Jo Luck (center), president and CEO of Heifer International, the world hunger organization, received an honorary doctorate from Lyon College Saturday. Ms. Luck was the guest speaker at the convocation. From left are President Roettger, Dr. John Peek, dean of the faculty, and Frank Lyon Jr., chair of the Lyon board.
Dr. Terrell Tebbetts was installed as the new Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature. Dr. Roettger and Dr. Peek bestowed the honor of Dr. Tebbetts, who joined the Lyon faculty in 1970 and served as the W.C. Brown Jr. Professor of Education since 1983. Mrs. Cox '38, a Batesville native, endowed the chair.
Scott Wood of Batesville was presented the Friend of Education Award for his efforts on behalf of education as president of the Batesville School Board and his leadership on behalf of the campaign to improve the quality of education in the area. Wood is active in many civic and community organization. A member of the Lyon President's Council, Wood is general manager of his family's automobile dealership in Batesville..
Bobby Osborne (center) of North Little Rock was named a Distinguished Alumnus at the convocation. Osborne, an Independence County native, is president of SCN, Inc., and chairman of the board of National Bank of Arkansas. Dr. Roettger and Sarah "Cricket" Oquist presented the award. Oquist is president of the Alumni Association and was recently appointed to the Lyon Board of Trustees.
James L. "Skip" Rutherford III received the Honorary Alumnus Award from Dr. Roettger and Mr. Lyon. Rutherford is a member of the Lyon Board of Trustees and teaches politics at Lyon and other institutions. He is executive vice president of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW) and is chairman of the board of the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Dr. Roettger welcomes the guests at the annual Founders' Day Convocation held Saturday morning in Couch Garden. Beautiful blue autumn skies provided a wonderful environment for the annual celebration, which this year was held during a new fall Homecoming weekend. Formerly known as LyonFest, the fall Homecoming will become an annual fall tradition.
Dr. Roettger congratulates Brandy Rennicke Carroll '95, one of the two Patterson Decade Awards winners. Mrs. Carroll is a market analyst for the Commodity and Regulatory Affairs Department of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. She is married to Tim Carroll '96 and they live in Maumelle.
Dr. Mark Woods '95 was the other Patterson Decade Award winner. He is a family practice physician at St. John's Clinic in Ozark, Missouri, while also in the M.B.A. program at Missouri State University. He and wife Krista '95 four children. Dr. Roettger and Ms. Oquist present the award to Dr. Woods.
Photos by Jason Marzewski