PAGENAME
Summer 2010
Gift and
Estate Design
Newsletter
Pages 21–28
1
6 Separating Church and State
Religion scholar Martin E. Marty traced the separation of
church and state in America from its historic and constitutional roots. Delivering the Shurden Lectures, he cited the
influence of French philosopher Montesquieu as well as
founding fathers Benjamin Franklin and James Madison on
the issue.
8 Showcasing Their Knowledge
Undergraduate students get a head start into the world of
research at Samford and present their findings in Samford
Showcase each spring. “It prepares them for careers and
graduate school in a way that is not possible exclusively in
traditional class situations,” says Assistant Provost Nancy
Biggio.
14 Lending a Helping Hand
Samford students by the hundreds jump at the opportunity
to lend a helping hand. Whether serving as interpreters for
Hispanic patients at a medical clinic, painting and hammering
at a Habitat for Humanity house, or staffing a support stop
on the Old Howard 100 Bike Ride, they’re just trying to
better their community.
30 Mockingbird Turns 50
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize–winning
novel, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Samford grad
Stephanie Snyder Rogers ’06 talks about growing up in Lee’s
hometown of Monroeville, Ala., basis for the book’s fictionalized setting of Maycomb, and her part in the town’s summer
salute to Lee and the book.
2
From the President
37
Births
3
Samford Report
38
In Memoriam
4
Rod Davis and Teaching
40
Homecoming
10
Commencement 2010
41
Sports
13
Faculty Retirees
44
Campus News
18
New Faculty Q&A
46
With Appreciation
21
Gift and Estate Design
Newsletter
49
Calendar
32
Class Notes
Cover: Senior Kathryn Galphin exults in her new Samford
degree.
EDITOR
William Nunnelley
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Mary Wimberley
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Jack Brymer, Sean Flynt, Kara Kennedy,
Philip Poole
DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES
Janica York Carter
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF
CREATIVE SERVICES
Laine Williams
DESIGNERS
Scott Camp, Monica Washington
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Caroline Baird Summers
PHOTOGRAPHER
Rob Culpepper
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
OFFICERS 2009–10
PRESIDENT
Greg Powell ’81
VICE PRESIDENT, ACTIVITIES
Kathy White Curtin ’94
VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT
Michael Kopecky ’96
ALUMNI COUNCIL
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Kitty Brown ’01
Jack Brymer ’67
Rick Moon ’77
Katie Murnane ’07
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Mark Davidson ’92
Summer 2010
Vol. 27 No. 2
Publication Number:
USPS 244-800
Seasons is published quarterly by
Samford University, 800 Lakeshore
Drive, Birmingham, Alabama 35229,
and is distributed free to alumni of the
university, as well as to other friends.
Periodical postage paid at Birmingham,
Alabama. Postmaster: send address
changes to Office of University
Advancement, Samford University, 800
Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229.
©2010 Samford University
Samford University is an Equal Opportunity Institution that
complies with applicable law prohibiting discrimination in its
educational and employment policies and does not unlawfully
discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, disability, or
national or ethnic origin.
Samford graduated 802 seniors from 27 states and 11 foreign countries
during May Commencement 2010.
www.samford.edu
[email protected]
Produced by Samford Office of Communication
FROMTHEPRESIDENT
Adding to the
LEGACY
S
amford University was established as the product of the passion of its founders to “establish and endow a
university of a high character.” They envisioned a university of sincere faith, offering the best quality
education. Samford was born, not from economic necessity, nor of the product of the government, but
from people who, led by the Spirit, aspired to make the world a better place.
Samford’s continuing mission requires each generation to build upon the success of the past, and enrich
and expand the university’s capacity to develop and change lives. Thousands of alumni, students and friends
generously and joyfully support Samford’s vision with regular philanthropic gifts that are essential to sustain
our unique approach to Christ-centered higher education.
As an ultimate expression of stewardship, hundreds of those who hold Samford dear make legacy gifts
through purposeful planning and design. Five of these friends are featured in the special insert in this edition
of Seasons as they share various methods they have used to express their values by making a carefully planned
investment in Samford.
Empowering dreams and serving humanity is a legacy that will never pass away. This is our time to ensure
Samford is strong and thriving for generations yet to come.
Each of us has only a short time in this world, according to grace we have received, and then we will leave
a legacy of work, witness and some quantity of possessions. What’s your legacy?
As always, please keep Samford in your prayers.
Andrew Westmoreland
President
2
Taylor Named Whitworth President,
Reburn Appointed Interim Business Dean
F
ormer Samford
business dean Beck A.
Taylor will become
the 18th president of
Whitworth University in
Spokane, Wash., July 1.
Taylor, 40, was the sole
finalist and unanimous
choice of the Whitworth
board in April to head the
Presbyterian liberal arts
school of 2,700 students.
“I take my vocation as
a scholar, teacher and
university leader very
Beck Taylor
James Reburn
seriously because I consider
it to be a divine calling that
on our faculty and his administrative
brings together my gifts, abilities,
leadership as associate dean will serve
experiences and passions,” he told the
him and Brock School of Business well.
board. “I am committed to Christian
We are fortunate to have someone of his
higher education because it fills a unique
caliber available to serve during this
and (unfortunately) growing void in the
transition.”
landscape of higher education.”
Reburn noted that the business
Taylor joined Samford’s business
school’s
relationships with external
school as dean in 2005. During his
constituents have helped the school
tenure, the school became Brock School
grow over the past five years. “I am
of Business, new majors and concentracommitted to keeping Brock School of
tions were created, the Frances Marlin
Business engaged in the business
Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership
community.”
was established, and Samford’s entrepreTaylor set the school “on a pheneurship program was recognized as the
nomenal trajectory,” said Reburn. “It is
top emerging program in the country by
important that we maintain that same
the U.S. Association for Small Business
momentum.” ■
and Entrepreneurship.
Associate Dean James P. Reburn was
For more information, go to www.
named to serve as interim dean of the
samford.edu/business.
business school, effective at the end of
the spring semester. A member of the
business faculty since 1996, Reburn was
named associate dean in 2005. He taught
previously at the University of Missouri–
St. Louis and Centenary College in
Shreveport, La. Reburn holds the doctor
of business administration degree from
Louisiana Tech and is a certified public
accountant.
“Jim Reburn has been heavily
involved in the recent transformation of
Brock School of Business,” said Samford
Provost and Executive Vice President
Brad Creed. “His 15 years of experience
S
amford’s School of the Arts has
named Dr. Philip Copeland as
director of choral activities and
associate professor. His focus will be the
A Cappella Choir, conducting and the
music education curriculum. He
succeeds Dr. Timothy Banks, who
retired in May, as A Cappella Choir
director.
Copeland is “a nationally recognized leader among choral conductors,
and he has a tremendous heart for
teaching and ministry,” said School of
the Arts Dean Joe Hopkins. He is “the
right person to continue the legacy of
Samford A Cappella and build new
traditions for the future,” said Hopkins.
Copeland previously led the choral
program at the University of Alabama
at Birmingham for nine years. UAB
choirs achieved national recognition
through significant performances at
conventions of the National Collegiate
Choral Organization and American
Choral Directors Association [ACDA].
He also led the choir to participate in
two international choral competitions,
the Fleischman International Choral
Competition in Cork, Ireland, and the
Florlilege Vocal de Tours in Tours,
France. The choir won significant
awards at both competitions.
Copeland holds an undergraduate
degree in music education from the
University of Mississippi, master’s in
music education from Mississippi
College and doctor of musical arts in
conducting from Southern Baptist
Seminary.
He serves as chairman of ACDA’s
technology committee and the
ChoralNet board of directors. He
frequently presents sessions at state,
regional and national conventions of
the American Choral Directors
Association in the area of technology.
He also serves as director of music
ministries at Birmingham’s South
Highland Presbyterian Church.
This fall, Copeland will lead the
newly formed Alabama Symphony
Chorus in preparation for masterworks
with the Alabama Symphony
Orchestra. ■
SAMFORDREPORT
Copeland Leads
Choral Music
For more information, go to www.
samford.edu/arts.
3
SPOTLIGHT
Inspiring
Students
to Care
by William Nunnelley
“I want students to grow out of their
Calvin phase and care about a world
larger than their own little orbit of
self-importance.”
—Rod Davis
4
S
ome vignettes stand out from a
lifelong teaching career. Dr. Rod
Davis ’58 recalls the night a New
York City policewoman raced across a
Broadway area street and breathlessly
told him, “I want you to know that I will
NEVER forget The Cherry Orchard.”
Dr. Davis had taught the woman,
Guadalupe Colon, years earlier at City
University of New York, where he said
she in no way stood out from her other
night school classmates.
“What Chekhov’s drama about the
sad end of a dysfunctional Russian
family meant to Hispanic Guadalupe I
have no idea, but I could not doubt it
was something real,” said Davis.
The Samford English professor and
former arts and sciences dean delivered
the Macon/Buchanan Teaching Talk at
Samford in April, sharing his ideas on
teaching and what he hoped his would
accomplish.
“Of course, the study of literature is
not usually considered to be a very
utilitarian pursuit, but sometimes it can
have a surprising effect,” he said.
Davis recalled a note from an older
student 30 years ago who was a New
York fireman. He had earned only a “C”
but wanted Davis to know what he had
gotten from the class, which had looked
at a poem by W. H. Auden that says
poets are largely ignored “for poetry
makes nothing happen.”
The class had studied another poem
by Wilfrid Owen about a soldier who
lost his legs in World War I. He has been
wheeled onto a hospital terrace to rest in
the sunshine, but realizes as the cold
evening descends that he has been
forgotten.
The student took the poem back to
his firehouse and passed it around. After
some discussion, the firefighters decided
to buy 30 tickets to a New York Yankees
baseball game and take a busload of
Veteran’s Hospital patients for an
outing.
“Yet, professor, Auden says that
poetry makes nothing happen,” the note
had ended.
Davis has a cartoon from Calvin
and Hobbes hanging over his desk in
which Calvin defiantly says to his
teacher, “You can present the material,
but you can’t make me care.” The
firefighter story is a good illustration of
what Davis hopes his teaching
accomplishes.
“I want students to grow out of
their Calvin phase and care about a
world larger than their
own little orbit of
self-importance,” Davis
said. “For if they don’t,
when the world rises
up and slaps them with
a new major crisis
someday, as it surely
will, how will they have prepared to
meet that?”
Davis also wants his students to see
“how ideas can move across centuries
and be still as powerful today as ever.”
He cited the ancient Greek tragedy of
Antigone as inspiring Henry David
Thoreau’s writings against unjust
government, which influenced
Mohandas Gandhi’s determination to
lead India to independence, which
motivated Martin Luther King, Jr. to
lead the Civil Rights Movement.
“I want students to learn from the
best writings from the past to be
connected to their own age, aware of
important developments and possibilities; and willing to take on some
responsibilities for the tending and
nurturing of the global garden they are
inheriting,” he said.
Davis hopes his students can avoid
“the disease of what historian Page
Smith calls ‘present-ism,’ with its
consuming lust for the new . . . accompanied by the swelling power of greed.”
As a teacher, he said, he doesn’t
want to make his students care. He tries
to teach in such a way that they “will
come out of a course of mine actually
surprised later to realize how much
[they] do now care.” Q
SPOTLIGHT
Rod Davis Reflects on Teaching
About
Rod Davis
North Alabama native Rod Davis graduated from Samford in
1958, and earned graduate degrees at Boston University (M.A.),
Yale University (M. Div.) and Columbia University (Ph.D.). He
taught at City University of New York and Fordham University
for two decades before returning to Samford as dean of Howard
College of Arts and Sciences in 1990. He retired as dean in 2001,
but continues to teach in the English department. Samford’s
annual J. Roderick Davis Lecture is named in his honor.
5
ISSUES
Separating
Church and State
Marty Traces Issue from Constitutional Roots
by Mary Wimberley
R
eligion scholar Martin E.
Marty drew on historical
episodes and figures to
clarify the issue of churchstate separation for audiences at Samford University April 27–28.
His talks were presented as this
year’s Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden
Lectures on Religious Liberty and
Separation of Church and State, a series
sponsored by the Baptist Joint
Committee for Religious Liberty and
hosted this year by Samford.
Being in favor of separation of
church and state does not mean being
against religion, said Dr. Marty,
respected interpreter of religion and
culture and author of 50 books, many of
them on the church-state issue.
“There are strong impulses in
society to say that you serve religion by
protecting and privileging it,” said
Marty, but there is a difference in
protection and privilege, which is
defined as a right or immunity granted
as a benefit.
“There are all kinds of ways to
protect religion without privileging it,”
he said.
Marty told how 18th-century
French philosopher Montesquieu—who
wrote that religion is more harmed than
helped by favoritism—influenced the
writers of the U.S. constitution on
matters of separation of church and
state.
“Montesquieu never visited
America, but they were reading him,” he
said of the 55 founding fathers who
gathered in Philadelphia, Pa., for the
Constitutional Convention.
In his writings, George Washington
used 28 different names for God, such as
First Architect, but not one was Biblical,
said Marty. “They were looking for
6
language that would enlarge the
context.”
The founders, he said, solved the
religion problem by not solving the
religion problem.
During the three-part series, Marty
also told how writings and beliefs of
Benjamin Franklin and James Madison
played roles in matters of religious
liberty.
To some extent, the quality of
indifference, such as that exhibited by
Franklin, contributed to the lack of
religious references in the constitution,
he said.
Franklin was religious but didn’t
like the dogma associated with it. Nor
did he like defining religions, and
opposed zealotry and fanatics, said
Marty, noting that zealousness and
difference both play a large role in
religion.
“Religion in the end almost always
calls for profound, sustained, passionate
commitment,” said Marty, an ordained
Lutheran minister who taught for 35
years at the University of Chicago,
primarily in the divinity school.
A degree of indifference helped
move along the framing of the constitution, which involved people who had
convictions, but who had to make
decisions and eventually go home.
Although Franklin once questioned
why the framers did not have morning
prayers to help them in their task, the
idea was scuttled, in part because there
were no funds for a chaplain.
Too, said Marty, the framers knew it
would get them in trouble. “They were
passionate people, but they knew that
introducing religion into the setting
would get them in trouble.” The
situation, he said, “was a close-up of
how it would be in the republic.”
Madison, said Marty, predicted that
it would be difficult to trace a line of
separation between the rights of religion
and civil authority without collisions
and doubts.
Although little is known about his
religious stand as an adult, Madison saw
no need for a religious protection clause
in the constitution, but later became a
key figure in writing the first
amendment.
It’s not easy to trace the line of
distinction, said Marty, citing current
court cases such as those involving
military endorsement of chaplains and
lobbying by Catholic bishops on
health-care reform.
“Madison anticipated that it would
be impossible to trace a line of distinction in all cases,” said Marty. “A wall may
be slender and have holes, but it’s a wall.
Madison said that a line wasn’t something you could storm. And, you could
see people on the other side.
“Separation is important, and
whenever we talk of convergence, we
must recognize potential problems,” said
Marty, adding that Madison advised
defending rights of religion, but not
privileging religion.
While at Samford, Marty also spoke
to several student groups and classes.
The annual lectureship was
established in 2004, when the Shurdens,
retired faculty members of Mercer
University in Macon, Ga., made a gift to
enhance the programs of the Baptist
Joint Committee. The BJC is a 73-yearold religious liberty organization
dedicated to defending and extending
religious liberty for all. Q
To see and hear the complete lectures, go
to www.bjconline.org.
ISSUES
“There are all kinds of
ways to protect religion
without privileging it.”
—Martin E. Marty
7
FOCUS
Showcase Hints
at Professional
Lives to Come
by Sean Flynt
A
pproximately 100 Samford
undergraduate students presented
their work during Samford’s 2010
Student Showcase April 27–30. The
students’ research topics—presented as
scholarly posters or in formal lectures—
ranged across disciplines and centuries,
presenting new ideas on everything from
Alkanesulfonates and yoga to cancer and
turtles, Red Bull and golf to poverty and
Chaucer.
The common thread uniting the
diverse topics is the professional
preparation and guidance the students
receive at a university with a 12:1
student to faculty ratio, and where no
courses are taught by graduate students.
“Samford prides itself on the level
of interaction between faculty and
students, and nowhere is that more
evident than in the undergraduate
research students are able to produce
under the guidance of their professors,”
said Samford Assistant Provost Nancy C.
Biggio.
Many of the senior presenters
clearly already had one foot in graduate
school or professional work, demonstrating intense dedication to their
subjects, whether sequencing DNA or
diving deep into literature. With faculty
and peers in their audience, they faced
informed scrutiny, both during and after
their presentations. Questions of the
“did you consider . . .” variety probed
presenters’ depth of knowledge and
ability to follow wherever the discussion
might wander, with impressive results.
All of that gets to the heart of the
showcase, Biggio said. “It prepares them
for careers and graduate school in a way
Kathryn Brock presents her
research on Christianity’s possible
routes to Roman Britain with the
map at right. Professor Randy Todd
looks on.
8
Students discuss a poster presentation
at the showcase.
that is not possible exclusively in
traditional class situations.”
“For the students, I think the
greatest value is when they really take
ownership of their research, when they
are no longer just writing a report, but
joining into the conversation as a
scholar, inserting their own ideas and
framing the discussion with their own
insights and perspective,” said Randy
Todd, chair of Samford’s classics
department. “They then begin a serious
conversation both with their primary
texts and material resources as well as
other scholars, including their mentor or
adviser.
“Once students get really invested
and committed to their project,” Todd
said, “their confidence in their own
expertise and their commitment to their
own ideas
make them
effective and
convincing.”
Ancient
and
Modern
The quality and thematic
range of showcase presentations can be
seen in two examples that together touch
on the subjects of medicine, race,
genetics, college athletics, Latin, early
Christianity, folklore, geography and the
Roman army.
Exercise science and sports medicine
majors Jamael Lett and Paul Selmon
made a compelling case not only for
their thesis, but also for the scholarly
value of the poster session, which has
become a staple of professional academic
conferences. For their project, the pair
studied “Sickle Cell Trait Identification
and Testing in NCAA and NAIA
Schools,” creating a unique and
potentially valuable survey.
In fact, Lett and Selmon’s work was
so impressive, I can’t say much about it
here because it might be headed for a
professional journal.
“We are planning on submitting the
work because it may have national
implications,” said Alan Jung, chair of
the Department of Exercise Science and
Sports Medicine, and adviser to the
project. Jung explained that the standards of the discipline discourage
promotion of research findings until
they have been accepted for professional
publication. Suffice it to say, as Jung did,
“it was a well-done project.”
One of Todd’s students—senior
classics major Kathryn Brock—
presented “Adventus Christi: Possible
Routes for the Introduction of
Christianity to Roman Britain.” Brock, a
FOCUS
professed Anglophile of British ancestry,
followed both heart and head to create a
fascinating project.
“My interests lie in folklore, religion
and the church in early medieval
Britain,” Brock said, “so classics and
Latin have really helped me to gain a
proper understanding of the world from
which the Medieval Period sprang.”
After studying the relevant archaeology, history and folklore under
the direction of classics professors Todd and Shannon
Flynt, Brock concluded
that, “the [Roman]
military is the best
explanation for
transportation of
Christianity to Britain.”
In her presentation, she
described in detail the
army’s access and ability
to travel safely, the great
number of garrisoned
soldiers (“nearly one-tenth
of the entire imperial army”),
evidence that Christians served in
the army and evidence of Christian
communities associated with Roman
forts.
Get a Job!
“I still hope to continue casually
researching on my own,” Brock said of
her project postgraduation.
One can almost hear the chorus of
the practical-minded: “What will you do
for a living?”
Like many of Samford’s classics
alumni, Brock plans to become a Latin
teacher, at least for a while. This fall,
she’ll enter a fifth-year alternative
master’s degree program in education at
the University of Alabama and work
toward teaching certification with a
specialty in Latin.
She doesn’t know if she’ll teach
Latin forevermore, but, she said, “It’s a
good stepping stone to pursue my
interests in the Middle Ages,” possibly
leading her back to higher education as
a professor like those who were her
Samford mentors. First things first,
though, for the May graduate. “We’ll just
see how I feel after one more year of
college.” Q
For a complete 2010 Student Showcase
program, go to www.samford.edu/groups/
stushowcase/program.html.
9
COMMENCEMENT
Speakers Leave 802 Graduates with
A
mid smiling faces, clicking
cameras and sustained applause
at the end of the program,
Samford seniors processed from Pete
Hanna Center May 15 as the newest
members of the university’s alumni
association, the Class of 2010. They
were part of and surrounded by the
trappings of an age-old tradition,
commencement, with its black robes
and colorful banners that date to the
Middle Ages. The Samford Band played
“March from Psalm 19” as a recessional.
The 400 seniors represented
Samford’s largest school, Howard
College of Arts and Sciences, and its
School of the Arts, and Orlean Bullard
Beeson School of Education and
Professional Studies. They joined about
the same number of seniors from Brock
School of Business, Cumberland School
of Law, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing
and McWhorter School of Pharmacy
who graduated the day before, and 27
Beeson Divinity School graduates from
May 5—a total of 802 in all.
The seniors left the six commencement ceremonies armed with diplomas
and cogent examples of advice from a
variety of speakers.
Pam Siddall, the new president and
publisher of The Birmingham News,
challenged arts and
sciences, arts, and
education and
professional studies
graduates to believe
in themselves. “It
takes courage to
believe in yourself, to
be able to adjust and
adapt to an everchanging world, to
take risks, knowing
that you’ll sometimes
fail,” she said. “You
must have a strong
belief in yourself to
do the right thing,
even when faced with
criticism.” She also
President’s Cup winner Sarah Franklin visits with, from left, her parents,
urged seniors to
David and Dana Stroud Franklin ’83, and Samford President and First
commit to serve
Lady Andrew and Jeanna Westmoreland after commencement.
others because
“everyone needs a
. . . the pharmacists who succeed and
cause larger than
thrive in a changing health-care system
themselves.”
will be those that figure out how to take
Dr. Josh Benner, a pharmacist and
research director of the Engelberg
Center for Health Care Reform at the
Brookings Institution in Washington,
D.C., told pharmacy graduates, “You’re
the first class of pharmacy graduates
that will deal with health-care reform.
‘Everyone
Needs a Cause
Larger Than
Themselves’
—Pam Siddall
by William Nunnelley
10
care of more patients, improve the
outcomes that matter to those patients
and do it at a lower cost.” He said
graduates could improve health care by
embracing change readily.
David Carrington, president of
RacingUSA.com and a member of the
Board of Overseers of Samford
University, reminded Brock School of
Business graduates that their lives could
change at any given moment. “On April
22, 1999, my life changed forever.
Because on that day, I was told I had
cancer. From that moment on, I
reassessed my priorities.” The experience caused him to rearrange his goals
so that he could spend more time with
his family and give back more to his
community. He told graduates to be
positive, be prepared, be open and be
patient.
Dr. James L. Harris, deputy chief
nursing officer for the U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs, told nursing
graduates they would enter a profession
in which they must be prepared “to
understand and operate within a new
nomenclature.” He reminded them that
the drivers of health care today are
expanding access, improving quality
and safety, reducing costs, enhancing
value, being patient-centered and
forward thinking. He quoted children’s
rights activist Marian Edelman, who
said, “Service is the rent we pay for
living on the earth.”
Brig. Gen. John W. Miller II,
commanding officer of the Judge
Advocate General’s Legal Center and
School at the University of Virginia,
told law graduates to place a high
priority on honor, integrity and service.
“Newspapers are filled with stories of
people that disregarded those intangibles,” he said. “Let honor and integrity
be . . . points of reference for you.” The
1986 Cumberland School of Law
graduate added, “You are called to a
profession that solves problems and
helps people. Whatever your professional calling, make service part of it.”
Dr. William H. Willimon, presiding
bishop of the North Alabama Methodist
Conference, said divinity graduates
should remember that ministry is “a
mess.” For that reason, “You need to
stay supple, adaptable. You have to be a
learner, you have to grow, you have to
adapt.” Ministers have to deal with all
kinds of situations and personalities,
er
and often in places they would consider
o
undesirable, he said. “If you’re going to
work for Him, you have to go where Hee
would go.” Q
COMMENCEMENT
Cogent Thoughts
Philip Poole, Kara Kennedy, Sean Flynt and
d
Mary Wimberley contributed to this story.
11
COMMENCEMENT
Pharmacy Class President Takes
Circuitous Route to Graduation
D
by Mary Wimberley
uring one week in May,
Samford graduating senior
Justin Vesser emceed a pharmacy awards program, received a
doctor of pharmacy degree, presented
the class president’s remarks and made
preparations to welcome his first child.
“If you had told me five years ago
that I would be looking at three days
like this, I would have said, ‘No way,’”
Vesser said. “I’ve been very blessed.”
The 31-year-old Tennessee native’s
route to a Pharm.D. degree had more
than a few turns and dips.
In 2005, he was successfully
completing a two-year community
college degree in Tennessee, but his
attempt to enroll in an area nursing
school was thwarted by the poor
academic record he compiled during his
early college career.
Vesser posted a good academic
record in high school and earned an
academic scholarship to a four-year
school. But he dropped out after three
years because of low grades. “I didn’t
have my mind right to be a college
student,” he said.
Later, he took a one-year surgical
technician’s course at a trade school
before enrolling at the community
college, where he made straight A’s
while taking a full course load and
working two jobs.
At a friend’s suggestion, he investigated options to pursue pharmacy as a
career. “I had no expectations” of being
accepted into pharmacy school, he said,
even though he scored well on the
national pharmacy entrance exam.
After applying to 11 pharmacy
schools, he received eight rejection
letters before receiving a Samford letter
granting him an interview. “I felt [the
interview] went very badly,” said Vesser,
but he was surprised and delighted to
receive a letter of admission to
McWhorter School of Pharmacy’s Class
of 2010.
“I came to Samford just grateful to
have a spot,” he said, adding that he has
worked since day one to prove worthy
of being accepted. “I wasn’t an easy
choice to let in. By admitting me,
somebody took a chance that could
have backfired.
“I’ve tried to do everything in such
a way that if I had to sit across from
someone who had not been accepted,
that I could justify my having taken
their spot,” said Vesser.
He is older than all but four of his
classmates. “I’ve tried to seek leadership
roles in order to give back,” he said,
realizing that his life experiences and
maturity gave him a unique perspective
on his academic pursuit.
Elected class president in the fall of
2006, he led his classmates in a variety
of service projects and activities. His
final duties as class president were to
emcee the pharmacy awards program
May 13 and make remarks at pharmacy
commencement May 14.
Vesser’s wife, Amy, was due to give
birth to their first child on the day after
graduation.
Just in case the baby arrived early,
he had videotaped his commencement
remarks. But the baby, a boy named
Jack Louis, was born May 18.
Justin Vesser
12
Vesser interned at a Walmart
pharmacy on Highway 280 for all four
years he was at Samford, and in June
2009 was one of 31 interns nationwide
chosen to attend a leadership training
program at company headquarters in
Bentonville, Ark.
He has a job lined up at a new
Walmart store in Ruckersville, Va.,
near his wife’s hometown of
Charlottesville. Q
From the Ryman to the Vatican
by William Nunnelley
SALUTE
Faculty Retirees Look Back, and Ahead
Tim Banks
M
usic professor Tim Banks ’74
said his favorite moments
during 34 years on the
Samford faculty “have been in rehearsal
and performance of great music with
the students, faculty and professional
musicians here at Samford, in our
concert halls and on the road.
“How many folks get to play the
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville with a
choir and a pickup band, and the very
next year sing for a mass at the Vatican
in Rome?”
Banks experienced both as conductor of the A Cappella Choir, which
played the Ryman as part of its spring
tour in 2008, and visited France and
Italy during the summer of 2009. The
longtime professor, who retired in May,
led the University Chorale from 1982
until 2005 and the A Cappella Choir the
past five years. In addition to teaching,
he has conducted music theatre, opera,
operetta, orchestra and other choral
groups during his tenure.
Banks has seen Samford grow
“toward an embrace of the wider world,”
and has experienced the technological
revolution of music firsthand. “I started
at Samford playing LP’s for music
history classes. We’ve passed through
cassette tapes, compact discs, right into
online resources. I taught my most
recent Choral Literature class using only
YouTube and iTunes examples in class.”
Banks is actually taking early
retirement, and plans to continue his
career as a freelance conductor/
composer/music producer while
working with Landmark Tour and
Travel, an educational touring firm. He
will develop music festivals around the
Southeast and beyond.
Sue Peterson
Librarian Sue Peterson also has seen
far-reaching changes in her field during
her 18 years at Samford. The most
significant? “In one word, ‘Google,’ and
then maybe ‘Wikipedia,’” she said.
“Internet has changed how we all do
business. The library website has, in
part, taken the place of the information
desk, so it needs to be good.”
Peterson, chair of collection
management for the University Libraries,
said remote access and online full text are
what most users want today. She noted
that “the predominance of our funds go
to electronic databases and other online
resources.”
What does she see in the future?
“The library as a place will continue.
Students will always come here, as we all
need and want interactions with others.
I think books in their physical form will
be around for a long time, and information literacy will continue to be
important.” She also predicts more
online/distant courses.
Peterson said she had enjoyed
working with “two wonderful library
directors, Jean Thomason and Kim
Herndon,” and serving as acting director
for a year between their terms. She also
enjoyed students and colleagues, the
view from the fourth floor, the graduation procession down Centennial Walk,
and memorable events such as writer
Rick Bragg and historian Wayne Flynt
together for Live at the Library.
In retirement, Peterson plans “not
to fill up my calendar,” to plant and
weed her garden more, to start her own
genealogical research, and to transcribe
her father’s 1927 diary kept during a
cross-country hitchhiking trip with his
college roommate.
Terry Pickett
World languages and cultures professor
Terry Pickett believes the best thing
Samford does “is maintain a rigorous
general education curriculum.” He
especially enjoyed his last semester with
five “remarkable and enthusiastic
students” studying German literature.
“What a pleasure!” he exclaimed.
Pickett, at Samford since 2000,
directs the German and Critical
Languages programs. “An important and
happy trend that I see,” he said, “is more
appreciation of people producing
important research and publishing.”
Teaching Cultural Perspectives and
University Fellows courses were highlights of his Samford tenure, Pickett
said. “The CP classes enabled me to
return to texts I’d either never read or
long neglected,” he said, citing such
examples as St. Augustine’s Confessions,
Shakespeare’s The Tempest and several
plays by Sophocles.
In retirement, Pickett plans to enjoy
his grandson, read, write, hike and bike
“until limbs give out.” He enjoys hiking
in the Alps and the Bavarian Forest in
Europe, and the Blue Ridge and Smokey
Mountains in the United States. He bikes
in “our incomparable” Oak Mountain
State Park and has ridden in the
Franconia region of Germany.
He added, “I hope to read the
Dickens novels I haven’t managed yet,
such as The Old Curiosity Shop. I want to
develop functional oral proficiency in
French and possibly Latin, the latter in
hope of being able to read Dante before
I die.” Q
13
SERVICE
Students Give Back
to the Community
with Spring Service
Projects
by Mary Wimberley
A
ndrew Crosson used his language
skills to help calm a jittery Hispanic
dental patient, Andrew Toney
distributed coats to chilly homeless
people in Ohio, and Alpha Delta Pi
members spiffed up lodging quarters for worried
parents of sick children.
They were among hundreds of Samford
University students who offered willing hearts
and hands to help others during a series of spring
service opportunities.
About 360 students and employees used a
pretty Saturday morning in April to volunteer
with the Omicron Delta Kappa Day of Service.
Projects ranged from painting Habitat for
Humanity houses to comforting patients at the
clinic.
“It was exciting to see the energy with which
everyone approached these service opportunities,”
said project coordinator and ODK member
Stephen Bailey.
Gathering volunteers was easy, he said, once
students knew of the needs. Some, he said,
“jumped at the idea of serving Birmingham, not
as an individual or a small group, but as a larger
Samford community.”
While organizing the April project was the
first such undertaking for the Samford chapter of
the national leadership honor society, the day was
part of a long-standing tradition of service efforts
at Samford. For years, Samford students have
given back to the community through a variety of
clean-up and service campaigns.
Samford’s Alpha Delta Pi sorority members
used the ODK-sponsored opportunity to work at
Ronald McDonald House, where they are regular
volunteers.
“Their assistance in doing numerous
housekeeping and clean-up duties was essential
to helping our families have a home away from
home while their children receive medical
treatment in Birmingham,” said Mike Singer,
executive director of Ronald McDonald House
Charities of Alabama.
14
Samford Spanish Club members and several
professors used their language skills to assist at
the Hispanic Medical Clinic sponsored by the
Church at Brook Hills.
“Together, we interpreted for doctors,
dentists and nurse practitioners to help provide
medical care free of charge to Hispanics in the
local community,” said Spanish Club member
Crosson. Grateful patients appreciated the help
with paperwork and comforting conversation in
their native language while awaiting their
appointments.
“What we’ve learned from this year is that
Samford students, staff and alumni are servicedriven. Given the chance, they will make the most
of any opportunity they have to better their
community,” said Bailey, a chemistry major from
Brownsburg, Ind.
“This was truly a student-driven initiative to
give back to our local community,” said Samford
ODK adviser and business professor, Dr. Betsy
Holloway. “We were proud to participate in the
national ODK Day of Service, along with
hundreds of other universities and thousands of
ODK students across the country.”
SERVICE
Samford students working on a Habitat for
Humanity house in Birmingham are, from left, far
left photo, Danielle Brown, John Wright and
Jonathan Risner; center, Kara Parkey and Sara
Tarpley; and above, Abby Welbourn, foreground,
and Krista Fuhrman.
After a morning of hard work, volunteers
enjoyed a picnic lunch at Joe Lee Griffin Field,
where the Samford team was in action. Earlier, the
college athletes had undertaken their own
community service project, reading to students in
local elementary schools and participating in
physical education classes.
In late March, more than 250 Samford
students participated in a “Samford Gives Back”
day sponsored by the school’s Community Service
Council, Student Government Association and
University Ministries.
The event allowed students to serve their
neighbors—young and old—in the Birmingham
community. College volunteers cleaned and
organized at NorthStar ministries and the men’s
Firehouse Shelter, played games with senior
citizens at Chateau Vestavia, and made Easter
baskets with children at Pathways shelter. They
also assisted with construction and cleaning at
two Habitat for Humanity house sites.
The greatest outcome, said Office of Student
Involvement Assistant Director Sherrelle Hudson,
lies in the future.
“Many students said that because of their
experience, they plan to go back to the organizations and volunteer,” said Hudson.
15
Students Give Back to the Community
SERVICE
Perry County
16
S
amford’s ongoing presence in Perry
County—where pharmacy, nursing and
exercise science students and faculty hold
regular clinics and programs—was augmented by
several special efforts.
During spring break in March, half a dozen
University Ministries students undertook light
construction and painting projects at a Self Help
housing initiative sponsored by Sowing Seeds of
Hope, an interfaith ministry in Perry County.
Project coleader Chris Fite, a junior from
Decatur, Ala., is a veteran volunteer worker in
Perry County, where Samford was founded as
Howard College in Marion in 1841. The history
major is keenly aware of Samford’s roots in the
area, which is now beset with poverty and
attendant problems such as poor health care.
“Samford would have closed down long ago
if it were not for the people of Marion. For
almost half a century, they made sure that
Howard College stayed open,” said Fite,
referencing the community support during the
school’s early financial struggles and campus fires.
After campus fires in 1844 and 1854, local
residents offered lodging to displaced students
and faculty, and contributed money for new
buildings.
“Even though we are in Birmingham, the
people of Perry County are still part of the
Samford community. They helped us when we
were in trouble. Now, we need to help them as
they face hardships,” he said.
Fite returned to the area in April as a
volunteer with the sixth annual Old Howard 100
Bike Ride, which raises money for Sowing Seeds
of Hope.
This year’s ride drew 230 registered riders
who biked some or all of the 100 mile-route
through the countryside of Perry, and neighboring Hale and Dallas counties.
Members of University Ministries and
Gamma Sigma Sigma service sorority staffed the
Support and Gear [SAG] rest stop at Suttle
Volunteer Fire Department. At mile 59 on the
100-mile route, Suttle is the fourth of five SAG
stops manned by Samford students, faculty, staff
and alumni. Many of the volunteers have cheered
tired riders, and dispensed liquids and energy
snacks each year since the ride began in 2005.
“The cyclists are always exhausted when they
reach Suttle, and we’re glad to be able to help
them out,” said Fite.
About $3,000 was raised from the bike ride.
A check will be presented to Sowing Seeds of
Hope in early summer.
Working on the Self Help housing initiative in
Marion, Ala., are, this photo, Dr. Dennis Sansom,
chair of the Samford philosophy department, and
Nicole Williams; lower left, Chris Fite; and lower
right, Alison Ozment, Ashley Hester and Lauren
Womack.
A
group of University Ministries volunteers spent spring break in Cincinnati,
Ohio, where they ministered to
homeless and disadvantaged people in the
city’s urban areas as well as in nearby northern
Kentucky.
They partnered with Shoulder2Shoulder
Ministries, which provides food, clothing,
shelter and other needs to families, and with
Lifeline Ministries, which assists with healthcare needs of families in northern Kentucky.
The Samford group was impacted in a
“huge way,” said coordinator Andrew Toney, a
junior religion major from Collierville, Tenn.
“Some students had not been exposed to
similar poverty situations before.”
The more seasoned volunteers, who
regularly help meet the needs of people in
inner-city Birmingham, came away from the
experience “encouraged by our brothers and
sisters in Cincinnati and the immense work
they do,” said Toney.
“We all gained a strong sense of what it
means to be neighbors in Christ to those
around us, including people who are vastly
different than us,” he said.
SERVICE
Spring Break
in Ohio
Close to Home
C
umberland School of Law students
added a new service component to
annual Law Week activities in early
March.
Sponsored by Cumberland Active
Barristers Association, the inaugural charity
fun run supported Jefferson County’s Court
Appointed Special Advocates [CASA]. More
than 50 runners and walkers raised $675 in the
5K run/1 mile walk, held on and near campus.
CASA volunteers are appointed by judges
to watch over and advocate for abused and
neglected children during court proceedings
until the child is placed in a safe, permanent
home.
“For many abused children, their CASA
volunteer will be the one constant adult
presence—the one adult who cares only for
them,” said fun run co-organizer and secondyear law student Molly Savage. Q
Law students run for charity.
17
FACULTY
Experiencing Samford
New Faculty Share
Insights from
Their First Year
by Philip Poole
A
s the fall 2009 semester
began, students were
greeted by new faces among
the faculty. They brought a
variety of backgrounds to
their new roles. For some, it was their
first university teaching assignment.
Others came from larger universities
because they supported Samford’s
unique mission. The corporate experiences of some have allowed them to
teach students the context of how they
will use their skills after graduation.
During the year, they were
immersed in teaching and faculty
committee assignments, but they also
were involved in special professional
development opportunities designed for
new faculty. Each was assigned a veteran
faculty member as a mentor to help with
their transition to teaching at Samford.
Samford’s Assistant Provost Nancy
J. Biggio coordinates the new faculty
program.
“Both formal and informal mentoring of faculty is a high priority at
Samford because we believe in investing
in one of our most important
resources—our faculty,” Biggio said.
“For many faculty, adjusting to Samford
involves their families as well as themselves, and we work hard to match
faculty with mentors who can assist with
family adjustment. We want faculty to
have such a wonderful first-year
experience that they develop a lifelong
relationship with Samford.”
In a series of interviews at the end
of the spring 2010 semester, several new
faculty members talked about their
experiences during the year.
18
You are a Samford graduate. What
has it been like to return to campus
as a member of the faculty?
Delane Tew, who earned a degree from
Samford in 1978, is associate professor
and director of Christian Women’s
Leadership. She says, “It is a dream come
true to be back at Samford teaching. My
time here as an undergraduate was filled
with learning, gathering scholastic
information, and growing in knowledge
of myself as a loved child of God and a
responsible member of society. I was a
history major and studied under
talented professors such as Dr. Marlene
Rikard, Dr. Wayne Flynt and Dr. Leah
Atkins. I spent many happy hours in
Dwight Beeson Hall. Just imagine how
happy I was when I discovered on my
return that an office space had opened
up for me in DBH. I have truly come
home.”
Jane Holston is
clinical coordinator
for the nurse practitioner program. She
says, “I graduated
from Samford’s
Family Nurse
Practitioner program
in 2004 and always
knew that this is
where I would want
to work one day. I began working
part-time this past fall as a clinical
instructor for undergraduate nurses, and
loved the job, my coworkers and the
students. But, I needed a full-time job.
When the clinical coordinator position
was created, it sounded perfect. My job
consists mainly of coordinating clinical
sites for nurse practitioner students all
over the country, doing online lectures
and serving on committees. There is
never a dull moment, and every day
brings a new challenge. I love everything
about Samford, especially the Christian
environment, and feel truly blessed to be
here.”
You were working as a practicing
nurse and administrator at a large
hospital. What made you decide to
switch to teaching? How have you
found teaching in a classroom vs.
the corporate setting?
Cynthia Cortes,
associate professor in
Samford’s Ida V.
Moffett School of
Nursing, explains,
“Life is a journey.
Most of us don’t
wake up one day and
say, ‘I’m going to do
something different.’
I was not unhappy at Children’s
Hospital; in fact, it’s a great place to
work. I had wonderful coworkers, and
enjoyed the interactions with patients
and families. At Children’s, I worked in
the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation
FACULTY
Trumpet professor Chip Crotts
conducts a jazz ensemble.
where a love and concern for children
and adults with special health-care needs
and their caregivers was born and
nurtured.
“One of many unmet needs of
adults with special health-care needs is
finding a primary health-care provider.
Samford, through Ida V. Moffett School
of Nursing, has given me a wonderful
opportunity to help prepare family nurse
practitioners to provide health-care
services to people of all ages, including
those with special health-care needs.
God equips and prepares us for each step
of life’s journey.
“P.S. Samford is also a great place to
work!”
You previously worked at a large
state university. How have you
found the environment at Samford
different? What attracted you to
Samford?
Cameron “Chip” Crotts taught at
Jacksonville (Ala.) State University
before coming to Samford as associate
professor of music. He says, “My first
year at Samford has been wonderful in
so many ways. Having come from a
larger state university, one of the first
things I noticed was the tight-knit family
environment and how much easier it
was to get to know everyone right away.
A day does not go by where I don’t see
many of the same students and faculty
across this campus, and this familiarity
has helped me develop and foster
relationships much quicker with both
this year. One of the main things that
attracted me to Samford was this aspect
of learning, combined with the support
of the arts, and the mission I believe in
as an educator. The quality of teaching is
very high, and this mission, combined
with the work ethic and drive of our
students, makes for a very rewarding and
enjoyable teaching environment. I look
forward to many years of service at
Samford University and it becoming a
big part of our family’s lives.”
Lee Farquhar,
assistant professor of
journalism and mass
communication, says,
“Though I have
enjoyed working with
students in all of the
universities at which I
have been, Samford
students have
impressed me with their work ethic and
character. Students here are kind and
compassionate. Students and faculty are
almost always willing to lend a helping
hand.
“I was attracted to Samford for a
handful of reasons. First, I wanted to
work at a school that placed emphasis on
teaching and interaction with students.
Samford’s enrollment numbers, class
sizes and student-focused outlook were
important factors for me. Second, I
wanted to work for a school that would
feel more like a community than a
workplace. I have certainly found a
community at Samford. Lastly, when
deciding between schools, I had to be
happy with the city itself. Birmingham is
a great city that doesn’t necessarily feel
like a city, which is a good thing. It seems
Alabama as a whole was made for people
who love to be outdoors.”
You had been working at Samford
for several years and teaching
adjunctively in the core curriculum.
What attracted you to this opportunity to be part of the full-time
faculty and to lead this program?
Bridget Rose was curator of Samford’s
Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel before
accepting a new role as instructor in the
core curriculum and director of a new
academic success center. She explains,
“Simply put, I love students and I love
being in the classroom. While I enjoyed
my work in the divinity school, I was
excited about the possibility of making
teaching and interacting with students a
more substantial part of my work.
Several students over the years have
shared with me the impact I had on
them early in their college career, and as
I began to reflect on how my own life
has been shaped by those early academic
relationships, I knew this was an
opportunity that would allow me to
build on that and to invest in students
more fully.”
19
FACULTY
You were a practicing attorney for
several years. What made you want
to move into a teaching career?
How have you found teaching vs.
the corporate environment?
Sheree Martin taught
at other universities,
but most recently was
a practicing attorney
in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
She is now assistant
professor of journalism and mass
communication, and
says, “After a few
months of practicing
law again, I found that my heart was in
teaching and scholarship. The firm was
as great as ever. I had the respect of
colleagues and clients, but I just wasn’t
happy professionally. When I had the
opportunity to return to teaching, I
jumped.
“I love working with students, and I
love ideas and the power of ideas.
Communication is an ideal subject area
for me because effective communication
is necessary to move ideas forward. My
perfect day is when a student shares an
idea, and I can find a way to help that
student improve and grow so that he or
she can take that idea and move it
forward in some way. In a perfect world,
the journalist presents ideas. The words
and images a journalist creates can serve
as a catalyst for debate. The platforms
for sharing ideas are changing. The
Internet, especially through blogging
and other social media, is changing how
the journalist communicates his or her
ideas. It’s an exciting time to be working
with students and helping them learn to
use these new platforms to share their
ideas.”
formation of our students must become
an integral part of theological education.
As a small theological school, Beeson has
the desire to be a community of
believers where students are given the
opportunity to grow as persons in
fellowship with the triune God and one
another. While we are still learning to
understand what this means for us, it is
a great gift and privilege to teach at a
place that has such a holistic vision of
theological education.”
You have lived and studied around
the world. What attracted you to
teaching at a university like
Samford, especially in the United
States?
If you were making your decision
today to come to Samford, would
you do it again? Why?
Gisela H. Kreglinger
is assistant professor
in Samford’s Beeson
Divinity School. She
says, “Having lived
and studied all
around the world—
Germany, Holland,
Hong Kong, Canada,
Scotland—I just
finished my first year teaching at
[Samford]. What attracted me to the
[divinity school] was and is its interdenominational and ecumenical vision
that understands that the personal
Sara Helms leads an
economics class.
Sara Helms, assistant professor of
economics, responded with a
resounding, “Of course!
“I consider my decision to come to
Samford one of the best decisions I have
made in life. It is a treat to be able to
work in an environment where colleagues are friends and the atmosphere
is collegial. I heard a lot about the
Samford family as I interviewed, but I
did not understand what exactly that
meant until I lived as a part of the
family. Coworkers genuinely care for one
another and students, and students have
a genuine interest in their professors. It
is common for students to stop by my
office after another class in my building,
just to say hello or to mention something they read or heard about economics. Those moments fuel me and
other professors! It is always work to
change jobs, but in my decision to come
to Samford last year, the benefits far
outweighed the costs, to use some
economics language.”
Peter J. Hughes, assistant professor of
pharmacy, also was emphatic in his
response. “If presented again with the
decision to come to Samford, my answer
would be a resounding, ‘Yes!’ One
cannot place a value on job satisfaction.
For me, job satisfaction is knowing that
the work I perform on a daily basis is
making a difference in the lives of
others. I am reminded on a regular basis
by colleagues and students of the
positive impact I am making by offering
my contribution. The ability to mentor
and inspire future generations of young
pharmacists to pursue excellence in
everything they do is one of the most
gratifying feelings of all.” Q
20
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN
21
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
Samford University
GIVING
Keeping Samford’s Mission Alive
I
recently had a conversation with one
of our longtime trustees, and he
reminded me of the way God has
had his hand on Samford University for
nearly 170 years. He recalled the times
the university faced tremendous
challenges: in 1842 when President
Sherman rolled his wheelbarrow up and
down the streets of Marion, Ala.,
collecting books to stock our first library
in our single wooden building; in 1884
when two trustees literally purchased the
college’s property at public auction to
satisfy debts and gave the property back
to the college so we could carry on; in
the 1950s when President Davis convinced the trustees that we should step
out in faith and purchase the land our
campus now occupies at a time when no
one could foresee what Samford has
now become.
In each case, when it looked as
though there wasn’t a path to success,
God raised up people who were willing
to provide leadership and resources to
keep Samford’s mission alive. Our
trustee concluded by reminding me that
still today, God has his hand on us and
expects us to be good stewards of what
he has entrusted us with: a place where
students can be challenged to achieve
excellence academically, socially and
spiritually, so they can be equipped to
have a positive impact on the world.
As I reflect on this conversation,
and as I visit with students whom I
know will be great citizens because
they’ve been here, I am thankful for
those who have come before us and
made this possible. President Corts, in a
speech made to students in 1994, said it
far better than I ever could: “It was an
act of love for future generations that
brought this university into being. It has
been the tithes and offerings of selfless
individuals who have maintained it
through the years. Yesterday’s faithful
have provided this institution to help
you and future generations down the
road of life, in the name of Christ.
Could we have a more noble purpose?”
Many of you who are reading this
have been some of those selfless
individuals who have contributed
financially to Samford. Many more of
you may have wanted to help but felt
that your gift would in some way be too
small (there’s no such gift, by the way),
or that you couldn’t commit to a
monthly or annual gift because of other
obligations. I imagine that almost all of
you share my deep love for Samford and
want to see the legacy of excellence that
has grown here continue to grow and
flourish for many decades to come. That
is why we have included this section on
planned giving in this edition of Seasons.
As you read this section, I hope you
will get a glimpse of how you could
more generously provide for your
family’s future and at the same time
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
Randy Pittman
Vice President for University
Advancement
Nursing student Jaclyn Marshall works in a chemistry lab.
Page 21: Donors Drew and Julie Cundiff ’95 spend a little time on campus.
22
provide for Samford’s future by contributing in ways you might not have
considered previously. Those who plan
effectively often find that estate and
charitable gift laws can work in their
favor and allow them to be more
philanthropic than they ever dreamed
possible.
One of the best parts of my job is
that I frequently get to be around people
when they are making a major donation,
planning a charitable trust or an estate
gift. I find that people are often most
joyful when they are able to give
generously, so I am seeing them at their
best. I hope you will think about a
planned gift to Samford, and will
contact us about ways we can help you
and your advisers in the process. I
believe you, too, will find great joy in
helping, as Dr. Corts reminded us,
“future generations down the road of
life.”
S
amford University is an extraordinary community of learning and
faith.”
This apt description of Samford was
penned by its president, Andrew
Westmoreland, for a recent issue of
Seasons. It states succinctly why people
have supported Samford over the years,
and why they continue to do so. Being a
community of learning is the basic
component of any strong university.
Being also a community of faith sets a
strong university apart.
“Many universities boast of
high-quality academic programs,”
Westmoreland said. “A handful strive to
combine these programs with a
Christian mission.”
In selecting Samford as one of the
50 best values among private universities
in America, USA Today and The
Princeton Review cited these attributes.
They said Samford offers “accessible
professors” and “tons of academic
resources” on a “distinctly Christian”
campus.
‘
The following pages carry a
cross-section of stories about people
who support Samford. There are many
more such stories.
Many donors choose to contribute
to Samford annually by supporting the
scholarships that are so meaningful to
students and giving to programs that
keep the university’s academics strong.
Annual giving is critical to funding the
gap between what students pay for their
education and what it actually costs. In
simple terms, tuition pays for only two
of every three dollars needed to provide
a quality Samford education.
Donors also choose to provide
long-term support of Samford through
their estates. There are various ways to
do this, and many provide benefits to
donors during their lifetime. Such giving
for the future is equally beneficial to
Samford, if not more so, because it helps
assure that the university’s program of
Christian higher education will continue
in perpetuity.
Today, donors can make charitable
gifts to Samford that result in tax
benefits to the donor. This can lead to
greater income for the donor and the
donor’s family, a tax deduction and a
lasting legacy to Samford. The university
maintains up-to-date planning information about ways to meet your current
financial planning objectives and how to
plan for gifts to Samford.
Donors find that it’s a good idea to
review their estate plans periodically
because their individual situations
might have changed. Samford provides
information on when and how to do this
as well. Go to www.samford.edu/legacy
for valuable information on how to
accomplish these objectives.
Samford University thanks you for
your generous support over the years. It
works hard to provide the high academic quality that merits such support.
And it seeks your prayers and support
for future years, because the ongoing
need for quality Christian higher
education has never been greater. ■
GIVING
Programs That Merit Your Support
Are your loved ones well cared for?
Will your property pass to your intended beneficiaries?
Will your estate avoid unnecessary taxes?
Have you thought about your future?
Some people think that the future will take care of itself.
Many wait until it’s too late to plan for the unexpected.
Thinking about the future now is important to ensure your
intentions are followed.
For more information on the benefits of creating a will or
trust or to request our FREE Wills Planning Guide, please
go to www.samford.edu/legacy or call Stan Davis, Samford
director of gift and estate design, at 205-726-2807.
“Everyone leaves a legacy, whether it is intentional or not.
Those who are more intentional about it usually leave a
better legacy behind.”
—Paul J. Meyer,
author, speaker, philanthropist
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
23
GIVING
McDade’s Reconnection with
Samford Like Experiencing
College Again
by Jack Brymer
Joe McDade
A
fter Joe McDade graduated from
Samford University in 1961,
further education and employment took him out of state for almost 40
years. As a student, he thought Samford
“was the greatest place on earth,” and he
loved being part of the student body
that moved from the old campus in East
Lake to the new location in Homewood.
Even so, his visits to the Samford over
the years were few, and his financial
contributions “minimal.”
During the intervening years,
McDade worked as a youth pastor in
Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina and
Missouri, but in 1997, he moved back to
his hometown of Montgomery, Ala., to
care for aging relatives. Since then, he
has reconnected with his alma mater
and regained a profound appreciation
for what it contributed to his life.
“As I journeyed through life, I kept
those memories, but it was not until
recently that I realized how important
Samford was to me,” McDade said. “My
experience there laid the foundation of
who I am. In reconnecting, it is like
having that Howard experience all over
again.”
McDade said the reconnection
helped prompt him to take some
24
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
significant actions. One was serving on a
committee to recognize and honor his
pastor, Gary Burton, a Samford alumnus
who had served Pintlala Baptist Church
near Montgomery for 35 years of
ministry. As a result, he suggested the
church endow a scholarship at Samford
in Burton’s honor.
“The idea caught on, and our little
church responded so enthusiastically
that we were able to raise the required
amount for a named scholarship in just
a few months,” he said.
During that process, as McDade was
getting his personal financial affairs in
order, he decided to include Samford in
his will. He contacted Stan Davis,
Samford’s director of gift and estate
design, for advice.
“Stan showed me how I could set
up a scholarship and start funding it
during my lifetime,” he said. “That is
what I have done and now, instead of
family and friends giving me personal
gifts, I ask them to contribute to my
scholarship fund.”
McDade’s scholarship allows him to
help students attend Samford who
otherwise could not do so without
financial aid. “Now, I have a way of
helping future students experience what
I did at Samford,” he said.
McDade also is helping to promote
and raise funds for the new Frances
Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and
Leadership housed in Brock School of
Business. A longtime advocate for an
interdisciplinary program for leadership
and ethics, McDade believes the center
will enhance Samford’s contribution to
the world on many fronts and cause it to
have a greater sphere of influence.
That is not all. McDade is serving as
the Alumni Association’s 1961 Class
Agent, spearheading an effort to endow
a $100,000 Howard College Class of
1961 Legacy Scholarship during the
class’s 50th anniversary at homecoming
in 2011.
His alma mater has kept McDade
busy since his reconnect in 1997. He has
had a hand in numerous other projects,
including athletics, business, arts,
alumni development and Step Sing.
“It is a real thrill to do this,” he said.
“I see it as giving back by giving
forward.” ■
Pharmaceutical Career Enables Anderson
to Give Back to Samford
by William
Nunnelley
To discuss how you might maximize tax
deductions through a gift to Samford,
contact Stan Davis at 205-726-2807 or go
to www.samford.edu/legacy.
Roy and Anne Anderson enjoy a visit to the Samford campus.
W
hen Roy Anderson was about
11, he got a job scooping ice
cream and sweeping up at the
only drug store in his hometown of
Dutton, Ala. He worked there a year or
two in the late 1930s, and the experience
sparked his interest in studying pharmacy. He followed through on that
interest by earning a degree from
Samford—then Howard College—in
1951.
After working as a pharmacist
for five years, he joined Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals as a sales representative. He worked with Wyeth for 35 years,
putting his pharmacy training to good
use calling on drugstores and doctors in
Birmingham and surrounding counties.
“I enjoyed my work very much,” he
said. “There was only one drug store and
one doctor in a lot of the small towns in
my territory. I think it helped rural
doctors especially for a registered
pharmacist to call on them and talk
about pharmaceutical products.”
Over the years, Anderson and his
wife, Anne, a 1953 graduate, have
supported Samford faithfully.
“I’ve always been grateful to
Samford for three reasons,” he said. “It
enabled me to continue playing
basketball and baseball [which he had
enjoyed in high school]. It gave me a
chance to study pharmacy. And I met
Anne there.”
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals offered its
employees a stock option plan throughout Anderson’s tenure, and he took
advantage of the opportunity to amass
as much as he could. Several years ago,
when Wyeth was bought by another
company, Anderson’s stock appreciated
significantly in value, and he was faced
with paying a large capital gains tax.
He met with Stan Davis, Samford’s
director of gift and estate design, to
consider a Samford gift annuity. But in
consultation with Davis and a certified
public accountant, Anderson learned
that an outright stock gift to Samford
would best achieve his goal of maximizing tax deductions.
It pleased the Andersons to be able
to make the gift. “I think you need to
give back when you can,” he said. “God
has blessed us, and we’re basically frugal,
so we could do that.”
At 83, Anderson continues to live
the active life. Even though he retired
from Wyeth in 1992, he still works
GIVING
part-time for a small company that
distributes medical products across
Alabama and the Florida panhandle. He
enjoys attending Samford athletic
events, and remains an avid tennis
player, hitting the courts several times a
week to play with a group of friends
known as the “Early Birds.”
“You make good friends when you
play sports,” he said. ■
Get Financial
Tips Online
G
ood planning requires good
information. Samford
maintains up-to-date gift
and estate design information on its
website to assist you in creating the
plan that is right for you:
• Personal Planner—articles to
help meet current financial
goals and objectives
• Savvy Living—tips on everyday
decisions that impact lifestyle
• Video Presentations—hear and
see income and tax benefits of
setting up a gift plan
• Washington Hotline—latest
changes in Washington, D.C.,
that affect your finances
• Financial Update—latest news
on financial markets
• and more
Receive these updates through
Samford’s monthly Gift Legacy
e-newsletter. Ask to be added to the
mailing list at www.samford.edu/
legacy, or e-mail your request to
[email protected]. ■
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
25
Maxwell Uses Estate Designing
To Support Nursing Scholarship
GIVING
W
ithout proper planning, the
federal government (IRS)
becomes a member of your
family and thus a beneficiary of your
estate. That is why Guy Maxwell and his
late wife, Jean, established the Guiles E.
Maxwell, Jr. and Jean Fields Maxwell
Multipurpose Endowment Fund for Ida
V. Moffett School of Nursing.
Maxwell said he had seen too many
family members who could have given a
tax-free gift to a charity pay taxes instead
because they did not have a properly
designed will. Both he and his wife
prepared a will some years back.
Jean was a niece of Ida V. Moffett,
the legendary nurse and educator for
whom Samford’s nursing school is
named. It was only natural that the
Maxwells establish a nursing scholarship
at the school.
She graduated from Birmingham
Baptist Hospital School of Nursing, the
predecessor of Ida V. Moffett School of
Nursing. Also, she was employed at
Baptist Princeton Hospital (formerly
West End), where she was the head
nurse on the second floor for many
years, and Montclair Baptist (formerly
South Highlands and now Trinity). Due
to Guy’s travels, Jean also worked in
hospitals in Atlanta, Ga., and Knoxville,
Tenn. She did additional studies in
management at Emory University in
Atlanta.
When Jean died in 2005, Guy made
provisions for an annuity they had set
up years earlier to go to the scholarship
instead of to taxes at his death. They had
been married 48 years and had no
children.
A native of Homewood and a
graduate of Auburn University (where
he also has established a scholarship),
Guy was a longtime employee with
Litton Industries before starting his own
business. He retired in 1993. ■
Guy Maxwell
If you are ready to design your estate in
a way that will maximize your discretion
over capital and minimize what defaults
to the government, start by requesting our
Wills Kit at www.samford.edu/legacy.
Quin Benefits Through Charitable Annuities
by Mary Wimberley
J
oe Quin ’60 spent his career life as a
pharmacist after learning the tools of
his profession at Samford. Now, he is
able to spend inherited monies and
retirement income in a way that benefits
both him and the school.
Through a series of charitable gift
annuities, Quin has enabled Samford to
assist Beeson Divinity School students
through the Joe Nix Quin Endowed
Scholarship Fund.
A charitable gift annuity is a way to
make a gift to a favorite charity—in
Quin’s case, Samford—and still receive
an income for oneself or another
person. Quin chose annuities because
the method enables him to control
certain aspects of the giving.
“It was ideal for me,” Quin said. “It
seemed the best way for me to give,
know the amount that I was giving, and
know what it would be used for. And,
too, I will receive an income from it
during my lifetime.”
The fund, which was established in
April 2009, will financially assist divinity
students with tuition needs.
26
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
Besides knowing that he supports a
cause he believes in, Quin receives a tax
credit for the gift. “It helped me in that
sense, also,” said Quin, who appreciated
the personal help and professional
guidance of Samford Director of Gift
and Estate Design Stan Davis in
formulating his plan.
Quin also worked with his attorney
and Davis to include Samford in his will,
following an example set by his late
mother, who provided for Samford in
her will prior to her death in 2005.
Because he has no siblings or
children, Quin likes knowing that he has
given forethought to how his estate will
be handled. “I don’t have to worry about
any court proceedings after my death,”
he said.
While Quin’s designated gift
underscores his desire to use resources
God gave him to further Kingdom work,
it also reflects personal interests he
developed after retiring in the mid1990s. With more time to explore
history and Christianity topics on cable
television, Quin, a Methodist, also began
to read books on the subject and follow a
Great Courses on Christianity DVD series.
His personal Samford history began
at a pivotal time in the life of the school.
“My first semester was the first term
that the school was on the Homewood
campus,” said Quin, who earlier had
earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at
Vanderbilt University.
“Everything was new,” he said of the
academic buildings and dorm where he
lived during the week. On weekends, he
drove home to Fort Payne, Ala., where
his dad owned a drugstore and where he
joined the family business after
graduation.
After his father died in 1971, Quin
and his mother relocated to be near
relatives in Dothan, Ala., where he spent
the rest of his pharmacy career and now
enjoys retirement. ■
Consistency in Giving Most Important
Drew and Julie Cundiff discuss financial plans with Samford Director of Gift and Estate
Design Stan Davis, left.
D
rew and Julie Walton Cundiff
’95, contribute financially to
Samford every year. They
contribute in other ways as well, but
their annual financial gift keeps them in
the habit of supporting their alma mater
more so than the amount of their gift.
“The size of the gift is not as
important as staying connected with the
school,” said Drew. “What is important
is that alumni do something every year.”
One of the many ways of giving—
and one that has helped the Cundiffs
meet their annual giving goals, not only
to Samford but to other charitable
causes—is the gift of stock. They make it
easy by using electronic transfer. “This is
a tax-smart way to give,” said Cundiff. “It
provides the donor the full amount of
the gift,” he said.
Another way, according to Cundiff,
a financial adviser, is through matching
funds by one’s employer. “It’s an ideal
way to give, as it maximizes one’s gift,”
he said.
Another reason small gifts are as
important as larger gifts, according to
Cundiff, is that they are usually unrestricted. “What we’ve given, and the
reason a well-known fact, is that the gifts
are unrestricted,” Cundiff said. As a
result, the university is able to use the
funds for aid for students or athletics or
whatever the need may be.
Another value of smaller gifts is that
they can be bundled for maximum
benefit. It is a “smart marketing tool,”
according to Cundiff. For example, a
particular class or organization may
contribute as little as $50 from each
member, but together, it may amount to
several thousand dollars. That bundled
gift might then establish a named
scholarship or meet some other need.
Cundiff, who serves as a Samford
overseer, said his educational experience
at Samford’s business school fully
prepared him for the business world. He
cited in particular the requirement of
making class presentations. “I do a lot of
that now and got a lot of practice while
in school,” he said.
Describing serving as an overseer as
great, Cundiff said he has been able to
be around the school and see what is
taking place. The information gathered
in that role, he suggested, helps him
relate to former alumni and friends all
that is going on at Samford. He cited as
an example being able to tell a friend
and Samford alumnus, who was seeking
information related to ethics, about the
Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics
and Leadership.
“Most all the people I know who
went to Samford when I did are above
average as it relates to finances,” said
Cundiff. “I would urge each of them to
give something, every year. The size of
the gift is not as important as being
reconnected with Samford.” ■
GIVING
by Jack Brymer
For information on how to transfer stock
and make a tax-smart gift, contact Stan
Davis at 205-726-2807 or go to www.
samford.edu/legacy.
Donors Support Samford Through Baptist Foundation
by Mary Wimberley
T
he annual check that Samford
receives from the Baptist
Foundation of Alabama [BFA] is
much more valuable than the dollar
amount.
The most recent check represents
more than 60 individuals, churches and
other groups that entrusted the BFA
with monies to invest and designated
the interest to Samford. Each gift is the
result of someone’s desire to be a part of
Samford’s present and future. It is a
priceless connection.
“When people remember Samford
in their estate plan, they have elevated
Samford to the status of a family
member,” said Samford Director of Gift
and Estate Design Stan Davis.
The foundation, a trust agency for
the Alabama Baptist Convention,
provides stewardship, estate planning
and planned giving information to
individuals, churches and Baptist
entities.
“People who want to support
multiple Baptist entities can do that in a
unified manner through the BFA,” said
Davis, who appreciates the competent
service the foundation provides its
constituents.
The interest amounts, which this
year range from less than $30 to more
than $32,000, are designated for a
variety of uses: academic chairs, student
scholarships, endowments and trust
funds that will support any manner of
Samford needs in perpetuity.
Foundation continued on page 28
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
27
Planting a Samford Gift for the Future
GIVING
tirelessly and gave sacrificially. In
Romans Chapter 12, where the Apostle
Paul begins writing about the personal
application of God’s graces presented in
the prior 11 chapters, we are called to
“rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulation
and be devoted to prayer.” I have a
feeling that our founding fathers were
undeterred because these disciplines
were well-developed in their lives. They
were good and faithful servants in their
personal application, knowing that God
would supply.
Today, Samford’s society for those
who have planned gifts for the future—
the DeVotie Legacy Society—is named
for one of those founding fathers. James
H. DeVotie provided the land for
Samford’s original campus in Marion,
Ala. He realized that he was planting
shade trees for future generations to
Stan Davis
T
he preceding pages represent only
a glimpse of the inspiring stories I
have experienced during my work
at Samford the past 15 years. There are
lots of reasons so many have supported
and continue to support Samford, but it
really all gets down to one: They know
the labor of Samford University produces good and worthy fruit. They know
the words “Samford . . . the world is
better for it” represent more than just a
slogan.
This long and imposing legacy of
Christian higher education did not exist
for Samford’s founding fathers in the
early 1800s. The school was a new and
ambitious venture. Yet these men served
Foundation continued from page 27
For each line on the itemized report
that accompanies the check, there is a
story. Some signify donors, long deceased,
who wanted Samford to benefit from
their estate gifts. Those gifts, managed
through the foundation, form a link from
past to future that ensures that the
donors’ wishes are respected.
Other givers are alive and well, and
enjoy seeing the fruits of their investment
on an almost daily basis.
Retired education faculty members,
Drs. Frances and John Carter, are loyal
28
GIFT AND ESTATE DESIGN NEWSLETTER
enjoy. Aren’t you doing the same when
you plan a future gift for Samford
through your estate assets?
To those who have made estate
plans to benefit future generations of
Samford students, we express our
deepest gratitude. If you have planned
such a gift but have not yet informed us,
I invite you to do so and join the other
members of the DeVotie Legacy Society.
To those who have not yet made
such plans, will you consider doing so?
If you believe Samford to be a good and
worthy institution, explore the resources
available to you at www.samford.edu/
legacy or call me for a confidential
discussion. You, too, may discover a way
to support the work of Samford, and
enhance the quality of life for you and
your family at the same time.
In this insert, we have merely
scratched the surface of inspiring donor
stories, with their reasons for supporting
Samford and ways to do so. If you like
what you have read, don’t stop there. I
would be delighted to hear your story.
Remember: You can plant your own
shade tree for others to enjoy, and we
stand ready to assist you in this meaningful and gratifying endeavor.
Samford . . . the world, indeed, is
better for it.
Stan Davis, J.D. ’78
Director of Gift and Estate Design
James H. DeVotie
supporters who live near campus and are
regular attendees at school events. For
more than 30 years, they have enjoyed
watching an investment with BFA benefit
Samford and other causes dear to them.
“We wanted to invest in a way that
would support several aspects of God’s
work in which we felt a deep interest,”
said the Carters of an investment that was
first made possible when they sold some
property 35 years ago.
Samford was one beneficiary, along
with international missions and Christian
relief agencies.
“The Baptist Foundation of Alabama
offered a way that we could support all of
those causes, with a designated portion
going to Samford, both during our
lifetime and after we are gone.”
Through the years, they have
occasionally added to their initial gift. In
addition, their children have helped set
up the John and Frances Carter Fund to
support projects and awards in the
Orlean Bullard Beeson School of
Education and Professional Studies,
which John Carter served as dean. ■
Samford University
Tuition dollars cover 69% of each
student’s Samford experience. Gifts
from Samford alumni, parents and
friends make up the other 31%,
allowing a new generation of Samford
students the same opportunities you
received.
The 31% gap between the price of tuition and the actual cost to
provide the Samford experience is approximately $8,571.43.
The Bottom Line
Last year, the median gift from alumni
was $50. To provide the Samford
experience for one student, it takes 172
alumni giving the median gift of $50, or
86 alumni giving $100, or 35 alumni
giving $250, or 17 alumni giving $500.
Alumni contributions fill the gap.
Regardless of how much you can afford
to give, your contributions will help our
students. Please send your annual gift
today! As always, you may make a gift
online at www.samford.edu/giving.
29
ALUMNI
M
o
c
k
i
n
Celebrates 50th
Rogers Discusses Mystique
of Lee and her Book
by William Nunnelley
T
Stephanie Rogers ’06 displays a
50th anniversary edition of To
Kill a Mockingbird. Below, the
Old Courthouse Museum in
Monroeville, Ala.
30
o Kill a Mockingbird,
Harper Lee’s classic
novel about racial
injustice and growing up in
a small Southern town, was
published 50 years ago, in
1960. It won the Pulitzer
Prize for fiction in 1961 and
has never been out of print,
selling more than 30 million
copies. It spawned an
Oscar-winning movie of the
same name, and immortalized Atticus Finch as the
epitome of the courageous
and fair-minded attorney.
Samford alumna
Stephanie Snyder Rogers ’06
grew up in Monroeville, Ala.,
Lee’s hometown and the
basis for the fictional town
of Maycomb in the book.
She has been surrounded by
the mystique of Mockingbird
and its famous author since
childhood days.
In recent years, as
assistant director and now
acting director of the
Monroe County Heritage
Museum, she has gained
added perspective on the
book and how it was viewed
by her community.
“My family has always
known her and respected her,
and I grew up appreciating her work
and its positive impact on
Monroeville,” said Rogers. She read
the book—set during the
Depression—in the eighth grade and
again as a high school junior, when
she and her class saw the play based
on the book performed at
Monroeville’s Old Courthouse
Museum.
“When the book was first
published, everyone thought there
was nothing to it and said they
wouldn’t read it because there was no
point,” said Rogers. “They knew the
characters in the story, they knew the
places, they knew what it was like
growing up in 1930s Monroeville.
“It was only when the movie
rights were sold that people took note.
I hear all these great stories about
when Gregory Peck [who played
Finch in the movie] came to town. I
wish I had been alive then to see him
in my hometown. Of course, then
everyone claimed to be ‘close friends’
with Nelle [Lee’s first name] just to
meet the famous movie star.”
Lee, who celebrated her 84th
birthday April 28, still resides in
Monroeville. Rogers noted that Lee
has compared the character of Atticus
to her father, while others see Lee as
the model for Scout, the young girl in
the story. Dill, Scout’s best friend, is
based on the late writer Truman
Capote, Lee’s childhood friend and
next-door neighbor in Monroeville,
Rogers said.
Capote and Lee remained friends
into adulthood, and she helped him
research his famous book, In Cold
Blood, in Kansas. Over the years, the
notion that Capote actually might
have written To Kill a Mockingbird
sprang up in some literary circles.
What do Rogers and the museum say
about that?
“In a letter to his favorite aunt,
Mary Ida, Truman clearly says that he
read her draft and loved it and
thought it was a great story,” said
Rogers. “He said she had a real talent
and even mentions that he’s the
character, Dill. This just confirms to
ALUMNI
gbird
The courthouse interior was the model for the courtroom set in the movie
version of To Kill a Mockingbird.
us that he had no part in writing To
Kill a Mockingbird.”
The Capote letter is part of the
museum’s archives, and is featured in
an exhibit titled, “Capote: A Child in
Monroeville.”
Rogers joined the museum as
assistant director in 2007 after earning
her degree in history from Samford.
She is married to local banker Bill
Rogers, and they have a 17-month old
son, Miller.
In her museum role, Rogers fields
plenty of questions about Lee. The
most frequent are about where she
lives (Rogers won’t say) and the cost
of signed copies of Lee’s book (Rogers
has seen signed first editions going for
$25,000 on eBay).
“Nelle used to be very generous
with her signature and would gladly
sign,” said Rogers. “However, since she
learned of people selling them for so
much on eBay, she has virtually
stopped signing.”
Monroeville is celebrating the
50th anniversary of To Kill a
Mockingbird this summer, and Rogers
is right in the middle of the proceedings. The July 8–11 program will focus
on various aspects of the book and its
setting. Walking tours, panel discussions, meals and readings are among
the activities scheduled, including a
marathon reading of the book by
guests in the famous Old Courthouse
Museum, which was the model for the
courtroom in the movie.
Will Lee, known for her
publicity-shunning image, take part?
Her official stance with her
publisher (HarperCollins) is that she
won’t participate, said Rogers. “But
I’m very hopeful she’ll attend to see
the tribute that people all over the
world are paying to her work of
fiction.”
Activities related to Lee and her
famous book are only one aspect of
the museum’s work. It operates five
other historical sites, including
Rikard’s Mill and the Alabama River
Museum, and maintains the site of
Capote’s childhood home next door
to Lee’s.
Despite these and other ongoing
museum activities, the focus this
summer is on To Kill a Mockingbird. ■
For more information on the To Kill a
Mockingbird event July 8–11 in
Monroeville, contact Stephanie Rogers
at 251-575-7433 or tokillamockingbird.
com.
31
ALUMNI
CLASS
This issue includes Class Notes received through May 6, 2010.
’43 Carl Cooper of Birmingham celebrated
his 90th birthday in March. He is a
retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel.
’47 Frances Walker Williamson of
Trussville, Ala., is retired. She reports
that the Sherman Oak cutting that she
planted several years ago is now a tall
oak in Indian Springs, Ala.
’49 Thelma Mae Pierce of Verbena, Ala.,
celebrated her 100th birthday in July
2009.
’51 James David Griffin of Carrollton, Ga.,
writes local history for The Orator, a
journal of the Henry County, Ala.,
historical society.
’53 Betsy Barber Bancroft of Birmingham
is the author of two newly reissued
books of poetry, Wild Honeysuckle and
GreenAgain (Pelican).
’58 Arnold Duane Day retired in 1995 after
35 years with the Social Security
Administration. After assignments in
Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama,
his final post was as district manager in
Sarasota, Fla., where he lives with his
wife, Betty.
Robert Jackson, Jr., a veteran of 54 years
in the ministry, is associate pastor of
Central Baptist Church, Decatur, Ala.,
which his son, Rob, serves as pastor. He
also is president of Romanian American
Mission, which operates in six European
countries.
’60 John Reading of Pensacola, Fla., is the
author of The Wayward Train, a novel
about veterans of underage military
service, which he was when he enlisted
in the U.S. Navy at age 15 in 1945. He
later served in the Air Force during the
Korean War before enrolling at Samford
to study pharmacy. He owns
Cantonment Pharmacy, Inc.
’64 Walter Lockett LaGroue of
Birmingham is president/chief
operating officer of Custom Marketing
Services, Inc. He and his wife, Carolyn,
have three children.
Bonwell Royal was honored in August
when the Coffee High School football
field in Douglas, Ga., was named
“Bonwell Royal Field.” The winningest
coach in the school’s history, he retired
after 34 years in education.
32
Let us hear from you!
1-877-SU ALUMS
205-726-2807
[email protected]
’66 Tommy Puckett retired after 20 years of
ministry with the Alabama Baptist State
Board of Missions. He was director of
men’s ministries and disaster relief. He
and his wife, Elaine, live in Wetumpka,
Ala. They have two sons and three
grandchildren.
’67 Stephen Green retired this year as a
NASCAR chaplain in charge of motor
racing outreach. He and his wife, Amy
Boyd Green ’67, live in Winston-Salem,
N.C.
Dorsey L. “Doc” Shannon of Tulsa,
Okla., is a retired special agent of the
Drug Enforcement Administration. He
recently assisted with the DEA’s 15th
anniversary remembrance of the
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal
building in Oklahoma City, Okla.
’69 William P. Crowther of Miami, Fla.,
works part-time as a pharmacist at
Hialeah Hospital.
Roy W.
“Robbie”
Robertson,
Jr., was
named to the
board of
directors of
Children’s
Harbor, a
nonprofit
organization
that serves
seriously ill
children and
Robbie Robertson
their families.
He is president of the Colonnade
Group, a Birmingham-based sports
production and event company.
Carlene Hamlin Walker is a member of
the Tarrant, Ala., Board of Education.
’70 Jesse Bates of Birmingham, chair of the
theatre arts department at Alabama
School of Fine Arts, won the Lifetime
Achievement Award presented by the
Birmingham Area Theatre Alliance. He
and his wife, Mary Lynn Dovith Bates
’70, J.D. ’78, have two children.
George W. Hibbert of Stone Mountain,
Ga., is a real estate appraiser with the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
William J.
“Bill”
Stevens was
named to the
board of
directors of
Children’s
Harbor, a
nonprofit
organization
that serves
seriously ill
children and
their families.
Bill Stevens
He is chief
executive officer of Motion Industries,
Inc., in Birmingham and former
chairman of Samford’s board of
trustees.
’71 Bill and Cindy Trail Attaway ’74 live in
Birmingham. Friends since college days,
they married in 2005.
Douglas Lowell Hardin is pharmacy
manager at Walgreens in Foley, Ala. He
and his wife, Joanna, have two children
and four granddaughters.
Ellen O’Barr Shearer is organist at
Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville,
S.C. She also teaches at the South
Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts
and Humanities.
’72 Bobby Horton of Birmingham was
named Male Artist of the Year by the
Southern Heritage Music Association. A
performer, multi-instrumentalist,
composer, producer and music
historian, he has produced and
performed music scores for 10 Public
Broadcasting System films by Ken Burns,
including The Civil War and Baseball.
James R. Nolen of Five Points, Ala.,
retired after 36 years as a teacher,
basketball coach, assistant principal and
principal.
’73 Tee Jackson is superintendent of Giles
County (Tenn.) Schools. He lives in
Athens, Ala.
’75 Elizabeth Woodruff of Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
is a clinical instructor in the kinesiology
department at the University of
Alabama.
’76 Mike McLemore is executive director of
the Birmingham Baptist Association. He
and his wife, Wanda, have three children
and five grandchildren.
Alan and Kimberly Younce Schooley
A
lan ’92 and Kimberly Younce Schooley ’92, J.D., ’95, impact lives
every day in Farmington, N.M., through his work as a pediatrician on the Navajo Nation and her work in legal services.
Recently, the parents of two took on another responsibility when
they founded Malawi Children’s Fund [MCF], a nonprofit to provide
funding for education and health care in the southeast African nation.
Alan has worked before at medical clinics in Peru and Ecuador,
and was arranging to work at a hospital in Central America last year
when he was asked to volunteer in Malawi at Nkhoma Hospital, which
had recently lost its pediatrician.
’77 David Hagan of Saint Cloud, Fla., is
founder and owner of Freestyle Pools
and Plastering.
Harry and Rhonda Burk Sherrer of
Statesboro, Ga., serve at Eastern Heights
Baptist Church.
Rendell Wilson Day is pastor of
Kathmandu International Christian
Congregation in Nepal. He and his wife,
Teresa Love Day ’78, have three children.
J. Richard Zeski of Birmingham is the
author of his first book, A Regular Guy’s
Guide to Real Good Health (Llumina
Press). He is southern sales manager
with Lawson Steel.
’78 Ellen Guice Sims is pastor of Open
Table community of faith in Mobile, Ala.
’81 Susan Burgess-Parrish is executive
director of Habitat for Humanity of
Anderson County in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Jeffrey C. Kirby, M.B.A./J.D., is a
partner in Kirby Johnson, P.C., law firm
in Birmingham, specializing in personal
injury, products liability and consumer
protection matters.
Ernest John Kochem is a pharmacist
with CVS in Hoover, Ala.
He was accustomed, he says, to witnessing extreme poverty on
the Navajo Reservation and lack of access to health care in South
America. “None of those experiences compare to the truly devastating
poverty of rural Malawi,” said Alan, who has been a pediatrician for
the Indian Health Service at Northern Navajo Medical Center for
eight years and recently was named acting chair of pediatrics.
“It is hard to witness the combined power of poverty and disease
to devastate human lives and not feel obligated to do something to
help,” said Alan, who believes that education, more than anything else,
has the power to raise people out of poverty.
“This is particularly true for women as it empowers them within
their communities, a fact that has been reproduced across numerous
impoverished areas,” he said.
MCF, which Alan serves as executive director, currently funds
several nursing students at Nkhoma nursing school. A nurse, he points
out, has a direct impact on both the health care of children and better
village economics that result from having a villager with a salary.
The fund also provides tuition and supplies to some secondary
students, and planning is underway to assist with expansion of a
secondary school program. In August, MCF will complete its first
water project to provide clean drinking water at a primary school in
the village of Chiwanga.
Kimberly, director of the Volunteer Lawyer Program at DNAPeople’s Legal Services Office in Farmington and an adjunct faculty
member at San Juan College, serves as president of the fund’s board of
directors.
Alan will return to Malawi for a month in September to work at
the hospital and continue expansion of the MCF programs. ■
ALUMNI
Schooleys Found Malawi Children’s Fund
For more information, go to www.malawichildrensfund.org.
’82 Joseph C. Kelly, Sr., M.S.E., of
Dadeville, Ala., retired in 2009 from the
Tallapoosa County school system. He is
pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church.
Timothy Wayne Scott is a partner in
SunGard Consulting Services in
Birmingham. He and his wife, Lee, have
two children, James Timothy and Ellen
Lee.
John T. Prater of Appling, Ga., is a
minister with Gospelink, Inc., which
helps raise support for pastors in Africa
and Europe.
’85 J. Clay Davis, Jr., of Belcamp, Md., is a
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army
chaplain corps.
Charles Hampton Reynolds is associate
pastor of operations, Summer Grove
Baptist Church, Shreveport, La. He and
his wife, Nancy, have two sons.
Preston Todd Speakman of Fairhope,
Ala., is an anesthesiologist with
Anesthesia Solutions of Mobile. He has
two children, Ryan and Austin.
’83 Beth Henderson is equipping minister
for preschoolers at Vaughn Forrest
Church in Montgomery, Ala.
John Scott McCullough of Clarksville,
Tenn., retired with the rank of colonel
after 20 years in the U.S. Air Force.
’84 Rickey Camp completed a doctor of
educational ministry degree at New
Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
in December. He is founding pastor of
Sonrise Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala.,
and a trustee with the North American
Mission Board of the Southern Baptist
Convention. He and his wife, Lisa, have
two children, Raegan and Noah.
Ben Styles of Lacey’s Spring, Ala., is the
author of a book, The Great Adventure:
Journey through the New Testament, a
guided Bible study for churches.
’89 Charlotte Shewmaker McCaslin is
manager of benefits and human
resources at Doster Construction
Company, Inc., in Birmingham. She and
her husband, Leland, live in Trussville,
Ala. He is the author of a book, Secrets
of the Cold War, to be released in
August.
’90 Whitney Wheeler Pickering and Andi
Campbell Sims are among 43 parents
from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico
who were chosen to serve on the 2010
Walt Disney World Mom’s Panel, an
33
ALUMNI
online forum that offers insider’s tips for
Disney vacations in Florida. Panelists
provide personal answers to questions
that remain online as a reference for
future site visitors. Pickering lives in
Laurel, Miss., with her husband, Stacey
Pickering ’90, and their four children.
Sims lives in Birmingham with her
husband, Scott Sims, J.D. ’93, and their
four children. Questions can be put to
the panel at www.disneyworldmoms.
com.
Jessica Harrison was the first student
accepted to Belmont University’s new
College of Law charter class of 2011. She
earned a master’s in forensic psychology
and is pursuing a doctorate in entrepreneurship at Walden University. She lives
in Spring Hill, Tenn.
Michael Pugh is in private practice of
cosmetic dentistry in Huntsville, Ala. He
and his wife, Kimberly, have two sons,
William Michael, 4, and Benjamin
Stewart, 2.
Jill Robinson was chosen for inclusion in
Nashville Business Journal’s 2009 Top 40
Under 40 listing. She is director of
executive learning and marketing at
Belmont University.
’91 Tracy True Dismukes, M.B.A., is a
finalist for the National Association of
Women Business Owners/Wells Fargo
Trailblazer Award. She is owner of three
consignment shops in Birmingham and
is founder of Consignment Chic
marketing alliance.
Angela Schooley Washington and Steve
Washington ’94 live in the Bagley, Ala.,
community. She is director of Children’s
Services at Arc of Walker County. He is
director of continuous improvement at
American Cast Iron Pipe Company. They
have three children, Joshua, 8, Grace, 7,
and Matthew Lee, 1.
John Green was selected by the College
Board to join the 2010 Chinese Bridge
Delegation: Taking the Next Step. He will
spend a week as a guest of the Confucius
Institute in Beijing learning how to begin
and maintain Chinese language and
culture programs in American schools.
He teaches French at Douglas County
High School. He and his wife live in
Douglasville, Ga.
’92 John Brewer, a physician with the U.S.
Department of State, moves to Accra,
Ghana, this summer for two years as U.S.
Embassy physician.
Jet Davis, a hospital pharmacist at
Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in
Jackson, Miss., recently was recognized as
a board-certified nuclear pharmacist by
the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties.
He is one of only three board-certified
nuclear pharmacists in Mississippi and
one of 516 worldwide. He also is a
partner in NuMedRx Pharmacy
Solutions, an independent nuclear
pharmacy.
Jeff Roberts of Birmingham was named
one of the top 10 financial advisers in
Alabama and among the top 1,000 in the
United States in the Feb. 22, 2010, issue
of Barron’s magazine. Also in February,
he was listed in the Birmingham Business
Journal’s Top 40 Under 40. He is a senior
financial adviser and chartered financial
consultant with Ameriprise Financial
Services, Inc.
’93 Kathryn Dee Chandler is dean of the
Julia S. Tutwiler College of Education at
the University of West Alabama in
Livingston, Ala. A tenured professor, she
has served as national president of the
Society of Elementary Presidential
Awardees. She lives in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
34
Elizabeth Shuck Kouvarakis is enrolled
in the nurse anesthesia program at the
University of Tennessee. She and her
husband, Jason, live in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tracy Jessup, M.Div., is vice president for
Christian life and service and senior
minister to the university at GardnerWebb University, Boiling Springs, N.C.
He and his wife, Teresa, have two
children, Christian and Anna.
’95 Kristen Schwinghammer Carroll, a
partner in Kightlinger & Gray, LLP, law
firm in Indianapolis, Ind., was named a
Rising Star in the published list of 2010
Indiana Super Lawyers. She lives in Carmel,
Ind., with her husband and two daughters.
’96 Brian Disher is vice president and
portfolio manager with Greenwood
Capital in Greenville, S.C. He and his
wife, Lara, have two children, Madison
and Jake.
Allan Phipps was named Teacher of the
Year for Broward County, Fla., where he
teaches advanced placement environmental science and solar and alternative
energies at South Plantation High
School. As the district’s top teacher, he
won $1,000, a laptop computer and
tuition waivers to two Florida universities. He also will have a tree planted in
his honor at the school.
Jarrod Randle is novelty concessions
manager at North Carolina State
University bookstore. He and his wife,
Misty, live in Raleigh, N.C.
Mateusz Tuniewicz is a consultant in
Bangkok, Thailand. He works with the
Norwegian Refugee Council in the area
of capacity development and with the
United Nations Development
Programme, assisting national governments in southeast Asia in identifying
technical capacity gaps. He and his wife,
Anna-Karin, have a son, Emil, two.
’97 Monica Martin Slaughter is a teacher
with the Mountain Brook (Ala.) Board of
Education. She and her husband, Chad,
have three children, Charles, Amelia and
William.
’99 Constantina Caudill Angevine,
Pharm.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio, directs
the mail-order program for Health
Alliance. She and her husband, Brent,
have twin sons, Hayden and Noah, 4.
Russell Clemmons of Savannah, Ga., is a
dentist in private practice.
Jeffrey Scott Cowan is Virginia sales
manager for ISCO Industries. He and his
wife, Morgan, live in Henrico, Va.
Benjamin Thomas “BT” and Mary
Michael Garver Kelley ’00 live in
Birmingham, where she is assistant
director of the United Way Community
Food Bank and he is an analyst with
BBVA Compass Bank. They have a son,
Thomas Henry, born in October.
Kathryn Leigh Dorough Vinke is a
program financial analyst with Harris
Corporation in Melbourne, Fla. She and
her husband, Glen, have a son, Isaac
Alan, born in November.
’00 Rebekah Ruth Johnson Constante and
her husband, Michael, are missionaries
in South America. They have a son,
Gabriel, 3.
Ellen Bell Hamrick earned a master’s in
nursing from Georgia State University in
December and will practice as a pediatric
nurse practitioner. She and her husband,
John Hamrick ’99, have three children,
Molly Frances, 6, Riley Elizabeth, 4, and
Benjamin Ellis, born in February. They
live in Norcross, Ga.
John Carroll Latimer is director of
camps and programs for Barton Center
for Diabetes Education, Inc., in Charlton,
Mass. He and his wife, Sarah, have two
children, Josiah and Susan.
Jerome William Russell is a combat
engineer with the U.S. Army in
Chattanooga, Tenn. He and his wife, Joi,
have two children, Emerson and Laura.
Allen Kincaid Walker is associate pastor
of the Harbour Church in Pompano
Beach, Fla. He and his wife, Eva, have a
daughter, Aaliyah Joy, 1.
’01 David Paul Blevins is owner/operator of
a Chick-fil-A in Clarksville, Tenn. He and
his wife, Kelly, have two children, Chloe
and Brody.
Jonathan Mark Elam is employed with
Campus Outreach. He and his wife,
Tathiana, live in Birmingham.
Bobbi Jo Barr married Robert Nicholas
Cooper in October. She is a medical
social worker at Norton Brownsboro
Hospital in Louisville, Ky. They live in
Prospect, Ky.
Laura Hitt O’Connor is lead scientist
with 21st Century Technologies in
Austin, Texas. She and her husband,
Thomas, have a daughter, Hannah Kelly,
born in February.
Sarah Virginia Davis Kruspe is a
registered nurse. She and her husband,
Michael, live in Chicago, Ill.
Irene Moody Rieger teaches English at
Concord University in Athens, W.Va.,
while completing a dissertation in
English literature at Case Western
Reserve University. She and her
husband, Gabriel, have a daughter,
Margaret Irene, 1.
Joni Kesterson Wiltshire of Deatsville,
Ala., is a registered nurse. She and her
husband, Kyle, have a son, Noah
Wallace, 1.
’02 Lindsay Schoenfeld Wells and her
husband, Sutton, live in Chelsea, Ala.
They have two children, Sutton, 3, and
Colt, 1.
’03 Cheryl Janes married James Patten in
April. They live in Cooleemee, N.C. She
is a licensed retail personal banker at
Fifth Third Bank in Mooresville, N.C.
’04 Andy Ballard received a full-tuition
scholarship and living stipend for five
years to pursue a Ph.D. in biblical
studies at Fordham University in New
York City. He will study Apostle Paul’s
understandings of union with the Spirit
of God.
Chris Brooks, M.Div., is college
minister at Calvary Baptist Church in
Tuscaloosa, Ala. He and his wife,
Audrey Hester Brooks ’00, have three
children, Simon, Addie Gail and
Maggie.
Elizabeth Ingram Campbell is an
account executive with Many Hats
Advertising. She and her husband,
James, live in Tucson, Ariz.
Kathleen M. Allen Wiederman, J.D., is
strategic operations manager at Front
Rowe, Inc., a professional services
corporation in the Washington, D.C.,
metro area. She and her husband, Adam,
live in Falls Church, Va., with their
daughter, Katharine Grace.
’05 Micah S. Adkins, J.D., is an associate
with the Birmingham law firm of Kirby
Johnson, P.C., specializing in personal
injury, products liability and consumer
protection matters.
Lee Gutschenritter is a defense attorney
with the Atlanta, Ga., law firm of
Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP.
Rachelle
Richardson, a
student at
Mississippi
College
School of Law
in Jackson,
Miss., received
the school’s
Frisby
Griffing
Marble
Scholarship as
a student in
Rachelle Richardson
the top
one-third of the class who shows
potential for outstanding service to the
legal profession.
Andrew Rutledge Roberts is an agent
with Black Bear Insurance Agency, Inc.,
in Longwood, Fla. He and his wife, Shay
Catherine Roberts, live in Orlando, Fla.
’06 Cheryl Smith Hinnen works with youth
at East Lake United Methodist Church in
Birmingham. She is also involved with
East Lake Farmers Market and P.E.E.R.,
Inc.’s Step Up After School Program.
Maree Atchison Jones is an advertising
sales executive with Birmingham Parent
magazine. She and her husband, Russell,
have one son, Dalton, 2.
Katherine Hill Fields was named
Teacher of the Year at her school in
Concord, N.C., where she teaches third
grade.
Jaclyn Nicole McCabe Mahoney is a
registered nurse with Case Western
Reserve University Hospitals in
Cleveland, Ohio. She and her husband,
Tom, live in Westlake, Ohio.
Chester H. McDonough of Canton, Ga.,
earned a master’s in port management
logistics at Maine Maritime Academy in
Castine, Maine.
Erin Hall Merifield is a special education
teacher in Louisville, Ky. She and her
husband, Steve, have a daughter, Taylor,
born in July 2009.
Belinda Henderson Walker is human
resources manager at Aletheia House,
Inc., in Birmingham. She and her
husband, Quinntel, have two children,
Benjamin and Madison.
ALUMNI
Don Everett Garrett is working with
author Kathryn Tucker Windham to
adapt her book, 13 Alabama Ghosts and
Jeffrey, into a stage musical that will be
performed by Birmingham’s Red
Mountain Theatre Company in
October. He is supervisor of theatre,
dance and debate for the Jefferson
County school system.
Dana Springall and Robert Webster
married in April 2009. They live in
Birmingham.
Elizabeth Wimer of Falls Church, Va., is
an interior designer with Davis Carter
Scott.
’07 Sarah Carter married Matthew Cruze in
January. They live in Huntsville, Ala.,
where she is owner, designer and
photographer with Sarah Cruze Designs.
Benjamin James Weber is campus
outreach director at the University of
West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga.
’08 Daniel Bowles, M.Acc. ’09, is a staff
accountant with Capin Crouse, LLP. He
lives in Wheaton, Ill.
Christopher Hayslip, M.S.N., is a nurse
anesthetist at Piedmont Noonan
Hospital in Noonan, Ga.
Jane Deeter and Jonathan Loudermilk
married in June 2009. They live in
Birmingham, where both teach at Shades
Mountain Christian School.
Michael Tyler Hardin is a project
manager with DMCA, Inc. He lives in
Carrollton, Texas.
’09 Stephanie Elliott is pursuing a master’s
in physical therapy at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham.
Donna J. Williams, D.N.P., will present
her doctoral research at the Sigma Theta
Tau nursing honor society’s international
congress in Orlando, Fla., in July. She
recently received a National Institute for
Staff and Organizational Development
Award for Excellence in recognition of
serving, engaging and inspiring higher
education faculty, staff and administration. She is on the nursing faculty at
Itawamba Community College in Fulton,
Miss. ■
Help us keep up with your activities. Send
information to [email protected].
Ann Shivers McNair is completing a
master’s in creative writing at the
University of Southern Mississippi in
Hattiesburg, Miss., where she teaches
freshman composition.
35
ALUMNI
Graphic Design Alumna Transforms
Senior Project
into Business
by Sean Flynt
M
any people wait for years or
decades to pursue a passion.
Some wait forever. Jessika
Mejia ’09 didn’t wait. She earned a
bachelor of science degree in graphic
design and quickly turned her undergraduate passion into a growing
business.
For her senior project in Samford’s
visual arts department, Mejia conceived
a fictional company called Craftlab as a
way to demonstrate the creative side of
recycling. It wasn’t an easy choice.
Rejecting an earlier idea, Mejia took a
semester off “to think about what I
wanted to do, what I liked and what
wouldn’t drive me insane once the
semester was over.”
Already involved with handcraft on
a daily basis, Mejia decided to make the
most of that work. “It was what I did in
my spare time outside of class and work,
so it was easy to fuse crafts and graphic
design together,” she said. Back on track,
she said, “I found everything about my
project appealing.”
Professor Richard Dendy, one of
Mejia’s advisers on the project, said he is
wary of seniors who love a project so
deeply. Passion for a project can work
against objectivity, he said, and Mejia
“clearly loved it.” But, he added, “she
pulled it out and made the highest grade
possible. Everything she did was
beautiful.”
Dendy also praised Mejia for
excelling in a famously challenging
program—one of the toughest in the
region, by his reckoning—while also
shining in the rest of her busy Samford
career, which included four years on the
university’s soccer team, multiple
part-time jobs and an internship that
became a full-time job after graduation.
Now working as a graphic designer,
Mejia has brought the Craftlab idea to
36
Jessika Mejia
life as a web-based venture that provides
creative resources, information about
environmental issues, DIY starter kits
and complete projects, including richly
colored scarves made from recycled
T-shirts, and jewelry made from spare
buttons and newspaper. “It is perfect for
the tree hugger and the penny pincher as
well as the fashionista,” she said.
Mejia runs Craftlab by herself,
though she has help from writer Kevin
Wilder and photographer Mary Britton
as needed. She said Samford’s graphic
design program cultivated the craftsmanship and attention to detail the
work demands.
“Samford’s visual arts faculty and
staff were key players in my success as a
graphic designer and the startup of
Craftlab,” she said. “It is such a close-knit
family that will do anything to help in
their students’ success, and they have.”
Mejia’s dream is to eventually make
Craftlab her full-time job, take a more
active role in environmental causes and
teach young people how to develop their
own creative recycling projects.
“I love that my products have
become a success and have made a
profit,” she said, “but at the end of the
day, I want people to think green and
feel inspired to create something new
from something old.” ■
To learn more about Mejia’s project,
search for “craftlab” on Facebook.
’76 Bobbie and Segundo J. Fernandez, J.D.,
of Tallahassee, Fla., a son, Peter Michael,
born June 23, 2009.
’92 Danny and Amy Bowers Creel of
Wetumpka, Ala., a son, Wesley Melton,
born March 23, 2009.
’00 Audrey Hester Brooks and Chris
Brooks, M.Div. ’04, of Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
a daughter, Margaret Crew, born Oct.
22, 2009.
Jason and Ashley Cantrell Goetz of
Birmingham, a daughter, Addison
Shaffer, born Dec. 29, 2009.
Chris and Amber Nelson Holland of
Smyrna, Ga., a son, Andrew Russell,
born Sept. 1, 2009.
J. Todd, J.D., and Stacy Waldrep Miner,
M.B.A., of Birmingham, a son, Britton
Waldrep, born Jan. 21, 2010.
Michael Casey and Kelli Renae Parrish
Muncher of Jasper, Ala., a daughter,
Abigail Makenzi, born Feb. 16, 2010.
Alex and Ashley Stidham Seligson of
Birmingham, a son, Braxton James,
born Jan. 14, 2010.
’04 John and Tracy Glover DeBord,
Pharm.D., of Port Orange, Fla., twins,
Emma Leigh and Samuel Martin, born
Oct. 6, 2009.
’93 Angela Schooley Washington and
Steven Washington ’94 of Sumiton,
Ala., a son, Matthew Lee, born June 4,
2009.
Aron and Aimee Hutchinson Smith of
Pelham, Ala., a son, Caleb Tyler, born
Nov. 13, 2009.
Ryan Neal and Amber Rose Zuercher
Myers of Moscow, Idaho, a son, Gilead
Honor, born Feb. 16, 2010.
’94 Eric and Tiffany Townsend Fessler of
Decatur, Ga., a son, Marshall Townsend,
born March 29, 2010.
Shane and Christina Norris Williams
of Marietta, Ga., a son, Duncan
Amsden, born Oct. 24, 2009.
’05 Jonathan and Sarah McCreary Cooley
’06 of Birmingham, a daughter, Emma
Claire, born March 4, 2010.
’95 Janet
Thomason
Goodwin and
David Bryan
Goodwin ’03 of
Pelham, Ala., a
daughter,
Katherine Laurel,
born April 7, 2010.
Mary Burrett Wyatt and John G. Wyatt
’01 of Birmingham, a daughter, Mary
Evelyn, born Feb. 17, 2010.
’01 John and
Paige W. Frame of
Corinth, Miss., a
daughter, Kate
Stewart, born Jan.
26, 2010.
Katherine Laurel Goodwin
’96 Paige and K. Michael Kopecky of
Hampton Cove, Ala., a son, Ryan, born
April 2, 2010.
’97 Chuck and Julie H. Paulson of
Woodstock, Ga., a son, Jake Charles,
born Dec. 21, 2009.
’98 Carla and Adam W. Greenway of
Taylorsville, Ky., a son, Adam Wade II,
born Jan. 12, 2010.
’99 Rick and Carrie Johnson Baguley of
Hoover, Ala., a son, Benjamin Neal,
born Jan. 12, 2010.
Hein and Rachel Carson de Beer of
Lecanto, Fla., a daughter, Mariella
Jolien, born Nov. 11, 2009.
John and Ellen Bell Hamrick ’00 of
Norcross, Ga., a son, Benjamin Ellis,
born Feb. 8, 2010.
Jeff and Rebecca Dawn Elmore
Kwitowski of Burke, Va., a daughter,
Alaina Hope, born Nov. 26, 2009.
Eric and Katie Charton Manning of
Columbia, S.C., a son, William Stewart,
born Dec. 17, 2009.
Andy, J.D., and Shelley Howton Milam,
J.D. ’00, of Fairhope, Ala., a son, John
Henry Howton Milam, born Sept. 2, 2009.
ALUMNI
Glen and Kathryn Leigh Dorough
Vinke of Melbourne, Fla., a son, Isaac
Alan, born Nov. 29, 2009.
Jeremy and Emily Ols Long of
Huntsville, Ala, a son, Elijah Mark, born
March 10, 2010.
’06 Steve and Erin Hall Merifield of
Brandenburg, Ky., a daughter, Taylor,
born July 23, 2009.
Cheryl O’Brien, M.M.E., and Michael
O’Brien, M.B.A. ’08, of Alabaster, Ala. a
son, Anthony Michael, born June 15,
2009. ■
Kate Stewart Frame
Herbert M. IV and Ashley
MacCaughelty Newell ’02 of
Birmingham, a daughter, Emily Naomi,
born Jan. 12, 2010.
Thomas and Laura Hitt O’Connor of
Austin, Texas, a daughter, Hannah Kelly,
born Feb. 28, 2010.
Stephen and Candace Bolton Piepgrass
of Richmond, Va., a son, Jackson
Charles, born Dec. 27, 2009.
’02 John Wayne and Jennifer Killeffer
Anderson ’03 of Columbus, Ga., a son,
William Samuel, born March 28, 2010.
William Buffkin and Lorah Leigh Bond
Chalk of Holly Springs, N.C., a son,
William Buffkin IV, born Nov. 1, 2009.
Zack and Mandy Hammond Layman
of Orlando, Fla., a daughter, Myra
Laine, born Nov. 23, 2009.
’03 Brad and Julie Benedict Lewallen of
Nashville, Tenn., a daughter, Katherine
Grace, born Nov. 16, 2009.
37
ALUMNI
inmemoriam
’37 Martha Jordan Gilliland Stewart, age
92, of Rocky Mount, N.C., died Dec. 27,
2009. She was a medical missionary in
Nigeria from 1946 to 1981. Prior to that,
she taught chemistry at Judson College
and was the school’s physician. She was
a Samford Alumna of the Year in 1976.
’40 Jeanne Martin Cox, age 91, of Boaz,
Ala., and later Birmingham, died April
4, 2010. She taught high school senior
English at Boaz High School for many
years.
’41 Wiley Elmo Johnson, age 93, of
Hanceville, Ala., died March 5, 2010. A
charter member of Spastic Aid of
Birmingham, he was long active in the
Cerebral Palsy Telethon.
Tommie Lou Robinson, age 89, of
Haleyville, Ala., died March 10, 2010.
She worked in various positions in
Haleyville businesses and was city clerk.
Charles A. Speir, age 84, of Vestavia
Hills, Ala., died Feb. 28, 2010. He
attended Howard while in the Navy
preflight program and played service
football. An attorney who specialized in
real estate and related activities, he was
a health-care business executive and
founder of Speir Investments, Inc.
’49 Harry C. Evans, age 90, of Homewood
died Feb. 12, 2010, of lung cancer. He
retired from the Internal Revenue
Service. A World War II veteran with
two Distinguished Flying Cross medals,
he flew 51 missions.
Buford Lawrence Phillips, age 88, of
Rainbow City, Ala., died April 12, 2010.
A minister and mission worker who
established new churches in the South
and on the west coast, he served
Gadsden Regional Medical Center
Hospice as chaplain for 20 years. He
served in India during World War II.
’50 John William Eddins, Jr., age 84, of Kill
Devil Hills, N.C., died Feb. 6, 2010. He
taught theology at Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Wake Forest,
N.C., for 36 years. He served in the U.S.
Naval Air Corps and the U.S. Army
Reserve.
Thomas Marvin Young, age 83, of
Murfreesboro, Tenn., died April 9, 2010.
He was a pharmacist and salesman. He
served in the U.S. Coast Guard during
World War II.
38
’51 Joseph Pascal Stone, Jr., age 78, of
Tuscaloosa, Ala., died Dec. 31, 2010. He
was a psychiatric social worker at
Veterans Administration Hospital for 27
years.
Robert H. Strother, age 84, of
Spartanburg, S.C., died April 12, 2010.
He taught high school English in
LaGrange and West Point, Ga., schools.
He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World
War II.
’52 Thomas Jefferson Kelley, age 88, of St.
Simons Island, Ga., died Feb. 16, 2010.
He was a district manger with an
educational company. He was a U.S.
Navy veteran of World War II.
’53 Thompson Clay “Mutt” Reynolds, age
89, of Birmingham died March 28,
2010. He was football coach at Ramsey
High School, and athletics director and
football coach at Vestavia Hills High
School, which named its stadium for
him. He is a member of the Alabama
High School Sports Hall of Fame. A
member of the U.S. Army, he participated in the Battle of the Bulge during
World War II. Memorials may be made
to the Thompson C. Reynolds
Scholarship Fund, Office of University
Advancement, Samford University, 800
Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL
35229.
’54 William A. Boyd, age 76, of
Birmingham died Feb. 27, 2010. He
retired from BellSouth after 35 years,
during which he helped oversee the
divestiture of AT&T. He served in the
21st airborne infantry in Germany
during the Korean War.
William Milton Weed, age 83, of Center
Point, Ala., died Feb. 19, 2010. He was a
community pharmacist. He served
aboard the USS LaGrange and USS
Atlanta during World War II. In July
2009, he participated in an Honor
Flight to visit the World War II
Memorial in Washington D.C.
’55 Wilma Dewese Kaley, age 75, of
Birmingham died March 18, 2010. She
retired from Baptist Health System after
working in nursing administration.
Sylvia Lea Howell Russo of
Birmingham died March 7, 2010. She
taught elementary school for 26 years,
and was a champion team bowler with
American Association of Retired
Persons.
Dorothy S. Willingham, age 80, of
Birmingham died March 3, 2010. She
retired as executive director of the
Jefferson County Child Development
Council, where she was an employee
and volunteer for 36 years.
’57 John Paul Jones, age 85, of Cullman,
Ala., died Jan. 25, 2010. He was a Baptist
pastor, teacher and principal for 30
years. As a member of the Silver-Haired
Legislature, he worked for laws to help
senior citizens. He attended Samford
after service in the U.S. Navy during
World War II.
’58 William Earl Chumley, age 73, of Boaz,
Ala., died March 12, 2010. Longtime
pastor of First Baptist Church, Boaz, he
served on the Alabama Baptist State
Executive Board and was active in other
local and state ministries.
Bobbie Jean Justice Dean, age 74, of
Locust Grove, Ga., died Feb. 28, 2010.
She was a nurse for 30 years.
’60 Homer Donald Garmon, age 81, of
Gadsden, Ala., died April 6, 2010. He
retired from Chevron Corporation USA
as aviation division manager in Atlanta,
Ga. He served in the U.S. Army during
the Korean War.
Joan Patrick Glenn, age 70, of Pinson,
Ala., died Jan. 31, 2010. She was a
retired teacher.
’61 Richard Dewitt Hambrice, age 72, of
Columbus, Ga., died March 4, 2010. He
retired after a career in medical sales. He
served in the Alabama Air National
Guard.
’62 James Walter Barton, age 78, of Jasper,
Ala., died April 5, 2010. A pharmacist,
he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi
fraternity and Phi Delta Chi professional pharmacy fraternity.
’64 Doyle Wayne Aaron, age 67, of Grant,
Ala., died Jan. 25, 2010, after an accident
while clearing trees on his property. A
pharmacist for 46 years, he enjoyed
restoring antique cars.
’66 J. Tyre Denney, age 79, of
Lawrenceburg, Ky., died Feb. 14, 2010.
He was senior pastor at Lighthouse
Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Ky., and
had been pastor at churches in Alabama
and Kentucky. He held offices in the
Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Harold Morgan Weeks, J.D., age 72, of
Scottsboro, Ala., died March 3, 2010. A
retired attorney, he served many years as
municipal court judge and was
president of Farmer’s Cellular
Company.
Robert G. “Bobby” Stallings, J.D., age
67, of Louisville, Ky., died March 15,
2010. He was general counsel for the
Kentucky Real Estate Commission and a
member of the Kentucky Racing
Commission. He served on the
Cumberland School of Law advisory
board.
’70 Donald Wayne Helms, Sr., age 71, of
Pelham, Ala. died Jan. 25, 2010. He
retired from Nelson Brothers, Inc. He
served in the U.S. Navy.
’71 Carrie Mae Stump Gillespie, M.S.E.,
age 88, of Harrisonburg, Va., died
March 4, 2010. She had a career in
school counseling, special education
and social work. She was a church
organist for 40 years.
Jo Hightower Lowe, age 60, of Lafayette,
Ala., died Feb. 10, 2010, of cancer. She
taught at elementary schools in
Sylacauga and Lafayette, and worked in
the family pharmacy as wedding and
gift coordinator.
Herbert Evan Zeiger, Jr., age 60, of
Birmingham, died March 6, 2010, with
his wife, Margaret Shook Zeiger, in an
airplane accident. Former chief of
neurosurgery and chairman of the
surgery department at Carraway
Methodist Medical Center while
maintaining a private practice, he most
recently practiced at Brookwood
Medical Center. He was president and
director of the H. Evan Zeiger, Jr., and
Margaret Shook Zeiger Charitable
Foundation. He held a commercial
pilot’s license with multiple ratings, and
was a trained formation flyer and
aerobatics pilot.
’75 Joseph Dean Green, of Atlanta, Ga.,
died Feb. 5, 2010. He was a pharmacy
manager, real estate investor and
residential builder. At Samford, he was a
member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and
president of the Interfraternity Council.
’78 Mary Clark Brown, age 63, of
Stockbridge, Ga., died March 26, 2010.
She taught students with special needs
in DeKalb County, Ga., schools for 29
years.
’79 B. Jean Hunt, M.B.A., of Birmingham
died Feb. 12, 2010. A certified public
accountant since 1960, she was national
president of the American Society of
Women Accountants in 1975–76. She
was a partner and stockholder with
Jamison, Money, Farmer and Company,
P.C., accounting firm in Tuscaloosa.
’82 Shirley Smith Rogers, age 73, of
Birmingham died March 29, 2010. She
was a certified registered nurse
anesthetist for 30 years.
Charles Kenneth Slade, Jr., J.D., age 70,
of Fairhope, Ala., died March 23, 2010.
He received his law degree after serving
22 years in the U.S. Army. He was
assistant district attorney and head of
the Drug Task Force in Baldwin County,
Ala., contract attorney for Indigent
Defense, and Fairhope municipal court
judge.
2008. He practiced law in Birmingham
and Dallas, Texas, before moving to
Washington in 1988.
’84 Jimmie Lee Smith, M.B.A., age 78, of
Birmingham died March 14, 2010. He
earned his M.B.A. while working at
BellSouth, which he served for 37 years.
He served in the U.S. Army during the
Korean War.
ALUMNI
’68 Paul J. L. Schatz, Jr., M.B.A. ’72, age 67,
of Pelham, Ala. died April 14, 2010. He
was founder and president of Schatz &
Associates, Inc. He earned his Samford
degrees after serving with the U.S. Air
Force’s Mobile Communications Group
in 57 countries.
’86 Cheri Lynne McCollum, M.S.E.M. ’00,
of Leeds, Ala., died March 6, 2010, of
brain cancer. She was a partner with
American Environmental Engineering.
’94 Virginia Leigh Mattox, J.D., age 47, of
Birmingham, died April 27, 2010. She
was a senior attorney with Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Alabama. ■
Retired Faculty Death
Gordon Allan Yeomans, age 88, of Knoxville,
Tenn., died April 15, 2010. Dr. Yeomans
taught at Samford from 1954 to 1968 in the
Department of Speech and Dramatic Arts
(now the Department of Communication
Studies), and was Samford’s first debate
coach. He retired as professor emeritus at the
University of Tennessee in 1987. He was
president of Alabama and Tennessee speech
communication associations, and was a
communications consultant to businesses.
He wrote a handbook for speakers and many
articles in speech communication journals.
Memorials may be made to the Yeomans
Scholarship Fund, Office of University
Advancement, Samford University, 800
Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229. ■
’83 Scott A. Spear, J.D., age 51, of
Washington, D.C., died March 1, 2010.
A former legislative aide and lobbyist,
he had been in private law practice since
39
HOMECOMING
Join us for
Homecoming
Nov. 5–7, 2010
Homecoming gala for all alumni
honoring 2010 Alumni of the Year
Ann Thornton Field ’77 and William J. Stevens ’70
football vs. Southern Conference opponent Wofford
tailgates, reunions and other gatherings
special reunions for Golden Bulldogs, the Class of 1960
Samford Ambassadors, Phi Mu Alpha, Sinfonia and many others
worship led by Samford alumni Brian Pitts and Renee Lankford Pitts
and the BSU/Student Ministries Reunion Choir
concerts, parades, bonfire and other activities for Bulldogs of all ages
You’ll find it all—and more—at Samford Homecoming!
For complete homecoming details and to register, go to
www.samford.edu/alumni
40
9/4
9/11
9/16
9/25
10/2
10/9
10/16
10/30
11/6
11/13
11/20
SPORTS
2010 SCHEDULE
at Florida State
at Northwestern (La.) State
NEWBERRY
APPALACHIAN STATE*
(Family Weekend)
at Elon*
at Western Carolina*
FURMAN*
at Georgia Southern*
WOFFORD* (Homecoming)
at Chattanooga*
THE CITADEL*
*Southern Conference game
Home games are in CAPS.
Sullivan To Field Most
Experienced Team
F
ootball Coach Pat Sullivan this fall will field his most experienced team since arriving at Samford in late 2006.
“We have a lot of seniors, and those guys have played a lot of football for us,” Sullivan said in May. “We have some
experience this year, and if we can stay healthy, I think we can have a good football team.”
The Bulldogs will face a big challenge in their first game when they visit powerful Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla.
It will be Samford alumnus Jimbo Fisher’s first game as FSU head coach after succeeding coaching legend Bobby
Bowden ’53 during the off-season.
“I think they’ll be the most talented and athletic team we’ve played since I’ve been here, including Georgia Tech
and Ole Miss,” said Sullivan. “They’re very, very athletic and talented. With it being Jimbo’s first game, I’m sure there’ll
be a lot of excitement.
“It won’t be a game where they’ll be overlooking us,” he added. “We need to be ready to play.”
Sullivan returns 69 lettermen from last year’s team, 32 on offense, 33 on defense and four kicking team specialists.
Eight starters return on offense and seven on defense. The Bulldogs were 5-6 in 2009 and were only a handful of plays
away from a winning season.
Senior running back Chris Evans and senior linebacker Bryce Smith were named to the Sports Network’s Preseason
Top 10 for their respective positions in May. Both were first-team All-Southern Conference players last fall.
Evans has led Samford in rushing for three consecutive years, and has led the Southern Conference in Samford’s
only two years of membership. He already holds the Bulldog career rushing record with 3,469 yards. He gained 1,152
yards last year after running for a season-record 1,284 two years ago.
Smith led Samford in tackles (102) and interceptions (four) last year despite missing one game with an injury. He
led the Football Championship Subdivision in individual tackles last year with 7.2 a game.
Samford also returns quarterback Dustin Taliaferro, a two-year starter who passed for 1,692 yards last fall, and
receiver Riley Hawkins, who caught 34 passes for 638 yards, an 18.8 average.
Other offensive starters back are tackles George Allers and Thomas Gray, guards Jacquez Gray and Charlie Sanford,
tight end Kanon Burt, and wide receiver DeMarcus Covington. Other returning defensive starters are nose guard
Patrick Hatcher, lineman John Michael Clay, tackle Jason Gaines, cornerback Jamael Lett, and safeties Thomas
Broussard and Andy Davis.
Punter Bob Hooper (41.5 average) and placekicker Cameron Yaw (59 points) also return. ■
41
SPORTS
Spring Sports Roundup
Golf —Sophomore Sarah Butts fired a par 72 in the final
round to lead Samford to fourth place in the Southern
Conference Women’s Championship at Hilton Head Island,
S.C. She finished sixth overall with a three-round 227. Allconference senior Kelly Stanier shot a 73 and senior Sara Hunt
75 in the final. The Bulldogs improved four places after
finishing eighth in 2009. Bill Nabors, one of four freshmen on
the men’s team, led Samford with a 6-over-par 222 in the men’s
championship at Florence, S.C. Junior Martin Bunt shot 230,
but the team finished 11th.
Softball—Shortstop Amanda Jordan hit a three-run homer
with two out in the final inning to give Samford a 5-4 win over
UNC–Greensboro in the season finale. The Bulldogs won five
of their last six games to finish 19-31 overall and 10-14 in
Southern Conference play. The dramatic win was a memorable
finish for four seniors—infielders Amanda Barrs and Katie
England, pitcher Stephanie Royall and outfielder Rachael
Reeves—and Coach Beanie Ketcham, who resigned in April.
Ketcham finished with 198 wins in nine seasons.
the year. Rebecca Kirven (17-5) posted Samford’s best individual record in No. 5 singles, and she and Andrie Meiring led
the way in doubles with an 18-3 mark at No. 2. The men’s team
finished 11-12, dropping four matches by a 4-3 score. Oliver
Reynolds posted a 12-7 record and Zac Dunkle a 13-8 mark.
Track and Field—Chas Keithan and Bo Ackerson-Gilroy
both set decathlon records in the Southern Conference
Championships in Boone, N.C. Keithan won the event with
6,355 points, both a Samford and SoCon record, and AckersonGilroy totaled 6,314 points, the highest second-place finish
ever. Freshman Laura Bedsole won the women’s pole vault,
clearing 11'05.75" to earn All-Freshman honors. Chinedu
Amah set a school record in the triple jump (46-10.25) for
third place in the meet. The Samford men finished third and
the women fourth. Later, in the NCAA East First Round, pole
vaulter Michael Seaman qualified for the NCAA Championship
in Eugene, Ore., with a Samford-record vault of 17'02.75." ■
Tennis—The women’s team posted a 17-6 record and went
9-1 in Southern Conference play, losing to Furman, 4-3, in the
semifinals of the SoCon Tournament. The women snapped
Furman’s 100-match regular-season winning streak earlier in
Rebecca Kirven posted a 17-5 singles record.
42
Chas Keithan set a Southern Conference and Samford record
for the decathlon in this year’s conference meet.
SPORTS
Baseball Turns It Around
in the SoCon
S
amford’s baseball team combined a potent offense with
solid pitching to turn things around in their second
Southern Conference season. After struggling through
their SoCon inaugural in 2009, Coach Casey Dunn’s team
went 31-25 overall and 17-12 in league play this year.
Samford was 17-35 overall and 9-21 in the SoCon during
2009, but Dunn got an early indication that this year would
be different.
“Going to College of Charleston and winning two out of
three opening weekend showed this group that they were
capable of competing with the top of the league,” said Dunn.
Charleston went on to post records of 42-17 and 22-8.
Samford hit .311 as a team this year and set school
records in five categories, including runs scored (414) and
home runs (70).
Outfielder David Schulze led the way, hitting .377 with
12 home runs and 56 runs batted in. He put together a
25-game hitting streak. Five other regulars hit .330 or
better—third baseman Mason Meredeth (.365), outfielder
Trey Hayes (.358), outfielder Wayne Miller (.344), and
shortstop Michael Johnson and designated hitter Gary
Cramer (.330 each).
Dunn attributed this year’s improvement to experience.
“Our lineup was the same as it was most days last year,
just a year older,” he said. “Having a year’s experience in the
SoCon allowed these kids to handle it much better the
second time around. Guys learned last season what they
needed to do to improve and made great adjustments this
season to become one of the top offensive clubs in the
SoCon.”
Dunn added that having starting pitcher Jonathan
Stephens back from injury and the addition of freshman
closer Lex Rutledge solidified the pitching staff. Stephens,
who missed all of 2009, posted a 7-2 record (he was 7-0 two
years ago). Rutledge was 5-1 with 11 saves and a 1.71 earned
run average.
The coach said he was pleased with his team’s progress
in adjusting to a top-10 conference. “We still have a long way
to go to compete week to week, but we are making strides.” ■
For more information, go to www.samfordsports.com.
Four-year Bulldog Wayne Miller
hits against Auburn.
43
CAMPUS
Deans Reflect on Business
at Portrait Unveiling
by Kara Kennedy
Retired business dean Carl Bellas speaks, former deans Carl Gooding, left, Bob David
and Beck Taylor, right, listen.
T
hree former deans of Brock
School of Business returned April
13 to reflect on the evolution of
business education at Samford. Joining
them were the current dean and the
daughter of the first business dean.
Former deans Robert David, Carl
Bellas and Carl Gooding gathered with
Dean Beck Taylor and Margaret Geer
Roland for a panel discussion. Roland
represented her late father, William Geer.
Following the program, portraits of
the four previous deans were unveiled in
the foyer of Dwight Beeson Hall.
Dean Geer was remembered for his
part in getting Dwight Beeson Hall built
and in hiring a diverse business faculty.
Dean David stressed the importance
of staying current with ever-changing
technology in a university setting, and
keeping up with what is cutting edge.
Dean Bellas discussed the value of
private education and how the business
school’s high standards reflect that value.
“Samford and Brock School of Business
are known as quality institutions in
Alabama,” said Bellas.
Dean Gooding talked about the
importance of accreditation by the
Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business [AACSB]. This
spring, Brock School of Business earned
its 10-year reaccreditation from AACSB
International. It was initially accredited
in 1999.
Dean Taylor talked about the vision
and future of Brock School of Business,
and said he was standing on the
shoulders of giants. (Taylor, dean since
2005, was elected later in April to
become president of Whitworth
University in Spokane, Wash.)
“Dean Geer was dean of a brandnew school. Bob David engaged and was
practical. Carl Bellas helped with
accreditation, the gold standard of
business schools. Carl Gooding helped
connect the school with the community,” said Taylor. “The faculty and staff
today are working from the vision set
forth by the previous deans, and I
happened to be sitting in the chair.” ■
Baptist Scholars Dedicate Book To Philip Wise
by Jack Brymer
A
new book entitled For Faith and
Friendship has been dedicated to
the late Philip Wise, a 1970
Samford University graduate who served
as a trustee of the school from 1997 to
2002. Wise and a group of his peers
worked to put the book together, and the
other members decided to dedicate it to
Wise after he died of cancer at age 60 in
March 2009.
The Trinity Group, as the
44
organization is known, was started in
1990 by Wise and two other Alabama
scholars to reflect on faith and friendship.
The others were Fisher Humphreys, who
retired in 2008 after teaching Christian
theology for a combined 38 years at New
Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
and Samford, and T. J. Mashburn, a
professor at the University of Mobile for
more than 25 years. Wise was pastor of
First Baptist Church in Dothan when the
Trinity Group organized. He later moved
to the pastorate of Second Baptist
Church, Lubbock, Texas.
Over time, the Trinity Group grew to
12 members, and meetings became less
frequent and took the form of weekend
retreats. As friendships deepened,
conversations moved beyond purely
academic interests to personal matters
including families, churches and the
places where members worked. The book
chapters have Samford connections:
alumnus LaMon Brown ’70, pastor of
First Baptist Church, Bunkie, La.; Brad
Creed, Samford provost and executive
vice president; Gary Furr, former adjunct
religion professor and pastor of Vestavia
Hills Baptist Church; Paul Basden, former
campus minister and founding copastor
of Preston Trail Community Church in
Frisco, Texas; and Ralph Wood, former
religion professor now at Baylor
University in Waco, Texas.
Royalties from the book, which sells
for $20 plus shipping, will be donated to
the Philip and Cynthia Wise Scholarship
Fund
The book is available from Insight
Press at www.insightpress.net or by
calling toll-free 1-877-214-7927. ■
CAMPUSNEWS
grew out of those conversations.
When the group began to discuss a
theme for their book, Wise suggested that
members write about how their minds
have changed over the years. Wise
finished his chapter, entitled “How My
Mind Has Changed about the Pastorate,”
about a year before he died.
In addition to Wise and Humphreys,
several other members who contributed
Spirit of Young George, Smith Edit New Book
Pianist Lives On Honoring Preaching Great Taylor
Glaub Scholarship recipient Jonathan
Kelleher, foreground, with professor
Melodie King, left, and Chris and Nancy
Glaub.
T
he All Aboard for Music Preschool
Camp that begins each June was
Geoffrey Glaub’s introduction to
Samford’s Preparatory Music
Department. He attended camps and
piano lessons at Samford for the rest of
his nine years. He enjoyed the camps—
especially the team competition and daily
guest performances—but died Aug. 16,
2008, after one last camp and a shockingly brief battle with cancer.
Geoffrey’s parents, Nancy and Chris,
sought a way to memorialize their son
and share his love of music. They found
it in Geoffrey’s Special Gift Scholarship
Fund at Samford, “a memorial that time
and the elements can’t wear out or wear
down,” as Nancy Glaub said.
The scholarship pays one child’s
full-year of tuition for piano lessons and
helps another attend Samford’s music
camps in Geoffrey’s place, and with his
vibrant spirit in tow. “We hope their lives
will go on to touch other lives,” Nancy
Glaub said as the first full-year scholarship was awarded in 2009. ■
Visit Samford’s Preparatory Music
Department online at www.samford.edu/
arts/music/preparatory or call 205-7262810 to learn more about Geoffrey’s
Special Gift Scholarship.
N
ationally known preacher Gardner
C. Taylor, who served as pastor of
Concord Baptist Church of Christ
in Brooklyn, N.Y., for 42 years, is the
subject of and inspiration for a new book
on preaching from Mercer University Press.
Our Sufficiency Is of God: Essays on
Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor
offers resource material for preachers
from 20 experienced practitionerscholars in the field of preaching. The
342-page volume was edited by Timothy
George, dean of Samford’s Beeson
Divinity School and senior editor for
Christianity Today; James Earl Massey,
dean emeritus and distinguished
professor-at-large of Anderson University
School of Theology; and Robert Smith,
Jr., professor of preaching at Beeson
Divinity School. George and Smith also
contributed chapters.
“Over the past century, Gardner
Calvin Taylor has cut a swath unmatched
by any other Protestant preacher across
the landscape of American ministry,” Dr.
George proclaims in the opening to his
introductory chapter.
Taylor “has been a pastor, a church
administrator, a ministry entrepreneur,
an educator, writer, lecturer, social critic,
Civil Rights activist, political leader,
denominational statesman and citizen of
the world,” said George. “But first and
foremost, he has been a preacher of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Taylor was born in Baton Rouge, La.,
in 1918, the son of a preacher. He was
educated at Leland College in Baker, La.,
and at Oberlin Graduate School of
Theology, Oberlin, Ohio. After serving as
pastor of three churches, he preached at
the Baptist World Alliance in
Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1947 at the
age of 29. The next year, he became
pastor at Concord Church in Brooklyn,
serving until 1990.
Taylor has held numerous positions
of national leadership and received
multiple honors, including being named
one of the nation’s seven greatest
Protestant preachers by Time magazine
in 1979 and “The Dean of the Nation’s
Black Preachers” by Time in 1980.
He inaugurated the William E.
Conger, Jr. Lectures on Biblical Preaching
at Beeson Divinity School in 1993 (a CD
of this accompanies the book), and
offered the benediction at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1997.
Taylor has often reminded other
preachers about the need for divine help
in fulfilling the gospel. “All in all, a
summons to the ministry is no light
calling,” he has said. “The work of
communicating the gospel requires us to
be more than we are—to exceed who we
are.” ■
Copies of Our Sufficiency Is of God:
Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner
C. Taylor may be ordered from Mercer
University Press at mupressorders@mercer.
edu or by calling toll-free 1-866-895-1472.
45
GIVING
withappreciation
Samford University expresses gratitude for these additional tribute gifts received Feb. 1–May 7, 2010. For further information, contact the
Samford University Gift Office at 205-726-2807.
HONORS
Alabama Governor’s School
in honor of Mrs. Catherine Cabaniss
Ms. Ellen Jackson Smith, Birmingham
Alumni Association Scholarship Fund
in honor of the 100th Birthday of Alpha Delta Pi
Mr. & Mrs. J. Michael Clay, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. James Hartline, Birmingham
Mrs. Carolyn B. Herndon, Greenville, Ala.
Mr. & Mrs. Zachary Layne, Nashville,
Tenn.
Mr. & Mrs. Donald A. Sullivan,
Birmingham
Auchmuty Congregational Leadership Fund
in honor of Dr. James A. Auchmuty, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Don U. York, Trussville, Ala.
Baseball/Softball Indoor Facility Fund
in honor of Dr. J. T. Haywood
Dr. & Mrs. Kevin S. Windsor, Birmingham
Brewer/Grooms Scholarship
in honor of First Baptist Church of Pelham, Ala.
Anonymous Donor
Bulldog Club Softball Fund
in honor of Michele Fisher
Mr. Mark Miller, Abilene, Texas
Children’s Learning Center
in honor of Amie Jean Hubbard
Mr. Robert C. Weaver, Talladega, Ala.
Journalism/Mass Communication
Department Fund
in honor of Mr. R. William & Mrs. Jane A.
Roland
Mr. & Mrs. Jason W. Roland,
Columbia, Mo.
McWhorter School of Pharmacy
in honor of Dr. Tea Sam Roe
Dr. Lyn M. Christian, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Pharmacy Student Activities
in honor of Dr. Ed Hall
Mr. Mark Ray, Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Rev. John T. Porter Minority Scholarship
in honor of Ms. Andrea “Rudy” Reliford
Mrs. Anethia A. Reliford, Birmingham
Claude H. Rhea Memorial Scholarship Fund
in honor of Bobby Horton
Hon. Robert Dawson, Washington, D.C.
Samford Fund
in honor of Dr. William T. Edwards
Rev. Barrie M. Kirby, Salisbury, N.C.
in honor of Dr. Paul A. Richardson
Ms. Sarah C. Simmons, Evanston, Ill.
Dean Beck A. Taylor Endowed Scholarship
in honor of Dr. Beck A. Taylor
Ms. Linda Allison, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Dixon, Jr., Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Randall J. Freeman,
Birmingham
Dr. & Mrs. Joseph H. Hopkins,
Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Rodney T. Hovater,
Roswell, Ga.
Mr. & Mrs. Eddie Miller, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. W. Randy Pittman,
Birmingham
Dr. James P. Reburn, Hoover, Ala.
Mr. & Mrs. Gregory J. Taylor, Marietta, Ga.
Drs. Andrew & Jeanna Westmoreland,
Birmingham
History Department Fund
in honor of Dr. David M. Vess
Mr. & Mrs. Timothy G. Shultz,
Birmingham
Wolf Mission Fund
in honor of Mrs. Katherine Arnold Wolf
Dr. Lauren Y. & Mr. Miguel Carcas,
Miami, Fla.
W. Mike Howell Undergraduate Research
Assistantship
in honor of Dr. Mike Howell
Mr. & Mrs. James Hartline, Birmingham
WVSU-91.1 FM
in honor of Mr. Andy Parrish
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Poole, Hoover, Ala.
Emory and Brennis Floyd Scholarship
in honor of Emory & Brennis Floyd
Mr. Bill Floyd, Cullman, Ala.
Friends of Music
in honor of Dr. Lawhon and her students
Mrs. Margaret C. Northrup, Birmingham
Friends of Samford Arts
in honor of Mr. Jim Hamil
Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Freeman, Vestavia
Hills, Ala.
46
Journalism/Mass Communication Alumni
Scholarship
in honor of Mr. Bill Nunnelley and Ms. Mary
L. Wimberley
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Poole, Hoover, Ala.
University Library
in honor of Mrs. Donna Fitch
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Poole, Hoover, Ala.
MEMORIALS
Auchmuty Congregational Leadership Fund
in memory of Polly Phillips
First Baptist Roebuck Plaza, Birmingham
Beeson Divinity School Discretionary Fund
in memory of Gloria Ann Wade
Mr. Albert M. Wade, Jr., Trussville, Ala.
Staci Elise Carnley Endowed Scholarship
in memory of Ms. Mary T. Carnley
Ms. Cherrie C. Clark, Nashville, Tenn.
Mr. & Mrs. Walter Cox, Elba, Ala.
Eastern Shore Presbyterian Church,
Fairhope, Ala.
Ms. Faye M. Johnson, Elba, Ala.
Poole Repair Service, Elba, Ala.
Mr. & Mrs. Scott Shurett, Hoover, Ala.
Robyn Bari Cohen Children’s Book Fund
in memory of Mrs. Mary Clark Brown
Mrs. Carolyn P. Cohen, Birmingham
in memory of beloved C’est Tout and Miss
Bailey
Mr. & Mrs. Richard F. Epstein,
Trussville, Ala.
in memory of Ms. Robyn Cohen
Mrs. Carolyn P. Cohen, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Goldstein,
Birmingham
Mike’s Fine Jewelry, Birmingham
Colonial Dames History Award
in memory of Mrs. Martin Mortimer Baldwin
and Mrs. Frances Baldwin Whitaker
Mr. & Mrs. Meade Whitaker, Jr.,
Birmingham
in memory of Mr. Monro B. Lanier II
Mrs. Monro B. Lanier II, Mountain
Brook, Ala.
in memory of Elizabeth Cade Palmer and
Natalie Palmer Reynolds
Mrs. Elizabeth P. Miller, Birmingham
in memory of Ms. Josephine H. Wasson
Mrs. Garland Cook Smith, Birmingham
Cox Scholarship Fund
in memory of Hezz M. & Suaylor Wyatt Cox
Mr. & Mrs. Phillip E. Williams, Sr.,
Hoschton, Ga.
General Scholarship Fund
in memory of Mrs. Peggy Zeiger
Harry B. & Jane H. Brock Foundation,
Birmingham
Joe W. McDade Endowed Scholarship
in memory of Gil Rickles and J. Wheeler
McDade
Mr. Joe W. McDade, Montgomery, Ala.
Cumberland School of Law Improvement
Fund
in memory of Mr. Major Bashinsky
Mrs. Anne W. Mitchell, Birmingham
Judge John C. Godbold Scholarship in Law
in memory of Judge John C. Godbold
Mr. Richard H. Gill, Montgomery, Ala.
Hon. & Mrs. T. Virgil Pittman,
Mobile, Ala.
Matthew David McLain Memorial
Scholarship in Law
in memory of Mr. Matthew David McLain
Mr. Gary Anthony Anderson,
Birmingham
Ms. Shannon Leaann Atkinson,
Birmingham
Ms. Andrea Marie Atwell, Birmingham
Ms. Mallory N. Beaton, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Glenn C. Boswell, Jr.,
Winston Salem, N.C.
Ms. Jessica Lauren Brown, Birmingham
Mr. William Osborne Crosby,
Jacksonville, Fla.
Mr. William Leath DeBuys, Birmingham
Mr. Kyle Joseph Dulock, Birmingham
Mr. David Alexander Ealy, Huntsville, Ala.
Mrs. Rachel Winford Eidson, Helena, Ala.
Ms. Lauren Jean Ellison, Powder
Springs, Ga.
Ms. Sharna Sagita Ettinoffe, Birmingham
Mr Roderick J. Evans, Stevenson, Ala.
Mr. Todd Langstaff Frederick,
Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. George A. Gates,
Greensboro, N.C.
Mrs. Bailey Brigham Gladden, Vestavia
Hills, Ala.
Ms. Elizabeth S. Hall, Homewood
Mr. John Coleman Hensley, Helena, Ala.
Mr. Andrew Scott Herring, Huntsville, Ala.
Ms. Melissa Joanna Humber, Birmingham
Mr. Seth T. Hunter, Birmingham
Mr. Casey Jackson King, Hoover, Ala.
Ms. Lauren Ann King, Meansville, Ga.
Mr. Benjamin Randall Little, Hoover, Ala.
Mr. Charles J. London, Knoxville, Tenn.
Ms. Cristi Anna Malone, Cantonment, Fla.
Mr. Matthew Tyler McKeever, Birmingham
Mr. Anthony David Michel, Vestavia
Hills, Ala.
Mr. Daniel Nathan Milton, Pelham, Ala.
Ms. Chelsey A. Mitchell, Birmingham
Mr. Clifford Thomas Nelson, Jr.,
Mobile, Ala.
Mr. Brian O’Neal Noble, Chelsea, Ala.
Ms. Sarah Emily Orr, Blowing Rock, N.C.
Ms. Katherine Reeves Parrish,
Dothan, Ala.
Ms. Staci Michelle Pierce, Vestavia
Hills, Ala.
Ms. Erin Michelle Potter, Birmingham
Ms. Sarah Elizabeth Pritchard, Duluth, Ga.
Ms. Monica Renea Quinn, Bessemer, Ala.
Ms. Ashley Brooke Reitz, Birmingham
Ms Lakeita F. Rox, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Mr. Adam Leavitt Sanders, Birmingham
Mrs. Christina Lorino Schutt,
Birmingham
Dr. Joseph A. Snoe, Birmingham
Mr. William Stancil Starnes, Jr.,
Birmingham
Mr. Ryan Neil Stringfellow, Clermont, Fla.
Mr. William Dennis Taylor, Dublin, Ga.
Ms. Amy Danielle Touart, Homewood
Mr. Jason Michael Ware, Vestavia Hills,
Ala.
in memory of Mr. Robert M. Dunn
Ms. Mary V. Thompson, Alexandria, Va.
in memory of Mr. Jeff Storie
Ms. Barbara W. Shepherd, Birmingham
J. B. & Nancy Davis Endowed Scholarship
in memory of Mrs. Nancy S. Davis
Hon. & Mrs. William M. Acker, Jr.,
Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. J. Richard Barr, Homewood
Mrs. Neeysa D. Biddle, Albertville, Ala.
Blue Ridge Auto Parts, Wytheville, Va.
Brookdale Place Garden Home
Homeowner’s Association, Homewood
Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Chapman,
Cropwell, Ala.
Ms. Frankie G. Charlton, Bessemer, Ala.
Mr. & Mrs. James M. Chism, Trussville,
Ala.
Mr. & Mrs. H. G. Elliott, Palm Coast, Fla.
Ms. Martha H. Hood, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Norman Jetmundsen,
Crestline Heights, Ala.
Mr. & Mrs. Curt A. Levis, Columbus, Ohio
Mr. & Mrs. John K. Molen, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas B. Nunnelley,
Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Scott M. Phelps,
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Ms. Dianne Reistroffer, Louisville, Ky.
Mr. & Mrs. E. Mabry Rogers, Birmingham
Shelton Family Fund at the Fidelity
Charitable Gift Fund, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mr. Terry K. Simmons, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Gregory P. Thomas,
Nashville, Tenn.
Mrs. Linda L. Volkovitsch, Worthington,
Ohio
Mrs. Frances W. Williamson,
Trussville, Ala.
Mrs. Jane C. Wilson, Birmingham
Mrs. Faye D. Wright, Birmingham
Mr. Alan K. Zeigler, Birmingham
Hellenic Scholars Library
in memory of Dr. Peter Morris & Mr. Gus
Cosmos
Mrs. Peter M. Grammas, Vestavia
Hills, Ala.
Howard College of Arts and Sciences
Advisory Board Scholarship
in memory of Mrs. Ann S. Harrison
Mr. Sam H. Blackmon, Jr., Birmingham
Huffman Baptist Church, Birmingham
Mr. & Mrs. Hugh M. Jones, Trussville, Ala.
Mrs. Edna E. Workman, Birmingham
Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing
in memory of Ms. Jenesse Aurandt
Mrs. Peggy C. Davis, King of Prussia, Pa.
in memory of Mr. William Edwin Bolding
Ms. Cynthia B. Medbery, Birmingham
in memory of Mr. Don R. Craft
Mrs. Sandra W. Craft, Birmingham
in memory of Betty Jennings
Mrs. Susan B. Mitchell, Northport, Ala.
George V. Irons Endowment Scholarships
in memory of Dr. George V. Irons, Sr.
Mr. & Mrs. Clifton C. Hinds, Pinson, Ala.
Journalism/Mass Communication
Department Fund
in memory of Dr. Bill Self
Mr. & Mrs. Jason W. Roland,
Columbia, Mo.
D. Jerome King Scholarship
in memory of Dr. D. Jerome King
Dr. & Mrs. Christopher A. King,
Richmond, Va.
Dr. & Mrs. Jason C. Swanner,
Birmingham
English Department Fund
in memory of Dr. Richard Pettigrew
Dr. J. Roderick Davis, Birmingham
Aubrey F. Lancaster Endowed Scholarship
in memory of Mr. Aubrey F. Lancaster
Mrs. Michael Lancaster, Knoxville, Tenn.
Exercise Science and Sports Medicine
Department
in memory of Mr. Craig Golden
Ms. Elena B. Golden, Suwanee, Ga.
W. Mabry Lunceford Religion and
Philosophy Scholarship
in memory of Dr. William Mabry Lunceford
Mr. & Mrs. William W. Givens,
Atlanta, Ga.
Friends of Music
in memory of Mr. Joseph Wayne Thomason
Ms. Mary Jean B. Thomason, Birmingham
William D. Geer Scholarship
in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth D. Geer
Mrs. Margaret G. Roland, Rome, Ga.
Mrs. Debbie Geer Wilke, DeLand, Fla.
McCullough Scholarship Fund in Biology
in memory of Mr. Stanley Nance
Ms. Beth E. Ashmore, Leeds, Ala.
Contemporary Biology Class,
Birmingham
Dr. Ellen W. McLaughlin, Birmingham
Regions Bank, Mountain Brook, Ala.
GIVING
Caitlin Creed Scholarship
in memory of Caitlin Creed
Dr. & Mrs. David W. Chapman,
Birmingham
47
GIVING
Ms. Stephanie Lynne Williams,
Gardendale, Ala.
Ms. Amanda Scott Williamson, Selma, Ala.
Ms. Jamee Irene York, Gallion, Ala.
McWhorter School of Pharmacy
in memory of Mr. Richard McVey
Mr. & Mrs. Peter W. Somerville, Jr.,
Tonawanda, N.Y.
Barrett Merck Missionary Kid Scholarship
in memory of Mrs. Martha Sanderson
Dr. & Mrs. Ruric E. Wheeler,
Birmingham
Martha Myers Memorial Scholarship
in memory of Rev. Archie Claud Phillips
Mrs. Lesley Morris Heidecker, Decatur,
Ala.
Pintlala Baptist Church/Gary P. Burton
Scholarship
in memory of Gil Rickles and J. Wheeler
McDade
Mr. Joe W. McDade, Montgomery, Ala.
Judge T. Virgil Pittman Scholarship in law
in memory of Mark Tripp
Hon. & Mrs. T. Virgil Pittman, Mobile,
Ala.
Thompson C. Reynolds Athletic Endowed
Scholarship
in memory of Coach Thompson “Mutt” Reynolds
Mr. Richmond P. Huggins, Blairsville, Ga.
Mr. & Mrs. William E. Leslie,
Greenville, S.C.
Ms. Elizabeth J. Nunnelley, Birmingham
Mr. David L. Stegall, Birmingham
Ray Frank Robbins Lectureship Fund
in memory of Harriet Wax
Dr. & Mrs. Charles A. Woosley,
Alexander City, Ala.
Samford Auxiliary Big Oak Ranch
Scholarship
in memory of Dr. Leven Hazlegrove
Dr. Rosemary M. Fisk, Birmingham
in memory of Coach Thompson “Mutt” Reynolds
Mrs. Mary Kate Dyer, Birmingham
in memory of Mrs. Ihoko “Linda” Sasaki
Seagers, Mr. Robert Moses Crisler, Jr., and Mr.
Jimmie Lee Smith
Dr. & Mrs. Phil Kimrey, Birmingham
in memory of Mr. Rhoy Swearingen
Mrs. Mary Kate Dyer, Birmingham
Samford Fund
in memory of Mr. Wayne Cofield
Mr. & Mrs. Dorsey L. Shannon, Jr.,
Tulsa, Okla.
in memory of Mr. Fred and Mrs. Leva Morgan
Mr. & Mrs. James M. Landreth,
Birmingham
48
Samford University Undergraduate
Research Program
in memory of Dr. Leven Hazlegrove
Dr. & Mrs. Eugene C. Roberts, West
Point, Ga.
in memory of Mrs. Corrine A. Pinson
Dr. & Mrs. H. Owen Bozeman, Jr.,
Warner Robins, Ga.
Bette Houlditch Sawyer Endowed Scholarship
in memory of Mrs. Bette Houlditch Sawyer
Mr. John F. Scott, Gainesville, Fla.
in memory of Mr. Herbert Sawyer
Dr. & Mrs. Wesley H. Bradley,
Glenmont, N.Y.
Ms. Doris S. Jimison, Englewood, Fla.
Mr. David A. Jones, Louisville, Ky.
Ms. Helen L. Powell, Gainesville, Fla.
Mr. & Mrs. Terry W. Tyler, Louisville, Ky.
Shepherd Legacy Piano Fund
in memory of Dr. Betty Sue G. Shepherd
Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Cox, Birmingham
Dr. & Mrs. James R. Wilson,
Alpharetta, Ga.
William Todd Stevens Scholarship Fund
in memory of Mrs. Sylvia Williamson
Mr. & Mrs. Donald A. Sullivan,
Birmingham
University Library
in memory of Mr. Edward Waters
Ms. Carol K. Ogle, Birmingham
Katherine Victoria “Kavi” Vance Scholarship
in memory of Ann Banks
Mr. & Mrs. Lon Vance, Eutaw, Ala.
Arthur A. Weeks Endowed Scholarship
in memory of Dr. Arthur A. Weeks
Hon. & Mrs. Joel F. Dubina,
Montgomery, Ala.
Harold E. Wilcox Endowed Scholarship Fund
in memory of Dr. Harold E. Wilcox
Rete Mirabile Fund of Triangle
Community Foundation, Durham, N.C.
Philip & Cynthia Wise Scholarship
in memory of Dr. Philip D. Wise
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph R. Lunsford,
Huntsville, Ala.
Mrs. Tamara Tillman Smathers,
Rome, Ga.
Mr. & Mrs. Doug Wise, Jr., Marietta, Ga.
G. Allan Yeomans Scholarship Fund
in memory of Dr. G. Allan Yeomans
Mr. & Mrs. Joe Cook, Knoxville, Tenn.
Ms. Cindy Tanner, Philadelphia, Tenn. ■
To make a gift online, go to www.samford.edu/
giving.
July 1
First summer session classes
end
July 2
Final exams
July 5
Fourth of July holiday;
university closed
July 11–15
American Hymn Society
national convention, hosted
by Samford University and
the School of the Arts,
205-726-2496
July 16
July 17
July 19–23
July 20
July 22–24
ReFresh: A Workshop for
Church Musicians, hosted by
School of the Arts,
205-726-2496
A Cappella Alumni Choir
rehearsal, 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m.,
Brock Recital Hall,
205-726-2826
Pastors School, hosted by
Beeson Divinity School,
205-726-2338
High School Journalism
Mass Communication
Annual Workshop,
205-726-2465
Aug. 13
Sept. 17
Gala, hosted by Ida V. Moffett
School of Nursing, 6:30 p.m.,
South Colonnade, Hanna
Center, 205-726-2861
Sept. 19
SuperJazz concert, 3 p.m.,
Brock Recital Hall, 205-7262485 (tickets required)
Sept. 21
Faculty recital, Kathryn
Fouse, piano, 7:30 p.m.,
Brock Recital Hall
Sept. 24
Continuing education
conference, hosted by
Cumberland School of Law,
205-2865
Final exams
Aug. 15–16 Cumberland School of Law
orientation
Aug. 19
Aug. 20
Birmingham Business
Journal Governor’s Panel,
hosted by Brock School of
Business, 7 a.m., Brock Recital
Hall, 205-726-2393
Bulldog Bash featuring
Bobby Bowden, 7 p.m.,
Birmingham Sheraton Hotel,
205-726-4217
Aug. 23–24 Faculty Institute
Aug. 26–27 New Student Orientation
Session 4, 205-726-3673
Aug. 27
Lecture: Jim Leach,
chairman, National
Endowment for the
Humanities, hosted by the
Mann Center for Ethics and
Leadership, 6:30 p.m., Brock
Recital Hall, 205-726-4362
Southern Public Defenders
Seminar, hosted by
Cumberland School of Law,
205-726-2704
Second summer session
classes end
Sept. 24–26 Family Weekend
Sept. 25
Admission Preview Day,
205-726-3673
Sept. 26
Samford Hymn Sing, 2 p.m.,
Reid Chapel
Sept. 30–
Oct. 3
Samford Theatre presents
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead,
205-726-2853 for performance times and ticket
information
New Student Move-in Day
Jefferson County Junior Miss
competition, 7 p.m., Wright
Center Concert Hall,
205-868-8686
July 29
Aug. 12
Sept. 16
Aug. 27–29 Connections 2010 new
student orientation,
205-726-3673
Ministering to Ministers
workshop, 205-726-4064
July 30–
Aug. 14
Aug. 12–13 Alabama Defense Lawyers
Association meeting, hosted
by Cumberland School of
Law, 205-726-2865
McWhorter School of
Pharmacy alumni and
friends breakfast, 6:45 a.m.,
Marriott Downtown and
Cook Convention Center,
Memphis, Tenn. To register,
call 205-726-2982 or e-mail
[email protected].
July 26–30
CALENDAR
EVENT
highlights
Aug. 30
Fall semester classes begin
Aug. 30–
Sept. 3
Welcome Back week
Aug. 31
University Convocation
marking the official opening
of the 169th session
Sept. 6
Labor Day holiday; university
closed
Sept. 7
School of the Arts music
faculty gala, 7:30 p.m., Brock
Recital Hall
Sept. 8–9
Holley-Hull Lectures, Gail
O’Day, dean-elect, Wake
Forest School of Divinity,
205-726-2336
Information was compiled from the
university calendar as of May 20, 2010. Dates,
times and details are subject to change.
Please go to www.samford.edu for a
complete university calendar and for updated
information.
For a complete list of summer camp
opportunities, please go to www.samford.
edu/summer_camps2010.aspx.
For a complete list of Samford arts events,
please go to www.samford.edu/arts.
For schedules and information on Samford
athletics, go to www.samfordsports.com.
Sept. 9
Birmingham Art Music
Alliance concert, 7:30 p.m.,
Brock Recital Hall
For a list of Samford After Sundown classes,
go to www.samford.edu/sundown.
Sept. 11
ACT exam, 205-726-2561
For a list of Lay Academy of Theology
courses, go to www.beesondivinity.com.
Sept. 15–20 Sorority Recruitment,
205-726-2028
For a complete academic calendar, go to
www.samford.edu/calendars.html. ■
49
The Samford women’s cross-country team, shown here in last fall’s Southeast Showdown, won the Southern Conference
championship. Their performance contributed to Samford’s winning of the Germann Cup presented annually to the top all-round
women’s athletic program in the SoCon. Inset: SoCon Commissioner John Iamarino, center, awards the Germann Cup to Samford
Athletics Director Bob Roller, left, and President Andy Westmoreland at the league meeting in June.