February 26, 2007

GREENSHEET HEADLINES


• Spring Break to be observed next week

• Eight Lyon College professors promoted to associate level

• BSA banquet speaker recalls heroes of the early civil rights movements

• Alumni Association award nominations accepted

• Lyon College philosophy professor’s paper to be featured at Texas conference

•Quapaw Quartet to perform West Endowed Concert  

• Sports

• Peel named first head softball coach
 

 

Spring Break is next week

Lyon College's Spring Break begins Monday and will run through Friday, March 9. The Dining Hall will close after lunch Friday and will re-open for dinner on Sunday, March 11.

Residence Halls and Apartments will close at 7 p.m. Friday and re-open at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 11.

Any students who have not requested permission to remain on campus during the spring break period, will be expected to leave no later than 7 p.m. on Friday, March 2.

ALL students who wish to remain in campus housing for spring break must register at the Residence Life Office no later than noon on Thursday.

Before leaving for break, students should:
o Unplug all unnecessary electrical items such as TVs, radios, stereos, computers, etc. (you may leave fish tanks and refrigerators plugged in).
o Remove and properly dispose of all room trash.
o Close and lock windows.
o Lower the window blinds.
o Adjust room thermostats to 70 degrees.
o Take home valuable items.
o Close and lock room doors.

More information is available on the Student Conference on FirstClass.
 

  

 

 

 Former chairman of the 9/11 Commission addresses President’s Council meeting

By Wil Shane
Lyon College News Bureau

America’s war on terrorism lacks one vital weapon, and that is creating hope for the people of Iraq and the Middle East, the former chairman of the 9/11 Commission said Wednesday in Little Rock.

Speaking at the third annual winter meeting of the Lyon College President’s Council, Thomas H. Kean, the man named by President Bush to chair the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, told the audience gathered at the Arkansas Arts Center that then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified that new terrorists are being created faster than they can be caught or killed.

"They have no opportunities for education or for getting good jobs," Kean said. "They have no future. We need to create hope for them."

Kean (pronounced "Kane") said small liberal arts colleges like Lyon offer educations that are second to none, but graduates today are entering a new world vastly different from what has previously existed.

Before, there were two superpowers in the world – The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. – but since the fall of the Soviet Union, America’s enemies live in "shadowy places" that are difficult to identify and pin down.

"I once asked Ronald Reagan what he wanted his legacy to be," Kean said. "He pointed to man who was with him at all times."

The man carried a briefcase, and inside it was a button to release nuclear weapons.

"Reagan said, ‘I hope my successors never have to have that man’," Kean said.

Kean, who had a close friend die on Flight 93 and five others who perished in the World Trade Center, said the 19 terrorists who perpetrated 9/11 penetrated the defenses of the world’s most powerful nation and turned the world order "upside down."

He said his work with the Commission revealed three things that could have prevented the attacks. First on that list is that American intelligence services should have been aware to the threat.

"There were signs as far back as February 1993 at the first attack on the World Trade Center," Kean said.

One of the 9/11 conspirators was related to the planner of that first attack. Osama bin Laden financed the Somalian terrorists involved in the "Blackhawk Down" incident, and he was known to have been involved in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in the East African capital cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya in 1998. He was also believed to have planned and helped to finance the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in 2000.

Part the problem rested in the fact that American intelligence agencies such as the FBI, NSA and CIA failed to share information with each other. To illustrate the point, he said the CIA was searching the world for two of the Cole conspirators while the FBI knew they were living in Los Angeles, and they even had credit cards and driver’s licenses in their own names.

What can be done to improve America’s image throughout a world where the nation isn’t presently well liked?

"First, we need to close Guantanamo," Kean said. "It has a bad reputation and hurts our image in the Arab world. "And second, we need to take a greater role in the Israeli-Arab peace process."

Kean said America’s next generation must work to achieve these objectives.

He currently serves as chairman of the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, a nonprofit entity created with private funds to continue the Commission’s work of guarding against future attacks.

From 1982 – 1990, Kean served as governor of New Jersey, and for the next 15 years, he served as president of Drew University in Madison, N.J.

The Lyon College President’s Council – co-chaired by Doyle W. Rogers Sr. and Josephine Raye Rogers of Batesville – is composed of distinguished business and civic leaders from across the state and nation who provide support and counsel to Lyon College President Dr. Walter B. Roettger, the college’s Board of Trustees, administration and faculty.

Established in 2004, the President’s Council is a by-invitation-only group whose mission is to "engage leaders in their professions and communities who share Lyon College’s belief in the transforming value of a liberal arts education of highest quality." The President’s Council now has more than 180 members.

Photos from the event are posted on What's Hot on the Lyon website.

Eight Lyon College professors granted tenure, promoted to associate level

Based on recommendations from Lyon President Dr. Walter Roettger, eight Lyon College faculty members were promoted from assistant professors to the associate level at the Board of Trustees meeting held in Little Rock last week. The promotions will become effective at the beginning of the 2007-08 academic year.

Dr. Floyd Beckford, assistant professor of chemistry, earned his Ph.D., and his B. Sc., at the University of West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. He joined the Lyon faculty in 2001 and has served as faculty advisor of the student chapter of the American Chemical Society, vice president of the faculty assembly, and as chair of the curriculum committee. Floyd also serves as a soccer referee for both high school and the Independence County Youth Athletic Association

Dr. Gloria Everson, assistant professor of anthropology, earned her Ph.D., from Tulane University and her B.A., from Augustana College. She joined the Lyon faculty in 2001. Her area of research is Mesoamerican archaeology. Everson has served as a freshman mentor and chaired the curriculum committee. She currently serves as faculty advisor to the Young Democrats, and has been a member of the Batesville chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens since 2001.

Dr. Stuart Hutton, assistant professor of physics, earned his Ph.D., and M.S., from Montana State University and his B.S., from the University of Richmond. He joined the Lyon faculty in 2001, and currently serves as a freshman mentor, a faculty representative to the student assembly, and on the Pre-Health Professions Advisory Committee. Stuart also serves as faculty advisor to Chi Beta Phi.

Dr. Md. Mahbubul Kabir, assistant professor of economics, earned his Ph.D., from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, his M.A., from Williams College, an M.B.A., from Dhaka University, Bangladesh, and his B.Sc., from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology. He joined the Lyon faculty in 1999, and has served on the college Institutional Assessment Committee and on the Student Creative Arts and Research Forum advisory committee.

Dr. Tim Lindblom, assistant professor of biology, earned his Ph.D., from the University of Georgia and his B.S., from Auburn University. He joined the Lyon faculty in 2002, and has served as the chair of the Student and Creative Arts, Forum Committee. He currently serves as faculty co-sponsor for the Lyon chapter of Alpha Chi and the Lyon Episcopal Society. He is a Webelos Den Leader for Pack 220, Boy Scouts of America

Dr. David Pace, assistant professor of chemistry, earned his Ph.D., and his B.S., from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He joined the Lyon faculty in 2001. Prior to his appointment at Lyon, Pace spent seven years in the chemical industry as a developmental chemist at a manufacturing facility in Arkansas. He has served as a freshman mentor and as faculty assembly secretary at Lyon.

Dr. Monica Rodriguez, assistant professor of Spanish, earned her Ph.D., and an M.A., from the University of Kentucky, a B.A., from Berea College, and a B.S., from the University of San Martin de Porres, Lima, Peru. She joined the Lyon faculty in 2001. Rodriquez has served as a freshman mentor and currently serves as faculty advisor to Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish honor society. Monica also has served as an ESL/Spanish teacher and translator at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Batesville.

David Sonnier, assistant professor of computer science, earned his M.S., from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.S., from the United States Military Academy. He joined the Lyon faculty in 2001. David is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He currently serves as faculty advisor to Catholic Campus Ministries. He is also a member of the Batesville Symphony League and vice president of the Batesville Swimming Association.

BSA banquet speaker recalls heroes of the early civil rights movements

When black history and American history mesh, mistakes of the past can more easily be avoided in the future, the keynote speaker for Lyon College’s annual Black Students Association said Saturday at Lyon College.

Ben Earls, the recently retired director of business development for White River Planning and Development, spoke at the banquet honoring Black History Month.

Dr. Tom Carpenter, professor of education and adviser to the Black Students Association, commemorated the occasion that brought an enthusiastic crowd out despite the rainy night. In his usual characteristic style that’s a cross between an old time preacher of the Gospel and a wry comic, Carpenter told the audience that Black History Month is observed in February because Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln were born in that month.

Later, it was determined that many great African-Americans had been born in that month as well, he added.

"That’s why it’s held in February," Carpenter said. "Not because it’s the shortest month."

Born in Batesville in 1940, Earls is descended from a former slave named Daniel who was owned by a man named Peter Tidwell. When Tidwell died, his son emancipated Daniel.

Daniel operated a ferry on the White River in 1836. He became so respected that his house in Oil Trough was used as a local polling place. In 1838, Daniel bought 350 acres of bottomland between Oil Trough and Newport.

In 1841, the younger Tidwell sold Daniel’s wife Sukie and their two children to him for $1. Later that year, Daniel bought two more children from Tidwell and raised them as his own.

Those descendants, including Earls, continue to live and prosper in the area.

Men like Daniel, and later, more famous men such as John Brown, Frederick Douglass and Dr. Martin Luther King, are the "giants" upon whose shoulders modern civil rights leaders stand, Earls said.

"John Brown, a white abolitionist, was one of my heroes when I was young," Earls said. "Too many kids today don’t even know who he is."

He spoke of a landmark speech made by Frederick Douglass on July 4, 1852, a speech that decried and denounced the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating freedom at a time when four million blacks were held as slaves.

"I would say to you, the young and the old, go find this speech and read it," Earls said. "We must understand our history if we are to understand our future."

Another speech that helped shape Earls’ life was made my Dr. King. Entitled "Beyond Vietnam," the words are as relevant today as they were when there first spoken in the 1960s, he told the audience.

"Read it and substitute Vietnam with Iraq, and Communism with terrorism, and it’s almost the exact same thing today," Earls said. "If we really learn our history, hopefully we won’t make the same mistakes again. When black history and American history come together, we can see where we’re going."

Also featured at the banquet were the presentations of two BSA awards and the Jane Fagg BSA Alumni Scholarship.

The Distinguished Alumni Award went to Andy Montgomery ’97.

Academic Achievement Awards went to Brandon Thomas, Daria Paunovic, Jessica Allen, Katherine Marie Crowell and Shane Russell.

The recipients of the Jane Fagg BSA Alumni Scholarship were Brandon Thomas and Erica Alves.

Alumni Association awards nominations accepted

There is still time to nominate someone for the Distinguished Alumnus(a) Award and the Patterson Decade Awards. The awards are presented at the Founders' Day Convocation at Homecoming in October. Here are the criteria for the awards:

Distinguished Alumnus(a)

The Distinguished Alumnus(a) Award is an honor bestowed annually to one or two alumni. The award recipient is selected by the Alumni Leadership Council of the Lyon College Alumni Association.

1. There shall be no more than two recipients of the award in a single year.

2. The candidate must be a former Lyon student (having completed at least 30 hours or more at Lyon) and is preferably a Lyon graduate.

3. A minimum of 15 years must have passed since the candidate attended Lyon.

4. The candidate has preferably shown active interest and support of Lyon in the interim 15 years.

5. The candidate must be distinguished in his/her field or career.

6. The candidate has preferably received some previous recognition from contemporaries.

7. The recipient must be present at the award presentation.

Patterson Decade Award

The Patterson Decade Award is an honor bestowed annually to two alumni from the 10-year reunion class. The award recipients are selected by the Alumni Leadership Council of the Lyon College Alumni Association.

1. There shall be two recipients annually, one man and one woman

2. The candidate must be a graduate of Lyon College and a member of the 10-year reunion class.

3. The candidate must have achieved a notable degree of success in his or her chosen field, career or profession.

4. The candidate has preferably received some previous recognition from contemporaries.

5. The recipient must be present at the award ceremony.

Nomination forms may be downloaded at http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/alumni/awardinfo.asp

Lyon College professor’s paper to be featured at Texas conference

A Lyon College philosophy professor will present her arguments against the ideas contained in an influential and controversial interpretation on the works of Plato at the North Texas Philosophical Association’s 40th anniversary meeting, in Denton, Texas.

Dr. Martha Beck, associate professor of philosophy, has had her paper "Tragedy and the Philosophical Life: A Response to Martha Nussbaum," accepted for inclusion on the Main Program of the NTPA event. Her paper will be one of five featured on April 13.

Dale Wilkerson, secretary for the NTPA, said the overall scope and quality of the essays to be presented during the conference’s Main Program are all outstanding pieces of work.

"(Dr. Beck’s) work will join a promising series of talks by such noted scholars as Charles Bambach, Robert Wood, Bruce Krajewski, Martin Yaffe, and many others," he wrote when notifying Beck that she’d been selected to participate. "The quality and number of this year’s NTPA submissions were considerable, and many worthy papers had to be refused."

John Caputo, the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Humanities at Syracuse University, will deliver the conference’s keynote address, "The Theological Turn in Recent French Phenomenology."

Beck’s paper is based on the her recently published trilogy of books by the same title. She strongly disagrees with the interpretation of four of Plato’s dialogues in Nussbaum’s 1986 book, "The Fragility of Goodness: luck and ethics in Greek tragedy and philosophy." Nussbaum’s book has been widely read, making her a well-known public intellectual in the United States today.

Beck’s books were the result of a "joint effort" between her and library staffers Brenda Lindsey ‘00 and Judy Blackwell ’05. Beck, wrote the manuscripts and Lindsey and Blackwell edited them into camera-ready galley proofs.

Beck said during her early years of studying Plato, she found that she disagreed with many traditional approaches, finding the interpretations to be too analytical and often meaningless. Beck also disagrees with the interpretation of Plato’s Republic now made famous by the writings and policies of a group of "neo-conservative" political philosophers who studied Plato at the University of Chicago under Leo Strauss.

West Endowed Concert to feature the Quapaw Quartet

The West Endowed Concert Series will feature the Quapaw Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the Bevens Music Room. The quartet will play compositions by Schubert, Debussy and Mendelssohn.

The quartet’s performance at Lyon College is free and open to the public.

The Quapaw Quartet was founded in 1980 as the resident string quartet of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. The four members of the ensemble are Eric Hayward, first violin; Meredith Maddox, violin; Ryan Mooney, viola; and Melita Hunsinger on cello.

The Dan C. and Sidney Childs West Endowment was established by Dr. and Mrs. West in May 1981 for the purpose of offering live musical performances or stringed instrument instruction at Lyon College.

Sports

Lyon College hires Peel as head softball coach

Lyon College has selected former University of Memphis assistant baseball coach and current Lyon baseball assistant Jack Peel as its inaugural women's fast-pitch softball head coach.

Peel spent six years as a professional baseball player in both the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers organizations and was an assistant at the University of Memphis from 1991-94, before coming to Lyon College.

The new head coach is looking forward to building a fast-pitch softball program with student-athletes the College can be proud of.

“I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity to be able to create something from the ground floor up,” said Peel, “and to be able to have a chance to do it at Lyon College -- a great school with great students and the great people to work with, what more of a chance can you ask for?”

Lyon College Athletics Director Terry Garner considers the upstart program to be in very good hands with Peel at the helm.

“We're lucky to have been able to hire someone of Jack's character and quality,” said Lyon College Athletics Director Terry Garner. “I think he's the perfect person to get our softball program off and running in the right direction.”

And Peel believes the potential for Lyon College's fast-pitch softball program is unlimited.

“Softball as a sport is just really beginning to grow nationally,” said Peel, “and we have the chance to really do something special surrounded by a quality community and backed by a school the quality of Lyon College. I just want to thank the search committee and Lyon College President Dr. Walter Roettger for giving me the opportunity.”

Lyon is a member of the NAIA's TranSouth Conference and is scheduled to begin fast-pitch softball play in the spring of 2008. Softball joins a list of seven other colligate sports offered at Lyon - including baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, cross-country, golf and tennis.
 

Basketball

Pipers set to host TranSouth tourney game

The Lyon College Pipers' are hosting a TranSouth Conference tournament game tonight against Blue Mountain College Becknell Gym. Tip-ff time is scheduled for 7 p.m. No regular-season passes will be honored. Students, faculty and staff are required to sign a pass list at the admission gate and will be admitted free of charge.

Tonight's first-round tournament game is scheduled to be broadcast in live audio at 7 p.m. CST. Go the Pipers Basketball webpage to connect to the broadcast.

No. 10 Trevecca escapes Lyon College, 76-64

Lyon College's Maribeth Waters scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds, but the NAIA's No. 10-ranked Trevecca Nazarene Lady Trojans took home a 76-64 victory Saturday evening in TranSouth Conference play at Becknell Gym. April Carter added 19 points for Lyon (12-18, 5-13 in the TranSouth Conference) and freshman Ashley Waller pitched in eight. Trevecca shot 58 percent from the field on 28 of 48 shooting. The Lady Trojans were 5 of 9 from 3-point range for 55.6 percent.

Scots fall to Trevecca in regular-season finale

The Lyon College Scots' regular season came to an end on Saturday with a 78-59 loss to the Trevecca-Nazarene Trojans in a TranSouth Conference game at Becknell Gym. Junior forward Levi Taylor led the Scots (12-18, 3-15 in the Tran-South) with 14 points. Chad Glover scored 12 points and Jonathan Donaldson had 10.
The Trojans (17-13, 10-8) gunned down 10 of 15 attempts (67 percent) from the arc and shot 29 of 43 (67 percent) from the field. Lyon hit just 19 of 50 (38 percent) shots overall and only 6 of 18 attempts from the arc. Lyon hit just 35 percent of its shots, but scored on 9 of 19 3-point attempts for 47 percent.

Scots play in TSAC tourney Tuesday in Tennessee

The Scots qualified as the No. 9 seed in the TranSouth Athletic Conference Tournament and will play the No. 8-seed Bethel Wildcats on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in McKenzie, Tenn.

Baseball

Lyon College victorious in 12th straight

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. -- Lyon College remained undefeated and earned its 12th victory in a row with a seven-inning, 21-3 thrashing of the Williams Baptist Eagles Tuesday in a nonconference game at Walnut Ridge. On the mound, Mike Sanchez (1-0) took the victory for the 12-0 Scots.
Scots' first baseman Andy Bettis hit his team-leading fifth home run of the year, a 3-run shot in the top of the fourth inning. Shortstop Andrew Schatzley also homered in the third. Lyon also had doubles from Nick Salahub, Josiah Hass, Justin Brown, Matt Byrd, Justin Cunningham and Andy Wahl.

Weekend's McKendree games canceled

The threat of a storm system moving into the area over the weekend forced the McKendree College baseball team to cancel both its Saturday doubleheader and its Sunday single game with the Lyon College Scots at Lyon College's Scots Field.

The Scots will play Henderson State University at Arkadelphia Thursday afternoon, then host Mid-Continent University for a three-game series at Scots Field Friday and Saturday. A double-header will begin at noon. Friday and a single game at noon on Saturday. The Scots will then head to Florida for a spring break trip that  includes games in Alabama and Florida.

Back to Top