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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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Gardner-Webb Homecoming Set for Oct. 9-10

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb will welcome alumni and university friends to campus Oct. 9-10 for a 2015 Homecoming weekend filled with events that celebrate achievements, mark new milestones and offer fun for the entire family. “Homecoming is our alumni’s chance to relive the memories of their Gardner-Webb days and make a few new memories along the way,” shared Leah Clevenger, director of GWU Alumni Relations. “Our schedule this year has a few long-established events, as well as several new offerings.”
Math Teacher Continues to Inspire Pupil as Both Serve Gardner-Webb University Students

Office of University Communications

Long before Dr. Jason Willis became an assistant professor of mathematics at Gardner-Webb University, he knew he wanted to be a teacher. Many of his own high school teachers advanced his drive to be an educator. Now one of those mentors, Rory Hefner, is working alongside him in the University’s math department, and both are inspiring a new generation of students to excel in the subject and reach for their career and life goals.
Gardner-Webb Head Football Coach to Speak at Dimensions Program on Sept. 8

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb Head Football Coach Carroll McCray will speak at the University’s weekly Dimensions program on Sept. 8. The event, which begins at 9:25 a.m. in Paul Porter Arena inside the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center (LYCC), is free and open to the public. McCray has often addressed community groups that serve youth.
Gardner-Webb to Host Ensemble for Distinguished Artist Concert Sept. 11

Office of University Communications

The Gardner-Webb University Music Department will present Tanja Bechtler and The Bechtler Ensemble in concert on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. in Blanton Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Eastern European music from composers such as Dvorak, Prokovief and Kodaly will be highlighted in the concert.
Gardner-Webb University Again Collecting Socks for Homeless After Successful Drive Last Year

Office of University Communications

When Gardner-Webb University students traveled to New York City last fall for a service trip, they took hundreds of pairs of clean new socks with them. The clothing items, collected during Family Weekend activities at Gardner-Webb, were gifts for some of the many homeless people who visited a city soup kitchen where the GWU group volunteered. In all, more than 2,300 pairs of socks were collected in last year’s donation drive, and many of them found the feet of people served by homeless ministries in local communities near Gardner-Webb.

WGWG: Student Service and Leadership at Gardner-Webb
Gardner-Webb Alumnus Receives Christian Book-of-the-Year Honors

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb alumnus Clayton King (’95) and his wife, Sharie, have been honored with a national award for their book “True Love Project,” published by B & H Publishing Group and promoted by Lifeway Christian Resources. “True Love Project” was named a 2015 Christian Retailing’s Best award winner in the Young Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year. The awards are sponsored annually by Christian Retailing magazine.
Award-Winning Musician Doyle Dykes Set to Visit Gardner-Webb University on Sept. 1

Office of University Communications and Jill Blank

Award-winning guitarist Doyle Dykes will visit Gardner-Webb University on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to speak at the University’s Dimensions program, starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center. The program is open to the public. Dykes will share stories about his life, his passion for music, as well as his skills on the guitar.

WGWG: Doyle Dykes 9/1/15
Gardner-Webb Reaches Enrollment Milestones

Office of University Communications

As students begin classes at colleges and schools across the country, Gardner-Webb University is marking the start of a new academic year by setting numerous enrollment records and reaching full occupancy in campus housing. University leaders announced this week that the institution has set or tied all-time highs for student numbers in almost 20 categories, including full-time undergraduate students (1,624) and residential students in all programs (1,358). “These achievements are a continuation of outstanding momentum from spring 2015, when we also posted more than 20 individual program enrollment records,” shared David Hawsey, GWU vice president for Enrollment Management & Marketing.
GWU Associate Professor Emerita Passes Away

Office of University Communications

Betty Logan dedicated much of her life to educating high school and college business students and to serving the Gardner-Webb community. The Shelby (N.C.) native and longtime Forest City (N.C.) resident passed away Aug. 24 at the age of 89. After earning her bachelor’s degree in secretarial administration at Woman’s College in Greensboro, now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Logan began her teaching career in 1947 in the business department at Kings Mountain (N.C.) High School.
Gardner-Webb, Isothermal Community College Partner to Help Students Complete Degrees

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University and Isothermal Community College (Spindale, N.C.) announced a partnership that will further ease the transfer process for students who complete degrees in certain programs with coursework at both institutions. Officials for both schools signed agreements to create a seamless degree track for accounting, business administration, entrepreneurship, healthcare management, criminal justice, human services, elementary education, nursing and religious studies students who begin their studies at Isothermal (ICC) and finish them in the University’s Degree Completion Program (DCP). The agreements, called Pathways to reference the structured paths of study between the two schools, formalize a degree partnership that already exists between GWU and ICC.
Gardner-Webb University to Host Distinguished Artist Exhibit Beginning Aug. 25

Office of University Communications

From the realistic to the abstract, Andrea Worley will offer a wide variety of artistic expression in Gardner-Webb University’s Tucker Student Center gallery during the months of August and September. Yet all of her works, from paintings and drawings of the Los Angeles riots in the 1990s to pieces in which she invents her own unique environments, stem from the same innate desire to create. “I can’t help but paint or draw,” Worley shared.
Career Pursuits Take Gardner-Webb University Business Alumnus to China

Office of University Communications

A Gardner-Webb University economics and finance degree has provided the ticket for Keon Williams to travel halfway around the world to China, where he networked with other international business students and professionals this summer while considering opportunities to continue his education. Williams, a 2014 GWU alum, former Runnin’ Bulldogs football player and Charlotte (N.C.) native, recently attended the China Europe International Business School’s (CEIBS) 2015 Shanghai boot camp, where nearly 70 participants from around the world heard lectures from well-known professors, visited the offices of multinational companies and engaged in various career-development activities. The adventure was also a chance for Williams to further consider options for completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree to take the next step in his career.
Gardner-Webb Earns Top Spot in National Christian Universities Rankings

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University was named a top-50 Christian university by College Choice in its annual “Best of Christian Colleges and Universities” list. The rankings were based on equally-weighted factors that freshmen indicated were most important to their college decision, including academic reputation, financial aid offerings, overall cost, and success of graduates in the post-college job market. “We are certainly gratified to see Gardner-Webb University included in the College Choice rankings,” GWU Provost and Executive Vice President Dr. Ben Leslie offered.
Longtime Gardner-Webb University Supporter, Leader Hoyt Bailey Passes Away at 88

Office of University Communications

Hoyt Q. Bailey’s commitment to education started when he was a young boy, and it became a major part of the fabric that wove together the man he was throughout his life. Bailey, who passed away Aug. 15 at the age of 88, will be remembered as a longtime leader at Gardner-Webb University and in the community. “My mother thought there were only three things in the world, and that was God, family and education, so she made sure her three children received an education,” Bailey shared as he was inducted into the GWU School of Education Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in June.
Gardner-Webb University Staff Member to Offer Free Back-to-School Haircuts to Community

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb’s Keith Rhodes knows the importance of a good children’s haircut and the struggle with its cost for families who have limited resources. When Rhodes was 10 years old, his single mother Janade couldn’t afford a haircut for her son’s picture day at school. Embarrassed at just the thought of going to school to take a picture without a sharp style, Rhodes retreated to his home’s bathroom with the tools to carefully prepare his own hair to face his classmates and the camera.
Camp Experience Offers Additional Education for Gardner-Webb University Psychology Alumna

Office of University Communications

When Samantha Allen first visited Gardner-Webb, she already knew she wanted to pursue a career in which she would work with children. At the time, she expected to become a teacher. But the University helped her discover additional avenues for impacting kids’ lives, while also providing opportunities for real-world experiences with children.

WGWG: The CentriKid Camp Experience at Gardner-Webb
Gardner-Webb Graduates First Master of Wealth and Trust Management Class

Office of University Communications

Five Gardner-Webb graduates became the University’s first-ever alumni of the Brinkley Financial Group Master of Wealth and Trust Management Program during GWU’s commencement ceremony this month. The program, named in appreciation of a founding gift by David and Marie Brinkley of Kings Mountain, N.C., began in fall 2013 at the University’s Charlotte Center as only the nation’s second master’s degree in wealth and trust management. “For any new program, your first graduating class is a milestone,” offered Dr. Van Graham, associate dean of the GWU Godbold School of Business.
Gardner-Webb University Awards Over 260 Degrees During Summer Commencement on Aug. 1

Office of University Communications

Gardner–Webb University hosted Summer Commencement on Saturday, Aug. 1 in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center at 10 a.m. More than 260 graduates were honored for their achievements during the ceremony. Many graduates participated in the ceremony through prayer, scripture reading, and commencement speeches.
TV Show to Feature Work of GWU Faculty Members

Office of University Communications

A North Carolina public television program will feature the work and faces of several Gardner-Webb University faculty members this week in a segment spotlighting a local art gallery. Public broadcasting network UNC-TV will feature Uptown Shelby’s Buffalo Creek Gallery during “North Carolina Weekend,” a weekly show that highlights places, people and activities across the state. The segment was filmed and edited by Dr. Jim Lawrence, professor of communication studies, and it includes an interview with Susan Carlisle Bell, a GWU art professor for 30 years and one of Buffalo Creek’s artists.
Summer Commencement Exercises Set for Aug. 1 at Gardner-Webb

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University will award more than 250 degrees during the 2015 summer commencement exercises on Saturday, Aug. 1. The ceremony is set to begin at 10 a.m. in the Paul Porter Arena of the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center, located on the campus of Gardner-Webb University. The event will commemorate the achievements of students in traditional undergraduate, degree completion, and graduate programs of study.
Gardner-Webb to Host N.C. Baptist All-State Youth Choir

Office of University Communications

Almost 100 teenage singers from across the state of North Carolina will meet each other, many for the first time, at Gardner-Webb University on July 19. Within three days, the group will memorize 12 songs and present the first in a series of six concerts as the N.C. Baptist All-State Youth Choir (ASYC). In the 17th year for the choir, 93 vocalists from 32 of the state’s Baptist churches will spend a week based at Gardner-Webb and focused on sharing the “Light for the World,” the group’s 2015 theme, through concerts and ministry projects in western North Carolina communities.
Gardner-Webb Online Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Named Top-15 Program Nationwide

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University’s online bachelor’s degree in accounting has been recognized as one of the nation’s 15 best programs by a website that provides education and workforce information for accounting fields. The ranking by Accounting.com is the third honor in 2015 for GWU’s online accounting programs and the second in the past month for the University’s online baccalaureate accounting program. The online bachelor’s degree in accounting is offered through Gardner-Webb’s Degree Completion Program (DCP), which provides traditional undergraduate courses at convenient times and locations for working adults.
Gardner-Webb Online Graduate Nursing Degree Named Top-10 Program Nationwide

Office of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University’s online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Administration degree track has been named a top-10 program nationwide by an education information website, the fourth distinguished honor for GWU’s Hunt School of Nursing this year. TheBestSchools.org, an online source for college and career information, honored Gardner-Webb as No. 10 in its “20 Best Online Master in Nursing Administration Degree Programs,” a resource produced to help current and future students gain the knowledge, skills, and credentials they need to achieve personal and career success. The ranking earned GWU a place among top schools like the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Penn.), the University of Texas at Tyler (Tyler, Texas), and New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, N.M.).
Health Advisory

Office of University Communications

This week Gardner-Webb University and the Cleveland County Health Department joined forces after a number of visiting campers began experiencing symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting. The health department has recommended that this be treated as the norovirus, and as a precaution to avoid the additional spread of the virus, the University chose to close select facilities throughout the weekend, and advised the camp most impacted by the norovirus to leave campus earlier than originally planned to assist in stopping additional spread. The university first became aware of the sickness when two campers arrived at Gardner-Webb on Monday experiencing symptoms.
Local Students Named 2015 Freeman Scholars

Office of University Communications

Six local students received a financial boost in their pursuit of a college education as Gardner-Webb University announced the recipients of the 2015 Joseph B. Freeman Jr. Educational Fund scholarships on June 11. Each recipient was recognized during a presentation in Gardner-Webb’s Tucker Student Center. The Freeman scholarship committee evaluated candidates’ academic achievements, extracurricular activities, personal influences and motivation despite financial need.