Virtually Shorter
November 2007

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View Shorter’s annual report online

Alumni and friends of the college can view the 2006-2007 President’s Report online. The theme of the report is Celebrate Shorter, and it includes a reflection by President Harold E. Newman as well as highlights of student achievement, faculty accomplishment, faith in action, athletic success and campus improvements that took place throughout the academic year. “ For this report, I have borrowed the title of our student achievement day last spring and applied it to the 2006-2007 academic year as a whole. The highlights listed in these pages – and hundreds more too numerous to include – clearly illustrate that there is much to celebrate at Shorter College,” explained Dr. Newman in the publication’s introduction.

Donors will receive the President’s Report by mail, and the printed publication also includes the college’s financial highlights and the Honor Roll of Donors.

Art majors paint McDonald’s

Five Shorter College art majors worked during the night – even throughout the night at times – to bring color and creativity to the renovated West Rome McDonald’s. They began the project on Oct. 24, and the “Shorter Jungle Gallery” was dedicated to these five students on Tuesday, Nov. 13. To view photos of the project, visit www.shorter.edu/academics/arts/art_mcdonalds.htm. McDonald’s interior walls near the children’s play area are now covered with murals of jungle animals, rainforest landscapes and waterfall scenes. Shorter students involved in this project included Laura Bowen of Marietta, Ga.; Matt Bradley of Tallahassee, Fla.; Oudvin Cassel of Liberia; Mitzi Davis of Florence, S.C.; and Emily Vines of Weoguska, Ala.

Alumnus Dr. Mike Keown named Shorter’s Minister of the Year

In addition, since 2004, Dr. Keown has served as the District 173 Representative to the Georgia House of Representatives. He serves as vice chair of the Special Rules Committee and as a member of the Health and Human Services, Natural Resources, and Education committees. He has a tradition of public service, having served as mayor of Coolidge, Ga., from 1986 to 1990 and as a member of the Thomas County School Board from 1990 to 2004.

Dr. Keown earned his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in social science from Shorter College in 1977, his Master of Divinity from the Southwestern Baptist Seminary in 1983, his Clinical Pastoral education from Baylor University Medical Center from 1985 to 1986, and his Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis in evangelistic church growth from the New Orleans Baptist Seminary in 2003. He was ordained into the ministry in August 1974 by Hopewell Baptist Church in Cherokee County.

Dr. Keown served as a chaplain, chief counselor, deputy warden, unit manager and superintendent with the Georgia Department of Corrections between the years of 1988 and 1996. He was pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Thomasville, Ga., from 1990 to 1995; director of pastoral services at the Greenleaf Center in Valdosta, Ga., from 1987 to 1988; pastor of Coolidge Memorial Baptist Church in Coolidge from 1983 to 1987; and pastor of Calvary Church in Calvary, Ga., from 1977 to 1979.

The Canton, Ga., native lives in Coolidge with his wife, Dr. Kathy Clements Keown, who serves as Title One coordinator for the Thomas County Schools. She is also a 1977 graduate of Shorter College. They have two grown sons, Michael and Matthew.

MORE ALUMNI NEWS

P.O. boxes on sale Nov. 26 Retired post office boxes will be on sale beginning Monday, Nov. 26, at 9 a.m. Your P.O. boxes are available on a first-come, first-served basis only through hawkspace.shorter.edu. Each box is $50, which includes a $20 donation to the Shorter fund. Sign into your HawkSpace account to find out more details.

Six Degrees of Shorter College: Participate now

You recently received an e-mail from Shorter College explaining the Six Degrees of Shorter project. Through this e-mail, you have an opportunity to connect fellow alumni with important Shorter College information. If you have not yet forwarded this invitation to fellow alumni, please take a minute and look at the list of missing alumni from your class year. Remember, everyone who forwards the invitation to at least 10 alumni receives a Shorter College T-shirt. The alumnus/alumna who forwards the most invites will receive an iPhone. Please forward the Six Degrees of Shorter invitation at your earliest convenience. If you have questions about the project, email cmitchell@shorter.edu.

Shorter gear for the holidays Since the holiday shopping season has already begun, now is the perfect time to order Shorter College sweatshirts, polos and other collegiate merchandise for your favorite alumni, students and relatives. Shorter merchandise is available by contacting the campus bookstore at (706) 233- 7236 or by visiting www.HawkApparel.com.

Richard Bray named Davis Ministry Center director Dr. Richard E. Bray has been named director of the Hugh F. Davis Center for Ministry Education and an assistant professor of Christian ministry at Shorter College. In this role, he will build relationships with area churches, be responsible for ministerial training events and develop nontraditional educational programs for ministers. He will also have teaching responsibilities in the area of practical ministry within Shorter’s department of religion and philosophy. To contact Dr. Bray, email rbray@shorter.edu.

Dr. Bray previously served for five years as pastor at First Baptist Church in Woodbury, Tenn. He has also served as pastor at Halls Westside Baptist Church in Halls, Tenn.; Friendship Baptist Church in Kennett, Mo.; Highland Baptist Church in Bogalusa, La.; Stewart Street Baptist Church in Carmi, Ill.; and North Shore Baptist Church in Slidell, La.

Dr. Bray served as a missionary to Chile through the International Mission Board from April 1989 to January 1997. He also served as the director of church-minister relations for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from 1986 to 1987.

He was licensed to ministry by Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Miss., in 1981 and ordained by First Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss., in 1982.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi, and a Master of Divinity in Biblical studies and a doctoral degree in missions from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Bray has a wife, Lesa, and two grown daughters, Eryn and Lauren.

Academic quiz bowls on the Hill

History. Science. Literature. Fine arts. Social sciences. Pop culture. If these subject areas seem daunting individually, consider a competition testing knowledge on all of them. Shorter College hosted two academic quiz bowl competitions earlier this month, and collegiate competitors from across the country went head to head.

“These quiz bowls included anything within the academic realm,” said Dr. Chuck Pearson, the tournament director and Shorter’s academic quiz bowl advisor. “Competitors faced questions that require hardcore knowledge in multiple subject areas.”

The first tournament, which was primarily for smaller colleges, included 14 teams and more than 45 students.

Then, the Academic Competition Federation Fall Southeast Tournament, or the “ACF Fall,” was the major collegiate quiz bowl tournament in the region. Twenty-two teams, including more than 80 students, registered from universities including the University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Alabama, Vanderbilt University, Florida State University, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the University of South Carolina, Berry College and Furman University.

Shorter’s 10-member quiz bowl team did not compete in either tournament because they were involved in running the events both days.

Already time to prepare for spring arts events It’s not too early to make reservations for Shorter’s arts events during spring semester. Beginning with an organ studio recital, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers,” and the dance concert in early January, the semester includes more than 20 theatre, music and art events for alumni and friends to enjoy. Visit the Arts Calendar online for dates for each spring event. For ticket information and reservations, contact Shorter’s box office at (800) 868-6980 ext. 7288 or boxoffice@shorter.edu.

SPORTS NEWS

Volleyball wins conference In the final round of the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, the Lady Hawks beat the Lee University Flames, 3-2, to capture their first-ever championship title and to receive an automatic bid to the region tournament. Kate Puckett and Kasi Runion led the team with 14 kills apiece. Kayla Rollins had 26 digs for Shorter and Kristy Walker has 50 assists. To advance to the championship round, Shorter beat the Berry College Vikings on Nov. 10, 3-1.

Photo courtesy of Tracey Long

In addition to their first-ever championship, Kate and Kasi were named to the First Team All-Conference, and Kristy and Jenny Mealer received Second Team All-Conference honors. Kasi and Kristy were also named All-Tournament selections.

"I couldn't be prouder of what we accomplished here," said Head Coach Jon Moseley . "This is such a strong group of girls that never gave up. After beating teams like Berry and Lee, we feel like we can play with anybody. We played with great passion this weekend, and we'll need to continue to do that."

The team will now advance to the Region XIII tournament. To follow the Lady Hawks, visit www.goshorterhawks.com.

Hawks cross country named region champs After only its second year of re-formation, the Shorter College men's cross country team will be heading to Kenosha, Wis., for nationals after taking first place in the region championship on Nov 3. Despite the cold conditions and the fog that covered the ground, the Hawks performed their best all season, as they had the top four runners in the day's contest. In dramatic fashion, Jerad Godsave and Martin Hernandez held hands as they crossed at nearly the same time. Martin took the top time by 44/100 of a second and captured the Region Runner of the Year award with a time of 26:26.50. Jerad's time was 26:26.94.

Following soon after were two more Hawks who also ran side-by-side to finish the race: Steven Rich and Josh Carson . Steven took third place with a time of 26:48.21, and Josh was less than half a second behind at 26:48.63.

Cyrus Wakaba rounded out the Hawks’ top five (14th - 27:33.70) to give Shorter a final score of 24, ahead of Berry College's second place 54 points and Lee University's 71 points.

Other runners for the Hawks were Andrew Rodriguez (15th - 27:34.18), Brenton Widener (19th - 28:16.77), Alex Compton (24th - 28:53.41), Dustin Mitchell (27th - 29:00.80), Therron Smith (28th - 29:02.22), Allen O'Neal (34th - 29:46.31), Ben Anthony (35th - 29:46.88), Kyle Chapman (37th - 30:07.42), Ben Patrick (43rd - 30:36.72), and Jesus Costilla (66th - 33:42.69).

Also winning an award at the meet was Head Coach Jay Stephenson , who was named the Region XIII Coach of the Year.

"I'm amazed at how well our guys ran today," said Stephenson. "No one on this team is willing to ive up at any point. We've had some adversity this season, and we've learned that those times can be a blessing through the experience and growth that can come from them."

To track the Hawks’ success at nationals, visit www.goshorterhawks.com.

Football team earns postseason honors

In the postseason awards announced by the Mid-South Conference, Shorter’s football team had multiple standouts. Ryan Gloer was named the Western Division’s Defensive Player of the Year. Ryan, a junior linebacker, led the Hawks with 42 assisted tackles this season; he also completed 24 unassisted tackles.

Eleven Hawks football players were named to Western Division All-Conference and Honorable Mention teams, and 13 were named All-Academic.

Offensive lineman Zach Morrison, slot back Raymone Nesbitt and place kicker Lukas Gonzalez made this year's all-conference offensive list. Defensive lineman Matt Yarbrough, linebacker Ryan Gloer, linebacker Jamie Stewart, defensive back Budd Keith and defensive back Will Oliver were named to the all-conference defensive list. Additionally, offensive lineman Matt Atchley, quarterback Drew Elrod and punter Lukas Gonzalez were all-Conference Honorable Mentions.

The 13 Hawks named to the All-Academic team were Jackson Abercrombie, A.J. Bennett, Kevin Cone, Blake Ducatel, Ryan Gloer, Kenneth James, Curtis John, Budd Keith, Fisher Marietta, Zach Morrison, Will Oliver, Jeremy Ruark and Ben Williams. To be honored as a member of the All-Academic team, student athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

The football team wrapped up their season on Nov. 10 with a win against Lambuth University to give the Hawks their most successful season at 7-4. To find out more about the Hawks’ season, visit www.goshorterhawks.com.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS

Thanksgiving Holidays
Wednesday, Nov. 21, to Friday, Nov. 23

Annual Holiday Pottery Sale by Shorter College art students
Wednesday, Nov. 28, to Friday, Nov. 30
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fitton Student Union
For information, call (706) 233-7247

Commencement
Saturday, Dec. 15
10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Rome, Ga.

SHORTER ALUMNI BENEFITS

Liberty Mutual: Savings on auto and homeowner’s insurance to Shorter alumni

For a free, no-obligation rate quote, call Beth Blalock at (770) 924-6464 x 206 or e-mail Beth.Blalock@LibertyMutual.com.

"I've switched my homeowner's and automobile insurance to Liberty Mutual. Not only does Shorter receive a portion of my payments, but coupled with the discount for alumni, I've realized an annual savings of more than $1,300. I've also made a new friend in Beth Blalock, who
is Liberty Mutual’s quote representative for Shorter.”
Shorter alumnus Clark Samples (’71)

Shorter College Alumni Association
Platinum Plus MasterCard Credit Card

"The Bank of America credit card is a wonderful tool for alumni to promote Shorter through name recognition. Every time I present the card, a new person sees the Shorter College name, and often asks about the college.
Shorter alumna Patsy Drummond (’62)

Travel Benefits: Savings on resort vacation
condominium rentals for Shorter alumni

To review available locations and dates as well as booking information, visit www.alumnitravelbenefits.com/shorter.asp or call (888) 729-3842. Use Shorter’s code AGA-002.

"We had a wonderful trip to Disney World! The condo through Alumni Travel Benefits was beautiful; it exceeded our expectations in every way!”
Shorter alumna Tina Chapman (’04)

Got news? Maybe a new job or a new baby? Recently married? Share the good news with your friends through class notes in Shorter magazine. E-mail your news to wtaylor@shorter.edu . Be sure to include your full name, class year, e-mail address, mailing address and phone number. Please let fellow alumni know that they can subscribe to Virtually Shorter by visiting Shorter's alumni web community Hawkspace. You also can reach the Alumni Office at (800) 868-6980.

Virtually Shorter is compiled by the Office of Institutional Relations. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for our e-newsletter, e-mail Tracy Batchelor at tbatchelor@shorter.edu.

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