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The 2009 Homecoming Weekend welcomed a record 700 alumni to campus for a weekend of programs, sporting events, and activities. This is the largest Homecoming attendance in the history of the College, rivaling the College's Centennial Celebration in 2002 with an attendance record of 750.

Homecoming 2009 proved to be a weekend of celebrations that included new Barton College Athletic Hall of Famers: Allen Searson (1975), Will Flowers (1976), Teasha Murphy (1996) and Todd Bailess (1999), as well as the 2009 alumni award winners: Alumnus of the Year A.J. Walston (1958), Alumni Achievement Award winners: Bobby Bennett (1967), Steve Hart (1992), and Scott Cruikshank (1995), Young Alumnus of the Year Ben Bridgers (2004), and Honorary Alumna Tina Hensley.

Barton Bulldogs, from near and far, cheered enthusiastically on Friday and Saturday for our collegiate volleyball and soccer matches as well as Sunday's alumni baseball game.  Business, Nursing, Science, and Mathematics alumni flocked together for their respective reunions held across campus on Saturday, and large numbers of Greek alumni came back for good-spirited competition and camaraderie.  The members of the Class of 1959 celebrated their 50^th reunion with gusto throughout the weekend while students and alumni alike enjoyed the Saturday evening luau with the band Fantasy.  Cheers were heard across campus when students Will Cobb and Brittany Wade were crowned the 2009 Homecoming King and Queen! Summer Brock, director of alumni and parent programs, promises the 2010 Homecoming Weekend will be even bigger and better. We can't wait!

For more information about Homecoming, contact Summer Brock at 252-399-6383 or 800-422-4699; or email her at sebrock@barton.edu.

WILSON, N.C. - With bright blue shirts scattered around the city on Wednesday, Oct. 21, one might wonder what's going on, but no need to guess.  You will have just spotted some busy "bulldogs" from Barton College.  With over 650 participants signed up, students and professors at Barton College will set aside books and campus staff members will step away from desks for Barton's second annual "Day of Service" on campus and in the Wilson community.

Begun last year, this campus initiative supports Barton's vision for its graduates to be "well-prepared for life and for success in their chosen careers because they will possess a lifelong commitment to learning, service, and achievement."

Through participation in these one-day projects, Barton hopes to provide its students with a foundation for developing a deeper appreciation for service learning and a stronger sense of civic responsibility, as well as meeting needs within the broader Wilson community.

Developing a lifelong commitment to service is part of the "Barton Experience," and Barton College's Day of Service provides an intentional opportunity for the campus community to give back to its hometown community of Wilson.

The Day of Service will begin with a kick-off breakfast for participants at 8 a.m. followed by brief remarks by the Reverend Hollie Woodruff, chaplain of the college.  The campus community will then disperse to assigned locations for service and return to campus later that afternoon to share reports of work and refreshments.

Local service projects include working with Habitat for Humanity, the Wesley Shelter, Youth of Wilson, Wilson Parks and Recreation, the Arts Council of Wilson, St. Therese Catholic Church, the ARC of Wilson, Boys and Girls Club/Salvation Army, the Clothes Line, First Christian Church, Imagination Station, Jackson Chapel First Missionary Baptist Church, New Hope Elementary School, Vick Elementary School, Margaret Hearne Elementary School, Wilson Praise and Worship, Preservation of Wilson, Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, YMCA, United Way, Wilson Crisis Center, and Wilson Pregnancy Center, among others.

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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. - Barton College is pleased to welcome renowned historian and Lincoln scholar Dr. David E. Long as the featured speaker for the upcoming BB&T Heritage Lecture in American History scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 20.  Dr. Long's lecture is titled "Lincoln, Davis, and the Civil War: The Dahlgren Raid."  Scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Hardy Alumni Hall, this program is open to the public free of charge and the community is invited to attend.  Sponsors for the evening include BB&T, the Barton College Heritage Committee, the Department of History and Social Sciences at Barton College, and the Wilson County Historical Association.

In the upcoming lecture, Dr. Long will address a controversial cavalry raid on Richmond in 1864 that involved Lincoln in an attempt to assassinate Jefferson Davis.

Twelve years background as a trial lawyer and prosecutor give Dr. Long a somewhat unique perspective on Lincoln among the community of scholars who have written about the sixteenth president. Dr. Long understands the meaning of what it is to "think like a lawyer" and, to understand Lincoln, one must be able to understand that the man's career had been in advocacy, and that he was able to serve that role from either side of the bar.

Graduating from the Ohio State University in 1969 and the OSU College of Law in 1972, Dr. Long began his career as a lawyer. His first courtroom appearance as counsel of record was in a first-degree murder case in 1973. Though his client was innocent, the jury found him otherwise, and the judge sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment. Refusing to accept that such an injustice could be permitted to stand, Dr. Long pursued the trail of evidence in the case and ultimately learned the identity of the real killer.  After a difficult appeal process, he was eventually able to get the court to award a new trial. At that second trial, Dr. Long was able to establish his client's innocence by proving the guilt of someone else. Nearly three years after his client was first arrested and charged, the wrongfully imprisoned defendant was found not guilty by the second jury, and gained back the freedom that had previously been forfeited as a result of a life sentence.

Dr. Long practiced law for 12 years before returning to graduate school in 1987 at Florida State University, where he earned his Master of Arts degree and Ph.D. in nineteenth century American history, and almost immediately published his dissertation "The Jewel of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln's Re-election and the End of Slavery." The book was nominated for five of the most prestigious prizes in the field of U.S. history, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Lincoln Prize.

For additional information about the program, please contact Dr. Jeff Broadwater, chair of the Department of History and Social Sciences, at 252-399-6443 or email: ojbroadwater@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. - The Barton College Friends of Visual Arts and the Barton Art Galleries will welcome J. Chris Wilson, artist and art professor at Barton College, to lecture on the legendary North Carolina native Hobson Pittman and his paintings on Tuesday, Oct.20, at 2 p.m. The event will be held in the Lula E. Rackley Gallery in the Case Art Building on campus. The event is open to the public at no charge, and the community is encouraged to attend.

Originally by invitation only for the Friends of Visual Arts, this program has been opened to the general public because of increased interest in the "Hobson Pittman: At Home & Work" exhibition currently on view at Barton College. The exhibition will be on display in the Lula E. Rackley Gallery until Friday, Oct. 30.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the exception of holidays. For additional information, please contact Gérard Lange, director of exhibitions, at 252-399-6475 or email: glange@barton.edu.

Hobson Pittman -
Born in the rural Edgecombe community of Epworth near Leggett in 1899, Pittman showed artistic promise at a very early age and was encouraged to pursue his creative talent by his first art instructor, Molly Rouse. He attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1925, continuing his studies at Columbia University. In 1928, Pittman was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and traveled to Europe for the first time, where he visited major art museums and completed a series of watercolors. From that point forward, Pittman traveled between the United States, Europe, and the Orient, teaching and studying painting.

Although he never lived in Edgecombe County again, Pittman took the memories of his home-place with him. Often devoid of people, these paintings of spacious Victorian rooms and southern gardens are romantic and nostalgic, and hearken the sense of a distant memory. "He often would exaggerate the massive windows and doorways he remembered from his childhood, that seemed larger than life," shared Buddy Hooks, director of the Hobson Pittman Memorial Gallery in Tarboro. The stark wooden homes with 10 and 12-foot ceilings, enormous doors and windows provided strong elements to mix with Pittman's imagination creating compelling and somewhat mysterious scenes. Pittman once shared, "I have always been interested in painting things of the past - things I have loved and still do. Things I feel and understand." The quiet ambiance of the scenes is often deafening in the solitude, which is depicted. Charged by the subtle mix of interior and exterior lighting, one gets a sense that the world has stopped turning in a moment where a youthful recollection is pondered by a mature mind.

From the late 1950s until the end of his life, Pittman used a riotous palette of color. Throughout the course of his life, blue-greys, fawns and taupes, muted greens and wines gave way to tangerine, watermelon, turquoise, hot gold and chartreuse. Likewise, his subject matter waxed and waned covering all sorts of styles and genre. It was for his floral still lives that Pittman won notoriety in the 1920s and 1930s. In these canvasses, one can sense the influences of Henry McFee, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Fernand Lèger, and the German Expressionists. "If I have made any contributions to painting, I firmly attribute it to a concentrated study of the masters," said Pittman. "I try very hard not to be biased in my opinions or in my appreciation, but to be tolerant of all types and periods of good painting."

Pittman earned high regard throughout the United States for his oils, pastels, and watercolors. He was also considered one of the best art instructors in the nation and was sought by numerous colleges, universities, and art organizations to lecture and teach.

Pittman's career was sparked by numerous awards, and his works are included in many public collections including the Corcoran Gallery and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the Philadelphia Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Works in this exhibition are on loan from the Hobson Pittman Memorial Gallery, located within the Blount-Bridgers House in Tarboro.

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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. - Barton College will welcome Wilson writers Merry Simmons, a science fiction author and realtor; Willis Briley, a poet, playwright, freelance writer, film writer, director, and producer; and Lucien Stark, a novelist and educator, for the upcoming Victor R. Small Writers Series this fall semester.

The program is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m., and will be held in The Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center on campus.  This event is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.

Simmons has a varied background, earning degrees in English from Southern Methodist University and then teaching English for 15 years until she switched to a career in real estate, "realizing that more people wanted houses than grammar." She is currently a realtor with First Wilson Properties. Developing as a writer later in life, she has had many stories appear in "Asimov's Science Fiction" and "Paradox Magazine." Her first published short story, "Magpie," was the Grand Prize Winner in "Writers of the Future XVII." Three of her tales have made the initial ballot for the Hugo Award presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America.  Her most recent story, "The Well of Forgetting," is forthcoming in "Realms of Fantasy."

Briley grew up in Wilson, graduated from Davidson College, and did graduate studies at New York University. In the U.S. Army, he began a career in film and eventually joined Craven Films in New York as writer, producer, and director of educational, instructional, and motivational films for National Geographic, The United Nations, The Office of the Oceanographer, all branches of the United States Military, the United Negro College Fund, and the Federal Reserve Board. Many of these films won awards. His play, "The Street of Yellow Echoes," was the runner-up in the 2000 Paul Green Playwriting Competition judged by Ken Howard. He is currently at work on the poetry collection "Quadrants."

Stark is a native of Wilson with degrees in English from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia. After 25 years of teaching, he retired and returned to Wilson to live. Currently, he is out of retirement and in his second year of teaching at Greenfield School. He won accolades as a teacher and appeared in Who's Who Among American Teachers six times. His first novel, "The Noise Upstairs," was published in 2005, and he has just completed his second novel, "The Principal Said NO: A Week of Hell."

This program is sponsored by the Department of English and Modern Languages.  For additional information, please contact Dr. Kathy James, chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages, at 252-399-6455 or email: kjames@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. - Please join the Barton College community for a "Blessing of the Animals" service to be held on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m.. There is no charge, and the surrounding community is invited to attend the service.

Each year, on or around the date of the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi, a number of churches mark the occasion by having a service of blessing of the animals. Theologically, its purpose is to testify to the sacredness of all of creation, to celebrate its richness and variety and, more specifically, to acknowledge the importance of animals, especially companion animals, to our own spiritual growth and development. The service involves the literal blessing of animals by the priest or minister.

Barton's "Blessing of the Animals" service, to be led by the Reverend Hollie Woodruff, will last approximately 20 minutes and will take place on center campus.  All pets are welcomed, but please consider the wisdom of bringing aggressive animals.  Please leash all pets as appropriate. Large animals also are welcomed, but they must be led onto center campus and not ridden. Clean-up supplies and water will be available.

For additional information or questions, please contact Rev. Woodruff at 252-399-6368 or email: hewoodruff@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. - Living in a world of 24-hour news, we are notified within moments of disasters occurring across the globe.  But with the technology of instant news, is there also a greater responsibility? Is it possible that today's world requires us to be a people of response: coming together through a worldwide partnership to offer assistance in a multitude of forms to those affected by tragedies of natural and human catastrophes?

Barton College welcomes the Reverend Amy Gopp, director of Week of Compassion, on Wednesday, Oct. 14, to share an update about recent worldwide relief efforts coordinated through the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The event will be held at 7 p.m. in The Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center. This program is open to the public free of charge, and the community is invited to attend.

During her visit to Barton's campus, the Reverend Gopp will also speak to students about a new partnership between Barton College and Week of Compassion, the relief, refugee and development ministry fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The two Disciples-related institutions have partnered to develop and initiate a pilot program called Campus Compassion. This new initiative has been designed to educate and motivate young adults to respond to the global needs of the world.  To fund the program, Barton and "Week of Compassion" were awarded two grants from the College/University Grant Fund of Higher Education and Leadership Ministry (HELM) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Oreon Scott Foundation.

"As Disciples' ministries operating in different manifestations of the Church, Barton College and Week of Compassion have a responsibility to find new ways to engage young adults on the journey of spiritual maturity, social consciousness, and faithful stewardship," shared the Reverend Hollie Woodruff, chaplain of Barton College.  "Exposure to the needs of the world is a critical piece of that journey.  We want to create an innovative strategy to explore what working relationships can emerge between Week of Compassion and Disciples-related colleges and universities.

"The grant funding for this exciting project will do more than just allow Barton College and Week of Compassion to work in partnership; it will offer an environment where our students are truly engaged in their education through study groups, volunteer opportunities, and an Alternative Spring Break work trip to Slidell, Louisiana," Woodruff added.  Objectives for the program include educating students about the causes of poverty, researching opportunities for relief work, and creating a stronger global awareness.  The program is designed to inspire students and impart tools to help them make a positive difference in their communities and across the world.

"This year-long pilot program will conclude with a retreat hosted by Barton College that will involve chaplains from all Disciples-related colleges and universities," continued Woodruff.  "The retreat will provide an opportunity to process, share, and promote continued collaboration with Week of Compassion.  Barton hopes this retreat initiative, planned tentatively for June 2010, will be a springboard for other Disciples-related schools to become more involved in offering support to Week of Compassion efforts across the globe. Our hope is that Barton's Campus Compassion program will serve as a model, catalyst, and challenge for other Disciples-related colleges.  By bringing Disciples-related college chaplains together, we look forward to sharing our experience of working together while generating partnerships and ideas for future efforts."

Week of Compassion is recognized across the world for providing emergency and long-term assistance to people in the aftermath of natural and human catastrophes.  Partnering with other Christian Ministries and national government organizations, Week of Compassion responds with help, hope, and hospitality.  And, Week of Compassion works to eradicate forces of injustice and provide hospitality to all who are in need.

"Week of Compassion is an extraordinary program that creates boundless opportunities for students across the nation to participate in assisting with worldwide issues that are often minimized," shared Barton freshman Rachel Warren.

"The Campus Compassion program personifies the partnership of a living covenant between Barton College and the Christian Church (DOC) to respond to this calling to faith," concluded Woodruff.  "We are living out the mission of not only of Barton College, but also of Week of Compassion and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."

For additional information about Campus Compassion, please contact the Reverend Hollie Woodruff, chaplain of Barton College, at 252-399-6368 or email: hewoodruff@barton.edu.

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

Steve and Ruth Smith

WILSON, N.C. - Barton College is pleased to welcome Steve and Ruth Smith as the featured guests for the 2009 Allan R. Sharp Religion in Life Series set for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. The Smiths' performance and lecture, to be held in Hardy Alumni Hall, will focus on "The Role of Music in Religion in Appalachia."  This event is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.

Steve and Ruth Smith have been playing Celtic and Appalachian music together for over 30 years. For this year's Allan R. Sharp Religion in Life Series event, the duo will perform and discuss Celtic influences on Appalachian religious music. Ruth plays the hammered and Appalachian mountain dulcimers, while Steve joins in on acoustic guitar and banjo.

Ruth studied music at the University of Illinois, and her hammered dulcimer compositions have been featured on NPR's "All Songs Considered."  Steve earned a Master of Arts degree in Appalachian Studies with an emphasis in Appalachian music and folk life from Appalachian State University.  Since 1997, he has taught audio production/recording at Appalachian State University.  Steve is an American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers award winner, and both Ruth and Steve have worked in the music industry in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, and they have traveled internationally as ambassadors of Appalachian music. Their 2007 CD, "Dancin Cross the Strings," was featured on Fiona Ritchie's "Thistle & Shamrock." For additional information about the Smiths, visit their web site at www.steveandruth.com.

Established in 1991, the Allan R. Sharp Religion in Life Series brings to campus each fall semester distinguished performers and lecturers who focus on topics of practical Christian significance for the general public relating to contemporary issues. This lecture series was named in honor of Dr. Allan R. Sharp, professor emeritus of religion and philosophy, at the time of his retirement.  The late Dr. Sharp served on the Barton College faculty from 1953 - 1991.

For additional information, please contact Dr. Rodney A. Werline, Marie and Leman Barnhill Endowed Chair in Religious Studies at Barton College, at 252-399-6447 or email: rawerline@barton.edu.

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

CARY, N.C. - Baseball, America's pastime, is a joy to play for millions of young people around the world.  The Barton College baseball team witnessed that joy at a new and inspiring level in the eyes of the Miracle League players on Saturday, September 19.

As our team piled into the bus early Saturday morning to take a trip to Cary, none of us knew exactly what was in store for the day ahead.  The Miracle League of the Triangle in Cary is a special baseball league designed to give children with disabilities the chance to be a part of a team and to play a sport loved by so many.  Each Saturday, families come from all across the state to give their children the opportunity to play baseball.  Volunteers are needed each weekend, so the Barton baseball team lent a helping hand.

Our team signed up to be part of this incredible opportunity to give back to the game that has been such a large part of our lives.  The Bulldogs and our head coach Todd Wilkinson learned of the Miracle League from Barton Hall of Fame member and 1978 graduate Robin Rose, who was instrumental in starting the local branch of the league.

Anyone could see that we were unsure of ourselves when we first arrived at the field, but we all jumped right into the action when paired up as buddies with a child.

Patrick Sherrill, a red-shirt junior, said, "I was a little bit nervous at the beginning; but once I spent some time with my buddy, I began to realize how much of an impact I and the rest of the team could have on them."

The interaction began with time for each player and his child to warm up and get to know each other.  Once introductions were made and arms were loosened up, it was game time!

Each child was given a chance at bat in both innings of the game; and whether they hit off a tee or hit from a pitcher tossing underhanded, each one hit a double, a triple, or a home run.  After hitting the ball, the child and his Barton buddy would race around the bases together until scoring.  Pure excitement could be seen in each child's smiling face as he or she touched home plate to the roar of the crowd.

While one team was hitting, the opposing team played catch or spent quality time with their Barton buddy in the field. Anyone could tell that these children were savoring every second of their time with their designated Barton player.

When the final runner crossed home plate in the bottom of the second inning, the final score read 22-22.  Each team lined up to shake hands and congratulate each other for another fun Saturday.

Barton College head baseball coach Todd Wilkinson summed up the experience with the following thoughts: "The Miracle League of the Triangle was an incredible experience for our team!  All of us were so inspired by the Miracle League players' efforts and true love for the game."

In addition, Wilkinson expressed pride in the Bulldogs, saying, "I was overwhelmed with my team's effort with the players and felt so very fortunate to be their head coach.  Anybody with Bulldog ties would have been very proud of this group of young men on this day!"

The final words to come out of the announcer's mouth could not have been more true for the children and the Barton baseball team: "Everybody wins!"

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Story by Kramer Sneed, a junior majoring in physical education and a pitcher for the Barton College baseball team.

Edited by Ken Dozier, Office of Web Services.

Questions? Please contact Ken Dozier, web services manager, at 252-399-6596 or email: kdozier@barton.edu.

WILSON, N.C. - Members of the Wilson community are invited to join Barton College faculty, staff, and students for "Take Back The Night: Shatter the Silence, Stop the Violence," scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8.  Co-sponsored by the Counseling Services Center at Barton College and the Wesley Shelter of Wilson, "Take Back The Night" is an annual program that raises awareness about domestic violence. The event is open to the public at no charge, and the community is encouraged to attend.

On Thursday evening, participants will gather at 6 p.m. at the fountain in front of Hamlin Student Center for a Candlelight Vigil.  The vigil, protesting violence in homes and in schools, will begin with brief remarks by Barton College's Courtney Manning, director of counseling, and Amy Bridgers, director of student health services, as well as Janet Hesmer, executive director of the Wesley Shelter in Wilson.  Other speakers include Dan Kennedy, director of new student programs and Greek life at Barton, Barton golf coach John Hackney and members of the Barton College golf team, Anna McKeel, a survivor from Newport, and survivor and Barton College student Heather Lewis, among others.  These remarks will be followed by a musical performance by the Barton College Gospel Choir.  As glow sticks are lit, Patricia Hudson and Megan Cheek of the Wesley Shelter will read names of those who have lost their lives this year as a result of domestic violence.

Following closing remarks by Manning and Bridgers, participants will walk the Barton Mile around the perimeter of the campus with glow sticks in hand and return to the Multipurpose Room located on the lower level of Hardy Alumni Hall for light refreshments. At that time, there will be an opportunity to visit the "Take Back The Night" information table.

For additional information, please contact Courtney Manning, director of counseling, at 252-399-6587 or email: cmanning@barton.edu, or Amy Bridgers, director of student health services, at 399-6493 or email: abbridgers@barton.edu.
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Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.