Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

This is the archive for Gardner-Webb's Newscenter, which is your source for updates and events happening on campus, as well as interesting stories about GWU students, faculty/staff and alumni. You'll also find stories about academic accomplishments and community service projects.

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GWU Communication Studies Students Provide Community Service with a Camera

Office of University Communications

Thanks to the determination of some Gardner-Webb University Communication Studies students, children at the Cleveland County Boys & Girls Club, and their families, were provided the opportunity to participate in a free photography session called Help-Portrait. Founded by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, Help-Portrait (based in Nashville, Tenn.) is a community of photographers coming together across the world to use their photography skills to give back to their local community. The group’s mission is to equip and mobilize individuals and photographers, who will go out and find someone in need, or less fortunate, and take their portrait.
Gardner-Webb Baseball Coach Receives National Honor

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University is proud to announce that head baseball coach Rusty Stroupe is the recipient of a national coaching award given annually by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Stroupe has been named the 2012 recipient of the Jerry Kindall Character in Coaching Award, a national honor that includes all divisions of college and high school baseball coaching. Presented each year by the FCA, Stroupe was one of four finalists considered for the distinguished award.
GWU Staffers Help Salvation Army Spread Christmas Cheer

Office of University Communications

A team of Gardner-Webb staffers from the University’s Marketing and Communications offices were hard at work on Dec. 15 and 16—if you can call helping the Salvation Army to deliver Christmas toys and goodies to local families “work.” But that’s precisely what Gardner-Webb President Dr. Frank Bonner calls it, the most important kind of work—so important that he instituted a policy encouraging GWU staff departments to take up to two days “off with pay” each year to serve together in the community. “That policy is just one of the many ways this institution gives life and breath to its commitment to community engagement,” said Matt Walters, assistant director for executive communications at GWU.
Gardner-Webb University Presents the 2012 Advent Devotional Book

Frank Bonner and Office of University Communications

Dear Friends, Christmas greetings from Gardner-Webb! It is my privilege to present the 2012 Advent Devotional Book. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian best known for his imprisonment and eventual execution for resisting the Nazis’ genocidal regime, once wrote, “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes…and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.”
Gardner-Webb Student Exemplifies Success Through Involvement

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University senior Sara Phillips wears many hats and now, she’s added a crown to her list of impressive achievements. Recently named GWU’s 2012 Homecoming Queen, she is now preparing for her final semester at GWU, which will take her prioritizing skills to a new level as she balances student teaching, multiple volunteer roles, and service to 24 women who share an address at Decker Hall. For the last several semesters, Phillips has served as a resident advisor (RA) at Decker, an all-female residence hall in the center of the Gardner-Webb campus.
Gardner-Webb University Theatre Department Announces New Production

Office of University Communications and Allison Drennan

The Gardner-Webb University Theatre department will be performing A.R. Gurney’s lighthearted comedy, Sylvia, Nov. 28 through Dec. 3 in the Millennium Theatre, located inside the Communication Studies Hall. Sylvia is a play about a talking dog named Sylvia that is adopted by a young married couple, Greg and Kate. The play tells the story of their struggling marriage and how the new addition to their family affects their lives.
Gardner-Webb’s Helen Pack Discovers History, Hope and Healing

Office of University Communications

The diagnosis was frightening. Stage three non-operable lung cancer. At just 46 years old, she was told to put things in order.
Gardner-Webb Student Group Preparing to Introduce Elementary Students to Achievement Program

Office of University Communications

Proving that it’s never to soon to teach basic and important business concepts like budgeting, organizing, and saving money, Gardner-Webb’s ENACTUS Club has taken on the role as lead sponsor for an educational program known as Junior Achievement (JA) for elementary students in the Cleveland County, N.C., school system. “We have made the initial contact with schools and teachers about teaching financial literacy using JA materials,” said Dr. Denise Smith, assistant professor of Business Administration for the Godbold School of Business at GWU, who serves as ENACTUS faculty advisor. “Springmore Elementary will be the first site for the program and Superintendent (of Cleveland County Schools) Dr. Bruce Boyles has given his approval.”
Gardner-Webb Students’ Film Wins Prize in Statewide Competition

Office of University Communications

Two Gardner-Webb University seniors were recently honored with a prestigious award at a statewide documentary film competition. Jessica Hibbard and Rebekah Rausch won the People’s Pick award at the Citizenship, Service, Networking and Partnership’s (CSNAP) conference for their submission “Growth: A Story of Community and Gardening.” The competition is sponsored each year by North Carolina Campus Compact.

Youtube: Growth: A Story of Community and Gardening.mov
Annual “Festival of Lights” Scheduled for Nov. 29 at Gardner-Webb

Office of University Communications

For over 20 years, Gardner-Webb University has ushered in the Christmas season with the community-wide celebration of the birth of Christ known as the “Festival of Lights.” This year’s festival takes place in the Dover Theatre, located inside the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center, on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Gardner-Webb Athletic Trainer Stephenie Stark Offers “Medicine with a Mission”

Office of University Communications

Preventing and managing sports injuries is all in a day’s work for Stephenie Stark. As an athletic trainer for Gardner-Webb’s cross country, track and field, and women’s basketball programs, she thought she’d seen it all. But when a personal health crisis threatened her life last spring, she knew some things were going to change.
Gardner-Webb Students Participate in Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University students are participating in Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, sponsored by the Office of Community Engagement, Nov. 14-17. Activities include a documentary screening, panel discussions involving homeless experts, food collection, and activities that will give students personal experiences with homelessness. The week is being held in conjunction with the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.
Flu Season: GWU Expert Says Do-It-Yourself Prevention Measures May Be Best Defense

Office of University Communications

While fall is a time of year when many people are glad to experience cooler temperatures and the beauty of Mother Nature, it’s also a time when the flu season begins to make its mark. While there is no guarantee someone can prevent becoming a victim of the flu, Gardner-Webb University’s Dr. Greg Davenport believes there are basic steps that can be taken to fight against the dreaded influenza. “During this time of year, clinics and emergency rooms are filled with people experiencing the same symptoms,” said Davenport.
Gardner-Webb University Salutes Faculty, Staff and Students with Prior Military Service

Office of University Communications

The day began like many others, but when it ended, a soldier lay dead and another was fighting for his life. The year was 2002, and a scud missile had blasted through a building in Iraq. “The explosion tossed us both through a wall,” recalled Mark Anthony, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret.
“I’m Just Rebekah” — GWU Student Marvels at Recent Achievement

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University students are often offered once in a lifetime, unique educational opportunities outside of the classroom. Such was the case for GWU communication studies major Rebekah Rausch, who became a video contributor for a national news outlet following a series of fortunate events. Four Gardner-Webb journalism students, including Rausch, recently participated in a multimedia workshop for the Baptist Press.
Life of the Scholar Program Set for Nov. 14 at Gardner-Webb

Office of University Communications

The Life of the Scholar (LOTS) program at Gardner-Webb University will present “Bottom-Up Thinking About Sustainable Communities” with guest speaker Shannon Binns on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Ritch Banquet Hall, located in the Dover Student Center. Binns is the founder and executive director of Sustain Charlotte (N.C.), a nonprofit organization helping to advance a region-wide sustainability movement by serving as a catalyst for change. The mission of Sustain Charlotte is to inspire, inform, and facilitate a holistic and collaborative approach to building a vibrant and sustainable future for the Charlotte metropolitan region.
C12 Lecture Series Comes to Gardner-Webb

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University’s Godbold School of Business works to build Christ-centered businessmen and women through its motto: “For God and Humanity through business.” The department will uphold this idea through the C12 Lecture Series, taking place on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. in Hamrick Hall’s Blanton Auditorium. The C12 Group started in 1992 as a resource for Christian business owners and CEO’s to learn effective business practices and provide each other with encouragement and accountability.
Community Invited to 2012 Fall Graphic Design & Public Relations Show

Office of University Communications

The Gardner-Webb University Communication Studies Department invites faculty, staff, students and the community to the 2012 Fall Graphic Design and Public Relations Show. Various works from public relations and graphic design majors will be exhibited in the Communications Studies Hall from Thursday, Nov. 1 through Friday, Nov. 23. “The student show is an excellent way for students to showcase their talent and skills as designers,” explained graphic design instructor Amanda Bridges.
Gardner-Webb School of Nursing Collaborates with Theatre Students for Training Exercise

Office of University Communications

Abby Garlock knows the value of collaboration. As a nurse in several wards at Cleveland Regional Medical Center for nearly a decade, she also understands the value of critical thinking skills and a nurse’s ability to respond quickly and appropriately in any situation. Garlock now serves as the lab coordinator for the Gardner-Webb University School of Nursing.
Former GWU Student to Talk About Her Race Around the World

Office of University Communications

The Dimensions program at Gardner-Webb welcomes Hannah Dagenhart, a 2011 graduate from the University who participated in the World Race, a journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve God as well as those in need. The program will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 9:25 a.m. in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center’s Paul Porter Arena. “Hannah was very involved in student ministries while enrolled at Gardner-Webb,” said Tracy Jessup, vice president for Christian Life and Service and senior minister at Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb Biology Students Educate Children on Environmental Sustainability

Office of University Communications

A program held each year at the Broad River Greenway that helps educate children about the importance of their local environment and its sustainability is planned for this weekend. “The Enchanted Forest,” a Gardner-Webb community service project that teaches kids about nocturnal animals that live in North Carolina, will be held Nov. 2-3 at the Greenway. The Greenway has been collaborating with the GWU Biology Department on the Enchanted Forest for five years.
Gardner-Webb SGA Executive Board Participates in National Conference

Office of University Communications

“We, the students of Gardner-Webb University.” These are the first words to appear within the Constitution of the Gardner-Webb Student Government Association (SGA), but their meaning exceeds documentation. They show that students have a vested interest in their own happiness, their own rights.
GWU Students Learn Positive Psychology Theories

Office of University Communications

The age-old question “is the glass half empty or half full” attempts to shed light on how we view the world around us. Do we immediately notice deficits? Or are we drawn towards surpluses?
The Digital Age: What’s Ahead for Magazines and Newspapers?

Office of University Communications

Recent reports that the historic publication Newsweek magazine would release its final print edition in December and switch to an all-digital format in 2013, reinstates the question: What will the future hold for magazines and newspapers in the ever-changing world of technology? Ongoing changes in these fields have caused colleges to rethink how they educate their students. Gardner-Webb University’s Dr. Joseph Webb, professor of Journalism in the Communication Studies department, recently addressed these emerging issues.
Born to Run: GWU Professors Share Thoughts on Purposeful Running

Office of University Communications

Roger Bannister, the first man to break four minutes in the mile, once said, “We run, not because we think it’s doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves.” For Dr. Warren Kay, professor of theology at Merrimack College, running extends beyond enjoyment to become spiritually fulfilling. Those who attended Gardner-Webb University’s Dimensions program recently were able to hear more about Kay’s ties between spirituality and running.