GWU
S ports
Swimming p.7
Basebaii liigliiiglits p.8
Softbaii iiighiiglits p.8
The
Gardner-Wehh University
other
News
Fiddler on tlie Roof p.2
Honors shadows p.3
Faitli Harvest p.6
Exam exemptions p.6
Friday, February 22, 2002
WWW. gwupilot, com
Volume 5 No. 10
A look at Gardner-Webb’s beginning
Focus
@11 lilfa©
uture
Part 1 of a 5-Par1 Pifet'series on the past,
present and future of GWU
Christi Hallis
Pilot copy editor
You might have picked up
this paper in a barn. You may
be reading it in the middle of a
cornfield or in a cow pasture.
Of course, that is a former bam,
former cornfield or former cow
pasture.
Gardner-Webb has come a
long way from Boiling Springs
High School in 1907, Boiling
Springs Junior College in 1928,
Gardner-Webb Junior College
in 1942, and finally, the four-
year institution it became in
1971 and still is today. The
physical changes are evident,
but do the changes run deeper?
Is Gardner-Webb University in
2002 the one the founders envi
sioned?
Gardner-Webb Junior
College experienced more than
a 400% increase in enrollment
between 1943 and 1948,
prompting then President Elliot
to mention the possibility of
becoming a four-year college
as early as 1951. It was 20
years before his dream would
be realized.
According to Landsford
Jolley in his book. Dreaming,
Daring, Doing: The History of
Gardner-Webb, the college has
always been, unabashedly, a
“church college,” with the pur
pose of offering “sound train
ing in Christian belief and char
acter,” and the institution
depended heavily on support
from area churches.
In 1961, E. Eugene Poston
was inaugurated as the new
president of the University and
included in his “Decade of
Advance” plan the goal of
reaching senior college status
by 1971. He listed many ideals
of the University, including the
fostering of a Christian envi
ronment where “Jesus can feel
completely’ at home,” express
ing concern for all individuals
as people “made in the image
of God,” supporting American
principles of free enterprise and
patriotism, loving and appreci
ating the Baptist Churches and
the Southern Baptist
Convention, as well as living
by a campus code that provided
for “decent living and a goodly
appearance.”
A year later, at his inaugur
al ceremony, Poston explained
that the purpose of the college
was to “give the highest acade
mic program within the deepest
possible spiritual atmosphere.”
Later that year in The Gardner-
Webb Quarterly, he went on to
say that a Christian college is
one characterized by “Christian
convictions in the minds and
hearts of the staff and faculty,”
explaining that faculty and staff
without such convictions had
no place at Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb continued
to grow, achieving nearly all of
Poston’s goals, including the
construction of a gym and pool,
four new dorms and a class
room building. In 1963, after a
debate between what was
“expedient” for the college and
Originally known as the Memorial Building in honor of students who died in
World War I, Hamrick Hall was later named after E.B. Hamrick. He was a local
merchant who wrote ojf debts for the school in tough times. The building has
been destroyed twice by fire and sat unused for a decade before a local group,
the Dover Foundation, funded remodeling in 1994.
the year that
what was “morally right,”
Gardner-Webb admitted its first
black students.
In 1969, at the dedication
of Lindsay, a representative
from the Southern Baptist
Convention stated that
“Gardner-Webb is worthy to
live and too tough to die
because God’s hand is clearly
on this school.”
In 1971, the year
Gardner-Webb finally became
an accredited four year institu
tion, Poston explained the pur
pose of the college as follows:
to develop “quality Christian
students who think for them
selves and who will dedicate
themselves to a Christian way
of life in a vocation of their
choice.”
Economic crunch results in ‘reduction in force’
Jessica Webb
Pilot photo editor
The effects of the economy
have finally reached Gardner-
Webb.
On Friday, Feb. 15,
President Christopher White
told the faculty and staff that
there was a “reduction in force”
being administered, with some
reductions taking place imme
diately. Those people who were
affected were told on Thursday
or right before the meeting on
Friday.
However, this action does
not show that the University is
in great financial trouble
because the senior staff voted
to give raises to all employees
noted Matt Webber, director of
university communications.
The term “reduction in
force” was given to clarify that
the acfion is not a “layoff,”
which means telling people that
they no longer have a job, said
Webber.
He said the senior staff was
told they had to find a position
in their areas that could be
reduced with the work load
being absorbed by other
employees in their area.
Webber also said that, in
some cases, the people whose
positions were phased out were
offered new positions that the
University wanted to fill. For
example, the webmaster posi
tion was eliminated, but the
employee was offered another
job in alumni relations.
“The positions are not peo-
ple-i—this was not about people
not performing adequately.
Those people were just unfor
tunately caught in those posi
tions,” he said.
Although no one would
officially comment, there are
six positions known so far that
have been eliminated. These
positions are the northside area
director, campus ministry
intern, campus ministry secre
tary, academic advising secre
tary, director of academic
advising and the webmaster.
“This [RIF] has a minimal
impact on students because the
value of instruction or the qual
ity of the degree has not been
affected,” said Webber.
Although cutbacks are
understandable, students say
the changes will affect them.
The advising center, \yhich
with the reduction of two peo
ple is moving under the
umbrella of the counseling cen
ter, keeps up with all incoming
freshmen, transfers and their
schedules. They also track
majors and minors, work with
students in academic difficul
ties, track absences, host a
major showcase each fall, hold
workshops for faculty advisors
and counsel students who are
undecided majors or who have
general questions.
Senior Krisfin Sanders is a
peer advisor for the center and
had to use the office herself
when she declared a double
major.
“I think the academic
advising office is important and
I think it’s important to have
people who are trained in
advising because faculty advi
sors are not always well-
informed on all the school poli
cies and academic regulations,”
she said.
Another area that will
affect students are the cutbacks
in campus ministries.
“One thing that people
don’t realize is the process that
goes into everything involved
with campus ministry,” said
LeAnne Spruill, coordinator of
GaP ministries.
“For example, with GaP,
the intern helps me with public
ity and making flyers and get
ting the materials needed.
That’s not counting work done
for Amy [Armstrong] or any of
the other ministries,” said
Spruill.
Please see Reduction p. 2