A noted professor of business and management at Lyon College now has another honor to add to his resume.

Dr. Frank Winfrey, Lyon’s Clark N. and Mary Perkins Barton Professor of Management, is the winner of the 2006-07 Lamar Williamson Prize for Faculty Excellence, the top teaching award at the college.

At left, Winfrey (center) accepts the prize trophy from Mary Sue Jacobs, the vice chair of the Board of Trustees, and President Walter Roettger.

Winfrey is the 27th Lyon professor to receive the prize, which is awarded annually to the faculty member deemed to be the most outstanding in four categories: professional competence, scholarly ability, exemplary humane and Christian values, and contributions to the community.

Winfrey, who joined the Lyon faculty in 1994, said previous prizewinners have exemplified what it means to serve their community.

"I’m deeply honored to receive the Williamson Prize, especially given the group of past recipients and the outstanding quality of my colleagues on the Lyon faculty," he said. "I think the Williamson Prize is a symbolic reminder to our students and the college community of the value of continual growth and service in our lives."

Of the people he credits for helping him achieve success in his life and in his career, Dr. Winfrey cites his wife above all others.

"I would like to thank my wife, Anne Austin, for the many blessings she has brought to my life," he said.

Dr. Austin is the dean of learning at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. The couple has two daughters, Frances and Kathryn.

Dr. Winfrey earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina.

Currently serving as president of the Faculty Assembly and faculty adviser for Sigma Beta Delta, Winfrey is also a member and past president of the Batesville Rotary Club. and has held several offices in Rotary International District 6150. He also serves as a consultant evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Dr. Winfrey’s research centers on CEO compensation, corporate governance, and corporate growth opportunities. The Carnegie Bosch Institute published his most recent research papers for Applied Studies in International Management at Carnegie Mellon University.

Since coming to Lyon College, he’s taught a variety of courses and has led students on Nichols Travel-Study courses to Munich, Germany, and Paris, France. In January 2000, he taught a course on leadership in Warsaw, Poland.

Dr. Winfrey has served the Lyon College community in many ways, including through his service on the Curriculum, Promotion and Tenure, the Institutional Assessment, the Faculty Personnel and Development, the Governance and Nominating and the NCA Self-Study Steering committees.

"I’d like to give a simple, heartfelt ‘thank you’ to those responsible for making this recognition possible," Dr. Winfrey said.

The Lyon College Board of Trustees established the Lamar Williamson Prize for Faculty Excellence in 1979 in memory of Lamar Williamson of Monticello, Ark., a distinguished attorney, businessman and civic and Presbyterian Church leader, who attended Lyon College from 1901 to 1903.

The Prize confers upon the recipient a silver cup and a stipend from a memorial fund, both of which were given by J. Gaston Williamson of Little Rock in honor of his father. The winner of the prize presents a public lecture at a convocation the following academic year. The Lyon Board of Trustees approves the Williamson Prize selection committee’s recommendation at its April meeting and the selection is announced at commencement.

Students at Lyon College are known for their academic achievements, and on Saturday during the college’s 134^th commencement, eight of them took home awards for their outstanding performance.

The academic award recipients were:

The Charles H. Coffin Medal (the highest academic award) – Adam Long, an English major from Jonesboro. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ron Long of Jonesboro.

Established as a memorial to Dr. Coffin by a former classmate of his at Lyon, the Coffin Scholarship Medal is the highest academic honor bestowed on a graduating senior, and is awarded each year to an honor graduate who has taken his or her last three years of work at the College as a regular student.

The Dr. and Mrs. John D. Spragins Memorial Award – Josh Manning, a political science major, from Crawfordsville. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Manning of Crawfordsville.

The Spragins Award was established by the Board of Trustees in honor of a former president of Lyon and his wife. It is given annually to a member of the graduating class who best represents the ideals of the college.

The Mosley Fellowship – Blake Phillips, a biology major from Hot Springs. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Max Phillips of Hot Springs.

The Mosley Fellowship is named in memory of Dr. Ellis G. Mosley, a former professor of religion at Lyon, and Mrs. Mary Newton Mosley. It is intended for use in graduate school and is awarded annually to a member of the graduating class whose academic record and promise of future service are deemed outstanding by the faculty.

The Dr. Samuel W. Williams Fellowship – Chris Estes, a biology major from Batesville. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Karl Estes of Batesville.

The Williams Fellowship was established by the Board of Trustees in honor of Dr. Williams’ service to Lyon as a dean and professor. It is intended for use in graduate school and is awarded annually to a member of the graduating class whose academic record and promise of future service are deemed outstanding by the faculty.

The John T. Dahlquist Scholar-Athlete Award – Tony Fortune, a math and computer science major from Newport. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fortune of Newport.

The Dahlquist Award is given each year to the graduating senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average. The award is given in honor of Dr. John Dahlquist, a former dean of faculty at the college, and his wife, Diana. A general stipend is received upon the recipient entering graduate school.

The Seibert Fellowship – John Allison III, a mathematics major from Floral.

The Seibert Fellowship was established by the Board of Trustees in honor of Daniel Seibert, a former professor of education and psychology at Lyon. It is intended for use in graduate school and is awarded annually to a member of the graduating class whose academic record and promise of future service are deemed outstanding by the faculty, and whose major field is one in which Professor Seibert taught.

The Lester Fellowship – Skye Hart, a music and French major from Mountain Home. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sean Hart of Mountain Home.

The Lester Fellowship was established by the Board of Trustees in honor of Dr. Margaret Pruden Lester, a former professor of history at Lyon. It is intended for use in graduate school and is awarded annually to a member of the graduating class whose academic record and promise of future service are deemed outstanding by the faculty.

The Class of 1994 Award – Devon Dudley Westpheling, a biology and psychology major from Jonesboro. She is the daughter of Ms. Trina Dudley of Jonesboro.

This award was established by the Class of 1994 to recognize a graduating senior whose achievements warrant distinction.

Here is a complete list of the Class of 2006. More photos from commencement may be found on What's Hot.

A Lyon College art professor replaced his brushes with a pen long enough to write a new book about his series of paintings inspired by his wife’s courageous battle with cancer.

Chris Valle, assistant professor of art, has authored, "Chris Valle: Paintings from the Nodular Sclerosis Series," and it will be available at Amazon.com around May 19. It is also listed at www.lulu.com for purchase. The book is full color throughout and contains about 40 images of the paintings.

Valle said Athena’s six-month PET-SCAN was negative.

"We have four and a half more years to go before we’re out of the woods," he added.

"Nodular Sclerosis," the painting exhibition Valle based his new book upon, ran in March at Kresge Gallery on the Lyon campus. The "floating islands" within the paintings are symbolic of the feeling of isolation that comes with the treatment of cancer, he said.

Valle’s paintings have been shown nationally in more than 60 exhibitions in 14 states. He received a B.F.A in art from Valdosta State University and his M.F.A. in painting from the University of Florida.

Lyon College is going on S.A.F.A.R.I., hunting for more students who are interested in enriching, challenging and enjoyable learning experiences in a variety of content areas.

The College’s S.A.F.A.R.I. (Summer Academics: Fun And Recreation Included) summer enrichment program, now in its sixth year, has expanded and beginning this year now offers a Teen Camp for students in grades 7–8, in addition to its Children’s Camp for K–6 students.

The first session of the Children’s Camp will be June 5-16, and the second will be June 19-30. Each session will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Students who have completed grades K-2 may elect to attend half-day sessions. Students who have completed grades 3-6 attend for a full day unless they wish to attend a sports camp on the same day..

The first Teen Camp will run from June 12-16, and the second session will run from June 19-23.

Classes offered in the Teen Camp include cartooning, charcoal drawing, creative digital photo computing, creative writing I, creative writing II, drama, fun physics, introduction to architecture, perspective drawing and music. Teen Camp students may take one class in the morning and/or one in the afternoon.

Children’s Camp students will sign up for three academic and one recreational course per session. Lunch will be provided, as will morning and afternoon snacks.

A variety of recreational activities will also be offered for the Children’s Camp, including swimming, archery, golf, Highland dancing and others. Students can create a daily schedule that matches their own interests and talents.

For more information or an application or brochure, e-mail: mcooper@lyon.edu, or call (870) 612-6490. The application deadline is May 12. More information also can be found on the Lyon SAFARI Web page at www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/safari/. Click on program description.

Lecture series to chronicle Scots-Irish connection to the Ozarks

The music and culture of the Ozark region reflect the history of the Scots-Irish peoples who settled in the area, and an upcoming lecture series at Lyon College will soon detail those influences.

The Scots-Irish Connection to the Ozarks Lecture Series will consist of eight evening lectures over a two-week period in Nucor Auditorium on the Lyon campus at 7 p.m. between July 10 and 20.

The lecture series is made possible by a $7,545 grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council.

The lectures are free and open to the public and will feature nationally and internationally recognized scholars in the field of Celtic music and heritage. An estimated 200-300 attendees will benefit from one or more of the lectures.

The first week’s lectures begin on Monday, July 10, with a presentation focusing on the Gaelic language. The second lecture will focus on the musical roots and traditions associated with the Highland harp and bagpipes on July 11. An overview of the migration pattern of the Scots-Irish into the Ozarks will be the focus of the third lecture on July 12, and the fourth will focus on the life and music of Pipe Major Donald MacLeod on July 13.

The second week’s lectures run July 17 – 20, and will focus on the works of Robert Burns, the migration of Scottish culture to Southern Appalachia from Northern Ireland, and the migration of Scots-Irish music into the Ozarks. In addition, the lecture will continue on the life and music of Pipe Major MacLeod.

Lyon’s Director of Scottish Heritage and Pipe Major Jimmy Bell, with Dr. Brooks Blevins, coordinated planning for the Scots-Irish Connection to the Ozarks Lecture Series. Other members of the planning committee included Lyon staff members Kenton Adler, academic services coordinator, webmaster and member of the Lyon Pipe Band; Kim Boehm, director of the APPLE Project Upward Bound Program; and Mary Baxley, administrator of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Dr. Blevins will serve as humanities scholar and will give two public lectures on the Scots-Irish migration into the Ozark region and its influence on Ozark traditional music. Dr. Blevins is an assistant professor of history at Lyon College. He holds a B.A. in history from Lyon College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from Auburn University. Among his many books and other publications are two that deal with Arkansas subjects: “Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image” (University of North Carolina Press, 2002) and “Lyon College, 1872-2002: The Perseverance and Promise of an Arkansas College” (University of Arkansas Press, 2003).

Dr. Jamie MacDonald will present a public lecture on the Gaelic language. Dr. MacDonald is a member of the Celtic Studies Department at Saint Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Dr. MacDonald was raised in North Carolina, his ancestors having emigrated to the Upper Cape Fear Valley settlement there in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There was great interest in his family in its Scottish heritage and he grew up steeped in Scottish culture. Dr. MacDonald initially obtained his B.A. from East Carolina University and his M. A. from Appalachian State University in Psychology.

Holly Callahan will present a public lecture on the history and heritage of the Scottish small pipe. Ms. Callahan has published numerous articles and arrangements of traditional Scottish harp music and has served as a guest lecturer at the Ohio Scottish Arts School, Oberlin, Ohio. She received an M.A. in historical studies from the University of Maryland in 2002. Her thesis was entitled “The History and Heritage of the Scottish Small Harp.” It examines the history of the Scottish harp from its demise to the current rebirth of the tradition and focuses on the issues of gender, ethnicity and heritage-based identity.

Dr. H. Tyler Blethen will give a public lecture on the migration of Scottish culture to Southern Appalachia from Northern Ireland that examines settlement preferences, agricultural practices, religion, music and storytelling. Dr. Blethen received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is professor of history at Western Carolina University and served as director of the University’s Mountain Heritage Center from 1985 to 2003.

Angus John MacClellan will present a public lecture focusing on the life and musical career of Pipe Major Donald MacLeod. Angus J. is a Scottish piper well known for his solo and band accomplishments, as well as being a judge and a teacher of piping. He is former Pipe Sergeant of the world-renowned Strathclyde Police and is a double Gold Medalist. He has served as an instructor for The College of Piping and as a consultant for Dunfion Bagpipes. A prize student of Donald MacLeod, Angus J. lives in Bearsden, Scotland, and is one of the foremost authorities on Piobaireach (classical bagpipes) in the world today.

Dr. Terrell Tebbetts will present a public reading and lecture on selected works of Robert Burns. Dr. Tebbetts holds the Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature at Lyon College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1971, and since joining the Lyon College faculty in 1970, he’s been voted Alpha Chi Professor of the Year four times and was awarded the Williamson Prize for Faculty Excellence in 1981. In 1992, he was named the CASE/Carnegie Professor of the Year for the state of Arkansas. Dr. Tebbetts is an active scholar, having published some three dozen literary articles in journals.

For more information on the Scots-Irish Connection to the Ozarks Lecture Series, contact Kim Boehm, director of the APPLE Project Upward Bound Program, at 870-698-4263.

Sports

Baseball

The Scots came close to pulling off an upset win in the TranSouth Conference tournament Saturday, but eventually fell to No. 1 seed Cumberland University, 7-5.

The Scots, seeded fifth in the tournament, fought their way to the championship game by defeating No. 2 Trevecca Nazarene 11-3 on Friday. Previously, Lyon had beaten Freed-Hardeman 12-6 in the first round before suffering their first tournament loss to Cumberland 16-4. They came back in Game 8 to defeat No. 3 seed Union University 8-5. This put them in the semifinal game against Trevecca and, finally, into the championship game.

Look for details of the championship game in today’s Batesville Daily Guard.

Cumberland had already earned at automatic bid to this week’s NAIA Region XI Tournament. The winner of the conference tournament earns the other automatic bid from the TranSouth Conference. However, since Cumberland won the tournament title, the runner-up team, Lyon, received the automatic region bid. The bracket for the Region XI Tournament had not been posted as of Monday morning.

Four Scots made the All-Conference first team. They were Rob Webster, 3B; Sam Cooke, IF; Steven Wright, OF; and Andy Bettis, DH. Sean Coker, 1B, made the second team.

Golf

By Wil Shane
Lyon College News Bureau

When Lyon College graduate Adriane Barnett found herself with time to kill after applying to medical school, she took a swing at her dream of playing professional golf in the LPGA.

Her first step toward achieving that lofty goal was joining the Duramed FUTURES Tour, known among players as "the road to the LPGA." Since joining in January 2006, Barnett has earned the ranking of 115th on the tour with an average score of 76.3.

Born in Atlanta, Ga., Barnett grew up in Jonesboro and graduated high school there. Barnett, a biology major at Lyon who graduated in 2005, said golf has always been an individual sport for her, but at Lyon she learned how to play on a team. 

"My teammates at Lyon were wonderful and will be lifelong friends," Barnett said. "I think it’s amazing for a golf program to win a conference tournament and make it to the national championship in only its second year of existence. And then to back it up with two more conference banners is just icing. I think that says a lot about our team’s chemistry and desire to succeed." 

She said she puts a lot of pressure to succeed on herself, something she learned to do as a team member at Lyon.

"At Lyon, if I had a bad round the whole team suffered, not just me," she said. "I think I learned how to ‘grind it out’ for my teammates. We’d have pep talks before a match that we knew would be difficult because of the course or weather conditions. I’m drawing on all those great experiences now and learning to play that hard for myself."

The FUTURES Golf Tour enters its 26th season this year with a new three-year title sponsorship agreement with Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The tour’s official name became the Duramed FUTURES Tour in January 2006.

That relationship with the LPGA was formalized in 1999, making the Duramed FUTURES Tour the official developmental tour of the LPGA in an agreement that offers direct avenues by which to qualify for the LPGA.

Some of Barnett’s accomplishments as an amateur golfer include:

• Two-time winner of the Arkansas State High School AAA Championship (2000, 2001).

• Medallist of the 2001 Bubba Conlee Junior National Tournament.

• Two-time Individual winner of the TransSouth Conference Championship while at Lyon College (2002, 2004).

• 2002 NAIA All-American selection.

• 2003 NAIA All-Region Team selection.

• Medallist at the 2005 NAIA Region XI Championship.

• 2005 NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.

Barnett’s best score ever was a 66 in the opening round of a National Junior Tournament. And though she’s never had a hole-in-one on a par 3, she has had one on a par 4. 

"That’s a wonderful memory for me," she said. "I was playing in a tournament with my dad and a good friend when that happened. That was the summer before my sophomore year at Lyon."

She said she’s yet to win a professional event, but Barnett believes that will turn around when she gains a little experience.

"I’ve gotten off to a rocky start this year," she said. "I’m not placing too much emphasis on these first several tournaments though. This year is going to be a learning experience.  There’s so much to figure out on your first year. Playing all over the United States the conditions vary so much from place to place. I've been playing golf for about 13 years and there is still so much to learn." 

According to the Duramed FUTURES Tour Web site, the tour has grown from just over 20 North American players to more than 300 players from 27 nations and six continents. It’s now the largest international developmental tour in the world, featuring an 18-tournament schedule in 2006 in 13 states with a record total season purse of $1.35 million.

Top players on the tour’s money list at the conclusion of the official season earn exempt LPGA status for the following year. Three automatic LPGA cards were awarded from 1999 to 2002, with an upgrade to five cards beginning in 2003. Starting with the sixth-ranked player at season’s end, 10 tour members who are not already members of the LPGA, automatically advance into the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

Barnett thinks four years is a “realistic timeline” for making it to the LPGA.

“There are several different ways to ‘graduate’ to the LPGA,” she said, “including finishing in the top five on the Futures Tour Money List, or going to Q-school in the fall. I’m planning on going to Q-School in the fall of this year.”

A total of 31 Duramed FUTURES Tour players from the 2005 season qualified for playing status on the 2006 LPGA Tour. Duramed FUTURES Tour players earned 12 of the 24 available LPGA Tour exempt cards and 19 of the 45 non-exempt cards at the 2006 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. A total of 64 Tour members were in the final LPGA Q-School field of 142 professionals.

Her plans for medical school are on hold, maybe for good, Barnett said.

"After getting just a taste of this, I don't think there is anyway I would be happy in medical school.," she said. "I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m meeting new friends with the same goals, traveling across the U.S., and playing golf. What could be better? I guess Q-school will be my med school."

Barnett, whose drives average a little over 250 yards, started working with a new swing coach about a year ago, and also works with a trainer.

"I’m not using a psychologist yet, but sometimes I think I might need more than one," she joked.

At Lyon College, Barnett had a workout and practice schedule, but with classes and schoolwork, her golf was "kind of on the back burner." Now it’s "front and center" with everything else to the side, and that’s making a significant difference in the development of her skills, she said.

"Sometimes I’m amazed at how much better my game has gotten in just a year," she said. "But there’s always room for improvement."

For more information on the FUTURES Tour and Barnett’s progress during the season, go to: www.duramedfuturestour.com

Basketball

Replacing Norris Weintz and Jason Donaldson is a daunting task, but Lyon basketball Coach Kevin Jenkins appears to be headed in the right direction.

Two high school standouts recently signed with the Scots basketball program.

Chad Glover, a 6-foot-9 forward from Cabot, and Alex Kelly, a 6-6 forward from Pea Ridge, are the newest additions.

Glover averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and two blocks a game to lead the Panthers to a 16-10 record.

He shot 55 percent from the field and won all-conference honors this season.

"Chad will be a tremendous addition to the Scots basketball team at the power forward position," Lyon Coach Kevin Jenkins said. "He runs the floor very well and has a nice touch from the 3-point line in. He has played three years in a very tough 5-A East conference and should be able to come in and contribute early because of his ability."

Kelly is an all-everything player. He was named all conference, all-region and all-state and was recently selected to play in the Arkansas High School All-star game in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

Kelly led the Blackhawks to an 18-7 record and a second place finish in the 1-AAA West District. As a senior, Kelly averaged 20 points and a team-high seven rebounds per game.

"Alex is an excellent player and we are very pleased that he chose Lyon College to continue his education and basketball career," Jenkins said. "He has played three years in the very tough conference and should be able to come in and contribute early because of his ability to shoot the basketball from the perimeter, handle the ball, and play hard-nosed defense."

The Scots finished last season with a 15-14 record. They missed winning the TranSouth Athletic Conference regular-season title by one victory, then lost to Freed-Hardeman in the first round of the conference tournament.

Volleyball

Jonesboro star transfers to piper volleyball team

The Lyon Pipers volleyball squad has added another all-state player.

Ann Sullivan, a 2005 graduate of Jonesboro High, transferred to Lyon from Missouri State in January.

"I chose Lyon because I sat out last semester while I attended MSU and over Thanksgiving break coach asked me, jokingly, if I wanted to transfer," Sullivan said.

She came to the conclusion that made her and Lyon Coach Justin Dee happy.

"I belong on the court. So, I accepted Coach Dee’s offer. Life and volleyball couldn’t have turned out better."

Sullivan has a challenging task in front of her. She’ll be called on to fill the role of Susie Harper, Lyon’s lone senior, who finished her career ranked No. 4 on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics all-time digs list and earned the Winnie Marable Award as Lyon’s outstanding female athlete.

"I was thinking to myself ‘How in the world am I going to replace Susie Harper,’" Dee said. "It is nearly impossible to bring in someone with the skills and volleyball intelligence of a Susie Harper.

"Then I met Ann Sullivan. My dreams have come true. What an addition to our family," Dee remarked.

Sullivan was a member of the Lady Hurricane, a team that is ever-present in the high school volleyball state tournament. They won the state title in 2002. Sullivan was on that team as well as two other state runner-up teams. They won the AAAAA-East District title twice during Sullivan’s career.

Sullivan won all-conference honors in 2003 and 2004. She was named to the all-state and all-state tournament teams in 2004.

Not only does she get the job done on the court, but she also excells in the classroom. Sullivan was a National Honors Society member, and president of the Key Club as well as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

"Ann is the definition of what we are looking for at Lyon College. She never made a B her whole high school career, her work ethic is unreal and her enthusiasm for volleyball is amazing," Dee said.

"Ann will come in and fill in a much needed hole of Libero (defensive specialist) and make an immediate impact to this 2006 Piper squad," Dee said.

The 2006 season is scheduled to begin Aug. 29.