Columns
summer 2009
In This Issue:
Re-Visioning: Phase II
New Feminine Territory:
Writing a Mother-Daughter Memoir
Leonard Price Pavilion
Men of Columbia College
CONTENTS
P R es i d ent ’ s m ess a g e
Imagination,
Vision, and
Summer 2009
4
6
10
11
11
12
14
19
Transformation
Alumnae
Weekend
New Feminine
T e rr i t o r y : W r i t i n g
a M o t h e r - Da u g h t e r
Memoir
A C olumbia C ollege
S t o r y: La t e s h i a
B e ac h u m ’ 0 9
Gra n d o p e n i n g
L e o n ar d Pr i c e
A t h l e t i c Pav i l i o n
C o lu m n s C at c h e s
Up With Retired
F ac u l t y
Highlights
Class News
Alum to Alum
On the Cover:
Sue Monk Kidd, award-winning author,
and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor ’98
delivered the keynote address
for Commencement.
Office of the President:
803.786.3178
Office of Advancement:
803.786.3650
1.866.456.2527 toll free
Office of Alumnae Relations:
803.786.3645
1.866.456.2527 toll free
Office of Public Relations:
803.786.3084
Pr o d u c t i o n N o t e s
Rebecca B. Munnerlyn, managing editor
Dale Bickley, editor
Mary E. Wall, design and layout
Printed by: Professional Printers
In August, a group of faculty and staff members will
meet to set the stage for moving Phase II of Columbia
College’s “re-visioning” into strategic planning to build
on the work achieved in Phase I. In Phase I, two
campus committees analyzed all campus programs,
academic and non-academic, and recommended revisions and cuts to be sure we are good
stewards of our resources. A third committee was charged with designing strategies for supporting
employees affected by the changes. The remaining three committees were charged with developing
recommendations for Phase II to consist of new programs and activities to revitalize the College.
The energy generated by Phase II has resulted in a revised vision for the College, which forms the
framework for the next era in strategic planning.
The current strategic plan for Columbia College was developed through a broadly inclusive process
which began with Commission 150 in the summer of 2003. A wide circle, which included alumnae,
members of the Board of Visitors, community leaders and educators, met in two extended sessions
to provide feedback and suggestions on a number of strategic priorities of the College. Based upon
their work, the Board of Trustees set strategic goals for the College at their summer retreat. Using
this framework, faculty and staff during the 2004-05 academic year were organized into task forces
which determined tactics for achieving the established goals. Progress on the goals was then
monitored, and they were revised annually.
Columbia College’s central mission, to offer unique liberal arts programming that educates leaders
to change the world, has been consistent for more than 150 years, although the details have been
flexible as times have changed. This plan continues that tradition as we move into the 21st century.
To succeed, we must guide the College with imagination, vision, and the will to transform lives.
Columbia College leaders courageously commit themselves to effect change. They confidently
apply their energies to issues that require their competence to design solutions. They bring to this
effort these foundation strengths:
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Engagement with global issues
Commitment to moral and ethical principles
A spirit of creativity and innovation
Acceptance of personal and social responsibility
Skills and strategies to solve complex problems
Fluency with evolving technologies
Involvement with civic systems
Flexibility and knowledge to learn throughout life
Ability to both articulate and analyze arguments.
To educate leaders in the liberal arts tradition with this foundation, Columbia College will address the
following priorities:
Support a vital intellectual environment:
1. Ensure that our general education program is innovative and effectively promotes these principles.
2. Expand our unique curricular and co-curricular opportunities to embrace these principles.
3. Support current and future programs of study committed to strengthening students’ mastery of
these principles.
Continued...
Enhance our ability to attract and retain
students with leadership potential:
1. Increase the regional and national visibility
of the College.
2. Improve campus physical facilities.
3. Develop innovative curricular and cocurricular services.
4. Enhance academic advising.
5. Increase awareness of Columbia College
among potential students through the
United Methodist Church.
Build a sustainable fiscal profile:
1. Increase fundraising for endowment and
annual fund.
2. Annually review budgets and programs for
economic viability.
3. Build funds for consistent investment in
human and physical resources.
4. Seek revenue enhancement opportunities.
C
ommencement 2009!
These priorities and guiding principles will
form the framework for the next phase in
revision of the existing strategic plan.
As this process continues to move forward,
the Imagine Campaign draws ever-closer to
the $25 million goal. Two areas of significant
improvement have already been made
possible through the generous support
of donors interested in specific campus
improvements. The J. Drake Edens Library
has been transformed into a modern
collaborative, multi-media learning center
and the longtime dream of a well-equipped
outdoor athletic complex is nearly finished
and ready to host tournament level soccer,
softball and tennis. The newest amenity for
the athletic complex is the new Leonard
Price Athletic Pavilion, which is featured on
page 10. We were delighted to host a grand
opening for this beautiful facility in May.
Without exception, the Columbia College
experience affects the course of young
women’s lives and opens up new
horizons for them. Student participation
in transformative leadership experiences
such as travel-study, presenting at national
conferences, awards competitions, and
participation in prestigious summer programs
is driven by faculty and staff who actively
advocate for students, nudge them to
take chances, and help them to seize
opportunities despite challenges. We thank
you, our alumnae and friends, for the support
and generosity that is felt by every student,
every faculty member and every staff
member who works to make the College a
place of dreams and opportunity.
Photos by Allen Anderson
Alumnae
Weekend
A
Nell Williams Overton ’43
Distinguished Service Award
Elizabeth “Betty” Boozer Dalton ’56
Wil Lou Gray Outstanding Educator Award
Deidre Buice Crow ’72
Career Achievement Award
Carole Dunaway Howell ’75 (right) thanks Candy Crane Shuler ’73 (left)
for her service as Alumnae Association President.
Jessica Baldwin ’09; Ruhamah Dunmeyer ’09; Mindy Cavendish ’09
present the class of 2009 doll to the Alumnae Association.
CC
Members of the Class of 1959 celebrate their fiftieth reunion.
olumbia College held its annual Alumnae Weekend on April 18, hosting
nearly 300 attendees. Highlights included the reunion luncheon for the
Class of 1959 as well as the Alumnae Association’s annual awards
banquet. The award recipients are: Nell Williams Overton ’43, Distinguished
Service Award; Betty Boozer Dalton ’56, Wil Lou Gray Outstanding Educator
Award; Deidre Buice Crow ’72, Career Achievement Award; and Ciona Rouse
’01, Young Alumna Service Award.
Nell Williams Overton ’43, Distinguished Service Award
Nell Williams Overton was born in Jonesville, S.C. She has been a longtime
resident of Charlotte, N.C., and was married to the late Bernard MacRae
Overton. She was valedictorian of her Jonesville High School class, and
graduated from Columbia College in 1943. After teaching in the high schools of
South Carolina, she went to UNC-Chapel Hill to the School of Library Science.
She was employed by the Charlotte City Schools as a librarian-media specialist
for many years. She was a member of the National Education Association and
a life-member of the North Carolina Association of Educators.
On a visit to the J. Drake Edens Library, Overton became aware of a need to
expand and update the media center to include new instructional resources and
modern audiovisual equipment. With her generous support, the Overton Media
Center was established as well as a children’s literature collection in the library,
creating the Children’s Reading Center. She is also co-chair of the Friends
of the Library, which has supported recent interior renovations for the facility.
Overton is a recipient of the Columbia College Medallion, and she is a member
of the College’s James Milton Ariail Society.
4
During her career, she often spent her summers in the classroom, including trips to
England and Kenya, and teaching adult education courses for local technical schools.
During her career, she often tutored students after school and still receives requests
for private math tutoring. Dalton served on the board of the Pickens County Library
System. Her other interests include reading, traveling, serving as a Girl Scout leader
and an accomplished seamstress
Rev. R. Wright Spears proudly sports his Columbia College
baseball cap made by Betty Boozer Dalton ’56.
Overton is a long time member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she and
her husband organized the church library in 1956. In 1992, it was rededicated and
named the Overton Library. She served as church librarian until June 2008.
Elizabeth “Betty” Boozer Dalton ’56,
Wil Lou Gray Outstanding Educator Award
A South Carolina native, Dalton majored in post secondary education at Columbia
College, graduating in 1956. In 1982, she completed her master’s degree at
Clemson University. She and her husband, John S. Dalton, reside in Pickens, S.C.,
and their daughter, Dr. Mary Dalton, resides in Columbia.
Dalton began her career at A.C. Moore Elementary School as a sixth grade teacher.
Later posts included teaching at Greenville Junior High School; Pickens Junior
High; Enota Elementary in Gainesville, Ga.; Berea Elementary; and Greenville
County School District. She retired in 2006 from the Pickens County School System
as the first South Carolina teacher to serve for fifty years in the classroom.
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
Dalton says “I promised myself when I became a teacher I would schedule time to
help my students. I did not want my students to make low grades; neither did I want
to be an enabler who soft-pedaled errors and poor habits. Known as a no-nonsense
teacher, she always expected the best from her students and supported their wellbeing both in and out of the classroom. As a retiree, Dalton is an avid quilter, enjoys
working in her garden and is an active member of Grace United Methodist Church.
Deidre Buice Crow ’72, Career Achievement Award
Deidre Crow has been a member of the City of Columbia’s economic development
team for fifteen years. As deputy director and international trade liaison in the Office
of Economic Development, Crow works with existing industry, new business start-ups,
and economic development partner agencies to increase the tax base and promote
economic growth and viability in the Columbia region. Her duties include managing
the Columbia Industrial Park as well as representing the City as liaison with the
University of South Carolina’s Center for Manufacturing and Technology, and the
Military Affairs Committee of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
After graduation from Columbia College, Crow taught third grade for five years in
Richland County School District One. Additionally, she is a graduate of the University
of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. She is currently serving a second
term on the South Carolina District Export Council which is appointed by the U.S.
Secretary of Commerce and is chair of the S.C. International Trade Coalition. In
2007, she was honored by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Commercial
Service with the Certificate of Appreciation for Achievement in Trade.
Ciona Rouse ’01
Young Alumna Service Award
Crow is an active member of Kilbourne Park Baptist Church where she sings
in the Sanctuary Choir, serves on the Publicity Committee and is chair of the
Personnel Committee. She has been a volunteer with the S.C. Commission for
the Blind for 10 years. She has three sons and five grandchildren.
Ciona Rouse ‘01, Young Alumna Service Award
Ciona D. Rouse was born in Atlanta, Ga., and spent most of her youth in South
Carolina, where her father served as a United Methodist pastor at several
congregations in the state. She was an active member of the South Carolina
United Methodist Church youth and young adult ministries.
She majored in English at Columbia College with a communications emphasis,
and received the Judith Weidman Racial Ethnic Minority Fellowship in religious
communications. Following graduation, she worked with the communications
office of the United Methodist Baltimore-Washington Conferences.
In 2002, Ciona moved to Nashville to work with the Shared Mission Focus on
Young People (SMFYP), a global initiative of The United Methodist Church.
While serving the SMFYP, Ciona helped administer more than $2 million in
grants to cutting-edge ministries with youth and young adults around the globe.
Ciona has written on many humanitarian issues such as HIV/AIDS, child
soldiering in Congo, displaced people in Uganda and homelessness in the
United States for several religious magazines and news services. Immediately
following Hurricane Katrina, she went down to the gulf to write stories on
hurricane recovery in 2005. Ciona has written scripts for two award-winning
video projects, as well: The Way of Pilgrimage Videos and In Search of the Youth
Service Fund. She recently completed a book entitled Every Prayer, A Story: A
Pilgrimage through Africa, to be released in late 2009. The book chronicles stories
and photographs from Ciona’s pilgrimage to six African countries last year.
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
Photos by Allen Anderson
5
The Interview:
Sue has said it was a three-year process to write The Secret Life of Bees,
starting around 1998. That roughly coincides with a five-year period that was a
transformative, important time for both of you. It actually started in 1998 when
Ann graduated from Columbia College. Almost simultaneously, Sue had a big
birthday and was becoming an empty-nester. Then you launched on your big
adventure to Greece together later that year.
Could you reflect on that period, how your relationship as mother and
daughter was evolving? Big changes were taking place in both of your lives…
it feels like a very critical period of time. In fact, it’s the basis of your new cowritten memoir, Traveling With Pomegranates.
Ann: Yes, when I graduated from Columbia College, I was in kind of this
unique position, not being entirely sure what I was going to do with the rest of
my life and feeling like I had to have that figured out.
That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.
Ann: Yeah, at the same time I was very excited about the upcoming trip to
Greece that I knew my mother and I were going to take.
Was this trip a long time in planning?
N
You were both explorers, which introduced a new dynamic in how you were talking to
each other, and what you were talking about.
Sue: Yes, and how you relate in general. The whole context of it had to shift. I can’t be the
mother of a little girl anymore and she’s not a little girl looking to mommy. Our question
became, how do we relate woman-to-woman, but still as mother and daughter. It was
very healthy and we just struggled through it as we were thrown together in this intense
journey.
Now, fast forward a few years. How had you recorded this experience and reached the
decision that you would work on a memoir together? What was your process and what
brought you to it?
Sue: [nudging Ann, and proudly] This was her idea!
Sue: No, the trip actually came up a few months before my 50th birthday. I
should say that Ann’s graduation from Columbia College and my 50th birthday
happened the same summer. So they were coinciding, and these were big
thresholds for both of us. I was thinking of a way to cross this threshold
because it was daunting, really daunting…turning 50, becoming an older
woman…how do you do that? What does it mean…there must be more to it
than botox [she laughs]. I thought, well, what if I go to Greece for my birthday,
which was an elaborate plan. It just seemed like a way to take a pilgrimage,
really, and induct myself and explore all this. And then it occurred to me that
Ann and I could go together and this could also be her college graduation
present. It became both of these things, a way to celebrate my 50th and her
graduation. We had never taken a trip together—as adult women—before.
What we did not know is that we were entering a process that would span
several years. In many ways very challenging and demanding…which had to
do with finding our way across some new territory. New feminine territory, I
guess you could say.
So, for both of you it felt like a very new phase in your lives.
Sue: Absolutely, and you know the word “crisis” really does mean something
like entering into an unknown or new period in life. It sort of felt like we were
both trying to figure out a crisis. How do you become an older woman? How
do you find your place in the world as a young woman after college? That’s
a huge thing to work out. Those are questions we were both carrying around
and then suddenly the whole trip became a backdrop for
that.
Ann: For each trip we did keep journals and made recordings…with no thought that we
were going to write a book, that was just our natural inclination. It wasn’t until much later
that the idea came that we would write about these travel experiences. It was during our
trips I realized that I wanted to become a writer. Just a side note, the first time I went to
Greece was with a Columbia College trip.
The Greece and Italy trips are famous at Columbia College.
Ann: I’m not surprised…I think ours was the first group to travel to Greece, in 1997. It
changed my life… it sounds cliché, but it literally opened up the whole wide world to me. It
was an incredible gift to be able to go back.
Sue: We’d each been once before, but never together.
Ann: It was after our trip together that I knew I wanted to write about traveling and my
experiences. But when I started writing, it felt like I was telling only half the story. My mom
and I eventually took three trips together and all the time, it felt like something important
was unfolding for me. I was well aware that the same thing was happening for her, but
that it was happening to our relationship also. So I just asked her one day if she had ever
thought about writing about these trips.
When was that?
Ann: The idea came at the most inopportune time [they both laugh]…when we had no
time. I was pregnant, and my mom was working on The Mermaid Chair.
Ann, what had you majored in at Columbia College?
ew Feminine Territory:
Writing a Mother-Daughter Memoir
Columns recently visited with Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter
Ann Kidd Taylor ’98 near Charleston, South Carolina. Sue and
husband Sandy Kidd’s light-filled home flows with warm washes
of color and a breezy openness. In the entry foyer, there is a
recessed alcove in one high wall that’s reminiscent of an altar
shape often found in the cobbled walls along roadsides all over
the world. Occupying the alcove is a sculpture that at first glance
6
Sue: That was the surprise of the trip. We stumbled into this myth and realized it was
a part of our story. We had grown apart when Ann left home. I had that empty nest, we
were busy, and we just lost touch with one another. But not only that…when a young
woman finds her way into adulthood, you have to renegotiate the whole mother-daughter
relationship. You have to rethink it, and it has to transform into something else. You cannot
go on with it in the same way, I think. This became the centerpiece of the trip, a sense
of being lost to one another in a way…not that we were estranged, just a natural kind of
developmental “losing” of one another. Our trips [starting with Greece] became a way to
find a reunion…to return to one another in a totally new way.
could be mistaken for a Madonna and child. A closer look
reveals Asian features—Kwan Yin, also a divine feminine
figure, is a goddess of compassion in the Buddhist tradition.
Regarded as “a true enlightened one,” or bodhisattva, Kwan
Yin vowed to remain in the earthly realms and not enter the
heavenly worlds until all other living things have completed
their own enlightenment.
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
Ann: History. Dr. Belinda Gergel got her hands on me in my
sophomore year, and that was it. [Dr. Gergel was then chair
of the history department.]
Was Greece your sole destination on that trip…did you wing it
or plan each day?
Ann: Yes, our first trip was Greece exclusively. Most of it
was planned, though there was one side excursion we kind
of tumbled into. We saw a relief sculpture in the Athens
Archeological Museum of Demeter and Persephone,
the mother-daughter goddesses. We found out that their
sanctuary still exists just 20 miles from Athens so that
was an add-on that became a critical place for us to be
and explore together. The theme of initiation was huge for
this mother-daughter sanctuary for thousands of years.
It was one of the biggest religious ceremonial centers of
the ancient world. They had something there called “the
mysteries” and it re-enacted this myth of Demeter and
Persephone…Persephone’s abduction, her mother’s search
for her and ultimately their reunion.
Ann with parents Sue and Sandy
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
7
Sue: That’s right, when Ann brought this up in 2003 I was immersed in The Mermaid
Chair and it took me until 2006 to start really thinking about writing a new book, but
I just loved the idea. When she invited me, I was thrilled for two reasons. I could
give expression to my own inner journey during that time which had landed me in a
completely new place creatively and spiritually, leading up to The Secret Life of Bees and
grappling with the idea of becoming a novelist. But most of all, I knew it would be incredible
to write a book with Ann.
How did you balance the process of co-writing…did Ann just call and say, “Okay, Mom,
I’m bringing all my stuff over...”
Ann: We actually did a lot of that separately to begin with, sorting through pictures and
journal entries. Those things we wrote about, because they had the most impact on us,
we remembered pretty vividly. The journals were very helpful with details. We had been
very meticulous…
Sue: Thank goodness. I guess it’s because we’re writers, though maybe Ann didn’t
know she was yet. Ann had taken video too, and we had collected so much…postcards
from everywhere we went, massive amounts of material.
Since then, your family has grown, other books, more book tours…Sue had seen the
very successful launch of The Secret Life of Bees, which took on a life of its own. Did
writing Traveling with Pomegranates take longer than you imagined?
Sue: It took two years of intense writing, but even before that we were talking about
structure, sorting through the material, outlining.
Ann: We made these big flip charts…and we’d draw ideas because we’re both visual
people. We drew the timelines; it helped to really see it.
Sue: We did that for many months before writing, and seriously started writing chapter
one in January 2007. We finished the revisions in January 2009, so that’s about all
we did for those two years. It took us longer to get underway than we thought, and
then longer to write it too. But that is always the case. To write a book together…
it was probably the hardest book I’ve ever written, because it was a complex book. It
was Ann’s story, it was my story, it was our story. It all had to flow in a way that gelled
together nicely and transitioned nicely. She would go write at her house, about 15
minutes away. And then later we would be on the telephone, “Now what color dress
were you wearing that day?”
Ann: Because the details matter [she laughs]. It was fun, we really laughed. Toward the
end, we’d reach this peak of exhaustion and just die laughing. The book is sequential,
and between three trips we have Charleston chapters. Columbia College is there too, an
important “character” in my life. And then we have an “afterword” set in the present, that
brings everything full circle.
Ann, did any part of the publishing process surprise you?
Ann: It was harder than I thought, and very learn-as-you-go. I don’t think
that I could have learned it any other way than to just do it.
Sue: Well before I got started, she was working on it and talked about this
as her “apprenticeship.” She came to this realization that she wanted to
be a writer, which surprised her….I think she was trying not to be a writer,
because I was a writer. In the end it was just too authentic for her, it was her
thing. When we got the publisher involved and started really working on it,
it was like on-the-job training. I watched her writing and her work evolve in
the most extraordinary way. Ann inspired me with her honesty in the book.
I’ll speak as her mother and her co-author right now, her work is amazing.
When I talk sometimes, I’ll tell young women, “You need to do one thing in
your life that takes your own breath away.” I think Ann’s done it already.
Ann, do you feel like you’ve got a novel in you?
Ann: I know I have a story, and what form that may take I’m not exactly sure.
The setting of The Secret Life of Bees is the summer of 1964 which, for
Ann’s generation of Southern writers, is vivid with imagery of archetypal
Southern life, the Civil Rights struggle and the Vietnam War. Twenty years
from now, I wonder what your imagery will be, Ann, when you reach back
for a definitive period that resonates for you and informs your writing.
Ann: I would say it’s now. Culturally, 2009 is a very exciting time both
politically and socially. Growing up, my house was ten minutes from my
school in a small town, but still very different from the kind of small Georgia
town my mother grew up in. Thinking of images of the South that resonate
with me…when I got to Columbia College, it was the confederate flag
hanging over the state house. It’s one of those piercing emotional things,
and the “Take it Down” rallies are vivid to me. In Columbia, I had my
first sense of government at work, what’s possible and how you can get
involved. I didn’t see much of that until I was there, with it being the capital.
Seeing a protest rally has an impact on you.
Sue: Yes, from 1964 to the election of Obama is mind boggling, what that
spans for these two generations.
Ann, what influenced your decision to come to Columbia College? Ann: It was the only place I wanted to go. In my junior year of high school,
I did the campus tour with a friend. I left there knowing that’s where I
wanted to go. I liked the whole idea of it being for women and geared
toward women. Just the whole environment. I’d never had that before,
my high school certainly wasn’t [single-gender], but it just seemed to be
a good fit for me. So, naturally I didn’t go there [she says with irony]….I
went somewhere else! Things got a little complicated when I was offered
a full-ride scholarship to another school. It felt like one of those things you
just can’t pass up, because to do it would be selfish. I wasn’t getting any
pressure from my parents at all to take it. I was also accepted at Columbia
College, but with no scholarship. I did what I guess most people would
do, so I went for a whole semester and was completely unhappy. I felt
completely torn…who gives up free tuition, room and board? At the end
of the semester, I finally told my parents, and they said, “What does your
heart want?” It was Columbia College, so that’s what we did…and it was
*snap* quick, a whirlwind transfer. My mom was on the telephone with Mitzi
Winesett from the student affairs office.
Sue: Oh, yes. I asked Mitzi what we needed to do to start Ann at Columbia
College that second semester. She said, “Well, the deadline’s tomorrow, so
let’s see what we can do.” And we made it happen, because she desperately
wanted to be there.
Ann: One minute Mom and I we’re talking, then I’m packing up my car and
driving, and I started classes the next day. I learned to listen to myself with
that experience.
How are you looking forward to continuing your evolution as a writer?
Ann: There’s one trick I learned from my mother, that inspiration can come from
an image that really grabs you. A lot of times, when I see something, I might
write it down, or cut something out. I’m also reading as much as I can. I came to
Jane Austen very late, when I was thirty, and now I can’t stop reading her. And
biographies, Mom and I are both into the Tudors and English queens right now.
I get inspiration from real women’s lives and their times. !
8
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
Photos by Leslie Ryann McKeller
New Book Sneak Peek!
Traveling With
Pomegranates
will be available September 2009,
published by Viking.
In this intimate memoir, Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann
offer distinct perspectives as a fifty-something and twentysomething, each on a different quest to redefine herself, and
rediscover each other.
From Traveling With Pomegranates
When Ann drops by after work, Sandy and the movers are unloading
furniture in the rain and I am sitting cross legged on the floor, unpacking the
boxes that made my stomach do the funny flip-flop. Spread around me are
books, files, scribbled notes, a three-ring notebook with my research, and
the first fifty pages of the novel tied neatly with a piece of raffia. In my lap
rests a collage the size of a small poster.
“So where’s my room?” Ann says as she plops beside me on the floor.
It’s the first house we’ve had without a room for her or Bob, a fact that has
not quite sunk in until she asks this, asks it so matter-of-factly that I glance
at her to be sure she is kidding. Her eyes give her away. “Yeah, about that…
we still have the pup tent,” I say. We laugh a little too long, as if to avoid the
acknowledgement implied in all of this---that her leaving is now permanent
and concrete. No coming back.
For one elongated minute we sit there and listen to the rain pelt the
roof. The closeness we discovered in Greece seemed to solidify during the
fall. We talked endlessly about the experiences we’d had, pored over trip
photographs, read passages aloud to each other from our journals, and
picked up the conversations we started over there.
I smile at her. Her hair, pixie short in Greece, is almost to her chin, her
bangs wispy across her forehead. She looks thin to me and I stifle the urge
to ask if she’s eating enough. In two days she will be twenty-three.
I realize I am still trying to work out the boundaries. How to love her
without interfering. How to step back and let her have her private world and
yet still be an intimate part of it. When she talks about her feelings, I have to
consciously tell myself she wants me to receive them, not fix them.
Every woman needs to become self-mothering, I remind myself. To
learn to take care of herself, to love herself. Ann has to find a mother in
herself. She will replace me. That’s the point now.
She peers at the collage in my lap. “What’s that?” she says, and I’m
glad for the diversion.
“It’s a book outline.”
“Very cool,” she says and leans over it, studying the patchwork of
pictures.
I started the collage soon after returning from Greece, searching
through magazines, catalogs, postcards, photos, and prints, cutting out
whatever inspired me. I was supposed to be writing an outline for the
novel, and I was cutting out pictures. It didn’t seem to matter whether I
understood what the pictures meant or how they fit into the novel; it was
enough to be drawn to them in some deep, evocative way. It was pretty
much an unconscious process. I told myself I was being creative, turning my
play instinct loose to roam around and find what fascinated it. Inside I was
thinking: This is nuts.
I ended up culling the pictures to twenty images and randomly
gluing them together. Among them: A white girl---fourteen maybe---a
sassy smirk on her face, but a hint of something hurt and bruised there,
too. A large African American woman, who looks like she could spit snuff
and straighten you out at the same time. A bitter-looking white man in
overalls. A pretty white woman with wistful eyes. A jail cell. A whirling
cloud of bees. A black Madonna wrapped in chains. A shockingly pink
house. A trio of African American women. A jar of honey. A banner that
reads walls for wailing.
I only know what the first half-dozen of these pictures mean and
how they might be part of the story. The rest is an enigma.
Ann rests her finger on the girl I’ve placed dead center. “Who’s
that? The girl with the bees inside her wall?”
I nod. “Her name is Lily Melissa Owens. She accidentally killed her
mother when she was four.”
She looks at me. “Killed her mother? Man.”
“Well, it makes things more interesting,” I say.
Ann points to the large woman. “What about her?”
“She gets into a fight with three racists and gets thrown in jail.”
“Good Lord.”
“Well, I don’t leave her there. Lily breaks her out and the two of
them run away together.”
A jail break. By a fourteen-year-old. When the idea came, it felt
inspired, but knowing how capable of doubt and how cold my feet would
get, I wrote a note to myself: Sue, this is a really good idea. Before you
dismiss it, remember how you felt when it came to you.
If it hadn’t been for that note, the idea would have never survived. I
still wasn’t sure whether it was perfectly ridiculous or ridiculously perfect.
Ann does not laugh or roll her eyes. “So, where do they go?”
This is the part that makes me nervous, the part over which the
novel has stalled. “I have no idea,” I say.
Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from Traveling with PomegranatesCopyright © Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, 2009
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
9
A Columbia College Story
Lateshia D. Beachum ’09
best decisions I made that semester. Writing my pieces for Ms. Brinson was a
therapeutic escape for me,” she said. But Skidmore’s admission rules allowed
only full-time students to apply. Brinson contacted the director of Skidmore’s
program to share a sample of Lateshia’s writing and explain her unique
situation. Lateshia was granted an exception to apply.
“I knew I had a good chance because my story was so personal to me…it’s
a story I’ve wanted to tell for a long time. I just didn’t have the courage until
Ms. Brinson’s class.” Her story, “Independence Day” is loosely based on her
witnessing her mother losing her hair as a result of chemotherapy treatment
on July 4, 2005.
Grand Opening
Leonard Price
Athletic Pavilion
Columbia College hosted a grand opening of The Leonard Price Athletic Pavilion on May 7,
honoring benefactor and trustee Leonard Price. The Leonard Price Athletic Pavilion is the
newest addition to the Columbia College athletic complex located on Carola Avenue, near
the campus in the Eau Claire community. The facility features locker rooms, restrooms, a
concession stand, a training room, and an upper level pavilion overlooking the College’s
softball field, the soccer field and the site of future tennis courts.
But it was in getting to Skidmore that Lateshia began to fully appreciate the
role the people at Columbia College have played in her life. “When I first
received the e-mail telling me that I was accepted to the program, I was
excited and worried that I might not be able to go,” she said. Lateshia received
a full-scholarship to the program that covered class expenses and materials
but not the $700 cost of room and board or transportation to New York.
I
n July, Lateshia D. Beachum ’09 will be flying to Upstate New York to
participate in Skidmore College’s prestigious Summer Writer’s Institute.*
While Lateshia and supporters like her mother and professors are proud
of her accomplishments, the road to Skidmore has been an interesting and
humbling journey.
During her senior year at Columbia College, Lateshia’s mother had a
recurrence of cancer that was first found in 2005. With no siblings or other
immediate family nearby to lean on, Columbia College faculty became the
family that supported Lateshia through her mother’s two hospitalizations.
Faculty like Claudia Smith Brinson gave her advice and others, like Dr. Helen
Tate, provided her with emotional support. Yet, with the stress of her mother’s
health and bills, coupled with some of the hardest courses that Lateshia
had ever taken in college, the semester became too much for her to handle.
The weight of depression pressed down on her. She took incompletes in
three courses and began to question her spiritual strength. The Columbia
College community came to her support without hesitation. “That semester
really showed me that there is good in people and that they do care,” she
said. “People who didn’t really know me reached out to me in concern. I
didn’t expect such kindness from people. I felt like my situation was my own
problem to deal with, not a concern for the campus.”
The following semester, Lateshia regrouped to complete her courses as
a part-time student and was hit with a few pleasant surprises. A paper
she wrote on the portrayal of women in The Thousand and One Nights
was accepted for presentation to the Sigma Tau Delta Conference in
Minneapolis. She was also shocked to learn that she was the Southern
States Communication Association’s 2009 Franklin Shirley Award recipient
for a paper she wrote about the limits of satire in the cartoon series The
Boondocks.
Claudia Smith Brinson asked Lateshia if she would be interested in attending
Skidmore’s New York Summer Writer’s Institute. One of the few courses
that she held onto in order to cope with the world around her was Brinson’s
creative writing class. “Keeping my creative writing class was one of the
10
She told Brinson, who told Lateshia’s advisor and English department chair,
Dr. Mike Broome, about Lateshia’s possible inability to come up with $700.
To Lateshia’s surprise, the faculty of the English Department donated $400 to
help her attend Skidmore. “I am really grateful for the English Department’s
help. I don’t know where I would be today without their academic guidance
and personal concern,” she said “I know money is tight all around and I know
that the English Department didn’t have to donate money for me but I’m glad
they did.”
Lateshia still found herself in a bind when it came to paying for the rest of
Skidmore’s room and board tuition. She was scraping by on freelance income
for her work at The State newspaper. “The people with whom my mother
worked have already been supportive through our trying times,” she said “It
just seemed wrong to ask people for money. It still does.”
Not completely discouraged, Lateshia wrote and called local writing groups
and cancer organizations in search of sponsorships and grants. However,
her efforts came to no avail. “I was sure that I wasn’t going to go,” she said,
“I couldn’t get a loan and I didn’t want my mother to add to her debt from
hospital stays. I tried to convince myself that I was okay with not going. I just
didn’t know how to tell the English Department that I couldn’t go, even with
their help. That was the hardest part of it all.”
Just weeks before Commencement, she stopped by the Center for Engaged
Learning, where she had worked as a Career Peer, and told the staff about
her Skidmore woes. Astounded that Lateshia might not be able to attend
Skidmore’s program, Dr. Ned Laff went on a crusade to find Columbia College
faculty and administrators who might be willing to donate.
The following day, Lateshia was shocked to find out that her plane ticket
to New York was paid in full. “I can’t believe that these people were so
willing to invest in me, especially since I just graduated. I was in shock
and on the verge of tears. I know that what has happened to me would not
have happened at any other college because any other place is simply not
Columbia College.”
*The New York State Writers Institute was established in 1984 by award-winning
novelist William Kennedy at the University at Albany, SUNY. The summer program
is held on the Skidmore campus in Saratoga Springs, New York and features
creative writing workshops in fiction, non-fiction and poetry. An extraordinary staff of
distinguished writers, among them winners of such major honors as the Pulitzer Prize
and the National Book Award, serve as Institute faculty members.
C o l u mb i a
o l l more
e g e student profiles.
Visit www.columbiasc.edu
to Cread
Where Are They Now?
Columns Catches Up With Retired Faculty
J
Dr. JoAnn Kemp
Dr. JoAnn Kemp served at Coker College in Spartanburg for 10 years before coming to Columbia College in 1977 to
become the chair of the Physical Education Department. She served in that capacity for 15 years before retiring in
1992. She thoroughly enjoys her retirement and spends her time between Columbia and her home in Black Mountain,
N.C., near Asheville. Kemp says that living there gives her so many opportunities to take advantage of the arts and
other activities.
As a child, she enjoyed physical activities and when she told her grandmother her decision to major in physical
education, her grandmother replied, “Well, I don’t know anyone who can play better than you.” —And she continues
“playing” in her retirement. Kemp participates in white water rafting, black water rafting, canoeing and hiking. She
works out at least three times a week to stay fit, including weight lifting.
In addition to staying physically active, she is interested in history. Since retiring she has taken courses at the
University of North Carolina-Asheville to study Native American history as well as Eleanor Roosevelt, whom she
greatly admires.
She is an avid reader and has recently read The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama, and The Tibetan Book of Living
and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. Presently, she is also studying Buddhism because it supports compassion of all and
the beauty of life and the respect of nature.
Kemp says she thoroughly enjoyed her time at Columbia College and appreciates the wonderful association she had
with faculty, staff and students. For those of the campus community who remember staff member Willi Green, they
keep in touch and see each other once a year at Christmas. In addition to her wonderful circle of friends in Columbia
and Black Mountain, she loves her dog “Sacee,” who is presently enrolled in agility classes.
Dr. Kemp would enjoy hearing from her colleagues and former students. Her mailing address is: Dr. JoAnn Kemp, 740
Crosshill Rd., Columbia, SC 29205.
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
11
H i g h l i g hts
H i g h l i g hts
March 16
March 25
The Hi C’s presented Tapas Dinner Theater: “Issues and Tissues”
The Staley Lecture, presented by Dr. Vivia Fowler, explored a
selection of biblical women through historical texts as well as through
art, music, theatre, and literature. Pictured L-R: Dr. Harris Parker, Dr.
Vivia Fowler ’76 and Rev. Tiffany Knowlin ’03.
April 19
Students were recognized for leadership and academic
achievement at the annual Columbia College Honors and Awards ceremony.
March 30
April 1-30
April 21
April 22
The Upton Trio,
“alternative
chamber titans,”
performed at
Columbia College:
Mary Lee Taylor
(violin), Billy
Shepherd (piano)
and Dusan
Vukajlovic (cello).
“Inner Voice, Outer Vision,”
was the theme of the senior
art students’ annual exhibit
featuring works by Nikki
Anderson, Catherine Cox,
Leigha Dickey, Brendalyn
Reaves, Autumn Watts, and
Jessica Williams entitled
“Inner Voice, Outer Vision”.
The Annual Spring Choir
and Hi C’s Concert
celebrated the teaching
and performing legacy of
retiring chair, department
of music, Dr. Lillian
Quackenbush.
Columbia College students with Senator John Courson on South
Carolina Independent Colleges Day at the State House.
Jessica Williams
“Pensive”
Photography 2008
12
April 18
April 18
April 22
April 24 and 25
Students Elyse Cox, Staci Hallas and Nikita Burks brought home awards
from the South Carolina Speech and Theatre College Festival.
The Annual Honors Student Association Silent Art Auction is held during
Alumnae Weekend to support Honors Program activities. The auction
features art work by students, faculty, staff and friends of the College.
Students have fun and let loose on Fun Day before exams. Activities on “the
green” included an obstacle course, a bungee run, putt-putt golf and music.
Columbia College Dance Company presented the Spring
Choreographers’ Showcase and Alumnae Dance Concert.
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
13
C l a ss N e w s
C l a ss N e w s
1935
Lucinda Bethea Bostick has two new great
grandchildren: Lucinda Bostick, born on February 14,
2008, and Fin Bostick, born in January 2008.
1941
Miriam Acosta Phipps has retired from teaching
high school Spanish and has five grandchildren.
1965
Kathryn Rast Williams has been retired from
teaching for 18 years. Her husband Frank passed
away in 2005. She is still active in Swansea United
Methodist Church teaching Ladies’ Bible Class once
a month, but has retired from the choir. She has two
children: a daughter, Jennifer Williams Eskridge
’83, a teacher who lives in West Columbia, and a son
Matthew, a Clemson University graduate, who lives in
Slingerlands, N.Y. She has five grandchildren.
Annette Sigmon Burton has been teaching English
as an adjunct professor at Piedmont Technical
College since 1998. Her husband, Sam Burton,
passed away in 2002. While visiting her cousins
in Florida she took an art class, and in 2005 she
entered an art show at Piedmont Tech. The college
president selected one of her paintings for the
permanent collection on display in the Solutia Gallery
located in the administration building. She also rents
25+ acres of her land in Monetta, where peach trees
are grown. Annette enjoys visiting her grandson
Dylan, 10, who shares her love of baseball. Missy
Cromer retired after teaching theater for 42 years. In
2005, she was named Teacher of the Year at Rock
Hill High School. Glenda Goodson Tisdale retired
in 2008 after 33 years of teaching elementary and
middle school. She and her husband Butch plan to
spend more time at their mountain home and enjoy
their seven grandchildren.
1953
1966
Jacqueline Hodges Johnson has moved from
Anderson to a retirement home in California.
1948
Eloise Browning Gatch’s husband passed away in
September 2008. They would have been married for
60 years in December.
1950
Betty Youmans Greene retired from Matlock Baptist
Church in December 2005, where she worked part
time as church secretary for 33 years. She is enjoying
retirement with her family and friends.
1958
Patricia Hayes Maroska retired from teaching five
years ago and has traveled to Europe. She has three
granddaughters, Grace Neel, 8, Virginia Neel, 2, and
Rosemary Neel, 1.
1967
Harriett Henderson Daniels is enjoying her four
children and seven grandchildren and traveling. Jean
Andrews Kling’s daughter, Jennifer Kling Rausa ‘00,
has a baby girl named Abigail Sophia.
Ann Howle Davis retired on July 1, 2008, from
the state of North Carolina as the director of
administrative services at Walter B. Jones Alcohol
and Drug Treatment Center after 30 years of service.
She is now staying busy as a volunteer for her
church, Tanglewood Church of God in Kenston,
editing their newsletter, managing yahoo group, and
writing weekly devotionals for distribution. Donna
Cain Stone has a new granddaughter, Meredith
Stone, born on April 11, 2008.
1961
1969
Delores Spell Reeves and her husband Tom
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July
2008. They take their grandson, who is in the 5th
grade, with them to Windy Hill Beach quite often.
1960
Maxine Johnson Caldwell has five granddaughters
ages 8 to 15 years old. Two of them live in Columbia
and three live in Lake Norman, N.C. Mac Reta
McLeod Kennedy retired from teaching elementary
school after 31 years. She is enjoying retirement and
her two grandsons, both who are active in Scouts and
soccer.
1962
Pollyanna Smith Davis’ husband has been appointed
by the Texas legislature as director of a new research
center at the University of Texas at El Paso. Pollyanna
and her youngest son have joined him in El Paso. Her
middle son is in California working to set up a new
business. Her eldest son has two children, a boy, 8,
and a girl, 6.
1963
Catherine Fleming Beadles’ son, David Lon Beadles,
died from melanoma on September 1, 2008. Patsy
Black Lunsford has a new granddaughter, Phoebe
Claire Lunsford, born on October 29, 2008.
14
1964
Frankie Chinnis McLean retired from Richland
School District Two in June 2008 after 33 years in
the education field.
1972
Cookie Baker Adams is celebrating the success of
her daughters! Her youngest, Alice Adams Bonaime,
received her Ph.D. in finance on December 19, 2008,
from the University of Florida. Alice is an assistant
professor at the University of Kentucky. Her older
daughter, Dottie Adams, was named Teacher of
the Year for 2008 at College Park middle school
in Berkeley County. Dottie teaches astronomy and
received her B.S. from Winthrop University and her
master’s degree from the College of Charleston.
Nancy E. Harmon is a missionary to Albania as
a Sister of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, a
Catholic religious community, of which she has been
a member for over 30 years.
1973
Mary Morris Dunford’s daughter, Emily Dunford
Munn, was married in summer 2008.
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
1974
Esther Montgomery Harrell has a new
granddaughter named Blakeley born on January 23.
1975
Patricia Bessinger Bodie is a proud grandmother.
Her daughter, Allison Seale, and her husband,
Jason Seale, welcomed their new daughter, Annalee
Caroline, on July 18, 2008. They also have a son,
Jesse Connor, 3.
1979
Melody Harlow is a teaching assistant in Richland/
Lexington School District Five. She also works
with the Safari program through Irmo/Chapin
Recreation Center. Melody’s daughter Robin attends
the University of South Carolina, where she is
majoring in criminal justice. Melody enjoys traveling,
decorating, and the company of her 4 cats.
1980
Jacque Webster Richardson is the director of
healthcare administration at Brightwater, a luxury,
all-inclusive, retirement community in Myrtle Beach.
Sherri Hunter Woodward’s son graduated from
Frances Marion University in 2005 and was married
in November 2007.
1982
Donna Bishop Pace’s daughter Brannon is a junior
at Newberry College. She spent a portion of summer
2008 in Europe touring Italy, Greece, and Turkey with
other students from Spartanburg Methodist College,
where she was a student at the time.
1983
Teresa Gardner-Turner and her husband, Michael
H. Turner, celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary
on March 19.
1987
Laurie Whittle Edwards lives with her family in
North Carolina. Her husband, Luke Allen Edwards,
owns his own business in Lake Lure. They have two
children, Luke Allen Edwards Jr., 10, and Meredith
Keith Edwards, 8.
1988
1995
Juli Jeffcoat Jones has a degree in science from
Clemson University. Her 7th grade class at Kelly
Mill Middle School was recognized at Yellowstone
National Park for its 5-year science project on the
Congaree River.
1996
Jennifer Stepp Hall won the “Dancing with the Horry
Stars” competition held in March 2008. This event
raised money for BE2 School for underprivileged
children.
1999
Keisha Dicks Ware serves as the attorney for the
students at the University of Texas at Arlington. She
also teaches two US Government courses for Tarrant
County College.
2000
Jennifer Beach Hughes is the business office
manager for Heritage Healthcare in Walterboro.
She handles all of the resident billing, trust accounts
and oversees the human resource and payroll
departments.
2001
Lakeysha Rembert is pursuing her Ph.D. in
education, specializing in special education at
Walden University in Baltimore, Md.
2003
Hannah Cromley is the new chair of the
Georgetown County Democratic party. She also
worked for President Barack Obama’s press office at
the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
2005
Melanie Neil has been serving as the guest curator
for an exhibit at the University of South Carolina’s
McKissick Museum. Her exhibit is on display at the
museum from February 27 through June 27 and is
entitled “To Make a House a Home: the Archaeology
of Freedmen Living on James Island, 1865-1906.”
It is a display of artifacts from James Island, which
relates to the homelives of former slaves following
the emancipation.
Tanya Ballentine Chapman’s 15-year-old daughter
Morgan is a member of Chapin High School’s
cheerleading team. In March, Chapin won the 3-A
State Championship for cheerleading.
2007
1989
2008
Robin Huskey is the manager of education and
outreach in the faculty and staff assistance program
at Emory University.
1991
Doris Culler Brown retired from teaching K-4 in
Spartanburg School District One in 2006. She and
her husband James have moved to Lake Murray.
Together they have 5 children and 9 grandchildren.
1993
Blair Mishoe Holloman and her husband Hal live in
Greenville, N.C. She is a stay-at-home mom to her
children: Luke, 10, Zeke, 8, Jessie, 6, and Maggie, 4.
Danielle Killgore published a book in December,
Trip Reset: Life Lessons Without a GPS, which is
available at Amazon.com.
Julie Ray had a research study published in the Fall
2008 Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina.
The article is entitled “How Autism is Changing
the Landscape of Speech-Language Services
Provided in the South Carolina Public Schools.”
She completed this research project with Columbia
College speech language professor, Dr. Leigh
Ann Spell. Julie is a speech language therapist at
Crosswell Drive Elementary School. DeLinda Taylor
Ridings’ daughter, Lauren Ridings, is a sophomore
at Columbia College, majoring in art management
with a minor in dance.
Graduate School
2004
Melanie McClure (M.Ed.) was named Teacher of the
Year at Green Sea-Floyds High School, where she
has taught English courses for ten years.
Advanced Degrees
Congratulations
Betty Ulmer McGregor ’51,
2009 National
Mother of the Year!
Paula Miles Burlison ’00, J.D., University of South
Carolina, May 2008
Valerie Collins ’02, Ed.S, education specialist,
Cambridge College, August 2008
Heather Messer ’03, M.S.W, social work, University
of South Carolina, 2006
Joy Hiller Thomas ’07, master’s in management,
University of Phoenix, September 2008
Memorials
Jackie Johnson Bozard ’48
Belinda Chandler Todd ’73
Mary Gordon Carroll ’42
Ruth Suddath Green ’45
Mary McColl Colyer ’33
Mary Lowe Morris’58
Mr. and Mrs. L.W. Copeland
Frances Copeland Stanley ’63
Louise Rogers Davis
Jewell Powell Hill ’60
Dolores Russell Ellis ’87
Ariail Chapter Alumnae Club
Iris Redfern Emery ’84
Margie L. Mitchell ’83
Joanna Splawn Fairey ’49
Jill B. Fairey ’82
Virlee Fanning
Marsha E. Fanning ’68
Winston Boyd Fleischman ’45
Columbia College Evening Club
Thelma Rast ’45
Elisa A. Haile
Judy Cheek Ethridge ’71
Dr. Harry Lewis Harvin
Dr. and Mrs. Selden K. Smith (Dorothy Gasque ’61)
Clelia Derrick Hendrix ’41
Betty Lee George Chandler ’58
Janet Alexander Cotter ’56
MaryAnn Smith Crews ’59
Natalie Robelot Gibson ’69
Denise Corley Godowns ’73
Carey Lee Hudson ’85
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Margie L. Mitchell ’83
Joanna Batson Stone ’47
Mary Bradham Van Horne ’65
Mr. Glenn A. Walker and Mrs. Mary Lorraine Guthrie
Dr. and Mrs. David F. Watson Jr. (Gail Gulledge ’73)
Janet S. Welch
Sandra Barrett Welch ’70
Jill Fielder Huntley ’76
Ann White ’76
Elizabeth “Buffie” Cross Hutto ’70
David S. Cross
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
In the Spring issue, Columns reported that Betty Jean
Ulmer McGregor ’51 had received the South Carolina
Mother of the Year Award. In April, she and other
state honorees attended the American Mothers Inc.®
national convention held in Seattle, Washington,
where she was selected as the National 2009 Mother
of the Year.
Nominees for this recognition are sought yearly on
the state level with recommendations coming from
the mother’s contacts such as church groups, choral
groups, PTA organizations, local businesses, etc.
Nominees are well-respected, devoted mothers who
interact in a positive manner on a family, spiritual,
community, and civic basis.
A native of Cameron, S.C., Betty is the daughter of
Margaret and Esman Ulmer. She graduated in 1951
from Columbia College, and married Sam McGregor.
They established their home in Hopkins. Sam was
called into military service in 1952 and their first child
was born at Fort Benning. Returning to Hopkins after
her husband’s military service, Betty became active in
community, church, and schools. They were blessed
with four additional children.
During the next 55, years they enjoyed children’s
activities, church, Clemson football, trips to beach,
mountains, and visited the nation’s capital and foreign
countries. They also faced major tragedies---a farm
fire where six lives were lost, critical illnesses, and
droughts. Their faith and friends support made them an
even stronger family. Each of their children has built a
successful life and family of their own, and they cherish
eight grandchildren. They cared for Sam’s father and
Betty’s mother in their home for four years.
Betty has represented S.C. at state, national, and
international conferences. Both Betty and Sam have
been recipients of state and national awards.
15
C l a ss N e w s
C l a ss N e w s
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Cross Jr.
Sarah H. Cross ’99
Dr. and Mrs. Selden K. Smith (Dorothy Gasque ’61)
Mary B. Williams
Patricia “Trisha” Warne ’71
Carolyn James Weaver ’59
Mary Frances Rabon Jamison ’49
Bette Jamison Inglett ’72
Gail Knight ’55
Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Smith II
Virginia Derrick McCormack ’39
Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Bundy
Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. Springs III
R.H. Smith
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Mr. and Mrs. J. Joseph Mitchell Jr. (Emil Burns ’84)
Sonya Barrineau Monts ’94
Ann White ’76
Marriages
Grace Hayden Moody ’57
Claire Palmer
Margaret Ann Taylor Owen ’60
Anne Dickert and Mickey Huffmond ’83
Jewell Powell Hill ’60
Tommie Crouch Howey ’63
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Kennedy (Jo Ann Kearse ’50)
Mr. and Mrs. Sam E. Owen Jr.
Ann Miller Parler ’61
Marguerite W. Seigler
Imagine being musical director of an outdoor
production of The Sound of Music with the actual
Swiss Alps as a backdrop. That is exactly what Lynne
McNeill Swafford ’72 will be doing this summer at
the Leysin American School in Leysin, Switzerland.
A sunny Alpine resort village, Leysin is located on
the northwest side of Lake Geneva and is renowned
for its ski events, jazz and arts festivals, and
international schools.
Lynne majored in music at Columbia College, where
she studied voice with Lanny Palmer. She began
her master’s degree in vocal performance at Boston
University, studying under Chloe Owen, and finished
her graduate work under the tutelage of Jane Rolandi
at Converse College, obtaining a masters degree
in music. The summers of Lynne’s college days
were spent at Lake Junaluska, N.C., as a Junaluska
singer. She moved to Texas to begin her doctoral
study, and met John Swafford, her husband of over
30 years. John is the director of instrumental music
at Episcopal School of Dallas and Lynne teaches
musical theater for the Dallas Summer Musicals
School and they have been very active in music
ministry. They reside in Dallas, Texas, and have three
sons. The Swaffords have worked with many singers,
actors, guitarists, drummers, composers, recording
engineers, and tech designers who have gone on to
national success in the entertainment business.
Lynne enjoys seeing Reverend R. Wright Spears
when she visits Lake Junaluska, and fondly
remembers her days at Columbia College. She says,
“I will take all the creative powers I learned there
under Lanny and Sidney Palmer and Guthrie Darr to
Switzerland to produce a very beautiful show!”
16
Laura Talbert Padgett ’95
H.C.S. Communication Services
Sara Rogers Phibbs
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Caro Easterling Phillips ’27
Carolyn Wienges Laffitte ’73
William “Bill” Phillips
Mary Ann Reeves Phillips ’56
Martha Wood Pitts ’43
Ruth Suddath Green ’45
Nell Williams Overton ’43
Mary Carole Hammett Reid ’59
Barbara Byrd Hammett ’59
Mary Frances Cotton Rembert ’61
Margaret “Meg” Ward Pace ’62
Maidie S. Reynolds ’13
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
Kathryn Ann Rivers ’74
Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Rivers
Elizabeth “Betty” Hills Rollins (H)
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Akers
Karen Schultz Anders ’67
Ariail Chapter Alumnae Club
Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Barham (Helen Jeffords (H))
Nancy Felder Bull ’66
Mr. and Mrs. David M. Bundrick
Jean L. Cann
Jerolyn Long Carroll ’69
Ann Corbett ’67
Earl Fischer and Helen B. Smoak
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Gregory
Jean T. Hawkins
Amy Graef Huckaby ’82
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Johnson
Mary Eileen Leonard
Ruth P. Lyons
Nancy M. Moody ’67
Dr. Sara L. Mott
Betty C. Nigels
Dr. and Mrs. Harris H. Parker Jr. (Susan Culclasure ’58)
Reverend and Mrs. Charles G. Pfeiffer
Riley Pope & Laney LLC
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Rodenberg
Anella Andrews Sansbury ’66
Bernadette Scott
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
Mary Teal Stackhouse
Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson T. Howell (Carole Dunaway ’75)
Mr. and Mrs. J. Joseph Mitchell Jr. (Emil Burns ’84)
Dr. Nancy L. Tuten
Sara Lewis Strachan (H)
Mary Russell Arrington
Mr. Kenneth W. Baldwin Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Barham (Helen Jeffords (H))
Sarah Potts Bates ’61
Henry G. Bedinger Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert A. Boland
John M. Cooper Jr.
Dorothy E. Crowe
Kathryn A. Dearhart
Mary-Beth Fafard
Barbara Fields
Helena E. Flickinger
Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Foster
Mr. and Mrs. E. Gregorie Frampton
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis G. Gerstmeyer
Mr. and Mrs. Lynn W. Jones
Lula Mae Jowers
Inez Mitchum ’41
Caroline J. Patterson
Joseph B. Rhodarmer
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Rhodarmer
Robert Burns Society of the Midlands
Mr. and Mrs. G. DuPre Sanders Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. William Strohecker
Eric Williams and Judith K. Jordan
Scott F. Zimmerman
Daniel E. Turbeville
Robin E. Campbell (H)
Mr. and Mrs. Reginald D. Wilson Jr. (Paula Brafford ’74)
Suzanne Ellen Valois ’70
Meredith Valois Hyman ’73
Winifred “Winnie” Lloyd Vosburgh ’81
Nancy L. Vosburgh ’66
Elizabeth Wallace
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Stanmore “Stan” T. Watson
Dr. and Mrs. Selden K. Smith (Dorothy Gasque ’61)
Celeste George Wienges ’17
Carolyn Wienges Laffitte ’73
Ginny Williamson ’73
Ann White ’76
Anne Jones Wilson ’48
Frank C. Wilson Sr.
Nan W. Wilson
Mary Beth McMillan Asma ’73
Nancy Snyder Gardner ’69
Dawn Schulin Linthicum ’68
Rae Bundrick Miles ’59
Ruby E. Nolan ’52
Sandra M. Steele ’71
Betty Sheriff Sutton ’53
Linda Harris Brown ’66 to Ted Raymond Fansher,
December 27, 2008
Lori J. Blakeney ’84 to Robert Bellamy,
August 15, 2008
Martha Harris ’84 to Joseph R. Castellano,
May 24, 2008
Jestine Odom ’91 to Terry Kearney Smith,
March 15, 2009
Elizabeth Moorer Wilson ’92 to
Edward Larry Carson Jr., January 24, 2009
Aldrena Hicks ’97 to Seliman G. Corder,
November 10, 2008
Kayte M. Burgess ’99 to Kevin Elliott,
December 29, 2007
Alicia Lynn Watts ’00 to John Chandler Baker,
December 6, 2008
Megan Ann Kelly ’01 to
Joshua Emanuel Quattlebaum, November 15, 2008
Hilary Rebecca Price ’01 to Todd Gaunce Morgan,
March 14, 2009
Katrena Michelle Rivers ’02 to Kevin Eldred Pye,
November 22, 2008
Elizabeth Erin Wooten ’02 to Lucas Thomas Erwin,
March 14, 2009
Kathryn Elizabeth Strickland ’03 to
James Ransome Dallas, December 6, 2008
Ashley Lynn Macalka ’04 to Russell Allen Niles,
January 23, 2009
Kathryn Elizabeth Dunn ’05 to Joshua Lee Koon,
December 6, 2008
Rebecca Ann Kleinbach ’05 to George Murphy Jr.,
October 25, 2008
Amanda Gail Taylor ’05 to Kenneth Ray Hayes,
November 22, 2008
Births/Adoptions
Kathryn Young Roberts ’88, a daughter, Emily,
June 25, 2007
LaTonya Brown Derrick ’96, a daughter, Madison
Lowren, January 9, 2008
Holly Harrington ’96, a daughter, Makenzie Pierce,
June 19, 2008
Cathryn Ruff Jaeger ’96, a daughter, Kindel
Cydney, January 3, 2008
Stephanie Mitchell Schechter ’96, a son,
Harry Mitchell, July 18, 2008
Lisa Reeder Wilson ’96, a son, Riley Evan George,
October 28, 2008
Amy Goff Poteat ’97, a daughter, Sophie Mae,
November 14, 2008
Heather Vander Ploeg Crouch ’98, a son,
Richard William Jr., September 24, 2008
Sommer Deal Hoffman ’98, a daughter,
Rileigh Brooke, March 10, 2008
Kayte M. Burgess ’99, a daughter,
Kayden Grace Elliott, December 5, 2008
Becky Tuten Valentine ’99, a daughter,
Ramsey Elayna, May 23, 2005, a daughter,
Rebekah Ann, August 27, 2007, a son,
Derrick Rowen, November 28, 2008
Christine Ecker Delk ’00, a daughter,
Kendall Morgan, April 30, 2008
Andrea Drake ’00, twin sons, Anthony and Jason,
February 2, 2008
Jana Weatherford Debney ’02, a daughter,
Abigail Louise, January 19, 2009
Michelle Washington Singleton ’02, a son,
Bobby Isaiah, December 23, 2008
Shante’ Ingram Stevenson ’02, a son,
Sean Adonijah, February 13, 2004, a son,
Tavean Jaiden, May 18, 2005, a son,
Dominick Javean, April 16, 2007, and a daughter,
Arianna Malia Faith, March 27, 2009
Emily Ford Weaver ’02, a son, William Tucker,
November 24, 2008
Amy Brant Thompson ’04, a daughter,
Brantley Elizabeth, March 20, 2009
Shanitra Singleton ’05, a son, Jabari Khalid,
February 11, 2009
Deaths
Norman Wilson Anderson ’51
Columbia, S.C.
January 14, 2009
Charlotte Stribling Beaver ’63
Anderson, S.C.
March 6, 2009
Jean Gilchrist Brannon ’58
Covington, La.
February 15, 2009
Mary Gene Gordon Carroll ’42
Aiken, S.C.
November 28, 2008
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Jean Grimball Witherspoon Cooper ’38
Hanahan, S.C.
January 13, 2009
Ernest Hope King Corley ’37
Mullins, S.C.
December 31, 2008
Susan Valery Floyd Crawford ’37
Holly Hill, S.C.
January 31, 2009
Julia Sox Dowd ’72
Gaston, S.C.
February 6, 2008
Dolores Russell Ellis ’87
Bedford, Tex.
February 12, 2009
Winston Boyd Fleischman ’45
West Columbia, S.C.
January 25, 2009
Margaret Lane Fogle ’40
Orangeburg, S.C.
February 20, 2009
Augusta Drake Gay ’46
Dallas, Tex.
January 25, 2009
Mary Louise Romanstine Grant ’38
Marietta, Ga.
December 23, 2008
Weeta Margaret Harris ’36
Newberry, S.C.
March 12, 2009
Nelle Fletcher Matthews ’51
Little Mountain, S.C.
January 10, 2009
Virginia Derrick McCormack ’39
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
March 11, 2009
Frances Anne Edwards McMillan ’51
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
January 24, 2009
Margaret Ann Taylor Owen ’60
Beaufort, S.C.
January 11, 2009
Mildred Guilds Peele ’34
Norfolk, Va.
January 9, 2009
Martha Wood Pitts ’43
Bethune, S.C.
January 6, 2009
Mary Hammett Reid ’59
Inman, S.C.
December 15, 2008
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A
Alum to Alum
C l a ss N e w s
Mary Frances Cotton Rembert ’61
Sumter, S.C.
January 26, 2009
Elizabeth “Betty” Hills Rollins, (H)
Columbia, S.C.
December 19, 2008
Edyth Sanders ’40
White Rock, S.C.
March 27, 2009
LaHentz Quick Searcy ’36
Florence, S.C.
January 28, 2009
Dorothy Rodgers Searson ’39
Meggett, S.C.
January 5, 2009
Dorothy Fairey Stokes ’48
Rowesville, S.C.
March 14, 2009
Camilla Brailsford Williams ’30
Orangeburg, S.C.
January 19, 2009
Sarah Moye Young ’40
Raleigh, N.C.
March 17, 2009
David J. Oberly
Faculty Member
Columbia, S.C.
January 14, 2009
Kyle Sorell
Staff Member
Camden, S.C.
January 12, 2009
Stanmore “Stan” Watson
Retired Staff Member
West Columbia, S.C.
February 26, 2009
Honorariums
Reid Anderson
Calvin H. Brown Jr.
Ann Benson ’77
Ariail Chapter Alumnae Club
Millie Warren Brunson ’72
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
Ann Rollins Bundrick ’74
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Akers
Betty Ulmer McGregor ’51
Ariail Chapter Alumnae Club
Henry G. Bedinger Jr.
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Virginia (Ginger) L. Crocker ’73
Cora B. Jiles
Dr. Sara L. Mott
Celeste Cross Singletary ’64
The Honorable Jim DeMint
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
The Honorable and Mrs. Berlin G. Myers Sr.
(Marlena Redfern ’64)
Mr. and Mrs. James B. Myers (Julianne Browning ’73)
Annie Laurie Kennerly George ’33
Ariail Chapter Alumnae Club
Brenda A. Greene (H)
Dr. Chrissy Coley
Mary Leslie Hudson Parsons ’72
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
Weeta Margaret Harris ’36 (D)
Linda Harris Brown ‘66
Edith Collins Hause ’56
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Collins
Shari and Bucky Huiet
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Y. Padgett
Judy Brown Jenkins
Calvin H. Brown Jr.
Ann Cassels Laffitte ’47
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Sydnor Rosalie Laffitte ’73
Rebecca Laffitte ’77
Dr. and Mrs. Henry L. Laffitte
Sydnor Rosalie Laffitte ’73
Reverend Rachel B. Lever ’73
Sara Cauthen Lever ’46
Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey Lever (Sara Cauthen ’46)
Rachel B. Lever ’73
Dr. Imogene Lipscomb
Ann White ’76
Lisa Kennerly Livingston ’91
Mr. and Mrs. Reginald D. Wilson Jr. (Paula Brafford ’74)
Mary Lynne Johnson Loftus ’92
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
Sheryl A. McAlister ’82
Columbia College Afternoon Club
Early this year, Columbia College mourned the sudden loss of
two campus community members. Kyle A. Sorell, captain of the
Columbia College Police Department, died on Monday, January
12, 2009, and David J. Oberly, lecturer of mathematics, died
Wednesday, January 14, 2009. “We grieve the loss of two men
who shared so much with our campus and touched many lives
through their generosity and service to others,” said campus
chaplain Reverend Valerie Mireb.
18
Over the years, we have heard countless husbands express their genuine love and appreciation
for Columbia College because of the wonderful shared memories from college years, dating and
proposals. One gentleman who comes to mind is Luke Shaw, whose wife Jewell Hardee Shaw
graduated in 1940. Luke considered himself a member of the class of 1940 and would participate
in class reunions and other events like any classmate! Another Columbia College husband who
unknowingly made an impact on me was Tommy Blackman. Tommy’s wife is Dawn Humphries
Blackman ’73. I had the pleasure of hearing Tommy recount his heartfelt memories of Columbia
College at an admissions reception hosted in their beautiful Charleston home. He vividly described
meeting his wife at a popular Columbia social spot and the great times with friends that ensued. He
wholeheartedly stated that his fondness for the College could be greater than Dawn’s!
Caroline Pittard ’05
Anne C. Pittard
Carol Hydrick Riley ’72
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
Elizabeth Dufour Rivers
Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Rivers
Dr. Hyman Rubin III
Mr. and Mrs. Hyman Rubin Jr.
Debra W. Scott
Dr. Louise T. Scott
Dr. and Mrs. Selden K. Smith (Dorothy Gasque ’61)
Ann Gasque Depta ’58
Jean Dusenbury Joyner ’62
Reverend R. Wright Spears
Jo Tindall Ringer ’77
Maro Kouyoumjian Rogers ’56
Ann Kidd Taylor ‘98
Dr. and Mrs. Selden K. Smith (Dorothy Gasque ’61)
Barbara Courtney Thomas ’57
Columbia College Evening Club
Mary Carolyn Tatum Watson
Mary Beth Watson Manheim ’79
Roxanne Dusenbury Wilson ’72
Karen Johnson Williams ’72
Mildred “Mitzi” Winesett ’70
Dr. Chrissy Coley
Sorell, 51, was a 29-year veteran of law enforcement and a graduate of the University of South
Carolina. He retired from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and served with the
Columbia College Police Department for 3.5 years. His wife, Misty Brown, resides in Camden and
his son, Alan Sorell Jr., resides in Pawleys Island.
Oberly, 61, taught mathematics for 28 years in Columbia in District Two schools. After retirement,
he continued teaching as a lecturer for Columbia College and USC. He and his wife, Kathy,
married 40 years, have two children, David Oberly II of Columbia and Jenny Grigg of Elgin.
C o l u mb i a C o l l e g e
Men of Columbia College? Absolutely!
“Man on the hall!” is among the most popular phrases that we all recall from our days at Columbia
College. Hearing this at any hour in the residence hall, we would show our curiosity by opening
our doors to observe the male visitor. After all, that’s what campus life was about! Fun times. Great
memories. Some of us laughingly talk about the days when Miss Ludy’s deep and distinctive voice
was quite often mistaken as that of a man. No matter when we were at Columbia College, many of
our fondest memories surround new introductions, dating and double dating, and the important role
that those formative years played in our lives.
The men in our lives love Columbia College because of what it means to us, especially if they were
a part of our college days. Very often, our lifelong college friendships are shared and have impacted
their life too. Paul Yarborough likes to tell a similar story. Both his wife, Claire Wilson Yarborough
’67 and his daughter, Ruth Yarborough Rauch ’94, graduated from Columbia College. Paul vivdly
recalls having to meet the approval of Claire’s two roommates. He has witnessed the lifelong
effects of a Columbia College education, both socially and professionally. He talks about the confidence that Ruth developed as a student that
served her later as an entrepreneur. Paul tells a favorite story about the time when she fearlessly and single-handedly ordered a bucket truck
for her signage company. When it arrived, Ruth had to call Paul to drive it away for the first time because she could not reach the pedals. Paul
says he is indebted to Columbia College and is committed to encouraging men to revisit their support for their spouse’s insitution. He and Claire
are serving as co-chairs of the alumnae division of the Imagine Campaign and are thinking creatively in terms of alumnae programming for the
future. “We want to do some fun things,” says Paul. “When our wives return to campus for alumnae weekend and other events, the men can get
together too—we certainly have a common bond and I know we’ll enjoy meeting each other. I am proud to have a part in this inaugural year as
we kick off inviting ‘the guys’ to participate in campus activities designed for them too.”
Paul is leading an all-male committee who are designing a new Columbia College fraternity––The Men of Columbia College. Husbands of
alumnae, fathers, brothers and any male that has some connection or desire to engage with the College are eligible members. The goals of this
new effort include:
•
•
•
Provide opportunities for men to socialize, connect and network
Provide opportunities for men to show appreciation for their spouse,
daughter or any woman connected to Columbia College
Encourage men to support Columbia College in the same manner
they would support their own alma mater––with hopes of changing
the fact that women’s colleges seldom receive equal financial
support when a couple is loyal to two colleges.
The Men of Columbia College fraternity is intended to enrich connections
with those who cherish a Columbia College woman in their lives, while
having fun supporting a college with a distinguished history and an
exciting future.
Please call on me, if I can be of assistance to you.
Lisa Kennerly Livingston ‘91
Executive Director of Alumnae Relations
Paul Yarborough and Claire Wilson Yarborough ’67
The Imagine Campaign National Alumnae Co-Chairs
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19
May we write you a check?
Support the future of Columbia College
with a Charitable Gift Annuity.
It has never been easier to provide for the financial security of you and your
loved ones while also supporting Columbia College and its future.
For more information, including a personalized illustration of how a Charitable
Gift Annuity can work for you, or to review the full range of ways to meet
personal planning objectives while securing the future of Columbia College,
contact Barbara Parks, 803.786.3962 or [email protected].
Benefits include:
• Fixed income for the lives of one or two beneficiaries
• Current income tax deduction
• Capital gains savings
• Low minimum gift of $10,000 per annuity
• Choice of monthly, quarterly, semiannual payments
• Significant, donor-directed support for Columbia College
Sample Rate Chart for a $10,000 Charitable Gift Annuity on a Single Life
Annuitant age at Gift
Age 65
Age 70
Age 75
Age 80
Age 85
Annuity rate
5.3%
5.7%
6.3%
7.1%
8.1%
Charitable deduction*
$2562
$3328
$4007
$4701
$5405
Annual payment
$530
$570
$630
$710
$810
*The deduction will vary with the federal discount rate at the time of your gift.
Note: Charitable Gift Annuities are not investments or insurance and are not regulated by the insurance department of any state.
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
Paid
Columbia, SC
Permit No. 516
1301 Columbia College Drive
Columbia, SC 29203
w w w. c o l u m b i a s c . e d u
Save These Fall Dates...
Ludy Bowl
October 10
Medallion Awards and
Donor Recognition
November 5