Beginning with the 2006-2007 academic year, two departments at Catawba College will merge into a single entity. The Departments of History and Classics and Political Science will become the Department of History and Politics. Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, an assistant professor of political science, has been tapped to serve for the next three years as the chair of this department.

Pamela L. Thompson, an associate professor of business and information systems, has accepted a two-year appointment as chair of Catawba College's Ralph E. Ketner School of Business, effective with the 2006-2007 academic year.

Two Catawba College faculty members, Drs. Carla Eastis and J. Michael Bitzer, are participating in this summer's Wye Institute July 22-28 in Queenstown, Md. The focus of the institute, established in 1983 and co-sponsored by the Aspen Institute and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, is faculty development with an emphasis on the theme of "Leadership and Citizenship."

The Catawba College Center for the Environment recently received a $25,000 grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for its Sustainable Community Leadership Institute. The institute will educate and equip current and prospective community leaders in the state with the skills and information they need to address the complexities of community issues. Participants will approach community challenges, recognizing that economic prosperity, issues of social concern and the health of our citizens an

I used to be the kid at tennis camp who tried to hit the ball as hard as he could ... over the fence, or better yet, at the instructor. Now, I'm on the other side of the net, dodging balls while campers laugh at the occasional one that hits my leg. And, I couldn't be happier.

Lime green visor. White tennis skirt. Polo shirt with Wimbledon-worthy crossed racquets emblem. When Annabel Barr steps onto the court, she looks like a professional. But, at age five, she still has a long way to go. Barr, of Salisbury, is getting a head start on her competition through the Catawba College Tennis Camps, headed by Catawba Tennis Head Coach Jeff Childress. Her mother, Gwin Barr, knows firsthand about the importance of starting early.