Pi Gamma Mu inducts members

Thu Apr 30 2009

The North Carolina Chi Chapter of Pi Gamma Mu at Lenoir-Rhyne University recently inducted 16 students and faculty members. Pi Gamma Mu is an international social sciences honor society.

Newly inducted faculty members include Dr. Larry Hall, L-R provost; and Dr. Beth Wright, assistant professor of sociology. New student members include Lydia Aurand, Elizabeth Daniels, Amy Dellinger, Robert Duncan, Jarod Ewers, Lisa Johnson, Lorrie Lawrence, Jacqueline Payne, Taryne Phillips, Gregory Poole, Bradley Setzer and Brittany Wietbrock.

Dr. Harold Haas and Dr. David Ludwig, professors emeriti of psychology, were inducted in honor of their contributions to the Psychology Program.

The keynote address was given by Ximena Lopez, doctoral candidate at Roma Tre, and Carlo Fabricatore of the Italian National Research Council, who are in Hickory to collaborate on video game research with Dr. Karen Dill, associate professor of psychology.

Pi Gamma Mu, founded in 1924, has as its mission to “encourage and promote excellence in the social sciences and uphold the ideals of scholarship and service.”  Faculty co-advisors of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s chapter are Dr. Paulina Ruf and Dr. Walter Murphy.

Congratulations, Academic Award Winners!

Wed Apr 29 2009

Back row, left to right: Michael Owens, Margaret Berry Memorial Art Award, Honorable Mention; Leslie Conetta, Margaret Berry Memorial Art Award, Honorable Mention; Katie Long, Margaret Berry Memorial Art Award, First Place; Kenneth Miller, Friends of Music Summer Study Abroad Award; Jacob Theisen, Pearl Setzer Deal Playmakers Award. Middle row, left to right: Marie Smith, Margaret Berry Memorial Art Award, Second Place; Chase Walden, Barbara Herman Award; Mariah McLaughlin, Spanish Medal; Stephanie Sartain, Poetry Award, First Place; Tyeesha Shanique Wesley, Poetry Award, Second Place. Front row, left to right: Laura Staley, Albert Kiser Sr. English Award; Jordan Ester, Voigt R. Cromer Award in Classics; Edwin Weber, Helen M. Stahler Music Award.

Dr. William Richter; Harrison Smith, Video Achievement Award; Jennifer Platzer, Communication Achievement Award; Professor Lisa Harris.

Dr. Amy Wood; Nicole Gaines, Clyde Taylor Counselor Education Excellence Award; Andrea Stover, Human and Community Services Award; Professor Charlotte Williams.

Greyson Deal, Dr. Robert Liljeberg Athletic Training Award; Abigail Smith, Health, Exercise and Sport Science Leadership Award; Dr. Michael McGee.

Back row, left to right: Tyler Sigmon, Dorus P. Rudisill Award in Religious Studies; Greg Poole, H.R. Greenholt Award in History; Kevin Watkins, Dorus P. Rudisill Award in Religious Studies; Bradley Setzer, Truman Scholarship Nominee. First row, left to right: Rachel Duke, William P. and Katherine W. Brandon History Award; Elizabeth Daniels, Ted Thuesen Sociology Award; Amy Pellinger, David and Kathy Ludwig Psi Chi Award; Ben Witcher, Political Science Award; Jacqueline Williams, David and Kathy Ludwig Psi Chi Award; Taryne Phillips, Harold Haas Psychology Award.

Front row, left to right: Andrew Talian, Fritz Mathematics Medal and Computer Science Award; Hailey Garrou, Freshman Achievement Award in Mathematics; Jennifer Miles, Information Technology Award. Back row, left to right: Dr. Bjarne Berg, Dr. Thierry Zell, Dr. Chris Dometrius, Dr. Douglas Burkholder, Dr. Gail Miles, Professor Richard Hull.

Lauren Privette, Mu Alpha Award; Kara Clemmer, Mu Alpha Award; Stephanie Rosholt, Frances M. Farthing Award in Nursing; Jessica Saintsing, Frances Allen Excellence in Community Health Nursing Award; Casey Justice, Nursing Students’ Award.

Kati Berlin, Wilma A. West Award; Justin Williams, A. Jean Ayers Award for Academic Excellence in Occupational Therapy; Cliff Poynter, Principle-Centered Practitioner Award.

Back row, left to right: John Davis, Student Teaching, Middle Grades; Mariah McLaughlin, Student Teaching, High School; Ashley Campbell, Student Teaching, Elementary Grades; Natasha Townsend, Joan L. Parkinson Award; Alicia Leonard, Student Teaching, Deaf Education. Front row, left to right: Gennilee Eisenmann, Student Teaching, Physical Education; Katie Cody, Hattie R. Fowler Memorial Scholarship; Kathryn Miles, Jane and Jan Williams Memorial Scholarship; Daniel Prestwood, Student Teaching, High School.

Back row, left to right: Lindsay Yount, Glaxo-Smith Kline Women in Science Scholar; Meredith Webster, Glaxo-Smith Kline Women in Science Scholar. Second row, left to right: Jacob Stukey, Chemistry Achievement Award; Elizabeth Kirby, Derieux Paper Competition, Third Place; Christopher Gilbert, SPS Physics Achievement Award; Kyle Starline, Biology Achievement Award; Jacob Thiesen, Derieux Paper Competition, Third Place; Joseph White, Derieux Paper Competition, Presenter. Front row, left to right: Muriah Bottemiller, Lutz Award in Biology; Breanne Yingling, Derieux Paper Competition, First Place; Robert “Smitty” Oakes, Derieux Paper Competition, First place; Alisha Huettig, Derieux Paper Competition, Third Place; Josh Farris, Steelman Scholarship.

Ashley Zebulon Jenkins, Raymond M. Strunk Accounting Award; Anna Mosteller, Strunk Accounting Award; Christy Ann Coates, Robert N. Simmons Business Award.

Dr. and Mrs. David Ludwig to speak in Taiwan

Mon Apr 27 2009

Dr. David Ludwig, psychology professor emeritus at Lenoir-Rhyne University, and his wife, Kathy, will travel to Taiwan May 10-28 for multiple speaking engagements, including the 2009 International Forum on Family Life.
A highlight of the trip will be a presentation by Dr. David Ludwig on May 12 at the Legislative Yuan (similar to the U.S. Senate). Ludwig’s topic will be “How to Help Family Cope with the Financial Tsunami.”

The Ludwigs, in association with L-R’s “Power of WE Center,” speak internationally about building and maintaining healthy family relationships within a Christian context.

Students present scientific research

Fri Apr 24 2009

Six seniors from Lenoir-Rhyne University’s School of Natural Sciences presented their research at the annual meeting of the N.C. Academy of Sciences held recently at Warren Wilson College.

These students are biology majors Alisha Huettig of Franklin and Breanne Yingling of Fairmount, Ind.; conservation of natural resources majors Elizabeth Kirby of Lenoir and Joseph White of Conover; chemistry major Jacob Thiesen of Waxhaw; and physics major Robert “Smitty” Oakes of Hickory.

Yingling and Oakes received Derieux Awards (first place) in their sections.  Huettig, Kirby and Thiesen also received awards. Oakes, Thiesen and Yingling also presented posters at the meeting.

Thiesen presented a poster from his summer undergraduate research experience at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center with Drs.G. Zang, D. Cox and W. Hildebrand titled “Using Mass Spectrometry to Understand the Peptide Binding Properties of Macaca fascicularis Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecule A*2502.”

Students gave concise presentations of their research and were then questioned by judges. The Lenoir-Rhyne students and their presentations were as follows.

Alisha Huettig, “The effects of claw size and strength on aggressive behavior and dominance in the crayfish Procambarus clarkia.” Funding for this research was received from the North Carolina Academy of Sciences (Yarbrough Grant).

Elizabeth Kirby, “The effect of allelopathic chemicals of Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus) and Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) on lettuce seeds.”

Robert “Smitty” Oakes, “Imaging the Internal Shock of Supersonic Rocket Nozzles.”  Oakes’ research was carried out with the assistance of a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates grant from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Lee School of Engineering.

Jacob Thiesen, “Determination of Mercury Levels in Sediment Core Samples from a Lake Hickory Tributary by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.” Thiesen’s research was supported by a Faculty-Student Research Grant from LRU and conducted with Dr. Andy W. Steele.

Joseph White, “The effect of construction on the survival of Dwarf-Flowered Heartleaf (Hexastylis naniflora), a threatened woodland species.” White’s research was supported with funding from the North Carolina Native Plant Society (Shinn Grant) and the North Carolina Academy of Sciences (Yarbrough Grant).

Breanne M. Yingling, “Expression of West Nile non-structural protein 2A in E.coli.” Her research was conducted with D.J. Prusak, P. Danacek, P.W. Mason, T.G. Wood and C.H. Schein at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. (more…)

New degree programs for adult learners

Fri Apr 24 2009

Lenoir-Rhyne University will hold a reception for adult learners interested in two new degree programs designed specifically for them. Prospective students are invited to a reception at 5-6:30 p.m. May 11 in the lobby of Lohr Hall (the Admissions Building), located at 510 Seventh Ave. N.E.

The two new programs are a bachelor of arts degree in liberal studies, and a new way of earning a bachelor’s degree in business. The business degree will be offered through the new Professional Organizational Development (POD) program, designed to allow students holding a transfer associate’s degree to complete a bachelor’s degree in as little as two years.

Both programs are designed for the convenience of working adults and may be completed at night and through online courses. The new programs will begin in the fall of 2009.

Students participating in the POD program will attend classes on Monday nights and do additional online work to complete as many as 12 credit hours per semester. The 48-semester-hour degree-completion program can be completed in as little as four semesters. Students graduating from this program will also be eligible for a seamless entry into Lenoir-Rhyne’s MBA program.

“This program offers a unique opportunity for highly motivated adult learners in the Hickory area who are looking for a quality business degree at an accelerated pace,” said Dr. Amy Wood, associate dean of graduate programs and lifelong learning. “It meshes the motivation and maturity of the adult learner with the strong legacy of quality business programs offered by the Charles M. Snipes School of Business.”

The new bachelor of arts degree in liberal studies is designed for lifelong learners who wish to complete a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on the liberal arts. Students entering the program will typically have earned a college transfer associate of arts or associate of science degree, or a comparable number of transferrable college credits. Students and their advisers will draw up individualized programs of study, which will be approved by the Liberal Studies Committee.

Students will take a number of interdisciplinary seminars that investigate life’s major questions from the viewpoint of different fields of study. The program also includes an experiential/service learning component in which the student will participate in a community activity. (more…)

Students to participate in honors recital

Thu Apr 23 2009

Lenoir-Rhyne University’s annual Music Program Honors Recital will take place at 9:20 a.m. Monday, April 27 in the Mauney Music Building on campus.  Students are nominated for this honor by their applied studio instructor, and selected by the music faculty based upon their performance achievement, progress during the current semester, contribution to the art of music at Lenoir-Rhyne and enthusiasm.  Students participating in the Honors Recital include (left to right) Chris Murphy, Cody Jones, Kenneth Miller, Henry Michaels, Matt Cochran and Anna Mosteller. Not pictured are Chelsie Propst and Julia Byrd.

Big Read author to speak, sign books

Tue Apr 21 2009

Note: The following release is from the Catawba County Library System. Author Geraldine Brooks will speak at the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley at 7 p.m. Friday, April 24. She will autograph books the following day at the Catawba County Library in Newton. Lenoir-Rhyne is a partner in the Big Read.

Let’s face it. It’s not every day that a Pulitzer Prize winner visits Newton, but April 25 will be unlike most others.

Big Read author Geraldine Brooks visits Catawba County Library from 10 a.m. to noon that Saturday to meet local residents and sign books.

She has several to choose from. There’s March, the Civil War novel that won her the 2006 Pulitzer in fiction. That’s was a $10,000 prize, by the way.

Over the years, Brooks has also penned a memoir, a non-fiction book about Middle Eastern women and three outstanding novels about very different time periods.

Her latest is a novel, People of the Book, described as an intricate, ambitious novel that traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript from Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo, from the Silver Age of Venice to the rock faces of northern Australia. She knows Australia well…she was born there in 1954.

Other books by Brooks include Foreign Correspondence, an account of her girlhood pen pals and her attempts to locate them later in life. (more…)

‘An Evening with Mike Redding’ planned

Mon Apr 20 2009

Mike Redding, host of “The Carolina Traveler” television show, will speak at a benefit evening for the Carl A. Rudisill Library at Lenoir-Rhyne University on May 1.

“An Evening with Mike Redding” is sponsored by the Friends of the Rudisill Library. It will begin with a coffee and dessert reception at 7:15 p.m. in the Belk Centrum lobby followed by Redding’s talk at 8 p.m.

Redding has hosted the program on WCNC-TV in Charlotte for the past six years. During that time, he and videographer Andy Benton have traveled throughout North Carolina and South Carolina looking for unusual and interesting people and places.

For example, Redding reported on an 87-year-old man living in Belmont, N.C., who is known all over the world for restoring bicycles and giving them to needy children. Another segment dealt with Vollis Simpson, a farmer who started turning broken-down farm equipment into wind sculptures. Now his “wind art” is twirling away in major cities all over the country.

Redding has featured Margaret Sparkman, Conover’s “National Gourd Lady,” several times. As a result, she was invited to appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Redding is a graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. He came to Charlotte’s WCNC in 1998 from NBC affiliate KYTV in Springfield, Mo. For his first four years in Charlotte, he was a general assignment reporter.

Redding is the youngest of eight children. He and his wife are the proud parents of a newborn son. Redding says his belief in God plays an important part in his life. However, he said, “I don’t consider myself religious. My faith is more akin to an infinitely smart parent raising a rather slow, stubborn child. I try. I fail. I try again. My life in a nutshell.”

Tickets for “An Evening with Mike Redding” are $25 each. Please reserve your tickets by April 27 by contacting Diane Arbour at 828-328-7171 or diane.arbour@lr.edu.

Alumni Association presents awards

Mon Apr 20 2009

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Alumni Association presented awards to five people during Alumni Weekend.

The Rev. Dr. Gerald S. Troutman of Newnan, Ga., received the Clarence L. Pugh Distinguished Alumnus Award. This award is presented annually to the alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated great prominence in his or her career field while adhering to the principles of education and Christian character upon which Lenoir-Rhyne was founded.

Retired Col. Fred T. Brown Jr. of Charlotte received the Opal Moretz Service to the Community Award. Dr. Jeremy Miles of Hastings, Neb., received the Rising Star Award, which is presented each year to recognize a young alumnus or alumna who has shown great promise and achievement.

Wilbert Seabock of Hickory received the Opal Moretz Service to the University Award. Bruce Blackburn of Hickory received the Service to the Alumni Association Award. (more…)

Baccalaureate preacher announced

Mon Apr 20 2009

The Rev. David R. Maack, executive director of the Lutheran Mission Society, will preach at the Lenoir-Rhyne University baccalaureate service at 2 p.m. Friday, May 8 in the P.E. Monroe Auditorium on campus.

The Rev. Maack is a Lutheran pastor from the Baltimore, Md., area. He served as a military chaplain for many years, beginning as a reserve chaplain at Carswell Air Force Base in Texas. In 1986, he began active duty status and was assigned to Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. While in Illinois, he earned a master of education in guidance and counseling from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois in 1988. He was also assigned to Hickam AFB, Hawaii from 1990 to 1993;  Langley AFB, Virginia from 1993 to 1996; Spangdahlem AB Germany from 1996 to 2000; Little Rock AFB,  Arkansas from 2000 to 2003;  and McGuire AFB, New Jersey from 2003 to 2005

Maack served in a variety of ministries throughout his Air Force career.  While serving as a Protestant chaplain at several bases, he also helped with Mount Pinatubo evacuation efforts in Hawaii (1991); Hurricane Iniki relief at Kauai, Hawaii (1992); Haitian refugees in Cuba (1994); mission trips and pastoral visitation to orphanages in Zagreb, Croatia (1997) and Bratislava, Slovak Republic (1998); Habitat for Humanity (2002); and tsunami relief in Thailand (2005).  Some of the other highlights were his ministry to several deployed locations, including Jordan, Egypt, Korea, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Kosovo, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Peru, Brazil, Bahrain and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 2005, Maack accepted a call to become executive director of the Lutheran Mission Society, a century-old Christian health and welfare agency headquartered in Baltimore, Md. His wife, Susan, teaches music at St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Annapolis. They are the parents of Linda Maack, a graduating senior, and Christine Maack, a 2007 graduate of L-R who will receive a master’s degree from the university this year.