MEREDITH HERALD
Volume X, Issue 20 March 2,1994 Raleigh, North Carolina
Vice president named as president of Converse College
The Board of Trustees of
Converse Cc^ege named Dr.
Sandra C. Thomas as the
college's seventh president Fri
day, February 25. Currently vice
president for student develop
ment at Meredith College, Tho
mas will assume her responsi-
bilitiesatConverseJuly 1,1994.
*1 am very excited about the
new challenges placed before
me,” said Thomas. "While 1 will
be assuming my responsibili
ties as president July 1,1 will be
commuting to Spartanburg on
a regular basis to meet with
administration, faculty and stu
dents to lay the groundwork
for the new administration.''
The search, a seven-month
long process, was conduaed
by a committee comprised of
students, staff, faculty, alum-'
nae and trustees. Thomas was
chosen from a fidd of over 100
candidatesand receiveda unani
mous vote ofapproval from the
Board of Trustees.
"Converse College is an out-
Dr. Sandra Thomas, vice president for ^udent development, will
resume her responsibilities as Converse College president July 1,
1994. Thomas has been on sabbatical since July 1993.
standingwomen's college,’ said
Thomas. Converse, a four-year
liberal arts college, has edu
cated women for 105 years and.
is recc^nized for its graduate
school and professional school
of music. Tlie college's enroll
ment stands at about 1200 stu
dents.
Thomas' tenure at Meredith
as vice president for student
development lasted approxi
mately 20 years. She joined the
Meredith administration in
1974, bccomii^ the youngest
vice president and female
vice president in the College’s
history.
An advocateforthe student,
Thomas' legacy to Meredith is
reflected throt^ the many pro
grams, policies and special
events implemented under her
leadership in the student devel
opment division. The Student
Leaders Seminar Series, Aca
demic Success Seminar Series,
Experience Meredith, Focus on
Excellence, International
House, Health Education, Coun^
seling and Personal Growth
Center and the first Girl Scout
USA Wider Opportunity in
North Carolina are a few of her
many contributions to
Meredith.
”1 feel that my experience
as vice president at Meredith
has been an excellent back
ground for my continued work
in higher education as presi
dent of Converse College," said
the administrator. "While 1 will
miss the &culty and students of
Meredith, 1 am pleased to be
continuing my work in another
see THOMAS
page five
Vereen delivers positive message at Convocation
by Traci Lana
Meredith College was
treated to a special appearance
by actor, singer anddancer Ben
Vereen Monday. Vereen, Emmy
Award winner known for his
portrayl of ‘Chicken George”
in Alex Haley's Roots, was on
campus to speak on the sub|ect
of adversity within the African-
American community for the
last day of Black History Month.
The appearance was spon
sored by the Association for
Black Awareness (ABA) and the
Convocation Committee. The
whole campus was invited to
attend a reception in Vereen’s
honor and a discussion follow
ing the reception.
The reception was held
Monday afternoon in the Alum
nae House. Vereen arrived u> a
roomfulofanxious students and
faculty who were not only ea
ger to meet him, but who were
also curious as to what he had
to say to Meredith . Vereen
enter^ the room and began
shaking hands with the students
and signing autt^phs. When
asked if he was excited about
being at Meredith, Vereen re
plied, “Anytime I get to go any
where I’m excited."
Between the flashes of cam
eras, s^ing autographs and
answering questions, Vereen
manned to crack a few jokes
and had the room charmed by
his soft-spoken manner. There
was not much time for discus- sion at the reception since
Vereen was go
ing to be on
st^e at 5 p m.
in Jones Audito
rium ai^ had re
quested at least
an hour to pre
pare for his dis
cussion. Vereen
left the recep
tion and left the
students and
Ikulty anxious
to hear what he
had to say later
that evening.
After an en-
photo by Firaoces thlisiastic intro-
Karla Mitchell, senior, greets Ben Vereen at the ABA
reception for Vereen on Monday. member Melissa
Peikins, Vereen took thfrst^e.
He began his discussion t^tdl-
ing the audience that he was
“no Joe Morton,’ the speaker
who ^s originally scheduled
to speak. Vereen went on to
say tow honored and proud he
^s to be at Meredith on the
last day of Black His^iy Month.
Vereen then went on to in
fuse acting, singing and some
dancing to illustrate the adver
sity that African-American, as
well as other minorities, have
gone through. He also stressed
that he is thankful for Black
History Month but that we
see VEREEN page eight
Centerspread on Hubert Ledford Building, pages 6 and 7