach Janine Hoffman’s team fell to regular season champion and defending Big South champion Liberty, a squad that eventually advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

The Panthers also lost to Liberty in the Big South championship game in 2004.

Junior Stacey Anthony, a Monroe, La., native, averaged a team-best 10.4 points per game this season in leading the Panthers to the semifinal round of the Big South Conference Tournament. ‘’SOUTHERN 43

bscAthletics Seven former athletes inducted into BSC Sports Hall of Fame Seven former Birmingham-Southern athletic greats make up the 2005 class of the Birmingham-Southern Sports Hall of Fame.

Inducted in a May 20 ceremony were Diane Bassett (women’s soccer), Jonathan Crawford (men’s basketball), Thorsten Damm (men’s soccer), Jim Humphreys (men’s basketball and baseball), Mario Mudano (baseball), Brian Rahaley (men’s tennis), and Igor Ranitovic (men’s soccer).

A three-time All-TransSouth Conference selection from 1996-98, Bassett was instrumental in getting the newly formed women’s soccer program off the ground. Bassett currently ranks second in school history in goals scored (41) and tied for first in points (99).

A second team NAIA All-American selection in 1989, Crawford scored 1,110 points in just two seasons at BSC, leading the Panthers in scoring each year. In 1987-88, Crawford led BSC in scoring (18.2 ppg), rebounding (8.1 rpg), and field goal percentage (.593).

One of the most decorated players in BSC men’s soccer history, Damm was a two-time NAIA All-American as a defender. He became just the second Panther to ever be named NAIA National Player of the Year in 1999 when he helped lead BSC to a Final Four appearance.

A four-year letterman in basketball and a two-year letterwinner in baseball, Humphreys earned the Robertson Award, which was given

to the best all-around athlete at BSC. He once scored 26 points against Alabama and led the Panthers in field goal percentage (.551) during the 1967-68 season.

An NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in 1976, Mudano led BSC in ERA in 1975 (1.73) and 1976 (1.82) and helped lead the 1975 Panthers to their first-ever NAIA World Series.

Rahaley helped lead the men’s tennis team to four NAIA National Tournament appearances from 1988-91. He later served as an assistant coach under Ann Dielen, before taking over the helm of the men’s program in 2002. He also is credited with starting the cross country program.

Ranitovic became the third Panther in men’s soccer history to become a three-time NAIA All-American performer as he accomplished the feat from 1997-99 as a goalkeeper. A two-time academic All-American, Ranitovic, along with fellow inductee Damm, helped lead the Panthers to the 1999 NAIA National Tournament Final Four.

Starting this fall, alumni and friends will have an appropriate place to view photos and biographical information on each member of the BSC Sports Hall of Fame in the soon-to-be constructed T.B. Pearson Hall of Fame Room that will adjoin the south side of Bill Battle Coliseum.

Men’s basketball wins two tournaments, advances to Big South semifinals

Jakob Sigurdarson led the Panthers in scoring for the second consecutive season and finished his BSC career fourth on the all-time scoring list. (Photo by Thom Kendall) 44 ’SOUTHERN

On the heels of claiming the 2004 Big South Conference regular season championship and being eligible for NCAA postseason action for the first time in school history, to say the Birmingham-Southern men’s basketball team entered the 2004-05 season with lofty expectations would be an understatement.

After being pegged as the preseason favorite by the league’s coaches and nearly every college basketball publication, the Panthers started the season in the limelight, competing in the prestigious Coaches Versus Cancer Classic in the BJCC Arena in Birmingham. After knocking off in-state rival Alabama A&M, BSC fell just short in its upset bid against then-No. 12 Mississippi State, 55-48.

The confidence gained by hanging with one of the country’s top teams carried over to the Panthers’ non-conference schedule as they won the Pepsi Marist Classic in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in late November and the Dr. Pepper Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., in December, along the way knocking off eventual NCAA Tournament participant and Southern League Champion University of Tennessee Chattanooga.

BSC hit a bump in the road to another Big South title, starting the league schedule 2-5 before catching fire down the stretch. A pair of road wins at Virginia Military Institute and Radford kick-started a stretch that saw the Panthers win six of their last 10 regular season games, including three of their last four Big South contests.

The late flurry pushed BSC into a tie for fourth place and the right to host its first-ever Big South Tournament game against Radford at Bill Battle Coliseum. After a 69-40 win over Radford, the Panthers fell to eventual champion Winthrop on the road. Coach Duane Reboul’s squad finished the season 16-14 overall, marking the second consecutive winning season since becoming a full-fledged Division I institution two years ago.

Senior Jakob Sigurdarson, a Reykjavik, Iceland, native, earned second team All-Big South honors. Senior Shema Mbyirukira of Madison repeated as the Big South Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year and finished as the school’s all-time leading shot-blocker.

classNotes

fromTheArchives

AlumNews Penny Cunningham, longtime lover of the arts and an enthusiastic supporter of the arts scene in Birmingham for many decades, took the starring role at the Mayor’s Arts Award Dinner on Jan. 27, 2005.

That’s when she was presented with the Kincaid Award for Overall Contributions to the Arts, the highest accolade bestowed at the event.

In a Feb. 17, 2005, feature article in The Birmingham News entitled “Lucky Penny,” applause for her outstanding contributions to the arts continued. The piece cited her significant contributions to area arts organizations including the Birmingham Music Club, the Alabama Ballet/Civic Ballet, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, and Children’s Theatre.

’36

Round we go—This year’s Alumni Reunion brought the Class of ’55 (shown here during their college days) back into the old circle to celebrate their 50th anniversary as graduates and renew friendships from days gone by. The next edition of ’Southern will bring a full report on our annual BSC alumni get-together.

AlumNews ’33 Dr. Walter Clayton McCoy of Birmingham was one of 14 citizens nominated this year for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service. This annual recognition of “ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of reward” is administered by the Birmingham PostHerald and NBC-13 and sponsored by the American Institute for Public Service, founded

by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1972.

McCoy was nominated for local and potentially national honors by the daughter of a former patient, who cited the 91-year-old internist’s tireless efforts on behalf of his patients.

’35 Guthrie Smith, mayor of the city of Fayette for 37 years, earlier served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II. As a member of the 100th Infantry Division, Counter Intelligence Corps, he was among the soldiers sent to Dachau at the liberation of the concentration camp and documented what he saw there with a photographic record and memoir.

Alerted to the existence of these records by Smith’s nephew, Merrill Smith of Washington, D.C., who is editor of World Refugee Survey magazine, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial requested that Smith place his unique eyewit-

ness accounts in the museum’s permanent collection. In October 2004, he complied, saying “We must not forget.”

’41 Julian W. Guffin and wife Courtney Twining Guffin ’42 have moved from Conroe, Texas, to Missoula, Mont., to live near their son Warren and enjoy the beauty of Montana.

’42 Dr. Marcus Dee Moody Sr., a longtime community physician and a 2004 inductee into the Childersburg Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame, served that community as grand marshal of the city’s annual Christmas parade Dec. 9, 2004.

’45 Fay Curl and husband Dr. William (Bill) Curl ’48 of Birmingham are building a home in Pensacola, Fla., where their daughter lives.

They plan to move in the fall.

’47 The March 12, 2005, meeting of the North Alabama Conference Historical Society of the United Methodist Church was held in Gordo

at historic Hargrove UMC, founded in 1820.

Rev. William Crawford Davis of Talladega presented a paper on the life and career of Hiram Glass Davis (1860-1927), who was born in the Hargrove community and educated at Southern University in Greensboro, before undertaking an almost 50-year ministry in the Methodist Church.

Retired Bishop Robert C. Morgan ’56 also presented a paper on Alabama’s Bishop Robert Kennon Hargrove.

’49 Dr. James William (Bill) Johnson is an emeritus professor of English at the University of Rochester. He is the ’SOUTHERN 45

classNotes

AlumNews Dr. Paul W. Burleson can add to an impressive list of recognitions in the medical profession as well as honors for service to the community, the prestigious Laureate Award presented by the American College of Physicians, Alabama Chapter.

He received the award at the 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting. Recipients of the Laureate Award must have demonstrated by example and conduct an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education, or research, as well as service to their community and to the American College of Physicians.

Burleson practiced internal medicine in Birmingham for 35 years, primarily at St.Vincent’s Hospital. He also served in academic medicine at the University of Alabama Medical School and in 1986 was appointed Professor of Clinical Medicine Honorus Causa.

Birmingham-Southern also has honored Burleson by awarding him the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983 and bestowing upon him an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1997.

Burleson and his wife, the former Martha Ray Draughn, have generously supported a pre-medicine scholarship at BSC and are members of the Endowment Builders Society. While they primarily reside in Naples, Fla., they keep a residence “back home” in Birmingham.

’38

author of nine books and many articles on British and American literature. His latest book A Profane Wit: The Life of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester was published by the University of Rochester Press in 2004. Living in retirement on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, he now travels extensively—to Indo China, Europe, Mexico, and South America. He has been the recipient of grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies.

Dr. William M. Lawson of Birmingham is retiring June 3, 2005, from a dental career spanning more than 50 years. According to wife Ann Lawson, he graduated from the second class of the dental school at UAB—where Dean Volker, she says, was particularly impressed with ’Southern students—and opened his practice on the Southside in 1953.

Word of Dr. Lawson’s upcoming retirement came to Birmingham-Southern from Master Sgt. David W. Holladay ’97. He, like Dr. Lawson, is a Marine, and, along with his family, is among Lawson’s many longtime patients.

Anne Blackmon Woodress of Muncie, Ind., and her husband Fred Woodress, former BSC faculty member, have published a collection of six plays for young adults, entitled ‘Slave or Free’ & 11 Other Problem-Solving Plays.

’51 Among the guests at January’s gala 50th anniversary dinner and auction benefiting Opera Birmingham was Frieda Roser White, who sang in the company’s first production, Madame Butterfly, in 1955. She and Toula Hagestratou Fulford ’46, also present, were two of the eight founding members of the Birmingham Opera Guild in 1977.

’54 A January 2005 exhibition of the Troy Arts Council, All in the Family, featured the paintings of William O. Porter, his wife, Phoebe DeVaughn Porter, and their daughters Laura DeVaughn Cunningham, Alison DeVaughn Tanner, and Margie Porter Whaley.

’55 Dr. C. Emory Burton of Dallas recently has published a book about a progressive United Methodist minister, chronicling his career, views

46 ‘’SOUTHERN

on theology and contemporary events, and poetry. The book is entitled Preacher, Prophet, Poet: A Biography of Wallace E. Chappell.

Dr. William Thomas Drennen of Columbia, S.C., has published his second novel Eagles Flying Blind (Dorrance, 2004) which he describes as a “spiritual, romantic, adult-Harry Potter-type novel.”

Dr. Jasper L. Faulkner of Birmingham and his wife have continued their world travels with a visit to their son and daughter-in-law in diplomatic service in Peru.

Dr. Joe Johnson, president emeritus of the University of Tennessee, was featured speaker at a March 10, 2005, meeting of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tenn.

’57 The Rev. Dr. James Colvert Sr. of Coral Springs, Fla., is one of 40 persons invited to deliver a paper to the Oxford University Roundtable, Aug. 7–12, 2005, in Oxford, England. The roundtable is a weeklong discussion/forum on education, religion, and politics.

Colvert will deliver “Separation of Church and State: An American Myth?”

’58 Dr. W.G. Hollyfield serves as vice president of San Pablo Theological Seminary in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, and as a chaplain at Point of Care Clinics, a medical practice with offices in Wesley Chapel, Lutz, Zephyr Hills, and Dade City, Fla.

Frances Robb of Huntsville, an independent scholar and member of the Alabama Humanities Foundation speakers bureau, who is completing a book on the history of photography in Alabama, presented “Snapshots and Snapshooters: Imaging Our Lives” at the Fairhope Public Library on Jan. 11, 2005.

classNotes ’60

’65

Elvin Hilyer retired in 1994 from his position

In October 2004, Jimmy S. Calton Sr. was appointed to his fifth consecutive term as city attorney of the City of Eufaula. He also serves as chair of the Eufaula City Board of Education and chair of the Lakeview Community Hospital Board of Trustees. He continues in private law practice with his son, Jim S. Calton Jr.

as associate director (policy coordination) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has spent the last 10 years in Africa (Uganda, Sudan, Ghana) as a representative of The Carter Center, working with governments to implement programs to eradicate Guinea worm and control onchocerciasis (river blindness) and trachoma. He now is settling into a home on the Etowah River near Dahlonega, Ga., and doing periodic consultation with CDC and The Carter Center.

’62 Rev. John L. Vickrey of Fort Wayne, Ind., celebrated 36 years in the ordained ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), retiring in August 2004 after a 15-year pastorate at North Christian Church in Fort Wayne.

’64 Beatrice Hill of Witter Springs, Calif., writes that she has had a long and varied life as a performer and teacher of music for 25 years.

For the past 15 years and presently, she has worked with severely emotionally disturbed children and in assisting her husband on weekends with their walnut ranch. The couple are members of the Farm Bureau, Diamond Walnut Cooperative, and the California Wool Growers Association.

On Oct. 21, 2004, Howell H. Raines of Henryville, Pa., was inducted into the University of Alabama Communication Hall of Fame. The Pulitzer prize-winning journalist is the former executive editor of The New York Times, a publication he earlier served as national editor in Atlanta, White House correspondent, national political correspondent, Washington bureau chief, and editorial page editor.

Dr. Terrell Spencer’s memories of his service in the Army Medical Corps in Vietnam were profiled in UAB’s Summer 2004 Alumni Bulletin magazine. Spencer is quoted as saying, “The main thing those experiences taught me is how similar all people are, how many things they have in common. Under stress, you learn pretty fast which aspects of our lives are just cultural and which ones strike a chord with everybody … You learn to connect with patients as people, because all those surface differences just wash away.” Spencer currently practices with the Birmingham Pulmonary Group.

Dr. John Higginbotham’s work as chair of the Madison County Disaster Preparedness Committee and medical director of the Metropolitan Response System Plan was the subject of an article in the Nov./Dec. 2004 issue of Alabama Technology Today. He is a surgeon and partner in Huntsville’s SportsMed Orthopaedic Surgery and Spine Center.

Peggy Walton-Walker of West Hollywood, Calif., played the role of a preacher’s wife in the Christian-based movie The Second Chance, filmed last fall in Nashville.

’66 Dr. Carol Gillespie Padgett of Birmingham (a.k.a. Martha Matilda, her 19th century performance persona) has been named editor of the Farmers Almanac Newsletter.

’69 Dr. George Marshall Adams of Tampa, Fla. retired March 31, 2004, after 30 years as a physician in family practice.

Robert E. (Bob) Keller of Jonesboro, Ga., retired in December 2004, after nearly three decades as Clayton County’s district attorney.

Appointed to the post in 1977, Keller subsequently won re-election seven times before losing the 2004 election, and was the state’s longest-standing district attorney at the time of his retirement. Keller now is working for the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia.

’70 Susan Harwell Fulton, a teacher in the Mountain Brook school system, was twice nominated by former students for Who’s Who Among American Teachers and was winner of an Excellence of Performance Award in the Mountain Brook system.

David B. Hargett of Bolingbrook, Ill., is chair of the American Sleep Apnea Association, a national non-profit for the benefit of persons with sleep apnea.

AlumNews

’75

The Procession and Other Stories, a first collection of short stories by Dr.

Theron Montgomery III ’75 of Troy was released March 14, 2005. Dr. Sena Jeter Naslund ’64, acclaimed novelist and recentlyappointed poet laureate of the state of Kentucky, has this to say about the work: “The Procession is a collection of stories whose characters will haunt you. They are ourselves migrated to another place and time … the characters can enrich us by helping us understand ourselves and our neighbors. Congratulations to Theron Montgomery for his moving, insightful, and wonderfully original stories.”

Scott Earp, news staff writer for Montgomery’s hometown paper, The Jacksonville News, finds the stories “spellbinding, mesmerizing and enchanting adventures.” And Rick Bragg, author of All Over But The Shoutin’ and Ava’s Man, says “Montgomery just flat-out knows how to tell a rich, full, lovely story.”

Montgomery, who holds a master’s degree in English from Jacksonville State University and a doctorate in creative writing from The Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, teaches English and creative writing at Troy State University. He was a founder of the Alabama Literary Review in 1986, and edited the journal from 198698. From 1995-96, he served as a founding board member for the Alabama Writer’s Forum and as a member of the Southern Literary Task Force for the National Endowment for the Arts. From 1995-98, he served as chief editor of The Alabama English Journal. He currently is fiction editor for the international e-zine Blue Moon Review.

’SOUTHERN 47

classNotes

AlumNews The Nashville City Paper has called her one of the “Top Ten to Watch,” and it’s no wonder—Ashlyn Pierce Hines and the company she serves as a principal, Bristol Development Group, are making a big impact in her hometown of Nashville and in other cities across the Southeast. Since its founding in 1999, the

’85

Whidbey Island reunion—Four friends from the Hilltop, (from left) Barbara Gibbs Read ’60 of Langley, Wash.; her neighbor Helen Braswell Payne ’61; Callie Betancourt Daniell ’62 of Port Ludlow, Wash.; and Sherrill Lamppin-Bohart ’62 of Seattle, met recently at the Payne home on Whidbey Island. With the help of the BSC alumni directory, Daniell had gathered the group of area alums, who enjoyed the fun of looking through BSC yearbooks and memorabilia.

’73 Courtesy The Nashville City Paper.

group has been busily involved in suburban and urban development. In addition to the midtown-Nashville condominium project Bristol on Broadway that captured the City Paper’s attention, the group also is in various stages of development of projects in Richmond, Norfolk, San Antonio, and Memphis, among others. Of special interest to Hines’ friends at BSC: a new development called Bristol Southside, with 170 designer condominiums available spring 2006 in the heart of Birmingham’s UAB/Kirklin Clinic medical center area.

Brig. Gen. Gary Quick of Pinson has been named high school curriculum coordinator for Barbour County.

’72

Rik Kirkland of New York now is global editor of FORTUNE magazine. He previously was managing editor and has been part of the magazine’s staff for 26 years. In the future, Kirkland intends to write for FORTUNE and other publications of Time Inc., to serve as a speaker and panel moderator, and to write books.

William F. Orr of Birmingham, formerly employed by the National Bank of Commerce, now is senior vice president for capital markets at First National Banker’s Bank.

Dr. James W. Sawyer of Longview, Texas, a specialist in internal medicine, was elected president-elect of the Texas chapter of the American College of Physicians at the group’s annual scientific meeting Nov. 5-6, 2004, in Dallas. The ACP is the nation’s largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group, with a membership of more than 115,000 physicians and medical students.

The Texas Chapter of the ACP includes more than 5,700 physicians and medical students.

Philip Martin of Reston, Va., is president of Celebrating Patsy Cline Inc., a group committed to creating a museum honoring the legendary country vocalist in her hometown of Winchester, Va.

48 ‘’SOUTHERN

’74 Birmingham pianist and composer Michael Dulin has won the first annual LifeStyle Music Award in the Best Instrumental Album–Piano

category, for his CD Atmospheres. The award, recognizing the best albums of 2004 in the New Age genre, is sponsored by New Age Reporter, the premiere charting service for international radio programming of New Age music. The voting body for the award consisted of international radio broadcasters and critics. Dulin is part owner of the Equity Digital recording label and Polymusic Studios, Inc., a digital recording facility located in Homewood.

’75 Vivian Lylay Bess Gallups (also MPPM ’85) will graduate in June 2005 from the U.S. Naval War College with a master’s degree in national strategic studies.

On Jan. 1, 2005, Catherine Nathan was named executive director of the First Regional Library in Hernando, Miss. She previously was employed by the Memphis Public Library for 12 years. Nathan also has been elected the 2005 vice president/president-elect of the Mississippi Library Association.

’76 Debbie Wood Medenica, formerly choir director at Erwin High School in Centerpoint now is choir director at North Jefferson Middle School in Kimberly. This 6th-8th-grade program, housed in a brand new building and with a newly-constituted faculty, offers a

classNotes

of Education) District III competitions.

Stewart, who maintains a studio in Homewood, also partnered recently with the Alabama Educational Theatre Association to publish a poster entitled “Stagecoach,” featuring another elaborate composite, this one made up of more than 80 stage-related items and theatrical visual puns. Stewart’s work was profiled last fall on the National Public Radio arts program Studio 360, produced by WNYC.

’82 Franklin foursome—Over in Middle Tennessee, four other former Hilltoppers enjoy the fun of getting together with college friends. (From left) Dr. William Randolph ’60, Harold Pickel ’60, John Westenberger ’62, and Jack Phillips ’60, all Nashville-area grads, are shown getting together for a memorable lunch at a Franklin, Tenn., restaurant.

Clinton K. Ball of Rainbow City, former staff accountant with Robert Half International, writes that he has retired to the country to fish and watch wildlife.

Jeffrey A. Chapman recently joined Oak

tremendous opportunity, she says, to build a program from the ground up. After school, she performs around town with “Ladies’ Night Out,” a five-woman vocal group offering jazz and light pop, often accompanied by pianist Dr. Ray Reach ’75. Her husband, sculptor Branko Medenica ’72, and their two yellow tabbies Butter and Scotch, still are enjoying living up the hill from the Birmingham Zoo.

Betty J. Terry of Birmingham, a 2002 graduate of Culinard, the Culinary Institute of Virginia College, now is a foods editor at Taste of the South magazine, where she will be responsible for developing and testing recipes and writing articles. She formerly was employed for 19 years at Regions Financial Corp.

’80 ’78

Steve Reich of Birmingham now is a consul-

Dr. Lawrence Roger Lacy is author of Richard and Me, related to the work of artist Richard Schmid and available on the Internet through Stove Prairie Press. Lacy also writes stories, essays, and novels that he plans to submit for publication when his life settles from the transition of beginning a part-time practice in psychiatry.

tant with The Prism Group, a career and talent management firm.

’81 In a Feb. 18, 2005, article in The Tuscaloosa News, it was reported that Alabama Medicaid Commissioner Carol Herrmann of Birmingham had announced the settlement of a long-standing dispute between the state and federal governments over the funding methodology of Medicaid in the state. Medicaid provides medical care for about one million poor residents in Alabama. Under terms of the new agreement between state and federal governments, Hermann says needed services will continue without increased costs to the state.

The cover of the fall 2004 issue of the Alabama Medical Alumni Bulletin, featuring a Don Stewart composite drawing, received the Grand Award for Illustration in the most recent CASE (Council for Advancement and Support

Ridge (Tenn.) Associated Universities as a senior health physicist in the radiological safety, assessments and training group. He holds a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M and has done doctoral studies in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Alexander Gelman of Sycamore, Ill., professor and director of the school of theatre and dance at Northern Illinois University, recently directed a production of Aristophanes’ The Birds which toured to Russia and was performed at the Moscow Art Theatre.

Dr. Michael Shoemaker of New Market, Md., was awarded the highest honor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA Gold Medal, in April 2004, for “extraordinary contributions to the safe and effective inactivation of anthrax spores contaminating the U.S. Postal Service Brentwood Processing and Distribution Center.” He and co-investigator Dr. Thomas B. Elliott were the only Department of Defense employees so honored in 2004. Shoemaker is an investigator at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. His wife is former classmate Vivian K. Mayes Shoemaker.

Christopher H. Vance of Clarkston, Mich., was named vice president for business development and M&A at BorgWarner Inc. He previously served the company as vice president of finance.

’SOUTHERN 49

classNotes ’84

BSC Service At Home . . .

Kirstin Anderson ’02, a graduate of BSC in music education, is in her third year as music teacher at St. Aloysius School in the Harlem section of New York City. Through the generosity of BSC alumna Beverly Sims Hosokawa ’73 and her husband, David, of Taos, N.M., this outstanding school has had a flourishing music program staffed by BSC graduates. First was Andrea Parker ’00, a native of Washington state, succeeded by Anderson, a Nashville native, shown here teaching piano to St. Aloysius students. These two outstanding alumnae show how far the music education at Birmingham-Southern has reached—from coast to coast— and the impact it has made on underprivileged students in the nation’s largest city.

Margaret Hervey Folsom ’01 is pursuing a doctorate in psychology at the University of Alabama. At the April 28-30, 2004, conference of the Georgia Association of School Psychologists, Folsom received the Innovative Practices Award—the first ever awarded to an intern—for a project she designed to disseminate information on the roles and successful practices of school psychologists. This project was completed during her internship in the Cobb County, Ga., school system for the education specialist degree. At the April 16, 2004, Honors Day at UA, Folsom was awarded “Most Outstanding Graduate Student” in psychology for her scholarship, service, and commitment to professional growth. In October 2004, she was a presenter at the Georgia Association of School Psychologists Conference, reading a paper on “Making Behavior Contracts Effective: Collaborative Development.”

In August 2004, Dr. Edward M. Lindsey Jr. ’83 was recognized as a diplomate in the American Board of Special Care Dentistry for his significant efforts to promote the oral health of people with special needs. Through volunteerism with the UAB School of Dentistry and Hospital, he has been committed to developing access and providing dental care for persons not treatable in a clinical setting. For 10 years, he has volunteered as a clinical instructor with the UAB Hospital Dental Clinic, and for the past four years has been the instructor for the general dental residents who treat special needs patients in the operating rooms at UAB. For the past three years, Lindsey has been treating patients in the operating rooms at Gadsden Regional Memorial Center, providing patients in northeast Alabama the same access to care that is offered at UAB. In addition, he is on the staff of Children’s Rehabilitation Services, a division of the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services that provides care for cleft palate and developmentally disabled children. He also is dental director of many local nursing homes and serves as an advisor for geriatric dental services on the Alabama State Board of Dental Public Health.

Lindsey has been promoted to clinical assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at UAB and has earned recognition as a fellow of the American Association of Hospital Dentists. There are only 150 fellows worldwide; Lindsey is one of five in the state and the only one in private practice.

50 ‘’SOUTHERN

Dr. David Dyson, MPPM, of Birmingham has published a book entitled Professionalism Under Stress: Lessons for Professionalism, Stress, and Gunfighting in Military and Civilian Life (Milestone Books). Its intent is to help professionals, soldiers, business leaders, parents, and mentors manage stress and achieve balance in their lives.

’85 Theodore S. (Ted) Davis has accepted the position of organist and choirmaster at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Md. He will assume direction of the St. Bartholomew’s Choir and Choristers and will assist the parish in the planning, fundraising, and installation of a 57-stop Casavant organ, to be restored and installed by Baltimore-based organ builder David M. Storey. He continues to maintain an active schedule as a guest organist, harpsichordist, and chamber music performer.

’87 Judy Smith Mannings has completed her MBA through the University of Phoenix. She now is enrolled in the doctoral degree program in organizational leadership. She still is employed with the U.S. Postal Service as marketing manager for the Alabama district and will complete 40 years of service next year.

’88 Jana Marian Fowler graduated from the Birmingham School of Law in May 2004 and was admitted to the bar in September 2004.

Kristi Coambes Stapler of Gardendale, whose sixth baby was born in January 2004 (see “Births”), has begun teaching day-long seminars called “Organizing Moms.”

’89 Keith Allen Blanchard, wife Rebecca Fleming Blanchard ’90, and their three children now are living in Lake Mary, Fla. He recently was promoted to lab manager of a TestAmerica Lab in Orlando.

classNotes

. . . And Abroad Will Davenport of Birmingham has been promoted to executive vice president at Capstone Development Corp., a turnkey provider of development and management services for U.S. colleges and universities.

Dr. Teresa Reed of Anniston presented a lecture entitled “Shadowy Concepts: The Texts of Mary’s Body” on Nov. 24, 2004, at the State Museum of Berlin (Germany). The lecture was part of a year-long series of lectures on the Virgin Mary called “The Feminine and the Sacred.” Reed is a medievalist who holds a master’s degree from the University of Virginia and a doctoral degree from the University of Florida.

’90 Richard K. Behr now is a loan officer for EquiSouth Mortgage in Montgomery. He and wife Laura have two daughters.

U.S.A.F. Maj. James Bryan Mackey recently was awarded the Bronze Star in a ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He received the decoration for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 for meritorious achievement as commander of Detachment 3, 4 EASOS, while engaged in ground combat against an enemy of the United States.

Mackey’s detachment served at Balad Southeast Air Base, Iraq.

James S. Witcher III of Birmingham, an attorney practicing in the field of civil litigation, has been promoted to member of the firm at Hand Arendall.

Heather M. Hair ’03 (left) and Mary Louis Lydick ’03 both are pursuing master’s degrees in nursing at Vanderbilt University. Last July, the two participated in a medical mission trip to South America through Vanderbilt’s medical campus outreach program SMI (Summer Medical Institute). Working with the faith-based group Mission to the World, they traveled to Peru for 10 days of work in a clinic providing pediatric and women’s health care, as well as general medical services, to a native population who spoke Cuscos rather than Spanish. Lydick says that the two had to miss class in order to attend the institute, but found the experience spiritually rewarding and academically challenging. “We learned about ourselves and about other cultures,” she says.

Hair hopes to return to Peru this summer for the full two-week program.

Dr. Weily Soong ’95 is a resident in internal medicine at Yale University. His wife, Lauri George Soong ’93 (at left in photo at left), teaches elementary school in Marlborough, Conn. But during the month of February, in each of four recent years, they have traveled to Nicaragua to work in a local hospital, and hope to return as often as possible. The work they do there is sponsored by the service organization FOR Nicaraguan Health, a group founded by Dr. Rudolfo Vargas, a native of Nicaragua who now lives in Birmingham.

While in Nicaragua, Weily works in the internal medicine clinic, seeing patients all day. Lauri helps in the triage area, registering patients, asking preliminary questions, and checking blood pressures and blood sugar levels.

“The trip is special to us for many reasons,” she says. “It is exciting to see another culture firsthand … but mostly we enjoy helping the people. They are extremely friendly, and though many live in desperate situations, they have such a positive outlook on life. The happiness and hope they possess is contagious.”

Rick Marks of Montgomery now is owner

The Soongs, at right.

On Sept. 18, 2004, Dr. Dan A. Milner Jr. ’95 received a grant from the College of American Pathologists to continue his work in analyzing causes of malaria and other infectious diseases that plague the community of Blantyre, Malawi, in southern Africa. Grant funds will enable him to purchase up-to-date clinical equipment and textbooks for the student pathologists at the University of Malawi and to continue working with that school to develop its medical curriculum to the highest possible standard.

Milner has completed his fourth year in the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston as an anatomy and clinical pathology resident. He also is a clinic fellow in pathology at Harvard Medical School and teaches courses in pathology, parasitology, immunology, and other topics.

and president of Snelling Personnel Service.

He formerly has been employed as a lawyer and as a banker.

BSC classmates Dr. Jim Walter ’83 (left) and Dr. Sid Brevard ’83 both are now U.S. Air Force

’91 Ben Craig has been promoted to vice president of strategic services at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. He joined the exchange five years ago and holds master’s degrees from the Fels School of Government at the University of Pennsylvania and from Tulane University.

He and wife Laura Boyd Craig ’89 have two children.

’92 Matthew Todd Hunter, MPPM, of Birmingham has been appointed senior purchasing manager at Drummond Co. Inc.

medical personnel. In May 2004, while serving at a military first-aid station in Cambodia, they worked together on a case unusual for American physicians. The young man shown with them, a 20-year-old Cambodian, had been bitten by a cobra. Following his family’s two-hour drive to try to obtain care for him, his chances for survival were not considered good. However, with careful treatment, he recovered from what could easily have been a fatal incident.

classNotes Albert Watkins (Watt) Key Jr. of Mobile has just signed a two-book contract with Farrar, Straus, and Giroux of New York. The first book, a Southern-fiction novel, will be in bookstores across the country in the fall of 2006. This first novel is based on a wilderness survival Interim done at Birmingham-Southern in 1990.

Nikke Meek Shilling and her growing family (see “Births”) have moved to Chicago, where her husband is working for a national defense contract company, focusing on counterterrorism measures for commercial aircraft.

Wells Rutland (Rusty) Turner has been named Cullman’s new municipal court judge.

With a law degree from the University of Alabama, he has practiced law in Cullman since 1995.

’93 W. David Bertanzetti of Birmingham has been named a vice president at Southland National Insurance Corp.

Subspecialty Education Award for Excellence in Resident Education by the Department of Pediatrics and was a 2003 Argus Award nominee for Best Pediatric Attending by the School of Medicine Class of 2004.

Scott Reed, MPPM, of Birmingham has been named chief administrative officer of the central region at Regions Bank. He remains executive vice president.

Dr. Brian K. Wade completed a urology residency at UAB in June 2004. He and his growing family (see “Births”) will remain in Birmingham as he joins Eastern Urology Associates at Medical Center East in the practice of general urology.

’95 Anna-Katherine Graves Bowman of Birmingham was recently named partner at the law firm of Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, where she actively is engaged in defending medical malpractice cases, products liability actions, professional errors and omissions, worker’s compensation claims, and personal

injury cases. She also has defended employment and insurance cases.

Peggy Facklis, a labor and employment attorney with Jenkins & Gilchrist P.C. in Dallas, recently was featured in D Magazine’s February 2005 issue as one of Dallas’ 12 most eligible bachelorettes.

Dr. Christopher Eugene Nicholls of Dothan is enjoying his work as an OB/GYN, and wife Dr. Melanie Pike Nicholls ’96, will continue her practice in internal medicine, following their new arrival (see “Births.”)

’96 John Goodwyne Camp graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in May 2003 and joined the Alabama State Bar in September 2003.

Ivey Hanks St. Cyr was named one of 10 finalists for special recognition in the Birmingham Post-Herald 2005 Distinguished Teacher Awards program. She has taught eighth-grade language arts at Berry Middle School since 1996.

Jason Pinyan has been promoted to agent in the celebrity endorsements department at International Creative Management Inc. in Beverly Hills. His clients include Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Meg Ryan, and Denzel Washington.

David E. Rains, a partner at Tanner & Guin in Tuscaloosa, has been named by the Alabama State Bar board of commissioners to the inaugural Class of 2005 of the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum.

’94 Scott L. Berte has joined the Birmingham office of Dixon Hughes accounting firm as a senior manager.

Dr. Tony Mark McGrath has been named an assistant professor at UAB. He holds a medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he also completed an internal medicine internship and neurology residency. He then served a pediatric neurology fellowship at UAB and an internship in the Department of Pediatrics. At UAB, he was awarded the 2003 Quarterback Club 52 ‘’SOUTHERN

Ready, set, go!—More than 250 guests enjoyed the 16th annual Birmingham-Southern Easter Egg Hunt, which took place March 19 on the Striplin Center lawn. Dozens of excited children lined up for the starting signal and their chance at 2,000 jelly bean-filled eggs and a wealth of assorted prizes. Face painting and other entertainment provided by student and staff volunteers added to the fun.

classNotes David Pitts has accepted a faculty position in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. He will receive a doctoral degree in public administration and policy from the University of Georgia this summer.

Dr. Jeremy Stewart Rogers was named

Nashville chapter event—Feb. 24, 2005, brought BSC President Dr. G. David Pollick to Tennessee to meet with Nashville-area alums at an evening reception hosted by David Taylor ’86, president of the BSC Alumni Association. Taylor (center) is shown here with guests (from left) Ann Farrow Hamner ’86, Ashlyn Pierce Hines ’85, Jaydie Gamble Fay ’86, and Christine McKelvey Grisham ’86.

Stephanie Bethke Stoll received a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Auburn University on Dec. 17, 2004. She has accepted a faculty position as the director of outpatient services for the pediatric feeding disorders unit for the Marcus Institute and Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta.

’97 Dr. Gavin Braunstein of Alexandria, Va., has completed a two-year Presidential Management Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Defense and accepted a permanent position at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He manages international biomedical research projects with former Soviet biological weapons scientists in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia.

Christopher Clowdus now is serving as director of the Greater New Haven (Conn.)

Community Chorus.

Lisa C. Greene is a territory sales manager for Molulycke Health Care in north Alabama and routinely visits operating rooms and long term care facilities to educate surgeons and other health care personnel on the use of her company’s products.

Lianne Hayes Robinson was named director of women’s ministries at Harmony Grove Baptist Church in Winfield.

Susan Williams sang the soprano solo in Manuel de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat with the Akron (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra in January.

She is pursuing her doctor of musical arts degree in vocal performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

’98 Katherine Wells Turnage, husband Zach, and their new arrival (see “Births”) have moved from Dallas to Montgomery.

’99 Veeral Majmudar has been accepted to the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and will be attending this fall.

Ben Moncrief is a new associate at Bradley Arant Rose & White L.L.P. law firm in Birmingham. A former Rotary International Scholar at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, he received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 2003.

president-elect of the Emergency Medicine Residents Association at the 2004 annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in San Francisco. One of the largest and oldest independent resident organizations, EMRA represents the interests and views of more than 6,200 residents, medical students, and alumni. In his three-year term as president-elect, president, and immediate past-president, Rogers will take on a variety of leadership and advisory roles for the organization.

He currently is a second-year emergency medicine resident at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del. He is married to Becky Hill Rogers ’98.

Melanie Laura Styers has received a doctoral degree in biochemistry, cell, and developmental biology from Emory University in Atlanta.

She also received a post-doctoral training fellowship to continue her work at Emory over the next year.

’00 Clifton Arlien Martin earned an MBA in May 2004. He currently is pursuing a master’s degree in real estate with a concentration in development at New York University.

Anna Tillman Wilson of Montgomery recently joined Wilson, Price, Barranco, Blankenship, and Billingsley as a staff accountant.

’01 Graham Burgess has become associated with the Huntsville-based law firm of Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne P.C. Watson Donald has been promoted to senior legislative assistant, serving in the office of U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner in Washington, D.C. He will deal with agriculture, defense, and Social Security matters. He previously worked, for almost three years, for U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Hall Eady has become associated with the Birmingham office of Bradley Arant Rose & White L.L.P. He is a member of the firm’s litigation practice group and will concentrate his practice in general civil litigation, in both state and federal courts. ’SOUTHERN 53

classNotes

In Memoriam

’28

Eliza Boulware Stokes Brunson of Mobile died Feb.

27, 2005. After graduation from Birmingham-Southern, she received a master’s degree in English from Vanderbilt University, with additional studies toward a doctorate at Columbia University in New York. As a young woman, she served as a teacher, was employed at International Paper Co., and was a church secretary at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church in Mobile, a post at which she continued after her marriage in 1944.

Later, her time was divided between caring for her young family, including two children; assisting her husband in his legal practice; and, increasingly, taking part in a wide variety of community service.

She was for seven years secretary of the Deep South Council of the Girl Scouts of America and was board secretary for the Arthritis Association.

In the early ’70s, along with her late husband, District Court Judge Paul W. Brunson, she chartered and for two decades provided leadership to the Church Street East Historic District community organization, her neighborhood from 1969.

She continued service at Dauphin Way UMC as a Sunday school teacher, director of foreign missions, and active circle member.

In later years, she wrote family history and memoirs. A 2004 publication, Family History and Statistics: Stokes and Harris, includes a very interesting account of her education at BSC during the ’20s. Always an ardent supporter of the college, and a member of the Ginkgo Society, in 2003 she established the Eliza Stokes Brunson Scholarship for the benefit of BSC students.

Brian Flanagan and Sarah Sharpe Flanagan are living in Birmingham. He is a sophomore at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and she is a senior at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry.

Alaina M. Harris has accepted a two-year fellowship in Washington D.C., with the Health Resources and Services Administration, housed in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Jerry Hinnen has joined The Demopolis Times as a staff writer.

54 ‘’SOUTHERN

Tracy Lynn Lewis will graduate from law school at the Mississippi College School of Law in May 2005.

promoted to senior real estate analyst at the Birmingham headquarters of Collateral Mortgage Capital.

Peabody Symphony Orchestra, receiving a glowing review from the Baltimore Sun. In February, he was one of the winners of the district Metropolitan Opera auditions in Birmingham. In March, at Peabody, he sang one of the lead roles in the world premiere of the opera The Alien Corn by composer Thomas Benjamin.

Karen Michelle Michael received a

’03

master’s degree in agency counseling from UAB in December 2004. She is working for the Homicide Survivors Program in Huntsville, doing grief counseling for those who have lost loved ones to murder or vehicular homicide.

Matthew Caine of Pensacola, Fla., has received a master’s degree in music education from Samford University.

Landon Litty of Birmingham has been

Caroline Mobley graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law and currently is serving a one-year appointment as law clerk to Judge James P. Smith in Madison County.

She passed the Alabama State Bar in September 2004.

Tyrenda Williams graduated in May 2004 from NYU with a master’s degree in journalism and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She worked at ABC News from November 2003 to November 2004, and currently is employed at the Ms. Foundation for Women in New York. In August, she plans to return home to continue her pursuit of an on-air television career.

’02 Emily Heck of Birmingham now is working at the UAB Center for Disaster Preparedness.

LaTonya Roy will graduate with honors in May from Faulkner University in Montgomery with a master’s degree in science management.

Baritone Daniel Seigel, son of Dr. Lester C. Seigel ’79, BSC Joseph Hugh Thomas Professor of Music, and Jane Sisson Seigel ’80, personal counselor in the BSC Counseling Center, graduated last May with a master’s degree in music from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. He was awarded a full tuition scholarship to continue studies at Peabody toward the Graduate Performance Diploma degree in opera, and is continuing voice study with renowned bass-baritone John Shirley-Quick. In January 2005, he was a soloist in Mahler’s Songs of A Wayfarer with the

Matt Taylor of Birmingham has signed as an Epic recording artist with his band the StewartMayfield Project. The group also includes former BSC music students Matthew Mayfield, Will Mason, and Hans Ford.

’04 Claudia Ann Adams of Columbia, S.C., is singing with the group Carolina Alive.

Amy Elizabeth Brown of Detroit, Mich., a volunteer coordinator and US-2 missionary for the UMC Board of Global Ministry, will be featured in a future issue of Response magazine.

Elizabeth Gebhart is enrolled in a master’s degree program in classical education at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, N.M.

Derek Wade Griffith of Arab has completed his first year of professional baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies organization and was invited to the Phillies’ fall instructional league, reserved for top prospects from the minors.

Wanda Rhodes Harper of Birmingham recently was named Teacher of the Week at Rutledge Middle School, where she is a special education teacher.

The photography of Charles Horn of Goodwater was exhibited in September 2004 by the Clay County Arts League in its series “Through the Artist’s Eyes.”

John Linhoss currently is teaching conversational English at Kodolanyi University in Hungary.

classNotes

Marriages and Engagements

Lora Leigh Griggs ’02 and William

John Fred Wood III ’85 and Kelly Menefee

and Lisa Marie Holland, Jan. 15, 2005.

James Evans Craft ’04 and Megan D. Gorman, April 23, 2005.

Christina Marie Rumore ’04 and Joel Hare, Dec. 18, 2004.

Ryan Michael Simms ’04 and Leslie Box, August 2003.

Elizabeth Frances Mills ’05 and Jeremiah Hamilton Price, June 25, 2005.

Poole, Nov. 13, 2004.

Brad Bailey ’93 and Amy Smith, May 7, 2005.

Patton Pattillo Morrison ’93 and John Avington Barton, Jan. 22, 2005.

Jonathan Morton ’94 and Jennie Smith, April 3, 2005.

Christopher Patrick Couch ’95 and Melanie Beth Martin ’97, Oct. 30, 2004.

Mary Ann Oliver ’95 and Brian Morris, Dec. 3, 2005.

Stephanie Bethke ’96 and Marlon Stoll, March 20, 2004.

Cindy Lynn Salser ’96 and Foster David Mathews III, Dec. 4, 2004.

George Harold Fibbe ’97 and Anne Reagan Harris, Oct. 23, 2004.

Laura Harris Luckie ’97 and Albert Patric Finch IV, Feb. 25, 2005.

Alice Marie Ottewill ’97 and Matthew Clarke Jackson, Jan. 15, 2005.

Catherine Denise Wammack ’97 and Jeffrey Stephen Solomon, Oct. 23, 2004.

Michelle Shannon ’98 and Dave Bennett, May 8, 2004.

Richard Marshall Thayer ’98 and Carolyn Ann Viehe, April 9, 2005.

Teresa A. Mixon ’99 and Chris Jones, March 2004.

Christopher George Thomaskutty ’99 and Hilary Ann Roxe, Dec. 4, 2004.

Andrea Brown ’00 and Kenny Reynolds Jr., June 4, 2005.

Kirk Christopher Mills ’00 and Suzanne Murphree Powell, Feb. 12, 2005.

John Allen Baggett ’01 and Loren Leigh McAnally, Dec. 11, 2004.

John Sebastian Bivona Jr. ’01 and Katherine Mason Trucks, March 5, 2005.

Brian Flanagan ’01 and Sarah Sharpe ’01, August 2004.

Tracy Lynn Lewis ’01 and Alex Richards, June 18, 2005.

Caroline P. Mobley ’01 and Jerrod Walker, Aug. 27, 2005.

Glenn Ireland Drennen ’02 and Bridget Garland Beattie, April 23, 2005.

Lauren Kelly Faulkner ’02 and Kevin Humphrey, March 25, 2006.

Samuel Tynes, engaged Dec. 19, 2004; will announce further plans following service in Iraq.

In Memoriam

John Thomas Mooresmith, Jr. ’02

’30

Virginia Dale McMahan, “Ginny Mc,” of Birmingham

died Feb. 15, 2005. In 1961, she received a master’s degree in English from BSC. She was a teacher at Central Park Elementary School from 1930-44.

From 1944 until her retirement in 1977, she was a member of the Birmingham-Southern alumni staff, work she continued on a part-time basis until 1997.

She was, according to Vice President for

Births A son, Jack Jr., Oct. 28, 2003, to

Elizabeth Boggs Eason ’86 and husband Jack (with a second son due July 26, 2005).

A son, William George, October 2003, to Jana Marian Fowler ’88 and Jason Fowler ’89.

A daughter, Emily Wells, Jan. 9, 2005, to Richard D. Gregory ’88 and wife Charlotte (sisters Caroline and Mary Elizabeth).

A daughter, Amy Caroline Randall, Dec. 21, 2004, to Richard Randall ’88 and wife Jayne Sisson Randall. (sisters and brother, Elizabeth, Kathryn, and Joshua. Grandparents are Jerry Sisson ’58 and Laura Sisson ’79; uncles and aunt are Tommy Sisson ’84, Leigh Ann Sisson ’87, and Bryan Sisson ’94).

A daughter, Bethany Ann, January 2004, to Kristi Coambes Stapler ’88 and husband Gary (brothers and sister, Christopher, Jeremy, Nathaniel, Katie Ann, and Joshua).

A son, Richard H. IV, Feb. 24. 2005, to Richard H. Monk III ’89 and wife Jeanne (sister, Alice).

A son, Finley Lloyd Evans, Jan. 14, 2004, to Dr. Jennifer R. Root ’89 and husband Dr. Forest Evans Jr. A daughter, Adewunmi Tinuke, Feb. 26, 2004, to Chinyere Nchege Atiba ’90 and husband Gregory (sister, Aderounke).

Development George L. Jenkins, “BSC’s institutional memory.” Her friends in the ’Southern community are without number. According to former president Neal R. Berte, “There simply are not words to express appreciation for both the quality and quantity of [her] exemplary leadership and service” to her alma mater. On the occasion of her 75th birthday, the alumni of BSC and her many other friends established the Virginia Dale McMahan Scholarship in her honor.

She was a member, choir member, and retired elder at First Christian Church. She also was recreation director for camps at Mentone, Winnataska, and Camp Coleman Girl Scout Camp for many years. A member and past president of The Altrusa Club of Birmingham, she was named “Altrusan of the Year” in 1964.

Contributions in her memory may be made to the Virginia Dale McMahan Scholarship Fund at Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL 35254.

A son, Maximiliano Ramirez (“Max”), Aug. 6, 2004, to Elizabeth Fairchild Cervantes ’92 and husband Jose.

A son, Eli Silas, Nov. 19, 2004, to Amorak Koehler Huey ’92 and wife Dr. Ellen Elisa Schendel ’93 (sister, Zoe-Kate).

’SOUTHERN 55

classNotes

In Memoriam

’39

Houston Allen Brice Jr. of

Birmingham died March 1, 2005.

With an MBA from the University of Michigan, he began his business career in real estate and banking, but rose to greatest success in his family’s firm Brice Building Co. Inc., which he served successively as secretary, vice president, president, chair of the board of directors, and chief executive officer.

He held the title of chair emeritus until his death.

Under his leadership, the firm became one of the most prominent and highly respected construction companies in the Southeast, consistently appearing in Engineering News Record’s list of the country’s top 400 contractors. Under his direction, many major projects were completed, including the SouthTrust Tower, Eye Foundation Hospital, Independent Presbyterian Church, and corporate offices for Protective Life Insurance Co., EBSCO, and Southern Progress Corp.

Brice’s service to the community included membership on the boards of many organizations including the Alabama Symphonic Association, Eye Foundation Hospital, Birmingham Museum of Art, University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, and The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. His support for the Boy Scouts of America program was noteworthy. He also was a generous supporter of area educational institutions, including BSC, where he was a member of the Ginkgo Society and the Endowment Builders Society. In 1995, he and his wife established the Betty and Houston A. Brice Jr. Scholarship at Birmingham-Southern.

Survivors include wife Elisabeth Ferguson Brice and children including daughter Derry Brice Bunting ’69 and son-in-law Dr. Peter Bunting ’66.

A son, “Matthew” Charles Mingus, Feb. 4, 2005, to Kitty Collier Mingus ’92 and husband Matt (brother, Collier).

A son, James Allen “Jay” Shilling, Nov. 1, 2004, to Nikke Meek Shilling ’92 and husband Jim (sisters Abbey and Ansley).

A daughter, Emilie Elizabeth, born March 13, 2004, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and welcomed into the family Dec. 16, 2004, by Katie Woychak Houser ’93 and Dr. Jody Houser ’93 (sister, Anna Lauren).

A daughter, Anna Waldrom, April 14, 2004, to Dr. Brian K. Wade ’94 and Ivey Johnson Wade ’95 (brother, Thomas).

A son, Nathan Christopher, Dec. 12, 2004, to Dr. Christopher Eugene Nicholls ’95 and Dr. Melanie Pike Nicholls ’96.

A son, Evan Cole, Nov. 26, 2004, to Thomas Paul Barnett ’96 and Melissa Bryant Barnett ’98.

A daughter, Anabel, Nov. 18, 2003, to Julia Baxley Camp ’96 and John Goodwyne Camp ’96.

A son, Niles Alexander, Nov. 11, 2004, to Amanda Sorrell Bond ’97 and husband Ryan.

A daughter, Madeline Clare, Nov. 4, 2004, to Angela Coppins Roberts ’97 and Andy Roberts ’97.

A daughter, Caitlin Haller, March 4, 2005, to Sara Haller Chinnock ’98 and husband Andrew.

A daughter, Natalie Elizabeth, March 15, 2005, to Katherine Wells Turnage ’98 and husband Zach.

A daughter, Shelby Lynn, Nov. 2, 2004, to Katie Brown Braddock ’00 and husband Scott (sister, Grace).

A daughter, Emma Elizabeth, Oct. 25, 2004, to Margaret Woodyard Williams ’01 and husband Jim. A daughter, “Brynn” Olivia, Feb. 18, 2005, to Jamie Harris Wilson ’02 and husband Johnny.

In Memoriam Beverly Aderhold Pilgreen ’30 of Phoenix, Ariz., died March 19, 2004. Her husband was the late Norman O. Pilgreen ’32.

Bessie Stanton Smith ’30 of Knoxville, Tenn., died May 21, 2004.

Dr. Glover Moore ’32 of Birmingham died Nov. 9, 2004. With master’s and doctoral degrees from Vanderbilt University, he taught history and was the major professor and mentor for history graduate students at Mississippi State University from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. His sister was the late Kathleen Mims Moore Peacock ’58.

Helen Wright ’32 of Birmingham died March 9, 2005. An accomplished pianist, she taught at the Birmingham Conservatory of Music for 12 years and at Southeastern Bible College for 30 years. She also served as director of religious education at the Chalkville campus of the Alabama Youth Services. Her brother was the late Paul Wright ’32. Survivors include brother-in-law Dr. Bruce K. Johnson ’40.

Fay Hyche Donaldson ’33 of Birmingham died Dec. 3, 2004. With a master’s degree from the University of Alabama, she taught school for a total of 36 years in the Walker County and Birmingham school systems and was a past president of Delta Kappa Gamma teachers’ honorary.

Katherine Windham Foshee ’34 of Andalusia died Jan. 15, 2005.

Lessie Gewin Mitchiner ’34 of Mobile died Jan. 9, 2005.

Robena Evins Orr ’34 of Homewood died March 20, 2005. She taught school for 28 years in Birmingham and Homewood and was very active in community associations benefiting children.

Frances K. Merkl Gauley ’35 of Westlake Village, Calif., died June 30, 2004. Survivors include husband Sherman Gauley.

Bernice Lokey Craig ’36 of Birmingham died Feb. 17, 2005. She was a founding member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

Dr. John Leonard Pyron ’36 of Avondale Estates, Ga., died Jan. 28, 2005. With a master’s degree in education from the University of Florida, from 1936-46 he taught science, 56 ‘’SOUTHERN

classNotes coached basketball, and later served as a principal, before attending dental school at Emory University, where he received a degree in 1948.

A recipient of the Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry, he was recognized in 1998 for 50 continuous years of service in dentistry.

Lucille Horton Howard ’37 of Birmingham died Dec. 14, 2004. She was a high school teacher and counselor.

Albert Lee Mills ’37 of Mountain Brook died March 13, 2005. During his more than 50-year career in real estate, he received honors including Birmingham’s Top Realtor of the Year and the President’s Cup Award. He was an active civic leader serving as president of Operation New Birmingham, chair of the Alabama State Fair Authority, director of the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, and vice chair of the Birmingham-Jefferson Trade Mart Authority. He also was instrumental in achieving the city’s designation of “All American City” by Look magazine and the National League of Municipalities. Survivors include daughter-in-law Gail Livingston Mills ’82.

Mary Margaret Carr ’39 of Atlanta died Dec. 24, 2004. She was a national leader in social work. With a master’s degree from Tulane University, she taught at Vanderbilt University Hospital and Smith College School for Social Work. She headed the Jefferson County Family Counseling Association before moving to Atlanta in 1967 to direct the Child Service and Family Counseling Center (now Families First).

In Memoriam

Mamie Myrtis Davis ’39 of Greensboro, N.C., died Feb. 14, 2005.

With a master’s degree from Louisiana State University, she taught at Mercer University and Wesleyan College before moving to Greensboro College in 1961 as a professor of mathematics.

She was named chair of the department in 1974 and was awarded the first alumni association Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching Ability and Service to the College. She was named professor emeritus in 1981.

William Robert Mitchell ’40 of Dan Trice Watson ’37 of Talladega died Dec. 18, 2004.

Rev. Walter G. McLeod ’38 of Poteet, Texas, died April 19, 2004. A decorated veteran of the U.S. Army, he served as post chaplain in Yokohama, Japan; the U.S. Military Academy, West Point; and at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; among other assignments, prior to his retirement in 1970. He also served at various civilian parishes, among them Oak Chapel Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Md., and Somerset (Texas) United Methodist Church.

Survivors include daughter Bobbie McLeod Teska ’63 and sister Mary Leila McLeod ’38.

Martha Sarah Moseley ’38 of Homewood died Jan. 29, 2005. She was retired from long careers with Seaboard Railroad and Brownell Travel.

Rev. Gordon R. Atkeison ’39 of Atmore died Dec. 12, 2004. Survivors include wife Lee Wise Atkeison.

Chloe Oliver Brown ’39 of Birmingham and Atlanta died Nov. 10, 2004. She was a lab technician at Hillman Hospital. Her husband was the late Dr. Clyde Wilson Brown ’40.

Survivors include daughter Rebecca Brown Moore ’65.

Birmingham and Reno, Nev., died June 3, 2004. He was a retired professional photographer, videographer, and producer. He was a member of the BSC Ginkgo Society. Survivors include wife Sarah Hoover Mitchell ’40. The Mitchells were classmates and dated while attending Birmingham-Southern. Some 50 years later, following the death of her first husband, the courtship resumed, and the two enjoyed 16 happy years of marriage.

’39

Nan Elizabeth Miles of

Birmingham died Dec. 28, 2004.

During her youth in the College Hills neighborhood, she was a member of McCoy Methodist Church and, following its closing, joined the First United Methodist Church, where she belonged to Circle 25 of the United Methodist Women.

She held an advanced degree in library science from Emory University. In 1941, she became a librarian at Ensley High School and retired as head librarian in 1978.

A lover of flowers as well as books, she was active in numerous local, regional, and national flower and garden organizations.

She was a member of the Endowment Builders Society at Birmingham-Southern. She and her brother, Dr. Edwin A. Miles ’48, established The Ernest Percy and Ida Duke Miles Scholarship at Birmingham-Southern, in honor of their parents.

Contributions to this scholarship may be made in her memory and addressed to Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL 35254.

Dr. Joseph Ralph Jolly ’42 of Mountain Brook died Dec. 5, 2004. His wife was the late

M. Gresham Hale ’41 of Sheffield died

Jeanne Waters Jolly ’60. With a doctoral

March 2, 2005. Elected probate judge of Colbert County in 1960, he served as president of the Association of Commissioners of Alabama, the Probate Judge’s Association of Alabama, and the Alabama Association for Mental Health, and in many other community groups, particularly related to health and education. Survivors include wife Louise Wyatt Hale.

degree from Vanderbilt University, he served United Methodist churches in Birmingham, LaFayette, Haleyville, and Athens. He taught religion at Athens College. He served BSC from 1956-64 as dean of students, director of admission, chaplain, and professor of religion, and later was president of Greensboro College in Greensboro, N.C.

Thomas Malcolm Andress ’42 of Oak Ridge, Tenn., died April 1, 2004. He retired from the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant in 1988. His sister was the late Charlotte Andress ’32.

Survivors include wife Margaret Andress.

Vivian Howell vonHerrman ’42 of Birmingham died Dec. 2, 2004. She studied at the Juilliard School in New York City and served as president of the Birmingham Music Teachers Association.

Nell West Dexter Waite ’42 of Birmingham

John S. Drury ’42 of Oak Ridge, Tenn., died Nov. 3, 2003. Survivors include wife Rachel H. Drury.

died Nov. 14, 2004. She and her family were proprietors of one of the city’s favorite eating establishments, Waite’s Delicatessen. ’SOUTHERN 57

classNotes Dr. Howard Stansell Banton Jr. ’43 of Union Springs died Feb. 25, 2005. A World War II veteran, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force. With a medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., he practiced in Union Springs for 44 years, until his retirement in 1992. He was a member of the Ginkgo Society at BSC. Survivors include wife Penelope P. Banton.

Jane Marie Frazier Caruthers ’43 of Richmond, Va., died Nov. 28, 2004. During World War II, she did research for the U.S. War Department at the University of Michigan. She later had a career in banking.

Survivors include husband William H. Caruthers.

Col. John L. Jeff ’48 of Auburn died Dec.

Josephine Antonio Licari ’51 of

17, 2004. A Naval War College graduate with a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University, he served more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force. He was a decorated bomber pilot in World War II, completing more than 51 missions over Europe, and later headed an Air Commando Squadron in Vietnam and commanded Johnston Island Air Force Base in the Pacific. He was a staff advisor to senior state and defense officials in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. European Command. After his return to Auburn in 1977, he served on the staff of the Air Force ROTC at Auburn University. Survivors include wife Ann Aiken Jeff.

Montgomery died Jan. 28, 2005. She was a member of the BSC Ginkgo Society. Survivors include husband James J. Licari ’51.

Dr. William S. Mitchell ’49 of Montevallo Dr. William Burke Hotalen ’43 of Fort Payne

died Feb. 15, 2004.

died March 15, 2005. With a medical degree from the University of Tennessee, he practiced medicine for many years and delivered more than 3,000 babies. He also was active in civic affairs in Fort Payne. Survivors include wife Anne Wallace Hotalen.

Ruth Grundy Shapard Moore ’49 of San Mateo, Calif., died Oct. 27, 2004. Her husband was the late Lucien Victor Moore Jr. ’49.

She was a member of the BSC Ginkgo Society.

Frances Elizabeth Wilson ’43 of

Dr. Zane N. Gaut ’50 of Warren, N.J., died

Birmingham died Jan. 8, 2005. She was an elementary school teacher for many years. She studied at the Birmingham-Southern Conservatory of Music, performed with the Birmingham Civic Opera, and directed the choir at Bluff Park United Methodist Church for many years.

Oct. 10, 2004. Survivors include wife Laura Tarence Gaut.

Carlisle Jackson Kelley ’50 of New York

John C. Camp ’44 of Silver Spring, Md., died

Samuel Eugene Stewart Sr. ’50 of Decatur

Nov. 19, 2004. With a law degree from Louisiana State University, he developed his practice from that of a sole practitioner in Louisiana to a corporate firm with six offices, including one in Washington, D.C. In 1984, he moved to Washington permanently and joined Patton Boggs L.L.P. in 1994. In addition to his expertise on domestic policy (serving, among others, for five years as counsel to the State of Louisiana), he was well known for his skill in international economic and political affairs.

Survivors include wife Frances S. Camp, with whom he established the Frances and John Camp Scholarship at Birmingham-Southern.

died Feb. 6, 2005. He was employed as manager of General Motors Acceptance Corp. and later as a vice president of Central Bank.

Survivors include wife Mary Ann Stewart.

Ruth Atkinson Williams ’45 of Coral Gables, Fla., died June 15, 2003.

Evelyn Sharp Buchanan ’47 of Tavares, Fla., died Feb. 21, 2005. She was the former owner of The Talley House in Lake County, Fla.

58 ‘’SOUTHERN

City died Nov. 7, 2004, in Birmingham. He was a professional musician. Survivors include companion Frank Harkins.

Ize L. Mickwee ’51 of Birmingham died Feb. 23, 2005. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s office.

He was part owner of Herman Downey Auto Parts.

Sarah Elizabeth Rogers ’53 of Birmingham died March 29, 2005. She served in World War II as a Navy WAVE. After retiring from service with the U.S. Federal government, she worked for Bromberg’s department store for many years.

Karen Dolores Klassen ’54 of Birmingham died Feb. 1, 2005. Retired from the Social Security Administration, she was owner of Kay Klassen School of Dance and co-owner of UStar Video.

James Don Lamon Sr. ’55 of Montgomery died Dec. 26, 2004. He was retired from Union Bank. Survivors include brother Russell Lamon ’56.

Dr. Joseph Stephen Legg ’55 of Mobile died Oct. 17, 2004. He was a longtime family practitioner in Mobile, working at Family Medical at the time of his death. He also served as a colonel in the Alabama Army National Guard.

Survivors include wife Vicki M. Legg.

Rev. Jack M. Rosser ’55 of Birmingham

Feb. 4, 2005. After teaching piano for a number of years, she became organist at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. Her brother was the late Elbert M. Norton ’48. Survivors include her sister-in-law, Emily Lindsay Norton ’49.

died Feb. 11, 2005. He served 41 years in the United Methodist ministry in the North Alabama Conference, including three churches in the Birmingham area, as an associate minister at Trinity United Methodist Church, as well as service at Wilson’s Chapel and Taylor Memorial. A Navy veteran, he also served as a part-time chaplain at the Birmingham V.A. Medical Center for 22 years. Survivors include wife Martha M. Rosser.

Robert Campbell Jones Jr. ’51 of Homewood died Jan. 7, 2005. He was a veteran of World War II. He was employed as a salesman and representative of various office supply companies.

Margaret Jane Fink Corley ’56 of Birmingham died Dec. 23, 2004. With a master’s degree in education from the University of Alabama, she taught school at Minor Elementary School for many years.

Caroline Norton Williams ’50 of Selma died

classNotes Jill Dumeresque McArthur ’58 of Foley died Jan. 31, 2005. She worked as a commercial photographer in London in the ’50s.

Following marriage and a move to Alabama, she worked on several local and national political campaigns, including speechwriting for the presidential campaigns of Presidents Reagan and Bush. After moving to Foley in 1992, she was active in preserving native plants and illustrated a book entitled Where the Wild Illycium Grows. She also was co-owner of Sew Special, an heirloom sewing shop. Survivors include daughter Janie Shelswell-White ’87.

Dr. Jack G. Barefield ’62 of San Diego died

O. Ruth Alverson McNutt ’58 of

Thomas Edward Skinner ’68 of Homewood died March 21, 2005. With a master’s degree in library science from the University of Alabama, he served at Samford University Library for 32 years.

Birmingham died Jan. 23, 2005. She served for many years as a teacher in Alabama and Florida, including service at Glen Iris Elementary and Crestline Elementary. She retired as assistant principal of Seminole Middle School in Seminole, Fla, in 1985.

Survivors include grandson Josh Payne ’03.

Louise Pope ’59 of Birmingham died Dec. 13, 2004. She held a master’s degree in education from BSC. She served for 51 years as a teacher and principal in the Tarrant school system.

Avis Pace McLendon ’60 of Gardendale died Dec. 1, 2004. With a master’s degree from the University of Alabama, she served for many years as a teacher in Georgia and Alabama.

John S. Thornton Jr. ’60 of Redington Beach, Fla., died Jan. 22, 2002. Survivors include wife Dorothy Thornton.

Elizabeth Lowrey Creed ’61 of Charlottesville, Va., died Jan. 1, 2005. She held a master’s degree from Birmingham-Southern and taught English for 20 years at Brooke-Hill School before it became part of the Altamont School. After retirement from teaching, she worked in the president’s office at Birmingham-Southern. Her husband was Howard Hall Creed, longtime English professor at BSC. Survivors include daughter Hild Creed ’70.

March 12, 2005. The former radio and television writer, who once administered NBC’s Syndicated Programs Division and worked in publicity and advertising for Murray Martin Public Relations and McCann-Erickson in New York, spent his retirement years in playwriting and in theatre, particularly working with young people.

Sister Maria Mundi ’63 of Leeds died Dec. 5, 2004. She was a retired teacher, with service at John Carroll High School.

Dorothy L. Kifer ’69 of Gadsden died Oct. 11, 2004.

Alan Curtis Kranz ’69 of New Orleans, La., died April 2, 2005. Survivors include brother

Mark Steven Kranz Sr. ’75, sister-in-law Elizabeth Harper Kranz ’75, and nephew Mark Steven Kranz Jr. ’04.

Kenneth E. McNees ’75 of Jackson, Miss., died Feb. 20, 2005. He was a Juice Plus distributor and a criminal defense attorney with Vick and Associates.

Mark Christopher Johnson ’81 of Birmingham died March 3, 2005. He was a teacher, with 16 years of service at Forest Hills Middle School and a more recent position at Moody Junior High School. A musician, he performed in the Birmingham music scene for 25 years. At one time he was the Banjo Champion of Northeast Alabama and Southern Tennessee, and was well known for his banjo, guitar, and fiddle playing at music festivals throughout the Southeast. Survivors include his parents, Dr. James C. Johnson ’52 and Sally Wood Johnson ’53, and sister Susan Johnson Lawrence ’79. Contributions to the Mark C. Johnson Scholarship Fund may be directed to Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL 35254.

Sammie Lee Speigner III ’89 of Birmingham died Feb. 17, 2005. He was adjunct professor of sociology at Birmingham-Southern. From January 1997 to August 2003, he served as assistant professor of sociology and was visiting assistant professor of sociology from September to December 2004.

Friends David W. Hamilton of Birmingham, a member of the Endowment Builders Society at BSC, died March 7, 2005. Survivors include wife Edith Plosser Hamilton ’44.

Ora Lee Hill of Mountain Brook died Feb. 7, 2005. She was a generous supporter of various community organizations, including Birmingham-Southern, where she in 1997, established The Ora Lee Hill and J. Ernest Hill Scholarship. Survivors include husband James Ernest Hill. Contributions in her memory may be made to Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Box 549003, Birmingham, AL 35254.

Albert Moore “Bert” McNeel of Birmingham died March 22, 2005. After retirement from White Dairy and Barber Pure Milk Co., he served as surpervisor in the Striplin Fitness Center of Birmingham-Southern for 18 years. Survivors include wife Terry Kendrick McNeel.

Nell Rankin of New York City died Jan. 13, 2005. She was a leading mezzo-soprano of the Metropolitan Opera from 1951-76. A student of voice at the Birmingham-Southern Conservatory, her photograph is displayed in the college’s Hill Recital Hall.

’SOUTHERN 59

endNotes

Two Beloved Alums Elton B. Ste phe ns ’32 Elton B. Stephens, a 1932 graduate of Birmingham-Southern and one of its most successful and generous alumni, died Feb. 5. He was 93.

Stephens was the founder in 1944 of EBSCO Industries Inc., which today is a widely diversified sales/marketing and manufacturing company that employs 5,000 people worldwide and is the largest privately owned company in Alabama and one of the top 200 privately owned companies in the nation.

He entered Birmingham-Southern in 1928 at the age of 17. Needing money to pay for college, he sold magazines door-to-door during the summer. The next summer he managed a team of salesmen, many of whom were fellow students. He continued this sales management until he graduated from BSC, and on through 1936, when he received his law degree from the University of Alabama.

Realizing he could make more money per week managing subscription sales than he would earn in one month as a starting attorney, Stephens formed a partnership with his wife, Alys. By 1958, the Stephenses had grown Military Service Company, which sold recreational and esprit de corps items to the American military, into EBSCO Industries. Stephens retired as president of EBSCO in 1971, but continued as chairman of the board.

He supported the college in many ways, including a major contribution and matching gift that helped fund the $25 million, 100,000 square-foot Elton B. Stephens Science Center which opened in 2002. A major contribution from Stephens and the Stephens family made possible the Stephens Science Laboratory Center, which opened in 1990. He also supported an endowed scholarship, a professorship, and other college endeavors.

Stephens served as chairman of the YMCA Board, president of Operation New Birmingham, and chairman of the Board of Stewards of Canterbury United Methodist Church. He also was a life member and past chair of the college’s Board of Trustees.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Alys Varian Robinson Stephens ’32. Survivors include children James T. Stephens, current chairman of the BSC Board of Trustees, Jane Stephens Comer ’81, Elton B. Stephens Jr., and Dell Stephens Brooke; 14 grandchildren, including Jason L. Comer ’89; and three great-grandchildren.

60 ’SOUTHERN

endNotes

The Honorable Howell T. Heflin ’42 Retired three-term U.S. Sen. Howell T. Heflin, a 1942 graduate of Birmingham-Southern, died March 29 in a Sheffield hospital near his Tuscumbia home. He was 83.

Heflin served in the Senate from 1979 until his retirement in 1997, and prior to that was chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

After graduating from BSC, Heflin was a decorated combat Marine in World War II before attending the University of Alabama Law School. As a young state bar association president in 1965, he initiated reform of the Alabama judiciary. He was elected chief justice in 1971 and led a state initiative to adopt a new Judicial Article to the Alabama Constitution, which served as a model for a unified state courts system and judicial administration. In 1976, he was named the nation’s Most Outstanding Appellate Judge.

He was elected to the Senate in 1978 as a Democrat and was immediately appointed to serve on the Judiciary Committee. During his career, he championed the Legal Services Corporation and sponsored the creation of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, State Justice Institute, Civil Justice Reform Act, National Commission on Judicial Discipline, Justice Assistance Act and Permanent Federal Court Study of 1988, and Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994. In 2003, he received the John Marshall Award from the American Bar Association Justice Center in recognition of individuals responsible for extraordinary improvement in the administration of justice.

Heflin was a current member of Birmingham-Southern’s Board of Trustees. He was awarded the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1973 and an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 1980. He established the Howell T. Heflin Pre-Law Scholarship at BSC in 1989.

In 1987, BSC announced the endowment of the Howell T. Heflin Professorship of American Government and Politics. In 2000, the Howell T. Heflin Seminar Room was dedicated in the college’s Charles Andrew Rush Learning Center/N. E. Miles Library and is home to some of Heflin’s favorite photographs and other memorabilia.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann Heflin; a son, Tom Heflin; and two grandchildren.

’SOUTHERN 61

partingShot

Forward, Ever Don Brown (signing a book at Alumni Reunion 2005 for Aubrey Barnard ’57) began a long journey six years ago. It was a trip back in time that would reveal to him the storied, yet sometimes challenging, history of one of the nation’s most distinguished liberal arts colleges. He would pore over countless newspapers and other archives, interview dozens of people, listen to countless stories, collect hundreds of photographs. His task was to put all that he read, heard, and collected into the most comprehensive

BSC

b i r m i n g h a m - s o u t h e r n c o l l e g e

900 Arkadelphia Road Box 549003 Birmingham, Alabama 35254

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED www.bsc.edu

history of Birmingham-Southern College ever assembled. In early April 2005, the 1958 BSC graduate and award-winning career journalist finally held in his hands the fruits of his labors.

Forward, Ever: Birmingham-Southern College at its Sesquicentennial was published and for sale. Learn more about Don Brown’s journey into the college’s history in the next issue of ’Southern magazine.

Find out more about Forward, Ever and how to purchase your copy starting on page 2 of this issue.

Periodical Postage PAID at Birmingham, Alabama