News

WILSON, N.C. - Barton College is pleased to announce Susan Maxwell Bane, M.D., Ph.D., as the featured speaker for the 108th Opening Convocation.  The annual campus event is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 11 a.m. in Howard Chapel.

Dr. Bane practices Obstetrics and Gynecology at Greenville Obstetrics and Gynecology, a Division of Physicians East, in Greenville, North Carolina.

In addition to her medical practice, Dr. Bane serves as a clinical professor at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where she teaches medical students and undergraduate students.  She also serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at ECU.

A native of Currituck County, Dr. Bane graduated in 1987 from Barton College (then Atlantic Christian College) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.  Continuing her academic studies, she completed a Master of Science degree and a Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois in1989 and 1995, respectively.  Dr. Bane earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois in 1997, and she completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 2001.

Dr. Bane is the daughter of Mary Ellen and Bob Maxwell of Currituck County.  She and her husband Art, also a 1987 Barton alumnus, make their home in Greenville with their two sons: Archer (17), and Maxwell (6), and their daughter Riley (13).

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

PARKTON, N.C. - A brief rain shower greeted Barton College's 2009 freshman class as they arrived for Bulldog Day at Camp Rockfish on Saturday, Aug. 22.  The rain soon disappeared, however; and Barton's newest Bulldogs, their peer leaders, and First-Year Seminar advisers took full advantage of the camp's amenities.

From the lake with its Blob and Iceberg to the pool to the climbing wall, zip line, and challenge courses, laughter filled the air as new faces became friends and memories were made.

"The day was successful and a lot of fun," said Dan Kennedy, director of new student programs and Greek life at Barton.  "It was all about the students bonding and getting to know each other and having a good time together."

Questions? Contact Ken Dozier, web services manager, by email at kdozier@barton.edu or by phone at 252-399-6596.

Luann Clark collects items for food drive.

WILSON, N.C. - As faculty and staff returned to Barton College on Monday, Aug. 17, to  prepare for the start of a new academic year, they brought more with them than the expected pencils and planners.  Packages of non-perishable food items piled up as the Barton community answered Hope Station's call for help.

Hope Station, an interfaith community agency located in Wilson, placed ads in "The Wilson Times," asking for food donations to replenish their nearly exhausted supply.  Luann Clark, administrative assistant to the vice president for administration and finance, read the notices and was moved to respond.  Clark emailed the campus community and asked them to bring items to the opening College Assembly on Aug. 17.

"It was an overwhelming response," said Clark.  "I had hoped to receive at least one item per person, but most people arrived with so much more."

Having filled the back of a pickup truck, Clark and members of Barton's physical plant staff delivered the food to Hope Station that same day.  On Wednesday, Clark delivered two additional boxes filled with late donations.

"The staff at Hope Station were very appreciative," said Clark, who was thrilled with the response from the Barton community.

"Everybody who works at this college thinks about the community, and that is very heartwarming."

WILSON, N.C. - Barton College Phi Beta Lambda students were recognized with top honors at the recent 2009 Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference, and Dawn Lewin-Montoya, a recent Barton graduate from Rocky Mount, was elected Southern Region Vice President.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL), the largest and oldest student business organization, held its National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif., earlier this summer. Nine Barton students and approximately 1,775 college business students from across the United States and around the world attended this conference and the FBLA-PBL Institute for Leaders. Barton's chapter advisers Teresa Parker and Ron Eggers accompanied the members.

Lewin-Montoya, who served as the 2008-2009 North Carolina Phi Beta Lambda State President, will represent the interests of Phi Beta Lambda members in 12 states as she serves on the National Board as an officer during the 2009-2010 year. Lewin-Montoya was North Carolina's Who's Who representative and also was recognized for achieving both the Executive and Presidential levels of the national Career Management and Achievement Program. Lewin-Montoya was one of only six individuals in the nation to attain the Presidential Award.

Lewin-Montoya and Andrea Alston, a junior from Rocky Mount, attended the FBLA-PBL Institute for Leaders. Alston is currently serving as the 2009-2010 North Carolina Phi Beta Lambda State Secretary/Treasurer.

Paola Marte, a recent Barton College graduate from the Dominican Republic, received a $400 National Leadership Conference Scholarship. Elaine Guthrie, a senior from Bailey, placed sixth in Client Services. The team of Montoya, Marte, and Jaren Palmer, a senior from Corpus Christi, Texas, ranked ninth in Business Decision Making. Amanda Tyndall, a recent Barton College graduate from Goldsboro, and Lisa Payne, a recent Barton graduate from Elm City, garnered tenth place in Emerging Business Issues.

In addition to receiving the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit, the Barton College chapter was commended as an Outstanding Chapter and a contributor to the March of Dimes national philanthropy. And, Alston, Palmer, and Amanda Moore, a senior from Kinston, were acknowledged for their efforts in increasing local chapter membership.

The awards are part of a comprehensive competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL. Individuals, state teams, and local chapters were encouraged to compete in any of the over 50 different events representing a wide range of activities and the business and leadership development focus of FBLA-PBL. The winners of these highly competitive and prestigious awards were selected from among FBLA-PBL's membership of approximately 11,000 students and represent the best and brightest of today's college scholars.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million members and advisors in 12,000 chartered middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. The association is headquartered in Reston, Va., just outside Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.fbla-pbl.org.

For additional information about Barton College's chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, contact Teresa Parker, associate professor of business, at 252-399-6421 or email: tparker@barton.edu or contact Ron Eggers, associate professor of business, at 252-399-6417 or email: reggers@barton.edu.

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

Wire-wrapped vase by Mark Gordon

WILSON, N.C. — The 2009-2010 exhibition season for the Barton Art Galleries begins with Mark Gordon: Recent Works.  The ceramics exhibition will open on Monday, Aug. 24, and will run until Friday, Sept. 18. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Sunday, Aug. 30 from 2-4 p.m. This event is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.

A professor of ceramics at Barton College, Gordon fills the Virginia Thompson Graves Gallery with many of his iconic vessels. Forms in the exhibit, placed on individual pedestals and lining the walls, create a monolithic display evoking a quiet reverence as if in a place of worship.

"Clay is a universal medium; potters' vessels have formed an essential part of material culture, shared Gordon. "Often, in the vessels, Greek or Chinese forms seem to be echoed in my clay shapes." Works presented range from more traditional smooth-surfaced vessels to composite, coagulate encrusted versions. In these latter pieces, the surfaces retain a comfortable tension somewhere between chaos and structure. Their forms resemble things one might find in nature, but on the molecular level.

Gordon's inspiration is often derived from an eclectic mix of nature and plant growth, animal skeletons, machinery, scrap yards and through travel. He sees his artwork as a melding of idea and action, of inspiration and impulse. "I approach claywork as the creation, pulling form out of inchoate matter, as an ongoing experiment in seeking new direction through variation," Gordon said. "The physicality of clay, along with its remarkable ability to freeze action and respond to physical impact or retain any fleeting impression, immediately and permanently captured my interest."

From 1980 to 1983, Gordon taught at Altos de Chavón in La Romana, Dominican Republic, creating a vocational workshop for local youth. He later traveled throughout the Mediterranean observing and documenting traditional pottery and brickmaking.  "Knowing these traditional clay artisans has contributed to my education," Gordon added. "I continue to make ceramic vessels to celebrate and maintain a connection to traditional potters worldwide."

In contrast to the vessels, Gordon's installations in the Lula E. Rackley Gallery refer to architecture and industrialization. For Gordon, these works represent fragments, combined geometries, and biomorphic musings. "Geometry, being a form of math, has always served as a universal language for sculpture," shared Gerard Lange, director of exhibitions at Barton. "Gordon's use of these pure forms has placed the work in a global context, where many interpretations can be drawn by evaluating the sculptures from different cultural points of view. Influence of his time spent abroad is clearly evident in Gordon's complex manipulation and integration of these otherwise simple forms."

Gordon has presented over 100 lectures and workshops in 19 states and seven foreign countries. He has been recognized with numerous awards and grants and has held numerous art residencies across the nation as well as in Caracas, Venezuela; Cairo, Egypt; Madrid, Spain; Jerusalem, Israel; and La Romana, Dominican Republic.  In 1991, Gordon was a Fulbright Lecturer at the Facultad de Artes, Universidad Nacional in Obera, Argentina.

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

Elizabeth Winstead

WILSON, N.C. - Barton College is pleased to announce a faculty voice recital to be performed by Elizabeth Winstead on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 4 p.m. The performance will be held at Howard Chapel on the Barton campus.  The recital is open to the public free of charge and the community is invited to attend.

Winstead is a lyric soprano who has performed extensively as a soloist in oratorio, opera, and musical theatre. She frequently appears in recitals and concert series singing a variety of music including classical, operatic, jazz, and musical theatre. Winstead serves as an adjunct lecturer in music at Barton College and an adjunct professor of music at Methodist University in Fayetteville.

The afternoon program will include the famous Mozart motet Exultate, Jubilate as well as the iconic aria Un bel di vedremo from Puccini's Madame Butterfly. Winstead will also perform art songs by Faure, Schubert and American composer John Duke.

Pianist Janie Bostick, associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Performing Arts at Barton, will be Winstead's accompanist.

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