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Wilson, N.C. — Barton College will host the program “Civil Rights and Social Change — Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?” on Tuesday, Nov. 6 in Hardy Alumni Hall. The event, featuring both morning and evening sessions, is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.

The morning session, which begins at 11 a.m., is titled “Journey to Selma.” Barton College students, who participated in a travel course to Selma, Ala., this past spring semester, will share their experiences, knowledge, and insight gained during this extraordinary journey into history and how this small town was central in the struggle for Civil Rights in America.

The program will continue at 6 p.m. with a light dinner followed by an evening panel discussion with three presenters: Joanne Bland, former director of The National Voting Rights Museum; Dr. David Cunningham, Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University; and Dr. Reginald Watson, Professor of English at East Carolina University.

Bland was a young girl in Selma, Ala. when she marched on the front lines of what would become known as “Bloody Sunday” in March 1965, witnessing brutal beatings, tear-gas attacks, and the hosing of fellow marchers by local and state police. As a teenager, she became one of the first to integrate the local high school. Co-founder and former director of the National Voting Rights Museum, Bland has dedicated her life to sharing the Selma story, and the stories of others involved in the movement. She continues to work tirelessly to promote civil and human rights, and the continuing importance of voting in our participatory democracy.

Cunningham is a sociology professor at Brandeis University, where his research and teaching interests focus on community-level contexts for the emergence of social change. In 2001, he developed a cross-country travel course, titled “Possibilities for Change in American Communities,” examining historical and contemporary activist work in some two dozen communities. He also is the author of “There's Something Happening Here: The New Left, the Klan, and FBI Counterintelligence.” Cunningham’s current research examines the civil-rights era mobilization of the KKK in North Carolina. He received his doctorate from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Watson is Professor of English at East Carolina University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in American and multicultural literature. His book manuscript, “Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Images of the Mulatto,” is currently under review by Oxford University Press. An alumnus of North Carolina Central University, he received his Master of Arts degree from East Carolina and his doctorate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The event is sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega, ARAMARK, The Hamlin Society, The Minority Student Association, The Psychology Club, and The Barton College Student Government Association.

For additional information, please contact Amanda Gengler, School of Behavioral Sciences, at 252-399-6441 or email: agengler@barton.edu.

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Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.

WILSON, N.C. — It's that time of the year! Autumn leaves and a crisp breeze will welcome alumni back to Barton College's campus for Homecoming this weekend, and the schedule promises an array of events for young and old. Catch the Bulldog fever at Barton's Homecoming Weekend, scheduled for Oct. 26-28.

The weekend activities will begin with the Barton College Bulldog Club Superball Tournament, held at Wilson Country Club on Friday, Oct. 26. Golfers will hit the links at 1 p.m. But, if golf isn't their thing, then alumni can check in at the Hospitality Tent on Friday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. at the Centennial Alumni Bell Tower and enjoy a leisurely afternoon with fellow alumni and friends.

Friday evening festivities include the annual Bulldog Club and Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Reception and Banquet beginning at 7:15 p.m. This annual Hall of Fame event offers walks down memory lane for four new inductees, Robert "Rocky" Covington, '69, basketball; Richard "Dick" Swanker, '70, track and field; Johan Sturen, '83, tennis; and Michelle McClure Pittman, '91, basketball. The reception will be held in the Bulldog Club Room in Wilson Gymnasium followed by the dinner and program in Hardy Alumni Hall.

Don't sleep late, because the Hospitality Tent opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, and so does the bidding at the Silent Auction on center campus. There promises to be some spectacular auction items for a steal this weekend, including an autographed basketball from the NCAA D-II National Men's Basketball Championship Team, a custom copper-roofed bird house, artwork, gift certificates, and much more!
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WILSON, N.C. — The Barton College Art Galleries are showcasing the work of alumni artists from across the United States in the latest fall exhibition of work on view through October 29. Instead of limiting the exhibition to graduates of the Art Department, the call for submissions went out to all college alumni.

Alumni and friends of Barton College are invited to attend an artists’ reception from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Barton Art Galleries on Saturday, Oct. 27, as part of the Homecoming festivities on campus. There is no charge for the event, and the community is invited to attend.

“We have looked forward to this opportunity to exhibit works of art by Atlantic Christian and Barton alumni,” said Gerard Lange, director of exhibitions for the Barton Art Galleries and assistant professor of art. “There is incredible talent among this diverse group of artists, and Barton College is pleased to be able to bring together this collection of works for the 2007 Homecoming Alumni Art Exhibition on campus. These works represent the experience and expertise of alumni artists from coast to coast. “

Lange shared that the diversity of backgrounds is evident in the dynamic differences in styles of included works. Artwork in the exhibition ranges from realist scenic images, abstract expressive compositions, documentary and fine art photography to pottery, sculpture and assemblage. A variety of media also is represented including: oils, watercolor, graphite and charcoal drawings, photography, ceramics, and mixed media sculpture.

The Barton Art Galleries, including the Virginia Thompson Graves Gallery and the Lula E. Rackley Gallery, are located in the Case Art Building, at the corner of Gold Street and Whitehead Avenue on the campus of Barton College. The Barton Art Galleries are open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. For additional information, please contact Gerard Lange, director or the Barton Art Galleries at 399-6475 or glange@barton.edu.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.

WILSON, N.C. — Barton College will welcome historian Dr. Richard M. Gamble to campus on Monday, Oct. 8, in The Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center. The program, “The Great Tradition,” will begin at 7 p.m. There is no charge, and the community is invited to attend.

As editor of “The Great Tradition – Classic Readings On What It Means To Be An Educated Human Being,” Dr. Gamble will speak about this anthology that reconstructs a centuries-long conversation about the goals, conditions, and ultimate value of true education. Spanning more than two millennia, from the ancient Greeks to contemporary writers, it includes substantial excerpts from more than sixty seminal writings on education. Represented are the wisdom and insight of such figures as Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Cicero, Basil, Augustine, Hugh of St. Victor, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Erasmus, Edmund Burke, John Henry Newman, Thomas Arnold, Albert Jay Nock, Dorothy Sayers, C. S. Lewis, and Eric Voegelin. Dr. Gamble examined over 2,500 years of Western intellectual thought and compiled this collection to help parents, students, and teachers defend traditional education.

Dr. Gamble is the Anna Margaret Ross Alexander Professor of History and Political Science and Associate Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He formerly taught in the Honors Program at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is the author of “The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation.” Dr. Gamble earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from Bob Jones University and completed his Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina.

This program is sponsored by the Department of History and Social Sciences and the Department of Religion and Philosophy, with the financial support of the North Carolina History Project and the John William Pope Center for Higher Education.

For additional information about this program, please contact Dr. Jeff Broadwater, associate professor of history, at 252-399-6443 or email: ojbroadwater@barton.edu.

Questions? Contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.