October 17, 2005

GREENSHEET HEADLINES

• Tebbetts to be installed as Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature at Convocation

• Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans service

• Alpha Xi Delta to sponsor charity golf tournament during Homecoming weekend

• Lyon to present program on koto music of Japan

• Regional Studies Center site named 'History Website of the Week'

• Cross painting juried in professional art exhibition

• Pipe Band performs in St. Louis

• Video and DVD collection highlighted at library

• Thomas to speak on 'terraforming' at space meeting

• Lyon professors to present papers at American Chemical Society meeting

• Lyon community can get discount on Haggard tickets

• Sports

 

  

Alumni awards to be presented
at Founders' Day Convocation

Several alumni and friends of Lyon College will receive awards at the annual Founders’ Day Convocation at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 22, in Couch Memorial Garden.

Jo Luck, president and chief executive officer of Heifer International, a world hunger organization headquartered in Little Rock, will be guest speaker and will receive an honorary degree from the college at the convocation.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award will be given to Bobby Osborne, class of ’65, of North Little Rock. James L. “Skip “Rutherford of Little Rock will receive the Honorary Alumnus Award. The Patterson Decade Awards will go to Dr. Mark Woods of Ozark, Mo., and Mrs. Brandy Rennicke Carroll of Little Rock, both class of ’95. Scott Wood of Batesville will receive the Friend of Education Award for his work on behalf of education in the Batesville area.

Ms. Luck became president and CEO of Heifer International in 1992. She served for three years as Director of International Programs from 1989 to 1992, where she was responsible for Heifer International’s global program for sustainable development. Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than four million families in 125 countries around the world, including the United States. Prior to joining Heifer, Ms. Luck served as executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for more than a decade. Ms. Luck was then-Gov. Bill Clinton’s first cabinet appointee in January 1979 under the name of Jo Luck Wilson. During her tenure, the economic impact of the state’s tourism industry doubled from $1 billion to $2 billion.

Ms. Luck also served as the first executive director of the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, an organization modeled after the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. Ms. Luck has received numerous awards and was elected to the Arkansas Tourism Industry’s Hall of Fame for her work to preserve the natural resources in the state. She enjoys the distinction of being one of the first women members of Rotary International in Arkansas and was recognized by Arkansas Business magazine as one of the Top 100 Women in Arkansas for 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Bobby Osborne was born in 1938 and received his B.A. in math with a minor in physical education from Lyon College in 1965. Osborne is the president and owner of Southern Coating and Nameplate, now known as SCN, Inc., a multi-million dollar corporation that currently employs more than 60 people and supplies product labeling to major corporations in 17 foreign countries in multiple languages. He also serves as the chairman of the board of the National Banking Corp. and National Bank of Arkansas, which was on the verge of failing until he purchased a majority interest in the bank in 1988. Since then its assets have grown from $29 million to $200 million with nine branch banks. A member of the Lyon College President’s Council, Osborne lives in North Little Rock with his wife, Laurie. They have three sons, Sloan, Mark and Chase.

Skip Rutherford, who sits on the Lyon College Board of Trustees and teaches politics at Lyon and other institutions, is executive vice-president of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW), one of the region’s largest communications firms. He is also chairman of the board of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and supervised the planning for the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, the nation’s 12th presidential library. Rutherford was the first president of the advisory board for the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Science. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and a founding member of the Little Rock Central High Museum and Visitor Center Board. Rutherford has been honored as the Arkansan of the Year twice, once by the Arkansas Broadcasters Association and again by the Arkansas Times, and the Arkansas Press Association recognized Rutherford as the 2004 Headliner of the Year. Rutherford, a native of Batesville, and his wife, Billie, are the parents of three children.

Dr. Mark Woods received his B.S. in biology from Lyon College in 1995. In 1999, he earned
his M.D. from UAMS with honors in research. Woods worked with Family Practice Residency in northwest Fayetteville until 2002, where he was Chief Resident from 2001-2002. He is currently in the M.B.A. program at Missouri State University.  Woods was a part of the University of Arkansas faculty in Mountain View from 2002-2004 and is now working at St. John’s Clinic in Ozark, Mo. He received the American Medical Association Excellence in Medicine National Leadership Award in 2003 and the St. John’s Leadership Cohort. He lives in Ozark, Mo., with his wife, Krista, class of ’95, and their four children, Kane, Emma, Madison, and Greta. He is a youth and lay leader, as well as a Sunday School teacher for Ozark United Methodist Church.

Brandy Carroll received her B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing from Lyon College in 1995. She was a member of the Phi Mu sorority, the Lyon College Honor Council, Committee for the Mid-Point Review of the Strategic Plan, Service Day Coordinator, Student Activities Council, and 1995 Homecoming Queen.  Carroll is a market analyst for the Commodity and Regulatory Affairs Department in the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. Carroll is a graduate of LeadAR, a leadership and rural development program coordinated by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. She is married to Tim Carroll, class of ’96, and is a member of the Arkansas Rice Depot Board of Directors, a faith-based hunger relief agency, which just raised $1.5 million to purchase a warehouse so they can feed more hungry people across the state.

Mr. Scott Wood, who will receive the Friend of Education award, has deep family roots in Batesville. He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1972 with a B.S. in business administration. Wood serves as president of the Batesville School Board and acts as liaison to the Community Education Task Force for the board and also serves on the Lyon College President’s Council. Woods also participates actively in the community, serving as vice president of the White River Health Systems Foundation Board. He has served as Justice of the Peace in Districts 2 and 10.

He has been a member of the Batesville Community Theatre Board since 1996 and served as its president in 1997-99. He has participated in many plays and productions; in conjunction with BCT and the Artist in Education program. Wood is the third generation dealer and general manager of his family’s automobile dealership, Stanley Wood Chevrolet Pontiac Co. and Scott Wood Chrysler Dodge Jeep. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Auto Dealers Association. He is married to Myra Looney Wood and they have five children; Stanley, Damon, Laura, Jennifer and Mary; and four grandsons. 

Tebbetts to be installed as Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature at Convocation

Dr. Terrell Tebbetts of Batesville will be installed as the Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature at the Founders’ Day Convocation at Lyon College at 11 a.m. Saturday in Couch Garden.

The Lyon College Board of Trustees announced the establishment of the Martha Heasley Cox Endowed Chair in American Literature at its spring meeting in April. At the same meeting, the board also approved the appointment of Dr. Tebbetts as the inaugural holder of the chair.

Dr. Cox, a Batesville native and 1938 alumna of Lyon who now resides in San Francisco, Calif., made the endowed chair possible with a gift to the college. Dr. Cox previously established the Leila Lenore Heasley Prize at Lyon College in 1996 in memory of her sister and to honor other members of her family.

Dr. Tebbetts has been a member of the Lyon faculty since 1970. He has served as the W.C. Brown Jr. Professor of English since 1983 and has served as chair of the Humanities and Language Arts Divisions for more than 19 years. In 1981, he became the second member of the Lyon faculty to receive the Lamar Williamson Prize for Faculty Excellence. He has been named Professor of the Year by the Lyon student body on four occasions. In 1992, he was named Arkansas Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dr. Tebbetts is a nationally recognized scholar of American writer William Faulkner. He has published numerous articles and professional papers about Faulkner and other topics in literature and serves on the staff of the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference at the University of Mississippi, where he leads sessions on “Teaching Faulkner.” He serves as executive secretary of the Arkansas Philological Association, the professional organization of Arkansas college and university English and language faculty.

He has a B.A. from Hendrix College in Conway, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He currently serves as a sponsor for Alpha Chi, the national scholastic honor society, and sits on the National Council of Alpha Chi, its governing body. He is also the Kappa Sigma fraternity sponsor at Lyon and has served the national fraternity as Education Commissioner.

Dr. Tebbetts also serves as chair of the Arkansas Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council and on the board of directors of Wood-Lawn, Inc., convalescent center in Batesville, where he has also served as chair. He was a member of the founding board of the Old Independence Regional Museum and chaired its building committee. He has twice served as president of the Batesville Preservation Association and co-authored its book, Historic Homes of Batesville, Arkansas. He has also chaired the board of Batesville’s Family Violence Prevention, Inc.

He writes a bi-weekly column for the Batesville Daily Guard. In 1999, the Batesville Kiwanis Club named him Batesville Citizen of the Year. In 2004, the Independence County Historical Association gave him its annual Heritage Award.

The love of literature and a fondness for her hometown and alma mater led Dr. Martha Heasley Cox to establish the Cox Endowed Chair in American Literature and, before that, the Heasley Prize, which is awarded annually to a distinguished representative of American or international letters, theatre or cinema.

After graduating from Lyon College, Dr. Cox taught in secondary schools in Arkansas and Louisiana, and then earned her master’s degree and doctorate in English from the University of Arkansas. In 1955, she joined the faculty of San Jose State University, teaching American literature, composition, drama, poetry and literature through film.

Dr. Cox retired at SJSU in 1989 after a 34-year career as professor of English at the university. She currently holds the title of professor emerita of English at San Jose State.

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans service

Each year on the Sunday closest to Founders' Day, Lyon College hosts the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans worship service. The purpose of this service is to rededicate the campus community to the service of God and to the Presbyterian Church (USA).  This year’s service is set for Sunday, October 23, at 10:30 a.m. in Brown Chapel. The Rev. Bob Cox, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Batesville, will preach the sermon. He will be assisted by President Walter Roettger; the Rev. Nancy McSpadden, College Chaplain; and Lyon students Adam Long, Laura McWilliams, Morgan Presley and Emily Wilson.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to don academic regalia and participate in the procession.  If you plan to participate in the procession, please notify Brandi Allen (x4382) or ballen@lyon.edu by Wednesday, October 19, so enough seats will be reserved.

The Kirkin’ will be followed by the Kirkin’ Brunch Buffet in Bevens Music Room. Come and join in this traditional celebration.

Alpha Xi Delta to sponsor charity golf tournament during Homecoming weekend

Alpha Xi Delta will sponsor a "Drive Out Child Abuse" charity three-person shotgun scramble golf tournament Friday, October 21, at The Course At Eagle Mountain. Tee time is at 10 a.m. The entry fee is $150 per team and includes: practice balls, cart and lunch. Prizes are first through third place. The field is limited to first 40 paid teams and the deadline is Wednesday, October 19.

All proceeds go to Court Appointed Special Advocates For Children (CASA) and Choose Children. For more information contact Stephanie Davis at (870) 307-7428 or e-mail sd3579@lyon.edu

Lyon to present program on koto music of Japan

The Japan Lecture Series at Lyon College will present Dr. Anne Prescott who will present a program on “Koto Music of Japan: Traditional to Modern,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 27, in the Bevens Music Room. The program is free and open to the public.

Dr. Prescott received her B.M.Ed. from Cornell College and her M.M. and Ph.D. from Kent State University. Dr. Prescott has been playing the koto (13-string instrument) for more than 20 years. She spent eight years in Japan studying the koto and shamisen, including one year as a Japanese Ministry of Education scholar at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

While in Japan, Dr. Prescott performed regularly in the Tokyo area, including in a concert attended by Empress Michiko. In the U.S., she has given numerous performances at schools, museums, universities and other venues.

Dr. Prescott is currently an outreach coordinator at the East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University. She was previously on the faculty at Augustana College where she taught East Asian music, Japanese culture and the koto, and directed the Augustana Koto Ensemble.

Dr. Prescott’s publications include “The Donkey’s Ears Go Flop, Flop: Miyagi Michio’s Koto Works for Children” in Asian Music and a Japan Digest article on koto music for the National Clearinghouse for U.S.-Japan Studies. She recently conducted the third “Teaching East Asian Music in the Elementary Classroom” summer workshop at Indiana University. 

The next event in the Japan Lecture Series will feature Dr. Scott Schnell, professor of anthropology at Ohio State University.  The topic will be “Ritual Popular Protest – A Different Look at Japanese Festivals. The event will take place Thursday, February 23, at 7 p.m. in the Derby Lecture Hall.

The Japan Lecture Series is made possible by a grant from the Freeman Foundation.

Regional Studies Center site named 'History Website of the Week'

Little Rock’s Old State House Museum has named the Lyon College Regional Studies Center’s website its “History Website of the Week” for the week beginning October 17. You can visit the Old State House Museum’s website at:  http://www.oldstatehouse.com/general_information/links/links.asp.  In addition to its extensive recordings from the John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection, the Regional Studies Center’s website features oral history transcripts and detailed guides to holdings in Lyon’s Special Collections.  The website was launched in 2001 by Gene Hyde, former Regional Studies Center director and librarian, and is currently maintained by Judy Blackwell, curator of the archives and Regional Studies Center. You can visit the Regional Studies Center’s website at:  http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/library/rcol/rcol2.htm.

Cross painting juried in professional art exhibition

Jennifer Cross's experimental painting was juried into a professional art exhibition, The Big and Small Show at the Oval Gallery in downtown Little Rock. The exhibition is on display from October 7 – November 18.
 

Pipe Band performs in St. Louis

The Lyon College Pipe Band posted a resounding victory in the Grade IV band contest at the St. Louis Highland Games on October 8.  Lyon was placed first in Piping, first in Drumming, first in Ensemble, and was awarded Best Bass.  The combined scores assured the win over bands from Springfield, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, before a large and appreciative St. Louis audience.

Vincent Moore again had an outstanding performance in Grade II solos with several first places, and Tristen Dean won two firsts and a third in Grade III. Frankie and Will Boehm, twin sons of APPLE Project Director Kim Boehm, were given second- and third-place medals, respectively, in Novice Drumming.

Video and DVD collection highlighted at library

The library in October is highlighting its video and DVD collection. The library has more than 2,500 videos and more 350 DVDs in its collection and it is growing larger everyday. These are the most widely circulated items in the library. Dean Covington, the library director, will also be writing about the different kind of films available and posting his thoughts in the Film discussion list. Checkout times have been changed; now students have a week instead of three days and faculty and staff have a month. The library will also be giving cash away every week in October. Students can look for details for that in the student announcements. 

Thomas to speak on 'terraforming' at space meeting

By Eric Ramirez
Lyon College News Bureau

Dr. David J. Thomas, associate professor of biology at Lyon College, has been asked to attend the annual meeting Nov. 1-4 of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology in Reno, Nevada. Thomas has been asked to serve as plenary speaker on a topic with which he is well-versed: planetary engineering, commonly referred to as “terraforming.” 

Thomas said, “Humans can have a global impact. We’ve been doing it on Earth, albeit negligently.”

When it comes to planetary engineering, Mars is the suitable candidate, Thomas said. By warming up Mars a mere four degrees a “runaway greenhouse effect” would be created.  What Thomas is investigating is what possible lifeforms would be able to live and grow on Mars once this effect occurs.

Through funding from NIAC, the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, Thomas and his colleague, Dr. Penny Boston of New Mexico Tech, are experimenting with different organisms in a simulated Mars environment. Some of these organisms include cyanobacteria, eubacteria, and those organisms that live on desert rocks using chemosynthesis, a process for creating energy using chemicals within the rock.  The drawback to the desert organisms is that they grow slowly, but they have a high survivability. They even went so far as to use the “dirt out back” just to see what would survive.

Thomas and Boston have been doing many short-term experiments that have been helping to develop the procedure, searching for organisms that can survive and flourish under Martian conditions.

Thomas presentation will cover his recent results and a list of possible “pioneer organisms.”  He found that Mars would need a lot of photosynthetic organisms that would also be radiation resistant, and generate nitrogen, and they aren’t sure if they can find an ecosystem that will do all of this, or if they will have to genetically engineer an organism. 

Thomas realizes that this can’t be done in his lifetime. The technology alone would take 50 years to establish and the current value of the world’s wealth, he said. “Money is a large factor,” said Thomas, “and we are trying to make it less expensive.” Changing Mars atmosphere to livable conditions and then colonizing it would take anywhere from a few centuries to a thousand years. “This isn’t someone’s pet project.”

The hope for Mars is that it might possibly become a lifeboat for humanity, what Thomas said will “eventually be something that humanity, as a whole, can appreciate.”  But he remarked that if life is found on Mars “all bets are off!”  This would be a find that rivals anything to date and would raise ethical concerns all across the board.

Lyon professors to present papers at American Chemical Society meeting

By Eric Ramirez
Lyon College News Bureau

Three Lyon faculty members have been selected to present papers at the 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, which is being held Nov. 1-4 in Memphis, Tennessee. The Lyon chemistry professors whose papers have been selected include Dr. Floyd Beckford, assistant professor; Dr. Kurt Grafton, associate professor; and Dr. David Pace, assistant professor.

Beckford’s research involves the synthesis and biological activity of organometallic Ruthenium compounds. He synthesized the compounds in a complex chemical formula using an L-L, or thiosemicarbzone, a ligand.  The characterization of the ligands and the formula were done by elemental analysis, mass and NMR spectrometries, as well as UV-VIS spectrophotometry.  They then evaluated the results against four common strains of bacteria including E. coli, P. vulgaris, and B. subtilis. 

Grafton will be covering AMBERWARE, a free web interface that helps run, prepare, and manage a number of AMBER-based molecular dynamics (MD) programs. MD is a set of calculations that allow one to study structures of solutions and chemical binding as well as the difference in free energy of those solutions and bindings. However, many researchers opt against using MD because the software can be complex for those not familiar with it. In response, a web interface tool has been designed that allows its user to create, execute and analyze typical MD jobs and make maximum use of available resources through the use of a web browser. This interface will be free and designed to install on most Linux-based computer systems running a web browser.

Pace will be discussing Design of Experiments (DOE). DOE is an area of statistics that provides a way to improve a process by analyzing, simultaneously, all the effects of different variables on a set of outcomes through mathematical modeling within a given area.  Industrial chemists have widely accepted DOE, but academic chemists are more reluctant to use the system. DOE doesn’t provide a comprehensive solution, but it does have several advantages over prior methods including the one-variable-at-a-time approach, process and model error analysis, and predictive mathematical models of the reaction. To this end, Pace has set up an inexpensive catapult system that will use DOE software to analyze the factors involved in the experiment that should run from 4-6 hours.

Lyon would like to congratulate these professors on their acceptance as well as their outstanding work and research.

Dr. Floyd Beckford Dr. Kurt Grafton Dr. David Pace

Lyon community can get discount on Haggard tickets

The promoters of the Merle Haggard concert in Batesville Sunday are offering discounts on tickets to the Lyon College community and those who will be attending Homecoming next weekend. Paula Grimes, one of the promoters, said Lyon students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and others attending the Homecoming weekend events could purchase advance tickets for $32, a discount of $10 on the regular ticket price.

Haggard and his band, the Strangers, will perform at Independence Hall at the University of Arkansas Community College in Batesville at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The David Grimes All-Star Band will open for Haggard, a country music legend who is building a home in the Cushman area.

Call (870) 793-5800 or toll free at 1-877-388-5800 for ticket information or to charge by phone. Tickets also may be purchased at Batesville Music Center, 655 S. St. Louis St. in Batesville.

Sports

Soccer

The Scots defeated conference opponent Freed-Hardeman 1-0 Saturday in Henderson, Tennessee. Steve Banks scored the winning goal. The Scots are 1-3 in the TranSouth Conference and 7-6-1 overall.

Lyon suffered a tough 2-1 loss in overtime Tuesday to Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.

The Scots will host Hendrix College at Huser Field at 3 p.m. Tuesday. On Homecoming weekend, the Scots will host Martin Methodist on Saturday for another conference battle. The game will start at approximately 2:30. The Homecoming coronation ceremony will take place between the women’s and men’s games.

After winning three games in a row, the Pipers lost to Freed-Hardeman 2-0 Saturday in Tennessee. The win streak included two overtime victories and two conference wins. The Pipers are 2-2 in the conference and 3-10 overall.

The Pipers will play Hendrix at 1 p.m. Tuesday on the home field and then take on Martin Methodist in the Homecoming game Saturday, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Volleyball

The Lyon College Pipers broke a 10-match losing streak to Union University Tuesday night with a come-from-behind five-game thrill ride that never seemed to stop.  Game Scores were 21-30, 30-24, 25-30, 31-29, 15-13. With the win, combined with a Freed-Hardeman loss, Lyon moves into second place alone in the TranSouth. The last time a Lyon volleyball team had defeated Union was October 3, 2000. 

The Pipers got down early in game one and never really found their stride, losing by the score of 21-30. They had to make up a lot of points late to even break the 20-point barrier. The second game was a different story as Lyon cruised to a 6-0 lead behind the serving of Daria Paunovic. The lead was at six, 14-8, before Union went on a run of their own. The Pipers found themselves down 21-19 coming out of their last timeout. The ladies put on an offensive show, winning game 2, 30-24, and ending on a 11-3 run.  Game 3 was a very tightly contested game, with no team taking  a big lead until Union found themselves up 24-21. The Bulldogs pulled away with game 3 and took a 2-1 lead going into game 4.

The match looked out of reach as Union began to take control of the net play, both offensively and defensively, late in game 4. The Pipers saw themselves down 28-24, and had two match points against them at 29-27. That is where the tide began to turn. Lyon reeled off four straight points behind the booming spikes of Alison Sablick and Alyson Boone. The Pipers forced a deciding game 5 and took a lot of momentum in with them.  They broke out to an early 4-1 lead before the teams tied at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7. The Pipers won a crucial 8th point to make the turn in the lead, 8-7. Union was not about go down quietly as they answered to tie the deciding game 8-8. Lyon then scored four straight points to take a 12-8 lead. Union scored on two straight kills from Amanda Hutchinson, to bring the score to 12-10. The teams then traded points as Lyon held match point at 14-12, before Union got a point on an attack error. The Pipers held their second match point at 14-13 and pulled out the victory as Daria Paunovic's attack went off the arms of Purity Ogolla out of bounds. 

Lyon was lead by junior Alyson Boone with 20 kills and 5.5 blocks, while Paunovic and Sablick added 18 and 16 kills respectively. Jessica Sylvester had a break out game as well as she began to set a 5-1 offense, accumulating 38 assists. Susie Harper added to her nation best digs-per-game total with 42 digs.

The Pipers moved to 15-13 on the season and 5-2 in the conference and trail only Martin Methodist (4-1) for first place. their next match is Tuesday at Williams Baptist.  Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Sablick, Harper earn TranSouth weekly honors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lyon College’s Alison Sablick and Susie Harper took TranSouth player and libero of the week honors for the week of September 26, 2005.

Sablick, a 5’9” junior outside hitter from Plano, Texas, recorded 16 kills in each of the Pipers’ two victories this week as Lyon moved back above the .500 mark for the season. In the two matches, against Williams Baptist and Arkansas Baptist, Sablick recorded 21 digs, while committing only one error.

Harper, a 5’7” senior libero from Pocahontas, Arkansas, recorded 52 digs in two matches played on the week to keep her top overall NAIA ranking in digs per game. She averaged 8.67 digs per game and helped lead the Pipers back into a tie for second in the TranSouth.


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