Ms. Budy, who is currently in England, was notified this week that she has won a Pushcart Prize for her essay, “The Hickeys on Sally Palermo’s Neck,” which originally was published in Creative Nonfiction, No. 16. The essay will be reprinted in the next Pushcart anthology.

The Pushcart Prize is one of the most praised literary series in America. Each year, a board of established editors and writers select about 60 stories, essays and poems from more than 5,000 nominations published in the previous year.

“The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses,” the annual anthology, has been named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review and has been picked for several Book-of-the Month Club selections. It has been called, “the single best measure of the state of affairs in American literature today” by the New York Times Book Review.

Ms. Budy also has been awarded the 2002 D. H. Lawrence Fellowship for the University of New Mexico’s Taos Summer Writers Conference.

The Lawrence Fellowship is presented to an emerging writer with at least one book in print. The recipient, whose expenses are covered for the conference, contributes to conference activities, particularly with teaching, and gives a formal reading.

Four other members of the Lyon community will be attending the Taos workshop in July. They are Sandra Barnett, retired bookstore manager; Sandy Michel, the current bookstore manager; Dr. Sally Browder, associate professor of psychology; and Suzanne Blair, a member of the Lyon Board of Trustees.

A poem by Ms. Budy, “Exchange Student,” is included in the current issue of Shenandoah, the Washington and Lee University Review. Shenandoah has published award-winning fiction, essays and interviews since 1950. Work published in the magazine is regularly included in respected annual anthologies, including the Pushcart Prize.

The United States Department of Agriculture awarded Gregerson a $68,680 two-year grant last summer to continue his research on how a certain bacteria works in a symbiotic relationship with legumes. Those funds were released for use earlier this year.

Gregerson said the bacteria he is studying work with legumes (beans, peas and such) allowing them to grow without fertilizers. The bacteria produce nitrogen that the plant is able to use. To do so, however, the bacteria must be in an oxygen-free atmosphere.

“That’s the tricky part,” Gregerson said. “Plants, of course, don’t want to be in an oxygen-free atmosphere. So they form a special chamber where they house the bacteria. It’s a special symbiotic relationship – they both benefit from the other.”

Gregerson is studying how that relationship works. While he has studied the subject in the past, he recently decided to switch more of his research attention to the subject. Gregerson said this research is linked to his previous main research topic that focused on making plants more reliable for extended space travel. But while he may now be switching most of his focus to this new research, it is not new to him. He’s done some work on it for six years.

The switch of focus meant that he needed more funding for the research – thus the reason he applied for the USDA grant.

“It’s a very competitive grant process,” Gregerson said. “There were about 100 grant proposals. The proposals go out to external reviewers first. Then there are 10 scientists that meet in Washington, D.C., that do their own review. They then rank each of the proposals. Only about 20 percent of the proposals receive funding. And they don’t have to fund the full grant proposals. Fortunately they gave me the full amount I asked for.”

A Star Chapter must fulfill the following criteria: have a sponsor and a student at the national/regional convention, have at least one student presentation at the convention, have a Benedict Fellowship and/or Nolle Scholarship nominee, sponsor one scholarly program on campus, induct and register members, and file an annual chapter report.

Alpha Chi has chapters on more than 300 campuses in 45 states and Puerto Rico. An honor society for all academic fields, it inducts no more than the top 10 percent of juniors and seniors at member institutions.

Synod of the Sun Women's Conference on campus this weekend

The Synod of the Sun Women’s Conference will begin today and go through Sunday at the Lyon campus.

The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Peggy Cantwell, Associate Pastor at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. Kathy Moriarty of Fort Worth, Texas, will serve as music leader.

Workshops will include: “No Longer Strangers: A Study of the Letter to the Ephesians” by Ruth Ann Folsom of Shreveport, Louisiana; “Pray It Like You Mean It!” by Gerry Michal of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; “Yoga and Meditation” by Frances Bateman of Hot Springs; “What Are Your True Colors?” by Barbara Lyerly of Ash Flat; and “Where Is Our Money Going?” by Karene Jones of North Little Rock.

Cost of the Conference is $125, which includes two nights lodging and six meals, or $50 for day attendees, which includes Saturday lunch.

For more information, contact Sandy Draughon, conference director, at 318-865-5987 or e-mail pthom@soft-disk.com. You may also contact Claudia Marsh at 793-1767 or e-mail cmarsh@lyon.edu.

Sports

The Scots made it to the finals of the NAIA Region XI Baseball Tournament before losing 8-7 on a ninth-inning home run by Lambuth University’s Michael Strickland.

The loss ended the Scots’ most successful season with a 42-32 record. The 42 wins is a school record. Lyon had never previously reached the region tournament.

The loss was still heartbreaking for the team, which was only one game away from playing for a spot in the NAIA World Series.

They came so close against Lambuth, scoring two in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 7, then moved a runner to third in the ninth but couldn’t score the go-ahead run.

The Scots were the third and final seed from the TransSouth Conference. They lost their first game of the regional but fought back by winning two games on Saturday.

Lyon defeated Lee 20-18 in the opener. The game was scheduled for Friday but was rained out. Adam Davis had a grand slam, a three-run homer and drove in seven runs to lead the Scots’ batters. Clete Putnam had four hits and drove in four runs.

The Scots beat Union University 7-6 Saturday night. It was the first time Lyon had beaten Union in five games this season. Jason Livernois was three for three with three RBI for the Scots.

The Scots had defeated Cumberland (Ky.) College 6-4 on Thursday to advance to Saturday’s games.

Golf

The Piper golf team qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament, which will be May 21-24 in Palm Coast, Florida.

The team, which consists of senior Shannon Vinson, sophomore Julie Church and freshmen Adriane Barnett and Leslie Bragg, is ranked 21st in the NAIA national poll after winning the TranSouth Conference Tournament and finishing fourth in a regional event. The Pipers received an at-large bid based on their finish in the regional tournament.

Approximately 24 teams are expected to participate in the 72-hold national tournament on the Pine Lake Golf Course.

Lyon College Campus Calendar

Friday, May 17

8 a.m.-1:30 pm Lutheran Elementary School Field Day             Grigsby Grounds, Huser Track

10 a.m. Institutional Advancement Staff Meeting             Lyon, Citizens Bank Room

2-5 p.m. Registration, Synod of the Sun Women’s Conference             Lower Union

Saturday, May 18

7 a.m.-9 p.m. Synod of the Sun Women’s Conference             Holloway Theatre/Lyon Bldg.

Sunday, May 19

7 a.m.-12 noon Synod of the Sun Women’s Conference             Holloway Theatre/Lyon Bldg.

1 p.m. Kids Tennis Club Lessons             Tennis Courts

Tuesday, May 21

10 a.m. Executive Cabinet Meeting             Lyon, Worthen Bank Room

2:15 p.m. TeamsElite Implementation Team             Lyon, Citizens Bank Room

Wednesday, May 22

10 a.m. Academic Services Component Meeting             Lyon, Nucor Auditorium

Thursday, May 23

8 a.m. KidsCount Regional Meeting             Lyon, Nucor Auditorium