The Cleveland Duo & James Umble concert cancelled

Thu Mar 11 2010

The concert by The Cleveland Duo & James Umble, scheduled for Thursday, March 11, at Lenoir-Rhyne University, has been cancelled due to the illness of one of the performers.

Lohr Learning Commons now open

Wed Mar 10 2010

After months of planning and renovation, the Lawrence and Frances Mauney Lohr Learning Commons is now open on the second floor of the Rudisill Library at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

The Learning Commons is named in memory of the benefactors who funded a majority of the construction costs.

“This new facility consolidates several offices and services that deepen in-class learning and extend the learning experience into the world beyond,” said Leonard Geddes, coordinator of the Learning Commons and director of co-curricular programs.

The Learning Commons covers approximately 7,000 square feet. It includes a general study area with large arched windows overlooking the wooded campus quadrangle. This study area has received a make-over with new furniture and carpet.

The Learning Commons also includes a newly enhanced Writing Center, an Education Curriculum Lab, a Mathematics and Computer Science Tutorial Lab, a Speech Preparation Lab and a general computer classroom.

Offices currently on campus that have moved to the new location include the Office of International Education, the Community Service and Service Learning Office, and the Office for Co-Curricular Programs. (more…)

A Cappella Choir, College Singers plan home concert

Tue Mar 9 2010

The Lenoir-Rhyne University A Cappella Choir and College Singers will present their home spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 21 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church of Hickory. John Gordon Ross will be the guest conductor for this free, public event.

The theme for this year’s concert, “Fear Not, You Are Mine,” will be featured at the beginning and end of the concert in compositions by Knut Nystedt and Paul Weber’s “When You Pass Through the Waters.”

Accompanying the choir will be Jeana Neal Borman, Lenoir-Rhyne collaborative artist, and Kenneth Miller, senior sacred music organ major.

Repertoire sung by the choir will include “Heilig” by Felix Mendelssohn, “Sicut cervus” by Palestrina, “Arise, Shine” by Paul Weber, “Nunc dimittis” by Gustav Holst, and selected movements of the Mozart Requiem. (more…)

Communications students meet with Chinese professor

Thu Mar 4 2010

The Internet is helping to expose the Chinese people to more foreign ideas, said Visiting Professor Cui Ping of China.

Her comments were made during a discussion with Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Communications Club. She was invited to speak to the group of communications majors about the differences between U.S. and Chinese media. She said she is not an expert in this subject. But she answered questions about Chinese culture, media and government.

Ping’s one-year stay in Hickory is being co-sponsored by Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba Valley Community College. She is teaching Mandarin Chinese at the two schools and is also speaking to local groups about Chinese life and culture.

Access to foreign newspapers, magazines and television programming is restricted in China, she said. In China, the news media are considered the voice of the government. However, she said TV hosts are now more likely to ask tough questions of government officials than in the past.

Access to the Internet is widely available, and it has made many Chinese people more aware of ideas and attitudes outside their own country, she said. Although China has been historically cautious about contact with foreigners, that attitude is beginning to change. (more…)

Fools for Fitness 5K Walk-Run planned

Wed Mar 3 2010

The public is invited to participate in the Lenoir-Rhyne University April Fools for Fitness 5K Walk-Run beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 17 on campus.

The event is sponsored by the university’s PAWS (Physical Activity, Wellness and Sports) Club.

The race will begin and end in the parking lot located at the corner of Stasavich Place and Seventh Ave. NE on campus. It will be held rain or shine. There will also be a 100-meter Tot Trot for children 7 and younger. All Tot Trot participants will receive a ribbon.

Early registration is being accepted through 5 p.m. April 9. LRU students, faculty, staff and alumni may register for $12 during this time. Early registration for everyone else is $15. Late registration will be accepted through race day and is $20 for everyone. There is no entry fee for the Tot Trot.

Medals will be awarded to the top overall male and female 5K finishers and to first, second and third place male and female finishers in each age division. Tee shirts will be given to the first 100 5K participants. Door prizes will be provided by local merchants.

The entry form for the April Fools for Fitness 5K Walk-Run is available for download at www.lr.edu/fools-for-fitness. Checks should be made payable to the LRU PAWS Club. For more information, contact Ingrid Anthony, L-R’s wellness coordinator, at anthonyi@lr.edu.

L-R receives award for community service

Wed Mar 3 2010

Lenoir-Rhyne University has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

The university has received this award for four straight years – each year since the program was established. It recognizes volunteer service by Lenoir-Rhyne students during the 2008-2009 academic year. During that time, 1,355 Lenoir-Rhyne students participated in some type of community service activity, contributing 87,822 hours of volunteer work. At the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, this amounts to $636,709 of donated labor. Most of these volunteer hours were contributed to non-profit organizations in the Hickory Metro.

“We are pleased with this honor,” said Dr. Wayne Powell, university president. “Throughout its 119 year history, Lenoir-Rhyne has been known for its commitment to service in the community. We consider service to others as part of our mission in higher education and as part of our commitment to building a better world for all people.”

Each fall, incoming students participate in volunteer service activities as part of a program called Hands On Hickory. In August 2008, 417 students and 22 faculty and staff members participated in this project, donating a total of 1,098 hours.

In 2009, 17 students and two faculty/staff members traveled to Clay County, Fla., for Alternative Spring Break, where they contributed a total of 590 hours toward constructing a Habitat for Humanity house. (more…)

LRU wins marketing award for ad campaign

Tue Mar 2 2010

Lenoir-Rhyne University has won a Gold Award from the Higher Education Marketing Report for a series of ads in Our State magazine.

The ads featured the accomplishments of individual students and programs and were part of the overall “Rise Up” marketing campaign. The award was in the category of colleges and schools with an enrollment of 2,000 or fewer students. The Silver Award winner in the category was the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

“We are pleased to receive this prestigious award,” said Mike Langford, L-R director of marketing and communications. “This ad campaign highlighted the many ways Lenoir-Rhyne is challenging itself and its students to rise to even greater heights. We feel it captured the excitement of discovery that is an essential element of a liberal arts education.”

This is the second year in a row that L-R has been recognized in this competition. Last year, the university received a Gold Award for its brochure “101 Ways to Rise Up.”

The contest is the largest educational advertising awards competition in the country. This year, more than 2,000 entries were received from more than 1,000 colleges, universities and secondary schools from all 50 states and several foreign countries. Gold Awards were received by 218 schools, and Silver Awards were presented to 190 schools. In addition, 170 schools were recognized with a Bronze Award.

Judges for the Educational Advertising Awards consisted of a national panel of higher education marketers, advertising creative directors, marketing and advertising professionals and the editorial board of Higher Education Marketing Report.

Both of Lenoir-Rhyne’s winning entries were created by MindPower, a higher education marketing company based in Atlanta.

Kids in College Middle School accepting applications

Wed Feb 24 2010

Lenoir-Rhyne University will offer its first ever Kids in College Middle School program this summer. Applications are now being accepted.

This summer enrichment program is based on the university’s popular Kids in College program for elementary school students. “Many parents asked if we could offer a similar program for older students,” said Professor Joan Huffman, Kids in College director. “This new program is designed for students completing sixth through eighth grades this spring. We want it to offer an academic challenge that is also fun for the students.”

Experienced and licensed teachers will facilitate the program, which is designed to expose students to the university environment through enrichment, exploration and creative thinking.

The first Kids in College Middle School program will have the theme “Investigations of the Mind.” The program is designed for academically gifted students or teacher-recommended students with high academic qualifications. To be eligible, students must meet one or more of the following criteria: be identified as academically gifted, have achieved a Level 4 on the end of grade test, maintained an A average in math or reading, be recommended by their current teacher.

Kids in College Middle School will be held Aug. 2-6 on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus. The times are 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided in the LRU cafeteria. The cost of the program is $325. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.

The following materials are required: a completed application with teacher recommendation, a signed insurance and liability form, a $50 deposit (returnable only if space is unavailable).

Parents will be notified of acceptance as soon as these requirements are satisfied. The remaining program cost is due by May 1.

Application information is available on the Web at http://edu.lr.edu/KidsInCollegeMiddleSchool. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, contact Professor Joan Huffman at 828-238-3747 or joan.huffman@lr.edu.

Business Council to honor Donald Coleman

Wed Feb 24 2010

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Business Council will honor J. Donald Coleman as Business Leader of the Year at an awards luncheon on March 31 at the Crowne Plaza in Hickory.

Coleman is president and chief executive officer of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co., a privately held manufacturing company with more than 65 locations in the United States and abroad. The company was organized in 1944 and produces components for the home furnishings industry.

Coleman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He served as national product manager of the company from 1972 to 1988. He served as general manager, Highland Fabricators, from 1988 to 1992. He was vice president of the Eastern Furniture Division from 1992 until assuming his current position at the company in 1996.

He is past chairman of the board of Frye Regional Medical Center and past president of the Suppliers Division of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association.

He has also served on the boards of the Furniture Foundation, American Furniture Hall of Fame, Catawba County Community Foundation and Wells Fargo Western N.C. Advisory Board. He is a former member of the Lenoir-Rhyne Board of Trustees.

He is a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and is an active member of First Presbyterian Church. He is married to Toni Coleman and has two daughters.

Tickets to the awards luncheon are $50 per person for members of the Lenoir-Rhyne Business Council and $75 for non-members. Members’ tables with seating for eight are also available for $350.

To reserve your ticket, please respond by March 26 to Leeanne Kale at 828-328-7321 or leeanne.kale@lr.edu.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Business Council consists of businesses, corporations and foundations that believe so strongly in the mission of Lenoir-Rhyne that they contribute $1,000 or more each year for current operations of the university.

Community Service Awards presented

Tue Feb 23 2010

Lenoir-Rhyne University recently presented its annual Community Service Awards to recognize volunteer service to others.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Board of Trustees recognized community members Mary Elizabeth Geitner, Clement Geitner and Dietra Dula. Other recipients were Dr. William Richter, professor of communication and chair of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, faculty/staff winner; Theta Xi fraternity, student organization winner; and Bradley Setzer, student winner.

Mary Elizabeth Geitner attended Lenoir-Rhyne and graduated summa cum laude from Mount Vernon College (George Washington University) in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor’s degree in interior design. She worked as a licensed interior designer in Washington, D.C., and in Hickory. She is past president of the Women’s Guild at Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory and a former president of the Board of Trustees of the Hickory Museum of Art.
She is currently a member of the SALT Block Foundation Board of Trustees and ALFA Board of Directors.

She recently chaired the committee for the renovation of the auditorium at the SALT Block. She also helped redecorate the L-R Guest House and the Piedmont Educational Foundation Board Room.

Clement Geitner is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He retired in 1996 after a 30-year banking career. Most of his tenure was with Bank of America and its predecessor banks. He recently retired as president of Hickory Leather Co. Inc. and Fine Furniture Inc. He has ownership interests in several other area businesses and manages his own financial consulting firm.

He has volunteered his time with numerous civic groups. He formerly served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for Catawba Valley Medical Center, director of the Hickory Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, and director of the Hickory Metropolitan Higher Education Center. He previously chaired the board of WFAE public radio in Charlotte and the Hickory Landmarks Society. He has also served on the boards of the Western Piedmont Symphony and Catawba County Council for the Arts among others.

He is currently a member of the UNC-TV Board of Trustees and the Catawba Valley Community College Board of Trustees. He chairs the Hickory Public Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and the Hickory Historic Preservation Commission Board. He is a trustee of the Catawba Valley Community Foundation and Catawba Medical Foundation. He co-chairs the Lenoir-Rhyne Visiting Writers Series. The Geitners have three adult children and six grandchildren. They are members of the Lenoir-Rhyne President’s Society. (more…)