February 2009

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TOP NEWS

Nursing program readies for students in 2010 There’s a whirlwind of activity taking place at the future home of Shorter College’s School of Nursing. It’s evident by the mountains of paper and stacks of academic textbooks that Dean of Nursing Vanice Roberts, along with her staff have been busy for months. “We are basically building a customized curriculum from scratch,” said Dr. Roberts, speaking about the nursing program that will kick off in the fall of 2010.

The overall goal for the School of Nursing at Shorter College is to develop a nursing program of distinction that is committed to academic excellence and spiritual integrity while reaching out to both the local and global community through healthcare service.

“The next two years will be busy ones as nursing students join other Shorter College students in core classes,” said Dr. Roberts. “We will be advising potential students, finalizing nursing policies, delineating the admission criteria, developing the courses that will make up the curriculum, designing classrooms and learning laboratories, and submitting progress reports to the Georgia Board of Nursing.”

The School of Nursing is located in Rome’s Riverbend shopping center, inside the Coosa Medical Clinic building.

Get more information about Shorter’s nursing degree>

Share Shorter with prospective students

Know a college-bound student looking for a college home? Tell him or her about your alma mater! Alumni have the chance to share Shorter with prospective students by simply inviting them to take a tour of the campus. On March 29, prospective students and their parents are invited to attend Sunday at Shorter. The all-day event will allow students to take part in the Shorter College experience. The day starts at 9 a.m. and includes campus tours, special receptions, a worship service and other interesting activities.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact Joan Blackwelder at 1-800-868-6980, extension 7310, or via email at jblackwelder@shorter.edu.

Celebrate Shorter Success and achievement will be the focus of the day on April 1 as the students on the Hill gear up to Celebrate Shorter. All academic aspects will be highlighted, from science and business presentations to award-winning poetry readings and theatre showcases. The morning and afternoon student symposia will span the spectrum of academic disciplines, and an awards luncheon will be held at noon.

This year’s guest speaker will be Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department of Publishers Weekly. An authority on religion in America, Tickle is a much sought after lecturer.
 In addition to lectures and numerous essays, articles, and interviews, she is the author of more than two dozen books in religion and spirituality, most notably the Divine Hours series of manuals for observing fixed-hour prayer.

Tickle, who was with Publishers Weekly until her retirement in 2004, began her career as a college teacher and, for almost 10 years, served as academic dean to the Memphis College of Art before entering full time into writing and publishing. In September 1996, she received the Mays Award, one of the book industry's most prestigious awards for lifetime achievement in writing and publishing, and specifically in recognition of her work in gaining mainstream media coverage of religion publishing.

In 2004, she received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the Berkeley School of Divinity at Yale University, also in recognition of her work. In 2007, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Christy Awards "in gratitude for a lifetime as an advocate for fiction written to the glory of God." Tickle is currently a senior fellow of Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral. A founding member of The Canterbury Roundtable, she serves now, as she has in the past, on a number of advisory and corporate boards. A lay Eucharistic minister and lector in the Episcopal Church, she is the mother of seven children and, with her physician-husband, makes her home on a small farm in Lucy, Tenn.

Get more information on Celebrate Shorter and to see a timeline of the day’s events>

MORE NEWS

Shorter joins prestigious Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

Shorter College recently announced that it has been approved as the 111th member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The membership was made official during CCCU’s Presidents Conference held Jan. 29-31.

According to its Web site, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities “works to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help its institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.”

Read more about this membership>

Campus observes Black History Month Shorter College students, faculty and staff observed the beginning of Black History Month on Feb. 3 with a special worship service inside Brookes Chapel. Shorter alumnus Will Givens (’07) gave the message, and the Shorter Chapel Choir presented a special selection of music. The choir is an eight-student ensemble led by Shorter student Justin Davis.

Also in celebration of Black History Month, Shorter hosted comedian Preacher Moss on Feb. 16. A self-developed leader in tackling racial issues on campus, he continues to be a consultant on racial and social matters for numerous organizations in the nation. He garnered much notoriety and acclaim among campus programmers with his recent tour, “The End of Racism.”

Science 101 for middle schoolers More than one dozen local middle school students packed into a classroom in Rome Hall on Feb. 3, ready to open new doors into the world of science and technology. Shorter and the Etowah Georgia Youth Science and Technology Center (GYSTC) have partnered to sponsor SCIO – a science-based learning program that kicked off in February.

The students will attend 90-minute learning sessions twice weekly for two months on Shorter’s campus to plan, design and implement science projects that will go far beyond the traditional tri-board focus. According to Shorter’s Department of Education chair Dr. Sandra Leslie, students will create Rube Goldberg-type projects and videotape the process. Goldberg, an American inventor, was known for making complex and intricate machines to perform simple tasks.

Read more about this new program>

 Lectureship to focus on environmental history

The 2009 Whitworth-Muldrow Lectureship at Shorter College will focus on “Gender, Justice and American Environmental History.” The event will be held Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. inside Brookes Chapel. The public is invited at no charge.

The bi-annual event will feature Emory professor Dr. Ellen G. Spears. Spears taught American Studies as a visiting assistant professor in the Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts at Emory University during 2006 and 2007, and now teaches courses in Emory’s Department of Environmental Studies.

Find out more about Spears>

Modern Millie hitting center stage

Shorter College’s award-winning theatre department will present Thoroughly Modern Millie this month at the Callaway Theatre.

The high-spirited musical romp that’s full of spectacular dance numbers chronicles the life of young Millie Dillmount as she takes her first steps in the big city of Manhattan in 1922. A transplant from Kansas, Millie becomes determined to find a rich husband and lead an elegant lifestyle, but the colorful characters and exciting adventures she encounters eventually brings her to see the modern world in a whole new way.

Click here for show times and ticket information>

SPORTS

Minor League Update: Former Shorter ace Cliff Flagello Since being drafted in 2007 by the Baltimore Orioles in the 25th round, former Shorter College baseball ace Cliff Flagello has been anything but quiet. The 5-foot-10 right-hander posted a 2.29 earned run average in relief at Class A Delmarva in his first full season last year - including a 1.07 mark after the All-Star break - and limited Sally League batters to an impressive .185 average. Following the end of the season, he received the Orioles' prestigious Elrod Hendricks Minor League Community Service Award.

"It was a good year for me, in terms of development and performance," said Flagello. "The community award is something that anyone would be excited to receive. Coach [Matt] Larry (Shorter's head baseball coach) was always adamant about getting players involved in the community and playing under him has instilled those beliefs in me."

Read more about Flagello’s baseball career>

Braves’ Blaine Boyer part of “Meet the Team” dinner

The Shorter College Hawks baseball team hosted its second annual "Meet the Team" dinner to introduce to fans to the 2009 team on Jan. 31. The event featured Shorter College Baseball Coach Hamp Alexander from the 1973-1987 seasons as the distinguished guest and Atlanta Braves pitcher Blaine Boyer as the special keynote speaker.

Read more about the "Meet the Team" dinner>

 Waddell finds home with Shorter basketball

The 6-foot-11 senior center for the Hawks, Qavotstaraj Waddell, has found a home at Shorter College, and he's found a team that has embraced him on and off he court. "Who knows why and when things happen," Hawks head coach Chad Warner said about Waddell, who joined the Shorter program last summer after transferring from Southern Conference member Tennessee-Chattanooga. "I told him that I hoped his decision to come to Shorter was the one of best decision he's ever made." Read more about Waddell and his contribution to the team>

Four Hawks named to College Fanz/VSN All-American football team

The College Fanz Sports Network has released its 2008 NAIA All-American football teams, and four Shorter College Hawks have made the list. The team was voted on by select group of ten NAIA football coaches as well as NAIA expert Jason Dannelly of the College Fanz Sports Network.

From the offensive line, Zach Morrison was named to the All-American Second Team, while Andrew Schrampfer was named honorable mention from the defensive line. Running back A.J. Cooley was named All-American Second Team for the offense, and linebacker Logan Lollis was named Second Team defense.

Read more on this story>

15 ink with Shorter

 The Shorter College football team announced the signing of 15 new players on Feb. 4.

Four players from local schools made the list, with one from Rome High School (Josh Hines - a transfer from Mississippi State), one from Coosa High School (Steven Kelley), and two from Pepperell High School (Michael Ozment and Matt Kelley).

See the complete list of signees>

Speeding to new records: Track and Field finding success

The Shorter men's track team rewrote the records last month at the Gladstein Invitational, hosted by Indiana University. A total of three records were broken, and eight men qualified for the national championship in March. Read about the record-setting times> The track and field team also competed at the Niswonger Invitational last month, and the Shorter men moved one step closer to winning a national championship. Of the six records shattered by the Hawks at the invitational, five of them qualified the Hawks for the Indoor National Championships.

Read more about the track and field team’s competition at Niswonger>

The Shorter men’s track team upped their number of national qualifiers. The team traveled back to Indiana University in early Feburary for the Hoosier Invitational with the goal of improving on their number of national qualifiers. They achieved their goal, adding three more to the list. They also won in six events.

See the list of qualifiers and read more about the Hawks’ big win>

Abrams making smooth transitions

Being a good basketball coach is something that usually takes time to develop. There are, however, those who are born blessed with the ability to lead - like Dana Abrams. After closing the book on a highly successful playing career at Armuchee High and Shorter College, Abrams is combining her knowledge of the game with the leadership skills she mastered on the court as a player to pursue her dream of teaching kids and coaching the game she so loves by serving a graduate assistant this season for Shorter's Lady Hawks.

Read more about Abrams’ transition>

Lady Hawks on unstoppable mission

Last month, the Shorter women's track team traveled to the Indiana University for the Gladstein Invitational. By the end of the meet, several ladies etched their names into the record books, along with a few national qualifying marks.

Read more about this story> Just a few days after their triumph at Gladstein, the Lady Hawks added another relay to the national qualifying list at the Niswonger Invitational, while lowering individual personal bests in their respective events as well. The team was lead by Justyna Mudy , who won the 5000m run in a school record and national qualifying time of 17:21.52. The Poland native sat comfortably in third for most of the race, tucked in behind two veteran athletes. To read more about the team’s success at Niswonger>

Then at this month’s Hoosier Invitational, Shorter’s Ashlie Stewartson left with victories in both the long and triple jump. Her long jump (17'4.75") and triple jump (36'11.50") marks bettered the previous records more than six inches. What's more impressive is that her triple jump mark automatically qualifies her for next month's national championships and ranks her seventh in the NAIA.

Read more about the Lady Hawks’ experience at Hoosier>

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.

	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."
	Feb. 24 - Guest Artist Art Exhibit, Steve Loucks - "Altered and Embellished with a Personal Touch" Feb. 24 - March 20, Reception and Artist Lecture on February 24, 2009 at 4 p.m. inside the Arnold Gallery Steve Loucks is a professor of art at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, and a professional potter. His work plays upon functional pottery forms that abandon utility for a more playful, organic, and sculptural approach to form, surface embellishment, and presentation. His works have multiple layers of glazes that are high-fired in a reduction atmosphere. Steve received his MFA from the New York City College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and his BFA from the University of Illinois.
	March 2 - Alumni Recital - Jamie Barton, Mezzo-Soprano and Patrick Harvey, Piano Monday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Brookes Chapel Jamie Barton, a 2004 Shorter College graduate and winner of the Metropolitan Opera's 2007 National Council Auditions, returns for an alumni recital. Jamie recently earned her Master of Music degree in voice performance from Indiana University and is a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. Joining her for this recital will be 2005 graduate Patrick Harvey, who recently earned his Master of Music degree in collaborative piano from the University of Michigan. He is now instructor of music and coach-accompanist at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
	April 4 - Shorter Chorus Spring Concert with Somethin' Else Saturday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m., Brookes Chapel The Shorter Chorus will conclude its choral season with a delightful blend of choral works of many periods and styles. This ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Robbins. Come join the Chorus for an evening of choral classics.
	April 5 - William D. Knight Competition Finals Sunday, April 5 at 3 p.m., Brookes Chapel, $12 for general admission; $8 for students and senior adults The eighth annual Knight Performer’s Scholarship Competition honors the outstanding contributions of William and Mary Ann Knight. Mr. Knight is retired distinguished professor of piano (1963-2004), and Mrs. Knight is in her 43 rd year of teaching piano at Shorter. During Mr. Knight’s 55-year concert career, he performed throughout the United States and Central America. During his 42 years at Shorter College, his students were awarded prizes at state, national, and international piano competitions.
	April 15- 19 - The Picture of Dorian Gray Wednesday, April 15 to Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m., Callaway Theatre $12 for general admission; $8 for students and senior adults The author of Look Back in Anger, Inadmissible Evidence and The Entertainer has created a brilliant dramatization of this classic about a man who retains his youth while the decay of advancing years and moral corruption appears on a portrait painted by one of his companions.
	April 20 - Faculty Recital Dr. Brian Nedvin Monday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m., Brookes Chapel
	April 26, 27 - An Afternoon of Opera Scenes Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m., Monday, April 27 at 5 p.m., Callaway Theatre A spectacular array of scenes from the world's greatest operas featuring Shorter College's most talented aspiring opera singers. All scenes sung in the original languages with English supertitles.
	April 26 - Preparatory Department Spring Recital Sunday, April 26 , 2 p.m.

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 Shorter Public Relations. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for our e-newsletter, e-mail Aimee Madden at amadden@shorter.edu.

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