He was born Nov. 11, 1910, in Independence County, and was the son of Finis V. Griffin and Kittie (Davis) Griffin.

At the University of Oklahoma he taught physics as a student teacher, and taught in public schools for a time. He had doctorate degrees in Physics, Ornithology, Anthropology.

He received an honorary doctorate at Lyon College in 1995 for his accomplishments in radar suppressant devices. He was also associated with the physics department at Harvard University. 

Mr. Griffin was a talented scientist and engineer and parlayed a lifelong fascination with electronics technology into a career of service to the U.S. Navy and to his country.

Inducted into the armed forces in 1942, he was transferred to the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., in 1944, where he spent the next 31 years engaged in research on radar technology and its military applications. His specialty was radar jamming devices that would interfere with communication signals sent by enemy vessels. Over the course of his career, he patented several jamming devices which are still in use on U.S. naval vessels, and several others which are used as testing equipment to ensure that radar jamming equipment on Navy ships performs to the highest possible standard. One of the patents he had received was for the Wide Band Noise Generator on October 17, 1967, which is still in use today.

He was also fluent in several languages and frequently served as an interpreter for visiting technical dignitaries from France. He also spoke German and understood some Russian. Fred was an avid bird watcher, he loved to hike and was a cyclist.  He was also an artist and won several awards for his paintings. 

He is survived by his cousins, Dr. Fred Davis, Kitty Cowling, Anne Griffin Moore, Robert T. Griffin, Lois Gordon, and Jack Davis as well as other distant relatives.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Grace Griffin.

Funeral services were held this morning at the Roller-Crouch Funeral Home Chapel with the Reverend Fred Davis officiating. Lyon President Walter Roettger spoke at the service.

Over 300 members of Lyon College’s faculty, staff, student body and administration are planning to cut classthis week, and they’re doing it for the sake of their neighbors.

On Wednesday, Sept. 27, Lyon College will release everyone participating in the annual Service Day activities and allow them to work with members of the local community on the College’s yearly day of giving back.

This event involves most of the campus. Last year, 341 students, faculty and staff participated in service day, for a combined total of 1,187 volunteer hours. This year, like last year, members of the campus will disperse to sites throughout Independence County and neighboring counties.

Lyon College has long sponsored the event as part of the College’s mission to develop responsible citizens and leaders committed to continued personal growth and service. Since 1992, the Lyon campus has given more than 13,500 volunteer hours in Batesville and the surrounding area.

"That gives them either a break from those responsibilities, making their environment a little better, or helping to serve those in need in our community," he said. "And the students get a sense of accomplishment, of having done something positive to benefit not only their school but the community. And we gain a better idea of what kinds of services and organizations are in Batesville."

For more information on Service Day, or to inquire about hosting a future Service Day worksite, contact campus chaplain Rev. Nancy McSpadden at 698-4281.

According to novelist and short story writer Kevin Brockmeier, good fiction has to happen at its own pace and cannot be hurried onto the page.

"If you love a story, you have to give it all the time it needs," he told the audience gathered to hear him speak at Lyon College. "And we have to love our story."

The Washington Post has called Brockmeier a "thrilling" storyteller, The Chicago Tribune gave him its Nelson Algren Award, and The Oxford American named him one of the Best Writers of the South.

And on Tuesday, he visited Lyon College as the inaugural event in this year’s Contemporary Writers Series.

Brockmeier is the author of the novels, "The Brief History of the Dead" and "The Truth About Celia," the story collection "Things That Fall From the Sky," and the children's novels "City of Names" and "Grooves: A Kind of Mystery."

Some of Brockmeier’s other awards include three O. Henry Prizes, the Italo Calvino Short Fiction Award, and the James Michener/Paul Engle Fellowship. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he also taught, Brockmeier is a native Arkansan and lives in Little Rock.

Even though Brockmeier is dedicated to the art and craft of creating literary fiction, he says writing is second in importance to reading. He said there are volumes of writing guides available that espouse the theory that writing is "holy," but he disagrees with that notion.

I hate that," he said. "Writing is work, not holy. What’s holy is reading… Reading helps me see my own life more clearly."

He said the ideas for his fiction come from everyday life.

"Everybody has ideas, but writers make a living out of chasing those ideas down," he said. "Of the hundreds of ideas we all have every day, the ones that are worth something are the ones that keep coming back to you over and over."

Some of his work contains elements of fantasy, but Brockmeier is also fascinated by reality.

"The oldest living thing in the world is a 4,600-year-old bristlecone pine tree in California, and the biggest living thing is a 2,200-acre fungus in Oregon," he said. "Things like that have always been extraordinary magic to me."

Though creating fiction requires an active and nimble imagination, truth is what elevates craft to the level of art.  "How powerful simply telling the truth can be," he said.

The Lyon College Contemporary Writers Series, the Visiting Fellowship in Creative Writing, and the Heasley Prize Reading Series all provide outstanding opportunities to anyone interested in reading – or writing – fiction, poetry, drama and creative non-fiction.

Andrea Hollander Budy, Lyon’s Writer-in-Residence, initiated the Visiting Writers Series in 1991 when she joined the faculty, and the series immediately began drawing both Lyon students and members of the community to hear authors read from, and speak about, their work.

But since she will be one of the featured writers this year, the name of the series has been changed to the Contemporary Writers Series.

The next event in the Contemporary Writers Series will be held Tuesday, Oct. 24, when poet Jason Sommer visits the Lyon campus.

Sommer grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., in a house that held secrets. Eventually he learned that his immigrant father, uncle and aunt had survived labor camps, including Auschwitz. Later he would incorporate his family’s stories into award-winning poems that have earned him the prestigious Whiting Foundation Writers’ Award, the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Award and the New England Prize, among others.

Budy will be the featured author on Tuesday, Nov. 28, when she’ll celebrate the publication of her latest collection of poems, "Woman in the Painting," just released by Autumn House Press. Her previous books include "House Without a Dreamer," winner of the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize, and "The Other Life," which garnered high praise by reviewers in such publications as The Washington Post and The Georgia Review.

Budy is winner of the D. H. Lawrence Fellowship, the Runes Award in Poetry, a Pushcart Prize for Memoir, and writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arkansas Arts Council. Since 1991, she has taught at Lyon College, which awarded her the Williamson Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

For more information on the Contemporary Writers Series, contact Budy at ahbudy@lyon.edu.

Lyon College student Josh Looney is the first beneficiary of a scholarship established to honor one of the College’s most influential leaders.

Last year, the Board of Trustees of Lyon College established the Dan C. West Endowed Scholarship in honor of Lyon’s 14^th president, who served from 1972-1988. The scholarship was made possible through an endowment created by the R.E.L. Wilson Trust of Wilson, Ark.

The West Scholarship will provide one full-tuition scholarship each year, renewable for up to eight semesters of full-time study as long as the recipient achieves and maintains a 3.2 cumulative grade point average.

Looney, who comes from Springdale, Ark., said he was "honored" when he found he had received the West Scholarship.

"My parents and I were extremely excited when I opened the Lyon Scholarship Packet that came in the mail," he said. "The West Scholarship, as a full tuition and mandatory fees scholarship, will help me for the next four years at Lyon College to achieve my bachelor’s degree."

He plans on pursuing a double major in English and Spanish with a double minor in international studies and political science.

"I’d like to attend law school after I graduate, maybe somewhere like Cornell," he said. "But I’ve also dreamed about studying in London, England. I’d love to work in the international relations field."

Looney said he’d like to thank Dr. Terrell Tebbetts for "being welcoming and receptive to questions during Accepted Students Day in April."

"I’d also like to thank two of my high school teachers, Wendell Nothdurft and Kay Rossetti, for the excellent dedication and care they put into their students," he added.

West Scholars are selected by the president of the College upon the recommendation of the Office of Enrollment Services. In selecting the award recipients, the College seeks students of exceptional promise who are likely to make outstanding contributions to Lyon. 

Denny Bardos, Lyon’s vice president for Enrollment Services, said Looney is "gregarious, personable, and friendly," and that, coupled with his dedication to his studies, made choosing him as the first West Scholar an easy task.

"Josh is a wonderful young man, and he excelled in the classroom and was very involved in many extracurricular activities," Bardos said. "We were confident that Josh would also contribute to the Lyon College community."

The College considers high school performance, leadership and service outside the classroom and performance on standardized tests as criteria in making the selection. The scholarship is reserved for Arkansas residents and recipients are expected to live on campus. 

Dan C. West became the 14^th president of Lyon (then Arkansas College) in 1972. He is a graduate of Austin College, Union Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University and Harvard University.

Dr. West’s educational career includes positions at Austin College, Carroll College and Union College. He currently serves as vice president of development at Swarthmore College.

"For more than 30 years, Dan West has served higher education with distinction and courage," Dr. Walter Roettger, president of Lyon, said when the scholarship was established. "President West led the College forward from the devastating impact of the 1973 tornado. His 16-year tenure as president of Lyon College was marked by growth in enrollment and endowment, by construction, and by increased visibility. Dan and Sidney West brought energy, dynamism and vision to this campus. We are very grateful to the R.E.L. Wilson Trust for this generous gift. It honors one of the very best."

The College made the first of many appearances in U.S. News & World Report as one of the best regional colleges in the South under Dr. West’s leadership.

Dr. West and his wife, Sidney, established the West Endowed String Concert Series in 1981 to offer live musical performances or stringed instrument instruction at Lyon.

Constitution Day observed with moot court program Amber Colvin presents her case about the National Security Agency's  policy of wiretapping in the war against terrorism to those gathered in Nucor Auditorium as part of last Monday's Constitution Day program. The Lyon College Moot Court team debated the NSA's wiretapping policy. From left are Ben Thielemier, Amber Hood, Keith Harmon, Alison Sablick and Dr. Scott Roulier, the Moot Court team's adviser.                                                                                                    Photo by Eric Stewart

By  Lyon College News Bureau

World War II took thousands of people away from their homes and jobs, but those openings gave a "hometown girl from Batesville" the chance to live her dream of being a reporter for one of the world’s top news wire services.

Virginia Burns attended Arkansas College for two years during the 1940s before leaving town to help with the war effort. But before she left to begin a new life that eventually included a husband, three children and three grandchildren, she fulfilled her dream of being a professional journalist.

"Born and raised" in Batesville, Virginia had ties to Arkansas College through her father, Bragg Bea Conine. She said he won the first foot race the College ever sanctioned as an organized event.

While still a student at Batesville High School, a teacher asked Virginia to help report and write local news for a now-defunct newspaper called the Batesville News Review.

"She had me gathering news and writing it up, and I loved it," Virginia said. "I did that for a couple years, while I was still in high school, and later in Arkansas College."

Jared E. Trevathan established the Batesville News Review in 1933, and published it for 25 years before selling the paper and entering the law brief printing business.

The son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George H. Trevathan, he was a graduate of Batesville High School and attended Arkansas College and the Cumberland Law School in Cumberland, Tenn.

Although he was licensed to practice law, he entered the newspaper business in 1916 with his father, who was editor and publisher of the Batesville Guard. Jared died at the age of 71 on May 3, 1967.

When Virginia left the News Review and moved to Little Rock to pitch in with the war effort, she found herself without a job.

"My sister worked in a war plant there, but they didn’t need me," she recalled.

That’s when a friend who knew she’d worked as a reporter in Batesville recommended Virginia to United Press to fill a job opening created by the war.

"The boy whose job I took went off to fight in the war," she said. "The war helped a lot of people get jobs they normally would never have gotten."

The government rationed supplies of all kinds during the war, including shoes.

"That was especially hard on us ladies," Virginia said.

Another hot news topic at the time had to do with the extensive records the government required business owners to keep on how much they sold and who was buying. Some storeowners had so much paperwork to wade through that they literally closed shop one day a week to take care of it.

"The government was really bearing down on them," Virginia said. "Again, it’s a lot like today. I had forgotten about those things until recently."

After two years of writing about the war effort, the young reporter longed to actually participate, so she left her dream job and moved to Newport to work at the Army Airfield there.

"After a while, me and seven friends took off for Arlington, Texas, to work at a military airfield there," Virginia said.

That’s where she met a dashing young flight instructor named Frank R. Burns Jr., the man who would become her husband. When the war ended, the young couple moved to Frank’s hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, where he started a moving company with his father.

Though she never regretted her decision to leave journalism and to start a family, Virginia said she’ll always remember her days during the great war when she fulfilled her dream of being a professional reporter.

"It was a long time ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday," she said. "It was a grand adventure for a hometown girl from Batesville."

Founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps, UP provided the first news reports of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and in 1945, UP launched the first all-sports wire. In 1950, UP was first to report the outbreak of the Korean War.

UP became known as UPI in 1958, when the agency merged with the International News Service, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst.

Today, UPI is a global operation headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Beirut, Hong Kong, London, Santiago, Seoul and Tokyo.

Andrea Bruner, assistant managing editor of the Batesville Daily Guard, provided the information about the Batesville News Review for this article.