A respected expert in the field of archaeology will soon visit the Lyon campus to discuss a Mayan archaeological project funded by the National Geographic Society and Boston University.

Dr. Norman Hammond, professor of archaeology and chairman of the department of archaeology at Boston University, will present his program, "Exploring La Milpa: A Classic Maya City in Belize," on Friday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanders Lecture Hall, located in the Derby Center.

Hammond’s research interests include pre-Columbian archaeology, comparative archaeology and history of archaeology. His work deals with the emergence and decline of complex societies, exchange and the history of archaeology.

Since 1968 he has worked in the Maya lowlands, with interdisciplinary projects at Lubaantun, Nohmul, Cuello and currently La Milpa, a large Classic period city in northwestern Belize dating from A.D. 250-900, a project he’s worked on since 1992.

Hammond has also published fieldwork in North Africa, Afghanistan and Ecuador. He was on the faculty of Cambridge University from1967 to 1975, Bradford University from 1975 to 1977 and Rutgers University from 1977 to 1988. He’s also been a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley, China’s Jilin University, the Sorbonne and the University of Bonn.

He has also held a Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship and visiting fellowships at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Professor Hammond serves on the editorial boards of Ancient Mesoamerica and the Journal of Field Archaeology, and is an adviser to The Times of London.

Admission to the event is free and open to the public.The College Convocations Committee is sponsoring the event.

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges’ Council of Presidents has enlisted Lyon College President Dr. Walter Roettger’s experience and knowledge in issues related to higher education by naming him to the group’s Council of Presidents.

The AGB’s Council of Presidents is a standing advisory group of college, university, and system chief executives who provide guidance to the association on issues, trends and practices related to higher education and citizen trusteeship.

Council members are eminent professional leaders in higher education and are highly knowledgeable about the roles, responsibilities, and practices of effective governance. The council meets annually.

"President Walter Roettger’s broad perspective on higher education and governance will add tremendous value to AGB’s Council of Presidents, one of two advisory bodies that provide guidance on strategic and leadership issues for the association," said AGB President Richard D. Legon. "We are pleased to have had Lyon College as a member since 1981."

The AGB of Universities and Colleges, founded in 1921, serves the boards of more than 1,200 private and public institutions.

Located in Washington, D.C., the AGB is the only national association that serves the interests and needs of academic governing boards, boards of institutionally related foundations, and campus CEOs and other senior-level campus administrators on issues related to higher education governance and leadership.

A wealth of knowledge and experience from around the state and the nation recently visited Lyon College to help the school’s president make Lyon an institution of distinction and excellence. Members of the Lyon College President’s Council visited the campus on Sept. 28 for its fall meeting, advising Lyon President Dr. Walter Roettger and his administration on strategies to meet the College’s goals and objectives.

Lyon President Dr. Walter Roettger outlines the school’s goals and objectives, as well as  accomplishments, as he welcomes the members of the President’s Council to the campus.

The President’s Council is composed of distinguished business and civic leaders from across the state and nation who provide support and counsel to President Roettger, the college’s Board of Trustees, administration and faculty.

Mr. and Mrs. Doyle Rogers Sr. of Batesville are co-chairs of the President’s Council. The fall meetings are devoted to discussions of critical issues facing the college. The council members were divided into discussion groups and college officials sought input from the council members on the challenges and opportunities ahead for Lyon.

The topics included "Student Recruitment and Retention," "Career Development," "Image and Marketing," and "Humanities."

At a luncheon gathering at Josie’s at the Lockhouse, the group heard from Michael Brown, president of the Student Government Association, and Dr. Alan McNamee, the Lyon Professor of Accounting, who expressed the faculty’s gratitude for the council’s help.

The next President’s Council meeting will be March 7, 2008, in Little Rock, with comedian and actor Larry Miller as guest speaker.

Camille Chan, a student from Jonesboro speaking at Josie’s Restaurant, addresses the Council on why she chose to attend Lyon College over other, larger institutions. When she visited the campus, she was impressed by the friendliness of the students, faculty and staff.. "I really didn’t want to come to Lyon until I visited the campus," she said. "But once I did, I knew this is where I belonged."

Lyon College is offering a free mental health screening for a range of common emotional conditions that often go undiagnosed and misunderstood.

Every academic year, millions of students are affected by depression, anxiety or a related mental health issue. Yet social stigma, confusion and a simple lack of knowledge of the resources available prevent many for seeking out the help they need.

Counseling and Health & Wellness will be offering free, confidential screenings for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. At the screening, students can fill out a questionnaire and talk with a professional about the results. Those who appear to need further evaluation will be given referrals on campus or to other local professionals. Questions that might be asked include:

• Have you lost pleasure in things you used to enjoy?

• Do you have trouble sleeping or eating?

• Does your mood fluctuate between overly "high" to sad and hopeless?

• Are you keyed up and anxious all the time?

• Are you having nightmares about something that happened in the past?

• Do you suffer from unexplained aches and pains?

Even if those who don’t have a mood or anxiety disorder and are just going through a couple of bad days are invited to come take advantage of the program and learn about what services are available on campus. The screenings and information sessions will be held Friday, Oct. 26, in the Morrow Building from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Call Diane Ellis at 698-4319 for more information.

Additionally, students may access a free, 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, online screening for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and prost-traumatic stress disorder. Visit https://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/welcome.asp and enter the keyword "LYON." After taking an online screening, participants receive immediate feedback about their score and referral information to campus resources if appropriate.

"We realize students’ schedules can be pretty busy, making it difficult to attend an actual screening event. The online program offers students the opportunity to take the screening from the comfort and privacy of their own room at any time throughout the year," Diane Ellis, director of counseling, said.

National Depression Screening Day, held in October as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, is a program of the nonprofit organization Screening for Mental Health, Inc. Last year, more than 76,000 students were screened at colleges across the country as part of NDSD.

Lyon College’s Residence Life Staff to host 4th annual Halloween Carnival

The Lyon College Residence Life Staff invites the entire community to participate in the 4th annual RLS Halloween Carnival in Becknell gymnasium on the Lyon campus on Thursday, Oct. 25, from 6 – 8 p.m.

Barb Dyer, director of Residence Life, said the College has invited the children and grandchildren of faculty and staff, a local second grade class, the kids from the Big Brothers & Big Sisters program, and the youth at the Arkansas Sheriff’s Youth Ranch.

"We hope to have between 30 – 50 children," she said. "The carnival has been a success for the last three years due to the student organizations and groups who choose to participate by hosting a carnival booth, and I hope they’ll join us again this year."

Those student organizations and campus departments will sponsor carnival booths, and there will be candy, games and activities.

Lyon College groups interested in participating by hosting a carnival booth should contact students Brooke Hollis, Ellen Jordan, Alyssa Papineau, Josh Looney, Meghan Thompson, Alex Garr or Neil McCarthy no later than Oct. 17 to let them know what activity they will be providing for the kids.

Even off-campus businesses and individuals can sponsor a booth, Dyer added. Groups or individuals from the Batesville community seeking information about how to sponsor a carnival booth or about the event in general should contact Lana Fugett, 698-4314, or Barbara Dyer, 698-4310.

About 40 high school sophomores and juniors recently visited Lyon College to learn ways to develop leadership development skills and how to use them in their schools and communities.

The Order of the Tartan Mortar Board Chapter at Lyon College hosted its fourth annual conference for promising high school students from the Batesville area on Sept. 24.

Students attending the L.E.A.P. conference – Leaders Engaged in Achieving their Potential – worked with Mortar Board members and leaders from the community to get a better understanding of leadership styles and how to apply them to serving in their communities.

The keynote speaker for the conference was Mary Angela Carr, a facilitator for CAMPUSPEAK Inc., a firm that specializes in the development of college students.

Lyon junior Aaron Baldridge, Mortar Board historian and public relations director, said Mortar Board and Lyon College jointly funded the L.E.A.P. conference.

"The students that attended were selected based on merit and potential for leadership as determined by their high school counselors who also accompanied them to the conference," he said. "They came from schools within about an hour radius of Batesville.

The activities were started with a personality test that allowed students to see what strengths and weaknesses their personalities afforded them, and how their strengths could be used as far as leadership and contributing to group efforts, Baldridge added.

"Based on these tests, the students were divided into four groups and given a case study, written by Daniel Haney and Doug Rinehart of the Lyon College Mortar Board," he said. "This study posed a theoretical problem involving increasing awareness of the importance of recycling at a high school."

The students worked on these case studies, and each group was led by members of Mortar Board and one contributing leader from the Batesville community, including the mayor of Batesville, Rick Elumbaugh. The students then came forward in a combined session to present their solutions and answer any questions. The keynote speaker for the session was Angie Carr, who specializes in speaking for leadership events such as this.

"I was extremely impressed by the solutions the groups presented in the case study," Baldridge said. "Some groups even prepared skits to show how their solutions would be implemented in their respective schools. They even included recycling activities involving surrounding schools, which showed their ability to think globally and take initiative to make a real change. They were definitely a group of leaders."

Lyon College art faculty's work is on exhibition in Kresge Gallery
                                              
The work of two Lyon College art professors is being featured in an exhibit in the Kresge Gallery in the Alphin Building on campus.

Assistant professors of art Chris Valle and Margaret Elizabeth LeJeune put their work up Oct. 1 and the show will run until Oct. 26. A Closing Reception is scheduled for Oct. 26 from 5 - 7 p.m. in Kresge Gallery.

LeJeune's exhibit, “Photography by Margaret Elizabeth LeJeune,” focuses primarily on the relationship between women and their bodies.

“Though I have photographed numerous women at many different stages of their life, all of my models have had one thing in common: they were all very conscious about the way their body is perceived,” she said. “Not one of the models believed that they were ideal."

The images in The Ideal Woman Series begin a dialogue about notions of an ideal figure.

“In a culture where the celebrated size has continued to shrink over the last 50 years, a skeleton in lingerie seems an appropriate stab at the ever-increasing cult of thinness,” LeJeune said.

The Mismeasurement of Women series is a narrative of portraits that express the struggle to break free from stereotypes of thinness and beauty, depicted by the tearing off of dressmakers' patterns. "The patterns are a form of bondage: a map of the perfect size which acts as a psychological and a physical encasement of the victim." she said.

“These portraits, intentionally headless; use body language to suggest struggle and tension as well as use the anonymity of a faceless figure to suggest a broader, more universal statement,” Lejeune said. “This work is intended to expose the veiled girders of our media constructed notions of feminine beauty and arouse a reassessment of the conceptual fabric from which our notions are cut.”

Her most recent series, "The Power of Suggestion," is a more tongue-in-cheek approach to art making than her previous work.

“These images focus on gender and power struggles,” she said. “Each woman is asked to pose for a portrait in which the only requirement is that a rooster reside somewhere in the frame. These images depict both conscious and unconscious relationships, past and present, that these women have created, endured and 'marooned' with the opposite sex.”

Valle's “Paintings by Chris Valle” critiques the influence of television on our popular culture.

“Television pretends to reflect our realities as if it was a mirror; however, it does not give us a pure reflection,” Valle said. “Instead, it alters what it presents, because it is mediated by producers motivated by their own agendas. Those producers aim to break down our inhibitions so that we act on our desires -or what they show us to desire - and thus become better 'consumers' of all the goods and services television purveys.”

The images television presents become self-fulfilling prophecies, thus shaping popular culture rather than merely reflecting it, he added.

“Participants in the popular culture act according to media-derived impulses and believe them to be their own personal volition arising out of their own desires and needs,” Valle said. “In such a situation, whoever controls the screen controls our hope for the future, our understanding of the past, and our actions in the present. From television we learn who we are, how we should dress, how we should act, what we should look like, what is sexy and what is not, who has power and who does not, what is of value and what is not, what is right and what is not.”

It's not surprising, then, that authorities such as Dr. William F. Fore believe that television and religion are on a collision course in American popular culture, Valle said.

“For many, television has already replaced religious institutions. Its images have taught them what is of ultimate value,” he said. “Its images have become the primary expressions of mores and meaning of life. This means that television is itself becoming a kind of religion, shaping the faith and values of many people in the nation, and providing an alternate, a-religious worldview to millions of viewers.”

Much of this worldview, its assumptions and its values, are not only a-religious but even anti-religious, opposing the values, assumptions, and worldview of the historic Judeo-Christian tradition in which the vast majority of Americans profess to believe, Valle asserts.

“In its ever-present images, television presents a calculated illusion of reality,” he said. “Yet, after so much exposure, many begin to see television as reality, consequently shaping their lives according to its illusions.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Valle at cvalle@lyon.edu.

Fire destroys home of Lyon College alumna

Jenny (Suitor) Buckman ‘99, was recently visiting her parents in Paducah, Ky., when a fire broke out in her home in Mooresville, Ind., completely destroying the house and all the family’s belongings.

Though she, her husband and their 2-year-old child were not home when the fire happened, they lost everything and could use a helping hand to get back on their feet. Jenny is currently expecting her second child, so this setback comes at an especially inopportune time for the family.

Her friend and former classmate at Lyon, Crystal (Laster) Cordell '99, contacted the College to see if the Lyon community could help the Buckmans recover. Cordell said there hasn’t been an account established for the Buckman family anywhere, so the best way to help out is by sending them gift cards from stores such as Wal-Mart. That will allow them to purchase the items they need.

The family is planning to relocate to Kentucky to live near Jenny’s parents. She and her family are currently staying with them, so anyone wishing to help them should send the gift cards to:

Joseph and Linda Suitor
130 Highland Church Road
Paducah, Ky. 42001

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