The Talon, May 17, 2018

A grip on news in the Huntingdon College family
May 17, 2018
Send us your news at news@hawks.huntingdon.edu

What’s New?

Sum-Sum-Summertime!

Believe it or not, summer classes began yesterday. I know—you’ve hardly had time to catch your breath, right? This is the first year Huntingdon has offered online summer classes so students can take most classes from wherever they are—and that fact has resulted in a record summer enrollment. Although books are provided during the academic year for students who entered in 2016–2017 or 2017–2018, summer course information resources are not included in that program. If you’re taking summer classes, here are a few dates to put on your calendar:

• May 17, Thursday, Drop/Add period ends
• May 28, Monday, Memorial Day—No Classes/Offices Closed
• May 30, Wednesday, Last day to withdraw from a course without grade penalty and receive a “W”
• June 7, Thursday, Last day to change to P/N grading, audit or noncredit in courses
• June 13, Wednesday, Last day to withdraw from a course without grade penalty and receive a “WP” or “WF”
• June 20, Wednesday, Classes end
• June 21, Thursday, Final Exams (during regularly scheduled class meeting times)
• June 22, Friday, Grades must be submitted to Self-Service by 12:00 p.m.

Fall Term In-Service Days Announced

The Executive Council has determined the In-Service Days for fall term. During In-Service Days no classes are held, but offices remain open. Spring term dates will be determined during the fall semester. The 2018 fall dates are the following Fridays:

• August 31
• September 28
• October 5
• October 19
• November 2

Lacrosse and Golf Go National

As you know, men’s lacrosse had its best season ever, with regular season and tournament championships in the USA South. Coach Andrew Carey was recognized as Coach of the Year, Sam Hitt ’19 was named Player of the Year, and the team had its most winning record of all time. Unfortunately, the storied season came to an end in the first round of the national tournament play-offs at Rhodes College, but that doesn’t keep us from reliving the story part. We congratulate the team on a season well-played and we look forward to cheering them even further next year!

After school was out, the men’s golf team, who are ranked second in the nation but came in third in the USA South tournament, learned they’d received a Pool C bid to the national tournament. So they’ve packed off to Greensboro, N.C. this week. No fingers crossed (it’s hard to golf that way)—just good, old-fashioned Hawk grit and skill. Hawk ’em, guys!

They Did the Monster Mash

I know most students have no familiarity with that song, but your parents probably do! Besides, we’ll all be doing the Monster Mash next year when we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Houghton Library is taking the lead by planning a series of one-hour sessions presented by faculty on topics related to the novel and its influence (a question to ponder: who really was the monster in that story?). Watch for these great sessions in the fall and spring and attend as many as you can. During the week of Halloween (beginning October 29), the library will host a Mini-Conference on the topic of what it means to be human. Faculty, staff, and students will be invited to present during the conference. So give your brain a lightning strike (that’s not in the book, by the way) and create some presentation ideas. See Prof. Eric Kidwell or Assistant Prof. Paige Crumbley for more information.

Golfing for Football

Head Coach Mike Turk and Hawks Football will host their 15th annual Huntingdon College Gridiron Classic at Wynlakes Country Club June 11. Entry fees are $500 for teams and $125 for individuals. Proceeds support the Huntingdon football program. Lunch, range balls, and an awards reception are included. Registration and lunch begin at 11 a.m.; shotgun start is at 1 p.m. For entry forms and sponsorship information, contact Coach Turk at 334-833-4322 or email mturk@huntingdon.edu.

Another College Kudo

College Consensus has ranked Huntingdon College in the number three spot on its list of best regional colleges in the South, as of their April release. College Consensus defines regional colleges as those that “offer associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, usually in career and professional fields, and usually at affordable rates.” Regional colleges offer undergraduate programs primarily, and focus on the essential majors that “get people working.” College Consensus rankings are based on a synthesis of the most respected 2018 college rankings and on student interviews, producing a unique score for each school.

Announcements

• Graduates, at some point this summer you will be removed from the student email distribution list. If you would like to continue to receive The Talon and pertinent college news releases, simply send an email to ofe@hawks.huntingdon.edu with the email address you’d like to have put on that list.
• Parents, you will not be removed from the parent email list automatically when your student leaves Huntingdon. To request removal from the list, send an email to Su Ofe (see address in the bullet above) and list the email addresses you’d like to have removed from the parent distribution list.

Coming Events

• Big Red Weekend: August 18–19
• Special Check-in Dates
  • Football: New Students, Tuesday, August 7, 10:00 a.m.; Returning Students, August 7, Noon.
  • Band: Drum Line, Designated Leaders, and Freshmen, Monday, August 13, 10:00 a.m.; Designated Returning Students, Wednesday, August 15, 11:30 a.m.
  • Cheer and Cross Country, Wednesday, August 15, 9:00 a.m.
  • Volleyball, Wednesday, August 15, 9:30 a.m.
  • Women’s Soccer, Wednesday, August 15, 10:00 a.m.
  • Men’s Soccer, Wednesday, August 15, 10:45 a.m.
• Orientation Programs
  • Session I:  Thursday, June 21, 2018—(Freshmen Only)
  • Session II: Thursday, July 26, 2018—(Freshmen and Transfers)
  • Session III: Friday, August 17, 2018, combined with Big Red Weekend Check-in—(Freshmen, Transfers, and International Students)
• Summer Sports Camps
• High School Summer Academies and Dual Enrollment
• 2018–2019 Academic Calendar

Huntingdon Headliners

• During traditional day Commencement Exercises, Saturday, May 5, the following honors were given:
  • The Margaret Read Scholarship Medal, given to the students who earned the highest grade point averages in the graduating class:
    • Katie Bonner, of Pike Road, Alabama
    • Bria Rochelle, of Mobile, Alabama
    • Felicia Peoples, of Chelsea, Alabama
  • The Loyalty Award, voted by members of the graduating class and reflecting the person deemed by his/her peers as “the most loyal and dedicated senior”: Bria Rochelle, Mobile, Alabama
  • The Willard D. Top Award, given to a graduate who exemplifies the highest commitment to academics and service: Felicia Peoples, Chelsea, Alabama
  • The Julia Lightfoot Sellers Award, voted by members of the junior and senior classes as “that member of the teaching faculty who … has done much this year toward inspiring them to nobility of purpose and integrity of character, and rekindling within them a deeper desire for learning”: Dr. Maureen Kendrick Murphy, Huntingdon Class of 1978, Professor of Chemistry; Chair, Department of Chemistry
  • The Winn and Gordon Chappell Academic Enrichment Award, given to the member of the faculty who has demonstrated exceptional student engagement and student achievement in the arts and sciences: Ms. Brianne Smith, Assistant Professor of Accounting.
  • Miles Barnhardt ’18 was selected to deliver the Graduate Address.
• Congratulations, Class of 2018! See the full lists of members of the Class of 2018, traditional day and Evening Studies.
• Congratulations to those who were recognized during Awards Day Convocation.
• Huntingdon’s Evening Bachelor’s Degree program at Southern Union State Community College sponsored a table decoration for Simply Spring, the annual Southern Union Fundraiser  Luncheon and Fashion Show. The table won the Best Academic Theme category.
• Former head volleyball coach Megan Aiello has been named director of athletics at Spartanburg Methodist College. She has coached their women’s volleyball team for the past five years.
• Luke Bailey ’17 married Taylor Edge, May 5, 2018.
• Anna Boyd ’17 is employed as a 5th- and 6th-grade reading and science teacher at Monroe Academy in Monroeville. She will begin a graduate program in elementary and special education this summer.
• Mark Colson ’07, senior vice president for governmental affairs and chief of staff for the Business Council of Alabama and a member of the Huntingdon Board of Trustees, spoke to the Huntingdon Business Club April 11.
• Huntingdon golfers Mark Connelly ’19 and Stephen Shephard ’19 have been named semifinalists for the 2018 Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award. Both were All-Conference First Team selections. Stephen is ranked eight in the Golfstat Division III rankings, averaging 72.75 in 24 rounds this season. Mark is ranked ninth in Division III, averaging 73.04 per round. Finalists will be announced May 15, and the winner will be announced May 31.
• Dr. Jim Daniels, professor of biology, co-led Field Biology students, with Mr. Nick Sharp, the state non-game wildlife biologist for North Alabama, in a two-day tracking seminar at Tuskegee National Forest in April. Students encountered and learned to identify the tracks and signs of 17 different species. Separately, Dr. Daniels and Dr. Paul Gier, professor of biology, took biology majors to Conecuh National Forest in April. The group visited Crawford Bog, where they saw a variety of carnivorous plants and worked in the field with Ranger Ronda Mullins.
• Blake Denton, a member of the library archives staff, presented a poster on the topic of online piracy of intellectual property and how it led to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) for the annual meeting of the American Library Association.
• Dr. Betsy Gordon ’69 has retired after 47 1/2 years of college teaching, including 27 1/2 years at McKendree College in Illinois. She received emerita status at McKendree, Saturday, May 12. In her retirement, she is traveling and painting watercolors and oriental brush in preparation for her own art show.
• The Rev. Mick Hinson ’82 serves as chaplain at St. Francis Hospital in Mauldin, S.C. He is a graduate of Duke Divinity School.
• Kim Holman’18 has been admitted to the doctoral program in mathematics at Auburn University.
• Robert La Branche ’06 has been named executive director of the Alabama Military Stability Foundation. Robert graduated from the Air Command and Staff College in 2009 and earned his master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He served eight years as an aerospace, defense, and foreign policy staffer in Washington, D.C.
• Kyle Lancaster ’18 has been admitted to the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Auburn University beginning this fall.
• Ian Layne ’14 has returned to Huntingdon to serve as head coach for the cross country program, both men and women. Coach Layne ran for two of Huntingdon’s cross country teams that won Great South Athletic Conference titles when he was a student.
• Dr. Maureen Kendrick Murphy ’78 attended the 32nd SSAOAC annual meeting and participated in a short course, “Isotopic Analysis for the Authentication and Sourcing of Food” conducted by professors from the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia.
• Jessica Ferguson Morel ’97 reports her January 13, 2018, marriage to Michael Paul Morel at Gulf Shores UMC, the Rev. Misty Edwards Barrett ’89, officiating. A senior supervisory principal with LPL Financial, Jessica works from her new home in Wiggins, Mississippi.
• Leslie Jinks Parham ’69 has retired and moved to Altadena, California, after a career in behavioral health counseling.
• Monica Perkins ’11 earned her Executive MBA from Faulkner University earlier this year. She works as an operations utility specialist for BBVA Compass.
• An essay by assistant provost Dr. Tom Perrin, associate professor of English, “The Great American Novel in the 1970s,” has been published in the new Cambridge University Press collection American Literature in Transition: 1970–1980.
• Dr. Jared Rehm, assistant director of the Huntingdon Ability Sport Network and assistant professor of kinesiology and biomechanics, has been appointed by Governor Kay Ivey to serve on the Alabama Council on Developmental Disability. He will work alongside other disability advocates to ensure consideration of people who have disabilities when statewide decisions are made.
• Chad Shannon ’99 has been named to the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame. A former Hawks baseball team captain and NAIA Independent All-Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1997, he led the Hawks to a regional championship and super regional appearance. He returned to his native Cullman County in 2003 to coach baseball and later coached for Vinemont, leading them to two area championships, and a Cullman County championship.  He has also served as pitching coach for Wallace State Community College.
• Jordan Shelby ’17 married Bailey Benson, May 5, 2018.
• Huntingdon golfers Jon Colten Stanaland ’18, Stephen Shephard ’19, and Mark Connelly ’19 were named to the South Region Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America in their list of PING All-Region teams. They were among 11 USA South golfers to be tapped for regional honors. Jon Colten and Stephen were also named to the Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars list. All-America Scholars must be junior or senior-level, have competed in at least two full years at the collegiate level and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competitive rounds, have a stroke-average under 79, and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. Recipients must be of high moral character and in good standing at the colleges they attend. Jon Colten and Stephen were two of three golfers in the USA South to receive this recognition.
• Austin Worley ’13 and Lauren Lugen ’16 were engaged December 24, 2017. They will be married August 11 in Ligon Chapel.

Sympathy and Prayers

• We’re holding Nichole Peacock ’11 in our thoughts and prayers for recovery from a car accident May 8. Nichole teaches English at Marion Military Academy in Alabama. She is a brilliant woman and a joy to know, and we pray also for her family and for her caregivers as she heals.

NEXT TALON: Week of June 18. News deadline: Friday, June 15. Send your news to news@hawks.huntingdon.edu.

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The Talon is produced by the Office of Communications and is e-mailed to students, faculty, and staff, and to those parents, friends, neighbors, alumni, and others who have requested to receive it.  If you would like to change your e-mail address or be added to or removed from the list, simply send your request to Su Ofe at news@hawks.huntingdon.edu (be sure to include your relationship to the College so that you can be added to or removed from the correct list). The Talon is posted on the College Web site, www.huntingdon.edu.

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