On the Qamtfus
“A school of high order” — a dream renewed
^here is much
more to a
college
education
than that
which is
recorded on
one’s
transcript.”
Nine Chowan
students of the late
1800s are pictured
below on the steps
of McDowell Col
umns. This photo,
submitted by E.
Frank Stephenson,
is one of the earliest
photographs in
existence of
Chowan students.
Continued from Preceding Page
There is a link between knowing what is good
and trying to do that which is good. Chowan can
help you to become the best person you can be.
Philanthropic organizations and charitable
individuals want to be assured that daily
operational activities of the college are consis
tent with the mission statement. TTirough the
years, individuals, corporations and foundations
have given to Chowan because they believed in
what the college is doing for young people, and
had favorable impressions about Chowan as a
positive force for progress in northeastern North
Carolina and southeastern Virginia.
1 hope you are identifying with the mission
of Chowan College, your professors, your
residence directors and their assistants. There
are rules and regulations to be followed.
Developing a positive attitude toward them is
important. They way one looks at these regula
tions is a matter of consequence. If you look at
regulations as a limit to your freedom, you may
resent them and develop negative attitudes
about Chowan College and those responsible for
enforcing the policies. If you view the policies
as a guide to your actions and a guarantee of
freedom and security against impositions form a
few individuals who are not always sensitive to
the well-being of others, especially those living
in residence hall situations where residents live
in close proximity to one another, you will
appreciate the regulations. Chowan College has
rules and regulations because such policies are
thought to promote a campus environment
which is conducive to studying and learning.
I urge you to let members of the faculty and
staff help you to become a brighter point of light
in the twenty-First century. Lei them help you to
develop the good which is innately a part of
your nature. In addition to a qualified faculty
that strives toward excellence in teaching,
Chowan provides a variety of support services
and a varied program of co-curricular activities
for students.
One of my concerns about undergraduate
education is that college teachers and adminis
trators have reduced the baccalaureate degree to
little more than a required number of courses
with a specified grade point average. There is
much more to a college education that which is
recorded on one’s transcript. Recently, I reread
Chowan’s institutional goals. Several goals
relate to opportunities which facilitate positive
life experiences and social skills. These aspects
of an education are important to one’s develop
ment and success.
A few years a go I interviewed a young many
for a position at Chowan as a Residence
Director. The young man had just received his
B.S. degree from one of North Carolina’s state
supported universities. The man was not
properly dressed for an interview. He used
“ain’t” and double negatives frequently when
talking with me. He was not ready for work at
Chowan College; yet he possessed many
likeable qualities. When writing him a letter
letting him know that the position had been
filled with another applicant, I decided to be
honest, to help him become prepared for a
competitive world. Later, I telephoned to
discuss some of my recommendations for his
professional development. Two years later, I
was surprised when he again applied for a
residence hall position at Chowan. After being
informed that Chowan had no vacancies for
residence directors, he still wanted to come for
an interview. As we talked during the second
interview, I marveled at the correctness of his
oral English. He was ready for professional
employment. Unfortunately, he was never
employed at Chowan College.
With your cooperation, you will not be like
the young person I just told you about. With
only a few exceptions, the vast majority of those
people whom I have known in twenty-seven and
one-half years as faculty and staff members at
Chowan College have been well qualified for
their employment and dedicated to the mission
of the institution and their individual responsi
bilities. Members of the faculty and staff have
inspired me to become a better person and a
more competent teacher and administrator. I am
fortunate to have been associated with able,
dedicated and loyal colleagues. If you are
willing, the Chowan College faculty and staff
will help you to: (1) advance your mind; (2)
perfect your body; (3) cultivate social amenities;
(4) acquire a greater appreciation of the fine
arts—music, art and drama; and (5) enhance
your spiritual life.
On this Founders Day we again renew the
dream, the challenge of Chowan’s founders,
he.-'
II!
trustees, faculty and staff. 1 hope you will do
what you can as students and later as alumni to
maintain the ideal of Chowan as “a school of
high order.”
I want to close on a personal note. This is an
appropriate time for me to publicly thank
Chowan College for twenty-seven and one-half
years of meaningful employment. Chowan
College and Murfreesboro have been good to
my faculty and to me. Also, i want to conclude
with an expression of gratitude not only to
Chowan’s founders but to the many individuals,
especially those from Murfreesboro, Ahoskie
and other areas of the Roanoke-Chowan, who
have given of their financial resources and used
their influence to keep Chowan alive and to
make it a viable force in northeastern North
Carolina and southeastern Virginia. The
founders gave Chowan College life. Chowan’s
twentieth century friends have sustained the
college and upheld Chowan’s validity as an
institution of higher education.
I believe Chowan’s finest moment is yet to
come.
Alumni notes..
Doris Wilkins (’53) retired in February 1994
after serving for 31 years in social work. She
currently resides in Raleigh and describes her
retirement as “enjoying learning how to play
and finding that it is a lot of fun.”
Mrs. Gary D. Barnes {'5A) moved to
Colerain, NC, in 1975. She gave birth to a son
on April 11, 1979, after adopting three other
children. She is currently associated with The
News Herald of Ahoskie as a bookkeeper in the
circulation department. In November 1995, she
and her husband, Leo, will celebrate their 41st
wedding anniversary.
Carolyn VanNess Dooley (’64) and her
husband, Larry, celebrated their 30th wedding
anniversary on Sept. 11, 1995 at their home in
Quinton, VA. The couple has two daughters and
two grandsons. Carolyn is completing 27 years
of teaching in Hanover County, VA, in the field
of social studies and was chosen “Teacher of the
Year" in 1995-96 by the faculty and staff of
Lee-Davis High School.
Miss Ann Carleton Davis (’72) of Locust Hill
married Linwood Blayne Gresham of West
Point, VA, in July 1996. She is director of staff
development at Mizpah Health Care Center in
Locust Hill and her husband is employed at
Chesapeake Paper Products in West Point, VA.
Deborah Euks (’79) was married to William
Hennessy, Jr., of Charleston, SC, on August 3,
1995. The couple currently reside in Mt.
Pleasant, SC, where he is an attorney and
Deborah is a self-employed bookkeeper for
several small businesses.
Steve Laney, (’81), is associated with
Sullivan Graphics, Inc., of Brentwood, TN, as a
corporate technical services project manager. He
and his wife, Carol (Culp), (’81) live in
Franklin, TN, and they are parents of two chil
dren, Steven R., age 8, and Christopher, age 6.
Mrs. Mary Beth Taylor ('S\) is married to
Glenn Taylor and they have two sons, Adam,
age 5, and Brent, 17 months. After teaching the
first grade for 8 years, she is now working in her
own pre-school and her husband is a member of
the faculty of the University of Virginia Law
School. The couple resides in Charlottesville.
Mrs. Jill Simpson Parrott (’89) and her
husband, Ed, became the parents of a son, Aaron
Mitchell, on January 12, 1995. They reside in
Salisbury, MD.
PAGE 6 — CHOWAN TODAY, December 1995