rWE HILLTOP
ume 62, Issue 1
Mars Hill, North Carolina
Friday, August 26, 1988
>r. Donald Schmeltekopf: Upholding a
"radition of Caring and Excellence
cky Horner
itor-in-Chief
Dr. Donald Schmeltekopf is ex-
ed about his new position as
ovost of Mars Hill College, and
kes his responsibility to provide a
lality campus life for all students,
culty and staff very seriously. In a
emorandum dated June 1, 1988 and
dressed to the Mars Hill College
immunity. Dr. Schmeltekopf out-
led ten commitments of the college,
lese are ideals which are rooted in
liege tradition and form the basis
r its many programs, according to
:. Schmeltekopf; they should be
miliar to members of the campus
mmunity. However, he states them
IS a means of renewing and clarify-
g our common purpose.”
The first two commitments are the
les that set MHC apart from most
her colleges. First, Mars Hill is
.'ommitted to the Christian faith”
id the ‘‘primary affirmation of this
'liege community is that every
pect of our institutional life and
ission is within the larger context of
e purposes of God.” Second, MHC
committed to its students and their
velopment: physically, socially, in
tellectually, morally and spiritually.
Of course, MHC is committed to
providing a quality undergraduate
education. In doing this, the college
aspires to the pursuit of truth in every
field, maintaining a policy of ‘‘fair
play” with regard to the ‘‘expres
sion and criticism of beliefs, ideas,
research and related intellectual
activities.”
Other commitments include that of
a quality campus life for students and
faculty alike. This aspect covers all of
the facilities — such as the cafeteria,
housing and gymnasium, and MHC’s
commitment to the provision of a
variety of co-curricular activities for
all members of the college community
deals with the programs which utilize
these facilities — such as athletics,
theatre and cultural events.
The college also seeks honesty in
dealing with students and colleagues,
the ‘‘ongoing professional develop
ment and enhancement of faculty and
staff members,” and positive rela
tions with the outside world.
This year. Dr. Schmeltekopf plans
on dealing with four areas of special
i^hat Is a Provost?
Effective June 1, Dr. Donald
hmeltekopf became Mars Hill
tllege’s first Provost. Dr.
hmeltekopf had been the Vice
esident and Academic Dean of the
liege for three years prior to that
te.
The new administrative position of
ovost was created last spring in
Jer to lighten President Fred
ntley’s workload, thereby freeing
)re of Dr. Bentley’s time for college
nd-raislng campaigns. The Provost
als mainly with the internal or-
nization and management of the
liege, of which he is chief operating
ficer. The President, on the other
nd, is directly in charge of the
ternal operations of the college,
d indirectly — through the Provost
in charge of internal affairs. Al-
?ugh Dr. Schmeltekopf is respon
se for coordinating and providing
:dership to the various upper-level
ectors of the college, he still
)orts to Dr. Bentley, who must give
proval to all policy changes.
The new distribution of duties
pears to be working quite well.
Provost Donald Schmeltekopf
President Bentley now has more time
to solicit funding for the various parts
of the Development Campaign, and
Dr. Schmeltekopf can give his com
plete attention to ensuring that MHC
provides a quality campus life for
everyone.
concern in order to reach his goal of
providing a quality campus life.
These four areas are enrollment, pro
gram assessment, buildings and
grounds and the budget.
In the area of enrollment. Dr.
Schmeltekopf expresses his satisfac
tion with the current enrollment. The
number of new students enrolled as
of August 17 was 433, which repre
sents an increase of nearly one-third
over last year. This increase can be
explained by a ‘‘sound approach to
recruitment and by the hard and ef
fective work of a lot of people,” ac
cording to the Provost. In addition,
the members .of the student retention
program are working hard and expect
a high level of success in the coming
years — their goal is 72-75% from
year to year.
Another special concern is in the
area of program assessment, which is
being directed by new Dean of Facul
ty Earl Leininger, and carried out by
the college Plans and Policies Com
mittee. This study will answer such
questions as the relationship between
the majors and the mission of the col
lege, the ‘‘balance between theory
and practice” and the placement of
graduates.
Dr. Schmeltekopf also intends to
focus his attention on the main
tenance and improvement of campus
facilities, in the area of buildings and
grounds. Recent developments in
clude the renovation of Huffman and
Edna Moore dormitories this spring
and summer, and the refurbishment
of Stroup, the apartments and the
townhouses which is scheduled for
next summer. Renovations on several
academic buildings are also being
planned.
The campus beautification pro
gram, which is directed by a faculty
committee, is also contributing great
ly to the appearance of the MHC
campus. Members of the committee
take pride in the work that they are
doing to make our campus a nicer
place to live, work and learn.
Another of Dr. Schmeltekopf’s
prime concerns is to ensure that the
college operates well within its
budget. The higher enrollment will be
of great assistance in achieving this
goal, according to the Provost.
Administration Makes
Further Changes
Becky Horner
Editor-in-Chief
The administration of MHC has
undergone serious changes this fall,
and the appointment of Dr. Donald
Schmeltekopf as Provost left a vacan
cy at his former position of Dean.
This opening was filled when Dr. Earl
Leininger, former chairman of the
Division of Humanities and twenty-
year veteran of the MHC faculty, was
promoted to the position of Dean of
Faculty on August 1.
Dr. Leininger, who holds Bachelor
of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy
degrees from Southern Baptist Theo
logical Seminary, has taught religion,
philosophy and the year-old Humani
ties I course, as well as serving on a
variety of committees, both on and
off campus.
‘‘I was looking for a new
challenge,” Dr. Leininger says of his
position as Dean of Faculty, ‘‘and 1
think I found it.” His new respon
sibilities include the development,
coordination, implementation and as
sessment of the curriculum and the
instructional program. He.also super
vises the various administrators
within the departments of the
academic program. Dr. Leininger
also plans to continue teaching one
course each semester, which will give
him an opportunity to meet and talk
with the students, something which
he sees as very important.
Professor Betty Hughes will suc
ceed Dr. Leininger as chairman of the
Division of Humanities, which in
cludes such areas as English, History,
Modern Foreign Languages and Reli
gion/Philosophy. A member of the
MHC faculty for over twenty years,
she has proven her outstanding worth
on the instructional staff of the
college, receiving the ‘‘Excellence in
Teaching Award” several years ago.