Aider) Trust
provides 3:1
chaiienge
grant of
$50,000
Professor
Richard Gay
receives
Ex ceHenee
in Teaching
Award
Challenge grant
received for library
computerization
Chowan College has been notified that the
trustees of the George I. Alden Trust of Worcester,
Mass., are providing a 3:1 challenge grant of
$50,000 to be used for the cotnputerization of
Whitaker Library.
Francis H. Dewey in, chairman of the Alden
trustees, said that the grant was being made to
“encourage the addition of many moderate-sized
gifts from new sources.” The challenge is based
upon the college raising an additional $150,000 by
June 30, 1998.
Whitaker Library is being computerized to
provide electronic resources such as computerized
databases and IntemetAVorld Wide Web access to
the academic community and citizens of the region.
The system will also digitally link the library’s
cataloging, search, circulation, acquisition and serials
processing operations.
E. Vincent Tilson, vice president for develop
ment, said “the computerization of the library is
imperative since Chowan is now a four-year, fully
accredited institution where students must negotiate
a vast amount of information available to them as
they research their class projects and prepare
course studies.”
“Teachmg students this technology and having
it available in the library for their daily use will
prepare them for doing well after graduation in jobs
which so often now require computer research
skills,” he added.
In responding to the grant, President Stanley G.
Lott said “I am deeply grateful for the confidence
and generosity of the trustees of the George I.
Alden Trust. We will, indeed, be good stewards of
the funds received and strive to use the monies in
such a way as to achieve the greatest fmancial
mileage.”
The Alden Trust was established by Mr
George I. Alden, who was educated at Harvard’s
Lawrence School of Science and taught mechanical
engineering for almost three decades at Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, on August 24, 1926. He
invented a dynamometer for measuring the power
of all kinds of machines and also the hydraulic
elevator.
Among the purposes for establishing the trust,
Alden stated that he wished to “promote education
in schools, college or other educational institutions,
with a preference for industrial, vocational, or
professional education.”
Graduation
Continued from Page I
experience. Reach out to those in need. Stand up
for what you believe in. Take part in community
affairs, be a volunteer.” Quoting Dr. Henry Foster,
Kirk told the audience, “Making a living is about
what you make. Making a life is about what you
give”
B. Franklin Lowe, Jr, vice president for
academic affairs, presented the Senior Scholastic
Award for highest academic honors in the class to
co-recipients Evelyn Michelle Copeland, a business
administration major from Windsor, N.C. and
Angela M. Lowery, an English major from Prince
George, Va.
The 1997 Excellence in Teaching Award was
bestowed by Lowe on Richard R. Gay, associate
professor of English Gay, who began teaching at
Chowan in 1991, was chosen for the award by his
faculty colleagues. In addition to a cash award and
framed certificate, the honor elects him to serve as
faculty marshall for the 1997-98 academic year.
In a special tribute, an engraved plaque was
awarded to James M. Chamblee, retiring chair of
fine arts. Vice President Lowe described
Chamblee’s outstanding service, “He has served
with distinction in his role as a teacher, as head of
the Division of Music and as chair of the Depart
ment of Fine Arts.” Chamblee, who began teaching
at Chowan in 1959, provided leadership as chair of
the music department for 32 years.
Hundreds of cyclists coast onto
Chowan’s campus for MS benefit
Collecting more than $140,500 for the Hampton
Roads Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society,
over 450 cyclists and 150 volunteers descended on
Chowan’s campus June 1 for the annual fimdraising
tour. Michelle Covey, National M.S. Society
Program Manager from Virginia Beach, reports that,
“while the average cyclist raises around $300,
twenty-one individuals in this tour raised pledges in
excess of $ 1,000 each. ”
Joining more than 150 MS Society tours around
the U.S., the Hampton Roads group consists of
more than 50 teams. Team membership ranges from
bicycle associations to circles of friends. Although
this year’s tour originated and ended at the Suffolk,
Va. airport, regional riders have cycled various 150-
mile routes throughout their 17-year history.
Tending to cyclists ranging in age from 16 to 76,
volunteers provide rest stops every ten miles along
the route with Emergency Medical Technicians at
each stop for medical support. Ten to fifteen
bicycle shops provide mechanical support along
with two roving vehicles and a roving cyclist.
Watching their arrival was fascinating. As
clusters of brilliant riders, outfitted in the latest
biking attire and safety helmets, reached Jones
Drive after a grueling one-day 70-mile trip,
applause and cheers greeted them at the gate.
Cyclists peddled their way around Squirrel Park to
a kaleidoscopic sea of luggage stretching from the
rear of a tractor-trailer rig across the full width of a
parking lot.
At the suggestion of an alumnus, the colorful
group has utilized the indoor and outdoor facilities
of Chowan during their overnight stop for six
years. Some cyclists treat sore muscles to a
massage, provided by volunteers under subdued
lighting in the Braves Den, while others relax under
trees on the green or go for a swim in the pool.
Although riders are offered the comfort of beds in
residence halls, many enjoy the simplicity of a tent
on the green imder the stars. Ditmer and breakfast
are served for the group in Thomas Cafeteria,
Information may be obtained for next year’s
ride by calling the MS Hampton Roads Chapter
office at (757) 490-9627.
More than 450 cyclists peddled onto the campus during their tour to raise funds for the
Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Sleeping bags and other gear, unloaded from a tractor-trailer rig, await the arrival of the
cyclists to the campus.
Page 4 — CHOWAN TODAY, June 1997