November 2008

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On Tuesday, Nov. 11, Shorter President Harold E. Newman announced the college’s plan to change its legal designation to Shorter University. The change will become effective June 1, 2010. The transition was identified as an institutional goal during the recent strategic planning process and will enable Shorter to better respond to market forces both within the state of Georgia and within the higher education community.

“University status reflects what Shorter has already become through the extraordinary growth and progress of recent years,” Dr. Newman said. He cited the college’s growing enrollment that now includes 3,000 students who study on four campuses in Rome, North Atlanta, Lawrenceville, and Riverdale. “Becoming Shorter University positions us for future growth,” he added. “It does not, however, change the nature of Shorter. We remain committed to providing a high quality educational experience that features personal interactions with faculty, a strong focus on students, and excellence in all areas."

Trustee establishes Business Ethics Institute with public attention focused on the international financial crisis and the names Enron and WorldCom having become synonymous with corporate corruption, Shorter College is strengthening its focus on business ethics – thanks to a generous gift from a Shorter College trustee and his wife. Col. and Mrs. Harvard Hopkins have pledged $200,000 toward the establishment of the Hopkins Institute for Business Ethics at Shorter. The institute will be housed in the college’s School of Business Administration.

President Harold E. Newman described the Hopkins Institute as a significant point of distinction for the college. “Col. and Mrs. Hopkins are making a gift that will have a transformational impact on Shorter College students and on the communities in which those students eventually work and serve. Through their generous support, the Hopkins are enabling Shorter to have a much larger impact in promoting ethical behavior. Their gift is also a tangible example of the trustees’ caring for Shorter College and our students.”

A portion of the Hopkins’ gift will fund an annual ethics seminar, featuring notable individuals in government, education, industry, medicine or other fields who are known as ethical leaders. “An important focus of the seminar will be on demonstrating that it is possible to be ethical and successful at the same time,” said Dr. Robert “Dub” Darville, dean of Shorter’s School of Business Administration. “This is an important conversation for our students in these days after Enron, World Com, Tyco and moving forward to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. People are looking for individuals to be leaders who exhibit ethical decision-making, and Shorter, as a Christian institution, wants to be a voice promoting the importance of ethics instruction and practice. The Hopkins gift will help make that desire into reality.”
 
The inaugural lecture hosted by the Hopkins Institute for Business Ethics will be held at Shorter College during the spring semester of 2009.

Col. Hopkins is a member of Shorter College’s Board of Trustees. The Hopkins’ two children are both graduates of Shorter College; son Joe Hopkins graduated in 1988 and daughter Katherine “Katie” Hopkins Markham graduated in 1992. Joe is married to Suzanne Branch Hopkins, who is a 1988 graduate of Shorter, and Katie is married to Rich Markham, a 1990 graduate of Shorter.

Historic win shoots Shorter to the playoffs The odds were against them, but on Saturday, the Shorter College Hawks football team exceeded all expectations as they earned a berth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) National Football Championship playoffs. When the national poll was released on Sunday morning, Shorter had jumped seven spots to No. 12 - the highest ranked team in the Mid-South Western Division and good for the conference's automatic playoff berth. The Hawks will travel to another Mid-South school for their first playoff game in history on Sat. Nov. 22 at 12 p.m. - the No. 8-ranked and Mid-South Eastern Division champions, the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. Read more about the Hawks win and the road to the playoffs> For the complete NAIA National poll, click here. For the complete Championship pairings, click here.

MORE NEWS

From Space to Our Place

NASA Astronaut Stephanie D. Wilson has logged more than 28 days in space and is a veteran of two space flights, one in 2006 and one in 2007. On Dec. 13, she will share her incredible experiences with Shorter graduates as she is the keynote speaker during the college’s commencement exercises, which will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Winthrop-King Centre. A native of Massachusetts, Wilson graduated from Taconic High School in Pittsfield in 1984 and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science degree from Harvard University in 1988. She later earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1992. She is the cousin of Shorter graduate Sandra Terry (’88) who serves as assistant vice president for the college’s Professional Studies program.

Read more about Wilson’s space mission>

Shorter students shine in music, theatre competitions

Recent days have seen the continuation of Shorter’s tradition of excellence in music and theatre, as three students earned top honors in statewide competition.   Rachel Roby, a senior vocal performance major from Shelby, N.C., won top honors in the Georgia Music Teachers Association Young Artist Voice Competition held recently at the University of Georgia. She will now advance to the regional competition at Virginia State. Rachel, who finished with an honorable mention in last year’s competition, studies with Associate Professor of Music, Opera Director and Vocal Coordinator Dr. Linda Lister. Rachel’s program included "Unvoca poco fa" from Gioachino Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, “Rastlose Liebe” by Franz Schubert, “As Imperceptibly As Grief” by Andre Previn and  “Lift Me Into Heaven Slowly” by Libby Larsen.

Two other Shorter students also received high markings at the competition. In the Young Artist Piano Competition, Thomas Williams was selected as first alternate, and Christian Bigliani was awarded honorable mention. Both are students of Professor of Music Mary Ann Knight. Shorter theatre students Asha Brownie-Gordon and Doront’e Evans were honored at the October Georgia Theatre conference for receiving the highest scores during competition. Both students were given awards to mark their accomplishments. Participants in the GTC competed for the chance to be waived through to the next round of competition at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), and Shorter students make up 31 percent of the 78 college students who were approved to continue to the SETC.

Annual luncheon highlights lives of two Shorter graduates

Two graduates were honored Nov. 11 at the Shorter College Alumni and Friends Luncheon, held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention.

BP project engineer visits Shorter

At Shorter, the 2008-09 academic year has been set aside as a year to concentrate on environmental stewardship. In keeping with that theme, Bruce Weiler, a project engineer with BP Exploration Alaska and husband of music faculty member Dr. Sherri Weiler, spoke to Shorter College students in October about ANWR and Alaskan oil production.

Addressing a packed house inside Brookes Chapel, Weiler also spoke briefly on regulatory requirements for the petroleum industry.

Alumna’s article featured on ChristianityToday.com

Dr. Carmen Acevedo Butcher (’82), associate professor of English and scholar-in-residence at Shorter, compiled and translated an article that recently received national exposure on ChristianityToday.com.
 
The article, published under the Classic Faith for Modern Times series, is titled “The Singing Nun: Hildegard of Bingen.” According to the article, Hildegard of Bingen founded two convents and worked as a healer, naturalist, botanist, dietary specialist, and exorcist. Hildegard of Bingen used her musical talents to compose daring music and wrote the first surviving sung morality play.
 
Read more on Dr. Butcher’s publications>

Professor receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Faculty member George Thomason was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rome Area Council for the Arts (RACA) on Sunday, Oct. 12.   Working in oils only and creating mostly landscapes, Thomason enjoys painting in his home studio, located just down the road from where he teaches English and serves as chairman of Shorter College’s Humanities Department. As an artist, Thomason has been given the chance to display his works for the public many times over the years. Thomason had the distinction of being RACA’s premiere exhibit in 1994 with a one-man show titled “The Poetry of Paint,” and held a RACA show again in 1996 alongside Shorter alumna Barbara Brown Briley entitled “Two Views.”   Read more about Thomason’s career as an artist>

Presidential Politics on the Hill
 
While the nation geared up for the presidential election on Nov. 4, Shorter College students were doing the same – albeit on a smaller scale.
 
In the days leading up to election day, Shorter students sponsored a mock debate on campus, featuring platforms and points of view from Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.

The idea of hosting the debate came about when Dr. Chuck Wynn, dean of the School of Education and Social Sciences, asked students in his American government class what they had learned from the televised national debates. “I kept hearing the same thing,” Wynn said. “Students said that the candidates would never really answer the questions, and it was hard to tell where they stood. So we decided to have this debate so we could get the straight answers.”
 
Shorter freshman Melonie Hardy played the part of McCain, and sophomore Will Cates portrayed Obama. Both are students currently enrolled in Wynn’s class.
 
Read more about how Shorter students prepped for the debate>

Alumni Invited to Experience Biblical Sites Dr. Alan Hix (’82), associate professor of religion, invites Shorter College alumni to join him on a 13-day trip to biblical sites in Turkey and Greece. The trip, offered in cooperation with the Alumni Office, will include tours of the sites of the seven churches of Revelation as well as a Greek Island tour.   “The purpose of this tour is to discover the full message of the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation as well as to explore sites that are also connected to the ministry of the Apostle Paul,” Dr. Hix said.   Learn more about the trip>

ATHLETICS NEWS

Cooley hits 1,000-yard mark

During the Hawks’ Oct. 23 battle against Union College, A.J. Cooley (No. 7) became the first Shorter College football player to amass 1,000 rushing yards in a season. Cooley ran for 122 yards and three touchdowns on the day with 30 carries.   In addition, Cooley was named the Mid-South Player of the Week for Oct. 6-12 and went on to earn another spot in the Hawks’ history book as he was named NAIA National Football Offensive Player of the Week for that same period. This was the first such award for the young football team.   “This should be a team award,” Cooley said. “I couldn’t do this without the guys making big blocks for me. We’ve really worked well together all season.” Keep up with the success of the Hawks football team and Shorter’s 16 other intercollegiate sports at goshorterhawks.com.

NAIA tickets on sale

Need an extra dose of football before the final Christmas rush? Get your football fix right here in Rome on Saturday, Dec. 20. 

Shorter, along with partners Rome and Floyd County, will host the Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship game at noon at Rome’s Historic Barron Stadium. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online via www.NAIANationalChampionship.com.
  
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ 2008 and 2009 National Championship games were awarded to Shorter College and Rome-Floyd County earlier this year.

The games are sponsored by Russell Athletic.

Hawks honor true champions during childhood cancer event

The Shorter College Hawks teamed up last month with the Rome Noon Optimist Club to honor local children and families affected by childhood cancer. Families who have struggled with the diagnosis of childhood cancer were given a chance to receive complimentary tickets to see the Hawks take on North Greenville on Oct. 18.
 
Prior to the kickoff at Barron Stadium, one child was selected to toss the coin. Balloons were also released before the game began in honor or in memory of childhood cancer patients.

Shorter football players named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District

In the CoSIDA ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Football teams announced last week, Shorter College defensive backs Budd Keith and Will Oliver have been named to the District 3 College Division First Team. These are the first two Shorter College athletes that have received such recognition.   Read more about the players and their coach’s reaction> Feature on Budd Keith and Will Oliver, and their many years of playing football together>

Hawks cross country repeats as SSAC champs

It's hard to get better than first, but the Shorter College men's cross country team found a way on last Saturday as they took the top spot in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament at Stonebridge Golf Course with a perfect score of 15. The Hawks took all five of the top spots to advance to the National Tournament in two weeks.

Read more about their victory>

Hawks look to play with passion
Drop opener, but rebound with win over Union, Life

For head coach Chad Warner, who enters his second season at the helm of the Shorter Hawks men's basketball team, a blue-collar work ethic is what is needed as Shorter gets into the full swing of their 2008-09 season.
 
The Hawks opened up their season with a tough loss against Cumberland University, but redeemed themselves after a big win over Union College. The Hawks also netted a win against Life University, 80-74, in their first home game of the season held Nov. 13.
 
Read the full story about the Hawks’ season>

Lady Hawks place fourth in preseason poll

The Shorter College Lady Hawks basketball program ranked fourth in the 2008-2009 Southern States Athletic Conference preseason poll. Shorter received 87 points to place as the No. 4 team.
Three-time defending champion Lee University has been chosen as the preseason favorite to win the 2008-09 SSAC women's basketball championship, according to a poll of the conference's head coaches
.
Read more on the Lady Hawks season and to see the complete head coaches’ poll.

The Lady Hawks' 2008-09 season began with a win on Nov. 3 against Trevecca Nazarene University in the Berry College Classic. Shorter ended their 2007 season with an impressive 20-11 record.

Former Shorter coach Bill Foster joins Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame Four new members were added to an impressive list during the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on Friday evening, October 10, 2008, with former Shorter College basketball coach Bill Foster making the list.   Foster (who graduated from Wingate in 1956) played basketball two seasons for head coaching icon Reid Lowder at Wingate. A member of multiple Sports Halls of Fame, Foster was the head men's basketball at Shorter (Ga.), UNC Charlotte, Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech during a very successful coaching career. At Shorter, Foster's teams posted 110 wins against only 33 losses in five seasons and he built a strong foundation for Shorter Athletics in the early 60s. He went on to national prominence as a head coach in the NCAA, coaching Clemson and Virginia Tech to the NCAA Tournament, and winning the NIT with Virginia Tech in 1995. He was an assistant coach for the USA basketball team at the 1994 Goodwill Games.

 
Read more about Foster’s coaching career>

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS

For more information on the events listed below, call the Alumni Office at 1-800-868-6980, ext. 7353 or 706-233-7353 or e-mail sgraves@shorter.edu.

	Dec. 6 - Shorter Chorale, Shorter Chorus and the Rome Symphony Orchestra present "The Feaste of Caroles" Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m., Rome City Auditorium Advance tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for senior adults; $3 for students At the door, tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior adults, $6 for students The Choral Department of Shorter College presents the highlight of the Christmas season featuring the Shorter Chorale, the Shorter Chorus and the Rome Symphony Orchestra in a concert of holiday music. The performance will feature the Gloria! of John Rutter. The Rome Symphony Orchestra will also perform music of the season. The event will feature choral favorites and audience sing-a-longs.
	Jan. 15 - Jan. 18 - Massenet's Cinderella English translation by Dwight Coleman , directed by Linda Lister. Thursday, Jan.15 - Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 at 2 p.m. Callaway Theatre. Tickets are $12 for adults; $8 for seniors and students. See the beloved fairy tale come to life in Jules Massenet's operatic rendering. Based on Charles Perrault's version of the classic story, the opera is filled with the charming sweetness of dancing fairies, the evil humor of conniving step-sisters, and the magic of a dream-like ball and happy ending. Come and see Cinderella find her Prince Charming as depicted in Massenet's lush and romantic score.
	Jan. 24 - Friends of Theatre Showcase Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009. Time and venue to be announced.
	Jan. 20 - Feb. 20 - Guest Artist Eilis Crean presents “Presence” Reception and Artist Lecture Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. inside the Arnold Gallery. Eilis Crean's two current series of painting, Memorial Wall and Portraits, connect with philosophical issues of presence and being. Her work is held in state collections in Ireland, Latvia, and France; the collections of the LaGrange Art Museum and King and Spalding, Atlanta; and private collections in Ireland and the United States. She has exhibited in numerous juried and group shows of national acclaim. Crean is a native of Ireland and is currently an assistant professor of painting at University of West Georgia.
	Jan. 26 - Guest Artist Series Recital featuring Leon Couch, Organ Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., Brookes Chapel, free to the public With two doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music: the D.M.A. in Organ Performance and the Ph.D. in Music Theory, Couch has educational training to match his talent as an organist. An active conference presenter, lecturer, performer and church musician, he served as the 2007 visiting scholar at Northwestern College.
	Feb. 2 - Faculty Recital featuring Brian Nedvin, Tenor Monday, Feb. 2, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., Brookes Chapel
	Feb. 16 - Faculty Recital featuring David Oliver, Piano Monday, Feb. 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., Brookes Chapel
	Feb. 20-21 and 25-28; March 1 – Spring Musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” February 20-21 and 25-28, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 22 and March 1, 2009 at 2 p.m., Callaway Theatre $12 for general admission; $8 for students and senior adults Thoroughly Modern Millie is a high-spirited musical romp that took Broadway by storm. Taking place in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Mille tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself. It's a New York full of intrigue and jazz - a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. Based on the popular movie, the stage version of Thoroughly Modern Millie includes a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers.
	Feb. 23 - Guest Artist Series featuring Martin Bruns, Baritone Monday, February 23, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., Brookes Chapel Swiss baritone Martin Bruns has won much acclaim for his concert, oratorio, and opera appearances at major concert halls and festivals. Garnering praise for his "warm, open voice" and "magnificent interpretation," he has been a soloist with major European orchestras and has been hailed as a "superior lieder singer."

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