Volume 10 Number 2 September 25, 1978 Trustees Adopt New Goal After hearing a report of increased enrollment and a sound financial pic ture, Chowan College trustees and ad visors continued their semi-annual meeting on a positive note by facing several challenges Monday, Sept. 11 in the office of President Bruce E. Whitaker. Clayton Lewis, Dean of students, told the b^tees Chowan’s fall semester enrollment of 1,052 represents an an in crease of approximately 75 over last year. Dr. Whitaker reported the college concluded the 1977-78 year by operating in the black for the 20th straight year. Following a groundbreaking service for the new gymnasium-physical education center center Sunday, the trustees and advisors faced several challenges related to the “Ac complishing Our Mission” campaign. E. L. Hollowell of Edenton, the cam paign’s general chairman, reported that more than |1,338,000 has been received in pledges and gifts for the new facility. Trustees adopted a goal of im mediately reaching the $1.5 million mark in pledges and gifts in order to qualify for construction loans. They also recommended reaching the presented by Edwin Williams of Kinston on behalf of the development and finance committee of the Board of Trustees. In addition to Hollowell, other na tional campaign leaders include Mrs. Texie Camp Marks of Boykins, Va, honorary cteirman; Mrs. Mary Alice Matthews of Hamilton and State Sen. J. J. Harrington of Lewiston, co-chairman of the leadership gift phase. In In other financial matters, advisor Henry S. Johnson, Jr. of Hamilton reported on the 1978-79 Annual Giving Fund. The drive’s chairman said the minimum goal is $65,000 and the challenge goal is $75,000. A distinguish ed service award was presented to Mrs. Dorothy H. Brown of Murfreesboro, chairman of Chowan’s successful 1977-78 annual giving drive that raised over $52,600. The Board of trustees also approved a record budget of $4,650,000 for the 1978-79 academic year. The budget for 1977-78 was $3.5 million. Much of the in crease is due to a change in bookkeep ing procedures. Some $800,000 for student aid, which was previously reported in a separate account, in now included in the operating budget. These funds are received from various sources in cluding work-study programs, grants and scholarships. Normal increases for budgeted items, to include a greater enrollment, account for the remaining increase. Trustees adopted resolutions to the memory of former Chowan trustee and benefactor, Walter L. (Roy) Simons of Ahoskie. Simons was recognized for his service to Chowan,” and his "charitable deeds.” William Norris of Greensboro presid ed for the advisors as acting chairman. A boat tour on the Chowan and Meher- rin Rivers was provided spouses of members of the two boards. Trustee Chairman H. D. White of Rocky Mount, told the trustees and ad visors before they adjourned that the meeting had been “very positive and magnified the continuing achievements of Chowan College in service to young men and women and the entire area and region. Groundbreaking Ceremonies Held at Site of New Gymnasium Challenge Sponsor Disclosed Seven untended shovels stand guard as H.D. White, chairman of the Board of Trustees, addresses the crowd at the Groundbreak ing/Thanksgiving ceremonies September 10 at the site of the new gym nasium/physical center near Parker Hall. Soon after, the shovels were put to good use by members of the Chowan College family as ground was broken by four separate flights of diggers. Golfers To Play This Fall By WILLIAM HOBSON The Chowan golf team will par ticipate in a fall tourament at Campbell CoUege on October 8,9 and 10. This will be the first fall competition for the Braves in several years. Coach Bill Sowell said. The Braves will be led by Bobby Sears, of Murfreesboro, who won the Colonial Invitation in Edenton, the North American Hepatic Foundation Tournament in Goldsboro and the finals in Ahoskie. Sears also competed in the East Coast Junior College Invitational at New Bern and finished 13th in the North Carolina Amateur Tournament in Pinehurst. Two newcomers to the team are freshmen Eddie Wheeler and Butch Griffin, of Roanoke Rapids, who alter nated as number 1 and 2 players on the high school team there in 1975-77. Also competing in the Campbell play will be sophomores Greg Ailsworth, of Keysville, Va., Tim Martin, of Chesapeake, Va., and Andrew Ruggles, of Hildebran. Freshmen prospects, according to Coach Sowell, are Eddie Blockstock, Pax River, Md.; Dave Owens, Mahanoy City, Pa.; Wayne Meade, Norfolk, Va.; James Thomas, Rocky Mount; Ken Benjamin, Fairfax, Va.; Jay Leach, Cheraw, S.C.; Greg Kaser- man, Woodbridge, Va., and Kevin Duf fy, Virginia Beach, Va. Golf is primarily a spring sport, but the players will be practicing this fall, as well as taking part in the tourna ment, Coach Sowell said. Six New Professors Join Faculty; Two Called Back from Retirement By DONNA SWICEGOOD Chowan College opened the 1978-79 academic year with six new professors In the fields of photography, English, Drama, business, social science, Spanish, and French. Dr. Dennis Frederick Schill is a new professor in the Departments of Business and Social lienee. Schill holds a B.S. in economics and M.B.A. in business from Tampa University, and M.A. and Ph. D. in political science from Tulane University. During his senior year at the University of Tampa he received the Wall Street Journal Award as the outstanding student in economics and business. For two years Schill served as asssistant professor of public administration at Old Dominion University. His wife is a physician in Rocky Mount. Dr. Fleming G. Vinson is serving as professor of Spanish and French in the Department of Language and Literature. He received his A. B., Magna Cum Laude, and M.A., both in Spanish, from the University of Georgia. He reived his Ph.D. in Romance Languages from the Univer sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Vinson has served for the past five years as associate professor at The Col lege of Charleston. Prior to that he served as an instructor at the Universi ty of Western Carolina University. He has also served as an instructor at The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Universtiy of Greprgia. Dr. William McCrea Ramsey is serv ing as professor of English. He received his B.A. from Bates CoUege, and M.A. and Ph.D. form the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From 1969-71, he was an instructor at Sullins College in freshman English and appreciation of Black Literature; humanities; and director of independent studies in creative writing, naturalism, and Black autobiography. Ramsey has also serv ed in two faculty positions at UNC—CH as a teaching assistant in freshman composition and an instructor in American literature, contemporary literature, and freshman compositon. Ramsey was also poetry editor for the Carolina Quarterly. Mrs. Sandra N. Boyce will teach both English and drama. She attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and received her B.A. and M.A. form the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has taught at Holmes High School in Edenton, Col lege of the Albemarle, Applalachian State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Douglas L. Gleason is is one of the two new professors of photography. He reived his B.A. with honors from the University of South Florida and M.S. from the University of Florida. He is also a graduate and former instructor of the photography program at Ran dolph Technical Institute, Asheboro. Gleason also served with the 19th Air Force TAC as information specialist and was responsible for the distribution of news and photography at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. He also served on the faculty at Lenior Community College and assumed a role in the col lege’s public relations effort. Richard T. McKay, a Marion, VA. native, comes to Chowan from a postion as staff photographer and picture editor for the Shelby Daily Star, and the Raleigh News and Observer. He receiv ed his A.A.from Dekalb College, and batchelor of journalism form the University of Missouri. His experience includes service as a photolab techni cian and photo librarian assistant with the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convemtion in Atlan ta. For three years he worked on the staff of the Atlanta Seminar on Photo journalism. In additon to the sbt new professors, Mrs. Daisy Lou Mixon of the Depart ment of Religion and Philosophy and Mrs. Undine W. Barnhill of the Depart ment of Language and Literature were called out of retirement to fill staff vacancies. "Crown Prince's” Visit Costly Practical Joke ■mUSVILLE, Pa. (CH) - The flam boyant Crown Prince of Geptwab and his entourage of bodyguard, chauffer, interpreter and secretary got the VIP treatment as they toured this small Pennsylvania oilountry town earlier this spring. The Arabian sheik was Interesting People on Campus Chowan Is Literally Willie's Dream Come True By SUSAN L.PATE Everyone needs a friend, someone we can talk to who cares and understands how we feel. At C3iowan, we all have a friend. She is Wilhelmenia Wilcox (better know as “Willie”). She enjoys helping the students and is always anxious to talk about anything. “Willie” is employed as a guidance counselor here at Chowan. Her office is located in Stone Hall (beside McDowell Columns). But she can often be seen hurrying across campus or just walking and chatting with a student. She spends much of her spare time with students, also. “Willie,” a native of Charlotte, N.C., attended A&T State University. She transfered from there to Appalachian State University and from there she went to UNC-Charlotte, where she did her graduate study. After obtaining a masters degree in Guidance and Counseling, she worked as an Ad ministrator for the city of Charlotte. MRS. WILHELMENIA WILCOX Mrs. Wilcox heard about CHiowan and its need for a guidance counselor through a friend. She had wanted a job where she she could be free to share herself with others. When Chowan con tacted her about about the position, she prayed for guidance. She wanted to be sure that she was doing the right thing. She felt sure of herself after she took the job and everything began to fall in place. “Willie” had a dream about coming here before she even heard of Chowan. At the time she didn’t know she was dreaming about Chowan. She realized it when she saw McDowell Columns, which she remembered from a picture on a card she had seen in her dream. When asked what kept her at Chowan, “Willie” said that she feels there is a spiritual attachment to her being here. She feels there is a purpose for her being here. The students of (^owan are a big part of “Willie’s” life. She feels as though she is part of the student body. She said, “I stand often in the students shoes.” She feels that Chowan has a “sweet group of students. They are really down to earth people.” The students have always respected “Willie”. She said that in the past, she has felt uncomfortable with some of her co-workers, but never with the students. When she felt like “hanging- it-up,” it was the students that helped her overcome that feeling. “Willie’ said the one thing she would want the students to know is that she is there and that she cares. She said, “If 1 can really help them, I want to do all I can.” “Willie” loves Chowan and its students. She is pleased with her life here and feels that the grace of God has done it all. visiting the area, locals were told, to check on possible business investments and to explore the possibility of sending his nephew to the small Titusville branch campus of the U. of Pittsburgh. But after a campus visit, the universi ty president received a letter from the sheik on his expensive stationary and bearing his personal wax seal. The crown prince had been “rudely insulted by students” and had found the student housing “deplorable.” “His Excellen cy” was no longer considering sending his nephew there. Then the real story came out. The “crown prince” and his party were six University of Pitt-Titusville students; the entire tour had been an elaborate hoax carried out with a little make-up help from some theater arts students and flowing Arabian costumes rented from a theatrical supply store. For one week, from their arrival by plane to their departure in a black limousine bearing an official-looking seal and Arabian flags, the students had suc ceeded in fooling just about everyone. By all estimates, the hoax cost the students at least $1,000. An expensive gag? “Some people go to Walt Disney World and spend a thousand dollars,” said Krysinski. “We just did it in Titusville, that’s all.” Yearbook Portraits The staff of The Chowanoka will make individual portrait photos for the 1978-79 edition next week. The photographer will be in the auditorium of Marks Hall each day, and every stu dent and faculty member is urged to have a photos made. No Charge. By ALLEN DAVIS A groundbreaking and thanksgiving service was held at the construction site on Union St. Extension, for Chowan Col lege’s new gymnasium-physical educa tion center Sunday. During the service Chowan’s President Bruce E. Whitaker thanked Mrs. Texie Camp Marks, honorary chairman of Accomplishing Our Mission, for the $200,000 challenge grant that she contributed to the con struction of the new gymnasium- physical education center. He also thanked Elwood Parker; Charles Revelle, Sr.; George Under wood and members of the family of the late W. L. Roy Simons. And the alumni, trustees, advisors, faculty and staff and other friends of the college. The groundbreaking was termed “truly historic” by Dr. Whitaker, who said, “It signals the beginning of the last major facility envisioned in the long range Master Plan of the college. When finished, it will round out and complete our basic campus.” Earlier, announcement of a $25,000 grant to Chowan College by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation of Winston- Salem to assist in the construction of the new gymnasium-physical education center, was made by Dr. Whitaker. Established in 1936, the Reynolds Foundation is restricted by charter to making grants to non-profit institutions and organizations in the State of North Carolina. However, the Foundation has made grants in 91 of the State’s 100 counties through the years. Whitaker said Chowan appreciates the support of the Foundation in helping to provide for the cultural and physical needs of both the community and entire region. The grant also will provide momen tum for Chowan’s “Accomplishing Our Mission” campaign. Dr. Whitaker said. “We must now continue to move for ward to reach the minimum $2 million goal.” Many gifts, from many different sources, will be required to reach our goal and finance construction of the new facility, he added. E. L. Hollowell of Edenton, general chairman of the “Accomplishing Our Mission” campaign, joined Whitaker in expressing his pleasure that the college had reach its milestone goal. He said successful area campaigns had played a vital role in contributing to the progress of the campaign. The response of the alumni, trustees and ad visors, faculty and staff, and other friends of the college indicates they are aware of the great need and are willing to do their share to help build the new facility. The new gymnasium-physical educa tion center will replace the old gym nasium which is now inadequate for the present student body. This structure will be recycled for limited intramural and recreational use. The new gymnasium-physical educa tion center will include such features as three basketball courts seating for 2,500 to 5,000 people, two class rooms, weight room, mini-gym (wrestling and gym nastics), locker rooms (including lockers for faculty), office space, four non-regulation courts (handball and paddle tennis) sauna, steam bath, training room, laundry room, storage and an Olympic size swimming pool. “The many features of the new gym nasium will round out Chowan’s ability to train young men and women,” (Continued on Page 3) Where’s Charlie? He’s on Page 2. Smoke Signals unveils a new campus columnist in this issue. He is Charles Hitchock—a man with a mind of his own. Some of the thoughts that spring from that mind may pique your curiosity, some may amaze you, some you may not understand at all. We’re hopeful that all will in terest you. “Charlie’s Angles” will be found on page 2.