Volume LIX, Number 2
Serving the Mars Hill College Community Since 1926 Friday, September 27,1985
ENROLLMENT; Strategy
Working
[ars Hill College officials are
1^, lant over enrollment figures
i|it continue to rise at the Baptist-
liited school despite a continous-
leclining pool of high school
iiluates and competition from
jving state-supported institu-
Mhn every area from original in-
ies to applications to enroll-
t, Mars Hill is demonstrating
tantial increases,” states Dr.
th Goodrum, Dean of Admis-
Recruitment and Financial
ijor example he noted that in
V, 2,800 high school seniors in-
ed about Mars Hill; last year
)0 inquired; this year over 9,000
dries were received by the ad-
sions office. Applications
kved an increase of more than
lercent over last year, and dur-
this year’s selection process,
highest percentage of students
:pted for Mars Hill — 80 per-
— actually enrolled at the col-
. Also, the admissions office
50 percent fewer cancellations,
s means, according to
)drum, that Mars Hill is
jming the first choice of more
lents.
he college has 301 new
hmen, a 10 percent increase
r last year and the largest
hman class in four years. The
ntion rate, those students who
tinue in school at Mars Hill, is
the highest in several years. In ad
dition to regular students, enroll
ment through the Center for Con
tinuing Education’s adult oriented,
evening programs jumped an as
tounding 20 percent, from 305 dur
ing the fall semester of 1984-85 to a
current high of 362.
In all, the college has an enroll
ment of 1,462 for the first semester
of 1985-86. Goodrum attributes
this to a specific recruitment
straegy by the college. “We first
identified the market where Mars
Hill can be competitive,”
Goodrum stated. “We made our
admissions process more efficient
and then focused our efforts on
areas where most of our students
come from, on areas which showed
the greatest response, and on a few
experimental new areas.
The strategy has paid off in
small but steady increases. One of
the suprises to many on campus
has been the response Mars Hill
has received from students in
Ohio. However, according to
Goodrum, this shouldn’t be sur
prising since geographically, half
of Ohio is as close to Mars Hill as
the N.C. coast.
Other factors affecting the stu
dent population is Mars Hill’s
church affiliation, a lower student-
faculty ratio (16 to one) than at
most state supported schools, the
availability of over $3 million of
finanical aid and the new strength
of the liberal arts curriculm in the
marketplace.
According to Goodrum, there is
a new perception of the value of a
liberal arts education among pro
spective employers. Those
employers stress the career mobili
ty and communication skills such
an education provides, items much
in demand in the professional
world.
“One of the strongest effects we
found on student retention is the
faculty contact with students out
side the classroom,” Goodrum
noted. “A strong faculty involved
with students beyond the lecture
experience is the source for many
of the referrals we get,” he stated.
The present figures as well as the
future plans might look rosy,
especially compared to the school’s
enrollment of a few years ago.
However, according to Goodrulm,
“It’s going to continue to take
hard work. The number of
students available for college is still
going down. Demographics show a
brief rise in student population in
the 1990’s, but then a decline.
Everyone here also realizes that
this is a private enterprise. We
have to continue to develop a pro
duct that keeps us viable in the
educational marketplace.”
For additional information con
cerning the educational programs
at Mars Hill, contact the Office of
Admissions and Financial Aid,
Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, N.C.
28754 or telephone 689-1201.
ed
mel
iltie:
d 1
of
.lONEL HAMPTON COMES TO MHC
1 CO
cer
Lshejonel Hampton, one of jazz’s
5est-lasting names, will bring
ikerbig band to Mars Hill College’s
ioceore Auditorium Monday,
vill tember 30, for the first perfor-
at ice in the school’s Visiting Ar-
>atui and Lecturers Series.
lampton, who has been perfor-
iving for 45 years, got his start on
-hrins. At Chicago’s Holy Rosary
eat demy, his decidedly awkward
^ Jb of stick handling was never
akeilly overcome, but led to a stint
trea Chicago boys marching band,
igth first contact with the
e inaphone was at St. Elizabeth’s
riesi School. His first professional
Bg^as with the house band at the
^^ndary Cotton Club.
. chance meeting with Louis
istrong in 1930, provided
npton with his first big break,
istrong had come to Los
;les without his usual band and
;d Hamton’s group to back
up. During a recording session
following day, Armstrong ask-
-flampton if he could play the
■s. Hampton, who was playing
'oard at the time, was not
It to pass up a chance to record
•i Armstrong, said sure and that
girding was the first time he had
^j“^essionally played the vibes,
ampton went on to form his
own group and in 1936 was perfor
ming at the Paradise Club when
Benny Goodman simply appeared
on stage to start jamming with the
group. Before long. Gene Krupa
took over the drums, and Teddy
Wilson comandeered the piano.
The group jammed all night long
then went out the next day and cut
several records.
Two of those recordings,
“Dinah" and "Moonglow" led to
close contact with Goodman, even
tually culminating with Hampton
becoming a part of Goodman’s
band. It was the start of a new era
in American music for musical as
well as social reasons: swing music
was popularized by Goodman’s
group on the dance floors of
America and when Hampton join
ed the band, it became the first
time blacks and whites played
together in a major musical group.
In fact, one of the most popular
groups to come out of that time
was the Benny Goodman Quartet,
featuring the four major par
ticipants of that night-long jam in
1936: Goodman on clarinet, Teddy
Wilson on piano, Krupa on drums,
and Hampton on vibes.
Still a favorite around the U.S.,
especially at a time when jazz is ex
periencing a renewed popularity,
Hamton has kept busy with perfor
mances ranging from special “Jazz
One Night Stand,” which reunited
him with many of his old playing
cronies such as Mel Torme, Buddy
Rich and others, to performing
with Bette Midler in a Broadway
revue that broke all house records
for attendance.
He has played for royalty,
presidents Eisenhower, Truman,
Kennedy, Nixon, and Ford,
discovered talent such as Dinah
Washington, and Joe Williams, as
well as performed numerous con
certs for his favorites, “everyday,
ordinary, working people.”
In addition to his current con
certs, Hampton is working with
the Lionel Hampton Community
Development Corporation, a pro
ject that hopes to found a universi
ty where “kids can learn to be doc
tors, lawyers, and yes, even musi
cians.” The dream is well on its
way to reality.
The performance at Mars Hill
will begin at 8 pm in Moore
Auditorium. Tickets are $5 and
will be available at the door. For
additional information on this per
formance, coming performances in
the series, and season ticket infor
mation contact Robert Kramer,
Chairman, Visiting Artists and
Lecturers Committee, Mars Hill
College, Mars Hill, NC 28754.
Governor Jim Martin discusses issues with Mars Hill College students as
part of his “Community Meeting” concept, he has started across the
state.
Academic Update
BY GENA BARONE
NEWS/FRATURES EDITOR
Mars Hill College’s new Vice-
President for Academic Affairs,
Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, has
already started the out by making
some changes and generally doing
a great job for Mars Hill College.
He replaced Dr. Richard L. Hoff
man who stepped down to take a
year’s sabbatical travel and study.
Schmeltekopf is a native of
Kyle, Texas, and earned his
Bachelor’s Degree from Baylor
University after attending
Southwest Texas State University.
He has a Master of Divinity Degree
from Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Wake
Forest, and received his PH.D
from Drew University in Madison,
N.J.
The Dean of Academic Affairs
is in charge of the different majors
and the general studies areas. His
main responsibility is to oversee
the effective administration of the
academics which includes the peo
ple in the program and the pro
gram itself. Schmeltekopf also
coordinates co-curricular life ac
tivities such as lectures and com
munity meetings. These events
directly supplement the academic
program.
The Dean has begun to imple
ment some changes in the ad
ministrative side of academics. He
has created a Dean’s Council
which meets every other week to
talk about current issues regarding
students in academics. The council
consists of the seven division
heads, the Director of Library Ser
vices, Lewis Miller; the Registrar,
Robert Chapman; the Director of
Continuing Education, Ray Rapp;
and Dean Schmeltekopf. A main
issue of this council involves aiding
the recruitment and retention of
students.
Another administrative change
is the formation of the- Ad
ministrative Group. This is a com
mittee of top administators which
meets weekly to report and ex
change information regarding con
cerns the administration may have.
They aid the president by recom
mending administrative policy and
implementing the decisions they
make. They are working on pro
blems regarding the upkeep of the
dorms and also finding an efficient
way of aiding students who have
personal emergencies. The council
includes Schmeltekopf; the Dean
of Admission and Financial Aid,
Dr. Smith Goodrum; Dr. Michael
O’Brian, Dean of Student
Develpoment; Claude Vess,
Business Manager; and Dr. Earl
Leininger, Vice-Chairman of the
Faculty.
A current issue in Academic Af
fairs revolves around a faculty
review of the general studies pro
gram. This review shows that the
general studies curriculm needs to
be stronger. The curriculm is based
on showing competency in seven
areas. Some problems with this are
that the faculty were not of one
mind when the competency-based
program was introduced and that
it is difficult to assess compenten-
cy. Schmeltekopf belives that
General Studies needs unity an
coherency. He says, “The courses
need to compliment one another
and be a shared experience com
mon to all from the freshman year
to the senior year.”
Schmeltekopf is very en
thusiastic about the faculty at
Mars Hill College. He believes they
are well-trained and excellent in
their suypport. “They truly care
about academics and the personal
welfare of the students, this is
more evident here than it is in
other institutions where I have
been involved,” he says. With the
Mellon and Pew Foundations, the
faculty can study in summers and
recharge their intellectual “Bat
teries”. These financial resources
can reinvigorate the faculty and
provides the possibility for retrain
ing.
Of the Mars Hill community,
Schmeltekopf thinks it is a distinc
tive place. He says, “Mars Hill is a
community not just a town, people
want to get to know you and they
respond, they feel connected to
one another.”
The Dean likes tennis and spen
ding time with his family. A per
sonal motto of his is “To do his
best” if it is at work or with his
children. Another motto of his is
“to avoid doing things that make
other people miserable.” He sees
people as fellow “travelers” and
no one should impede people along
their way, everyone should make
other people’s lives meaningful
and contented as much as possible.
BY SCOTT BARON
SGA PRESIDENT
The SGA Today
Howdy! The Student Govern
ment Association has been ex
tremely busy so far this year. Thus
far, we have completed the elec
tions for freshmen and precinct of
fices, rented many refrigerators,
made many loans, and have plann
ed a lot of events for the near
future. One of the biggest upcom
ing events is the concert on
December 1 given by the Imperials.
This is an event which should at
tract students as well as people
from all across Western North
Carolina. Tickets will be available
in the Bookstore soon and at a
special table in the cafeteria.
This year, the SGA exective of
ficers are: President, Scott Baron;
Vice-President, Skip Wood;
Treasurer, Neil Routh; Secretary,
Dana Jackson; Chief Justice,
Wayne Johnson; Attorney
General, Stuart Jolley; Chief of
Defense, Matt Miller. Our offices
are on the third floor of the Union.
Please contact us if we can be of
service to you. We’re in it for you!
By the way, refrigerators are still
available. Contact our offices bet
ween 10-12 MWF, or during other
office hours.
Specific concerns currently
under debate:
1. Lighting on campus
2. Overhaul of student
weightroom in the gym
3. Traffic control
4. Security measures
5. Revision of constitution