In New Jesse Helms Center
Graduation Exercises to Close 133rd Session
DR. RALEIGH KIRBY GODSEY
President, Mercer University
Commencement Speaker
DR. BEN C. FISHER
Retired Executive Director-Treasurer,
Education Commission,
Southern Baptist Convention
Baccalaureate Speaker
The president of Mercer University,
Dr. Raleigh Kirby Godsey, will be the com
mencement, speaker when Chowan College
closes its 133rd year Sunday, May 17.
Dr. Ben C. Fisher, retired executive
director-treasurer of the Education Com
mission of the Southern Baptist Conven
tion and a Miu^reesboro resident, will
speak at the 11 a.m. baccalaureate ser
vice.
Other Participants
Also participating in the bac
calaureate program will be Mrs. Betty
Batchelor, professor in the Department of
Languages and Literature, who will give
the invocation; Dr. R. Hargus Taylor,
chaplain, who will deliver the scripture
and prayer; and Mrs. Marianne Jackson,
professor in the Department of Graphic
Communications, who will present the
benediction.
Business professor, Mrs. Dorothy
Wallace, will deliver the invocation during
the 2 p.m. graduation exercises. Chowan
President Bruce E. Whitaker will preside
and introduce the speakers at both ser
vices.
Dr. Godsey has earned five degrees in
cluding two doctorates. He received his
B.A. from Samford, his B.D. and Th.D.
from New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary, his M.A. from the University of
Alabama, and his Ph.D. from Tul^e
University.
Lengthy Service
He has served as minister of Norwood
Baptist Church in Louisiana; assistant
professor, philosophy and religion, Judson
College; Danforth Associate for Danforth
Foundation; and vice president, dean of
the college, Averett College.
He began his service at Mercer in 1977
as dean of the college of liberal arts. He
served as executive vice president before
assuming the presidency in July, 1979.
His professional activities include
chairman. Task Force on Academic Af
fairs for Council for Advancement of SmaU
Colleges; chairman. Conference on In
stitutional Planning, sponsored by
American Association of Higher Educa
tion; Higher Education Panel Represen
tative for American Council on Education;
and chairman, Board of Directors, School
of the Arts, Danville, Va.
He is the chief consultant for Com
prehensive Institutional Development Pro
ject serving 56 colleges in the United
States, funded by the U.S. Office of Educa
tion for $4.5 million over three years. His
civic and church service includes
member. Board of Directors, Macon
Chamber of Commerce; member Rotary
Club, Macon, Ga.; president Forest Hills
Parent-Teacher Association; speaker at
business, professional, civic and church
groups; and deacon. First Baptist Church,
Macon.
He served as a member of the State
Committees on Health Planning and
Educational Needs for the State of
Virginia and received the Danville, Va.
Citizenship Award in 1971.
The Birmingham, Ala. native is the
author of a number of articles published in
national religious and educational publica
tions. He is married to the former Joan
Stockstill and they have two sons and two
daughters.
Dr. Fisher is a cum laude graduate of
Wake Forest College and earned his
master of divinity degree from Andover
Newton Theological School. He holds
honorary doctorates from Campbell Col
lege, Wake Forest University, and Mercer
University.
After serving as a North Carolina
pastor from 193847, and for seven years as
a faculty member at Gardner-Webb Col
lege, Fisher served for two years as
associate secretary of the Education Com
mission of the Southern Baptist Conven
tion, beginning in 1952. He joined
Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary in 1954 as administrative assis
tant to the president.
For May-June, 1981
Alumnus Is Candidate
For Top Teacher Award
Chowan alumnus Charles Freeman was recently
named one of the top three teachers in North
Carolina. The North Carolina Teacher of the Year
will be named at a luncheon in Raleigh during a
meeting of the State Board of Education.
The state winner then becomes eligible for national
honors.
Freeman is the coordinator for the Distributive
Education (DECA) courses at Murfreesboro High
School and teaches a Sunday School class at Ahoskie
First Baptist Church. He represented Rotary District
771 on a trip to Australia last year with a team in a
Rotary Group Study Exchange program.
He is the recipient of scholarships to study
economics and his DECA group has won national and
state honors over the last four years.
He and his wife, Gloria, and their two sons live in
Ahoskie. He is a native of Powellsville where his
father is the mayor. He is a graduate of Ahoskie High
School, Chowan College and Atlantic Christian Col
lege.
He has taught at Forest Glen High School in Suffolk
and Roanoke-Chowan Technical Institute.
Freeman holds a master of education in business
education from Virginia State University and is
enrolled at Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State
University to earn an advanced certificate.
He referees footbaU games and coaches pee-wee
baseball. His other interests include doing state and
federal income tax returns.
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