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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Prestigious Fellowship Helps Gardner-Webb Alumna with her Doctoral Studies

Office of University Communications

Elisabeth Moore, a 2016 graduate of Gardner-Webb University, has been awarded the Robbins Fellowship at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown. The honor provides a deserving graduate assistant with a year off from teaching. “This is a huge benefit, and I am incredibly grateful to the WVU history department,” stated Moore, a native of Brevard, N.C.
Gardner-Webb Graduate Takes Research Interests to Exciting Places

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

Christopher Lile, who graduated in 2017 with a biology degree, is taking the research skills he developed at Gardner-Webb University to new and exciting places. Since leaving Gardner-Webb, Lile completed an internship at Wolf Park in Battle Ground, Ind., where he trained grey wolves and worked in husbandry and public education. His love for animals, research, and conservation have now led him to the island of Madagascar, where he is spending three months studying lemurs as a volunteer for the Omaha Zoo’s Department of Conservation Genetics.
Gardner-Webb University Honors Distinguished Alumni

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb honored outstanding members of the University family with induction into the GWU Gallery of Distinguished Alumni during 2017 Homecoming activities Oct. 6-7. Eight alumni were recognized as new members of the prestigious gallery, including Paul Christopher Gash of Kingstown, N.C., Julian “Doc” Crocker Davis of Spartanburg, S.C., the late Justin Scot Alston, the Rev. Dr. Melissa Browning of Atlanta, Ga., Tayuanee L. Dewberry of Charlotte, N.C., Todd Anthony Picou of Inman, S.C., Ali Pouryousefi of Atlanta; and the late Daniel Calhoun Johnson Jr.
Children’s Concerts Bring Music to Fifth-graders in Cleveland County, N.C.

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

Every fall semester, the Gardner-Webb University Orchestra travels to local schools to perform a special concert for fifth-grade students in Cleveland County, N.C. An annual service project for the music department, the program began several years ago with just a few of the GWU music faculty, who performed for students at local elementary schools to get them excited about joining band and orchestra. In the fall of 2014, the GWU Music Department partnered with the Cleveland County Arts Council in Shelby, N.C., to expand these concerts and include the entire orchestra.
Gardner-Webb Distinguished Artist/Faculty Series Presents Trumpet Summit

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

The Gardner-Webb University School of Performing and Visual Arts invites the community to the GWU Trumpet Summit on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. As part of the Distinguished Artist/ Faculty Series, this concert will feature three revered trumpet players: Charles Schlueter, Tim Hudson, and James Ackley, with piano accompaniment by GWU Collaborative Pianist/Distinguished Artist Dr. Cynthia Clyburn Swicegood. The concert will take place in Blanton Auditorium, located in Hamrick Hall on the main campus. It is free and open to the public.
Gardner-Webb Student Pursues Passion for Justice

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

It started with a passion for justice. Gardner-Webb senior Lauren Mahoney from Rosman, N.C., always knew that she wanted to help people. “If someone has been victimized, I want to be able to do something about it,” she shared. Recently, Mahoney had the opportunity to pursue her interests through an internship with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) at its Western District Office.
Former NBA Professional to Speak at GWU Dimensions Program

Office of University Communications and Katie Furr

A former collegiate All-American, Olympian, and NBA professional, Al Wood, will be speaking at Gardner-Webb University’s Dimensions program on Tuesday, Oct. 17. This event will be held at 9:25 a.m. in Stewart Hall of Tucker Student Center on GWU’s main campus and is free and open to the public. Wood entered into ministry after he retired from professional sports and served for 10 years as a youth leader, men’s ministry leader, evangelist, and public speaker.
GWU Presents Faculty From West Virginia in Collaborative Recital

Office of University Communications

Faculty from West Virginia University in Morgantown will present a collaborative recital at 8 p.m. Oct. 17 in Blanton Auditorium, located in Hamrick Hall on the main campus. Presented by the Gardner-Webb School of Performing and Visual Arts Department of Music, the concert is part of the Distinguished Artists Series and is free and open to the public. The featured performers are Hope Koehler, soprano, Rob Chafin, tenor, James Douglass, piano, and Cynthia Babin Anderson, oboe.
Gardner-Webb Invites Families to Join Octoberfest Celebration

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University invites families to campus Oct. 26 for its annual Octoberfest event that will offer children a variety of candy, games and other fun activities. The free evening of entertainment is set for 6-8 p.m. at Paul Porter Arena, inside the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center on campus. Children and their parents can wear costumes to the festival, which will include candy, pizza, popcorn and a variety of games and crafts.
Gardner-Webb University Online Business Degree Program Earns National Ranking

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University’s Godbold School of Business recently earned national recognition for having one of the “25 Best Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration Online” degrees in the country. The list is compiled each year by TheBestColleges.org, a Seattle-based company that provides information on quality educational programs around the nation. Gardner-Webb ranked No. 16 out of 25 programs across the U.S.
Defenders of Wildlife Representative Presents Information on Endangered Red Wolves

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

Dr. Joseph Oyugi, Gardner-Webb University Associate Professor of Biology, invites the University community and the public to his ecology class on Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. for a special presentation by Christian Hunt, a representative from Defenders of Wildlife, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. The presentation will take place in Withrow 205, located on GWU’s main campus. Hunt will discuss the complex issues surrounding the red wolf, the world’s most endangered mammal of the dog family.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Hosts Fields of Faith Event at Gardner-Webb

Office of University Communications and Katie Furr

Student-Athletes at Gardner-Webb University will share a night of encouragement and testimonies at Fields of Faith hosted by Gardner-Webb’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). This event will take place on Oct. 11 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Stewart Hall in Tucker Student Center on the main campus. It is free and open to all GWU students and the community.
Gardner-Webb University Choirs to Present Concert

Office of University Communications and Katie Furr

Gardner-Webb University’s Concert Choir and Chorale will present a concert on Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. in Dover Theatre inside the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center. The concert is free and open to the public. The Concert Choir is directed by Dr. Paul Etter, professor of music and chair of the Department of Music. Dr. Morgan Soja, assistant professor of music, is the director of the Chorale.
Gardner-Webb Continues to Remember a Beloved Teammate and Friend

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

A GWU track athlete pursuing a criminal justice degree, known as strong friend with an uplifting personality, passed away in an automobile accident in May just after completing his sophomore year. Jalin Lawson’s life was honored both at his funeral in his hometown of Fort Gaines, Ga., and at a Celebration of Life service held at Gardner-Webb University at the start of the fall semester. Sophomore Amber Freeney stated, “celebrating Jalin’s life means remembering who he was and living the way he would want you to live.”
Alumnus Goes Back to GWU for Degree in Physical Education

Office of University Communications

Jody Brent Raduly of Boiling Springs, N.C., has three degrees from Gardner-Webb University. While his focus changed from studying business to physical education, he discovered that all of the professors at GWU cared about helping him achieve his goals. “I was not just taking a class that these individuals were teaching,” Raduly reflected. “They were placed in my path to guide me to meet my greatest potential as a future teacher in health and physical education as well as an industrious person in society. This guidance was not always just based on knowledge of content but also adoption of character.”
Gardner-Webb Celebrates National Physician Assistant (PA) Week

Office of University Communications

The Physician Assistant (PA) Studies Program at Gardner-Webb University celebrates National PA Week Oct. 6-12, recognizing the important contributions that PAs make to North Carolina’s healthcare system. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the profession, which was started by Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr. at Duke University in Durham, N.C. In 2014, GWU established the PA Studies Program in the College of Health Sciences.
Former GWU Trustee Remembered for Contributions to the Community

Office of University Communications

A former member of the Gardner-Webb University Board of Trustees is being remembered for her contributions to the University, community and region. Nina Eloise Young Spangler of Shelby, N.C., passed away Sept. 24, 2017. Spangler and her husband, the late Royce Patrick “Pat” Spangler Sr., were avid supporters of Gardner-Webb.
Skills Learned in GWU Political Science Classes Prepared Alumna for Law School

Office of University Communications

Three times a week, Ivana Hughes ’13 is in court working on behalf of her clients. The Gardner-Webb University alumna is an associate attorney with King Law Offices in Rutherfordton, N.C., and Lincolnton, N.C. She practices family law, criminal defense, civil litigation, and wills and estates.
A Life Devoted to ‘God and Humanity’

Office of University Communications

Bobby M. Pettyjohn was a man of prayer who spent his life witnessing to others about Jesus. When he passed away, his family wanted to honor his memory with a gift to Gardner-Webb, the University that helped Pettyjohn earn a college degree and the place where he met Carolyn, his wife of 55 years. “The things we learned there he used all his life,” shared Mrs. Pettyjohn, who lives in Camden, S.C. “He was a successful but humble person. I felt extremely blessed to be his wife.”
Educator Who Laid Foundation for GWU Noel Center for Disability Resources Passes Away

Office of University Communications

Dr. Jerry Potter, who helped Gardner-Webb University establish a program for the Deaf in the fall of 1977, passed away Sept. 14. His work on this program laid the foundation for what is now the Noel Center for Disability Resources. In the 40 years since its beginning, the program has provided necessary accommodations to thousands of students.
Gardner-Webb Music Department Hosts 40th Annual Choral Clinic

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

The Gardner-Webb University Music Department is pleased to host its 40th annual choral clinic on Oct. 12. Select students from local high schools will participate in a day of instruction under Dr. Phillip Copeland, this year’s guest clinician from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. The students will then perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. in Dover Theatre, located in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center on Gardner-Webb’s main campus.
Mental Health Advocate Coming to Gardner-Webb

Office of University Communications and Katie Furr

A man who is familiar with both perseverance and suicide will be speaking at Gardner-Webb’s Dimensions program on Tuesday, Oct. 3. This event will be held at 9:25 a.m. in Stewart Hall of Tucker Student Center on GWU’s main campus and is free and open to the public. Dennis Gillan lost two brothers to suicide and handled each one differently.
Gardner-Webb Volleyball’s Heather Feldman Rises Above in Battle With Cancer

Office of University Communications

The word has long been one of the most feared and devastating the English language has produced. Cancer. It is a diagnosis that is capable of breaking the strongest of us all.
GWU Honors Student Association Continues Big Sweep Tradition in West Jefferson, N.C.

Office of University Communications and Sthefany Flores

The Gardner-Webb Honors Student Association (HSA) participated in its annual Big Sweep camping retreat Sept. 8-10. For almost three decades, students in the Honors program have cleaned a section of the New River in West Jefferson, N.C. “We found less waste than the last few years and I think that’s a good thing,” observed Dr. Tom Jones, professor of biology and associate dean of the Honors program.
Tennis Alumni Serving Up Success

Office of University Communications and Mallory Moore

Gardner-Webb University takes pride in the triumphs of its dedicated student-athletes, both on and off the field. Several former GWU athletes have continued to find success even after graduation. Three GWU Men’s Tennis alumni, Andrew Veeder (’11), Adam Knutsson (’13) and Evgeny Slesarev (’12) have already made an impact as coaches at various schools and organizations over the past few years.