THE MIND’S EYE
Work Day mural honors social justice champions For more than 30 years, Warren Wilson College the mission of the plan by speaking out and has celebrated Work Day each April as a tradition leading dialogues about diversity, while having steeped in the “value of celebrating community ties with Warren Wilson College.” with sweat equity,” as Dean of Work Ian Robertson says. Among the wide range of projects was the Nguyen, along with Melanie Kemp, work crew coSwannanoa River Trail cleanup, tennis court landordinator in the Work Program Office, and anthroscaping, and garden work at the Verner Center for pology professor Christey Carwile, Ph.D., took Early Learning on the western part of campus. ideas generated by students and chose Henry Perhaps one of the most beautiful and inspirational “ Doc” Jensen, Ph.D., (professor, dean 1933-1975), is a mural created at the top of the main staircase who championed integration of students from all in the Jensen Humanities and Social Science races and ethnicities, and Alma Shippy, the ColCenter. The student and faculty artists’ intent lege’s first African-American student, to be part of was to bring more attention to diversity the mural. In addition, bell hooks, the noted author and inclusiveness. and speaker on the topics of race and gender who visited campus in 2009, and 2014 Warren Wilson The mural took its cues from the College’s new College Constitution Day keynote speaker Roberta plan to have more intentional conversations Kaplan, the attorney who successfully argued about diversity throughout campus (see more against the Defense of Marriage Act in front of the about the College’s plan in the feature Supreme Court, are featured as reminders of their story “Social justice: lessons learned on activism and connection to the College. campus and beyond” on page 28). In total, 15 students, staff and faculty members “ We wanted a mural that would embody the combined to bring this shining example of the ideals of the plan,” said art professor Lara College’s diversity-centered history into reality. Nguyen, who designed the mural. “It includes The project was supported, in-part, by funds from some of the influential people who embodied the Missoura Andrews Hogwood Endowment.
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