Ms. Pamela Thompson, associate professor of business administration/information systems and chair of the Ketner School of Business at Catawba College, has had a paper accepted for oral presentation and publication at the upcoming Intelligent Agent Technology Conference. This international conference, slated Nov. 2-5 in Silicon Valley, Calif., is sponsored by the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM).

Catawba College rising senior Ryan Dayvault of Kannapolis, who is majoring in political science with a concentration in public administration, recently assisted officials with the N.C. Research Campus and Dole Foods in late July in distributing Dole bananas at the China Grove Farmer's Day. In all, 15,200 bananas were distributed by Dayvault and others during the event. Dayvault is shown here with Peter Gilmore, Vice President of Dole Foods, Eastern Seaboard.

The Catawba College cheerleading squad will hold an open tryout for all new and returning students on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 4 p.m. Anyone interested in trying out for the squad should meet new coach Katie Osteen in the Goodman Gym lobby at that time.

The Catawba College Lacrosse Team, under the direction of Coach Peter Bourque, travels to England and Ireland July 21-30 and will play several games during the trip. The team departs Charlotte Douglas International Airport on July 21st and will fly into London's Gatwick International Airport. They tour the sights in London on Sunday, July 22nd and then play their first game against the London Area Team on Monday, July 23rd.

When NASA launches the Shuttle on August 7th, it will carry teacher Barbara Morgan into space, 21 years after the Challenger disaster and the death of teacher Christa McAuliffe and her six fellow astronauts. McAuliffe was the finalist selected from 110 Teacher in Space Project candidates to make that ill-fated flight on Jan. 28, 1986; Barbara Morgan was McAuliffe's backup.

Leanne Skipper, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina (NKF), announced today the organization will be hosting a testimonial dinner honoring Phil Kirk on October 18 at the Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. We're excited to hold the first event in Raleigh and are confident that the event will be a very successful fundraiser," said Skipper. "NKF is proud to honor Phil Kirk for his continued service to North Carolina."

The Fourth Annual Brenna Lee Lawrence Spreading Wings Scholarship Benefit was held July 14, 2007 in Jamestown, N.C. Over 100 people were in attendance at the dinner and silent auction which raised funds to be added to the Brenna Lee Lawrence Endowed Scholarship which was established in 2006 by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Brent Lawrence, as a means of memorializing Brenna and assisting deserving Catawba students.

Jack Ward, a 1951 graduate of Catawba College from Mocksville, is hopeful that a new scholarship established in his name at the institution will give other young people that same opportunity to attend Catawba and be mentored by someone like legendary football Coach Gordon Kirkland. Preference for the Jack Ward Endowed Scholarship will be given to a student from Davie County or Thomasville High School with an interest in majoring in education with aspirations to work in school administration.

Catawba College has announced that its football game with Mars Hill, originally scheduled for Saturday, September 29, has been moved to Thursday night, September 27 for television purposes. The game will be carried to a national audience, live on College Sports Television (CSTV) and on FSN South. Kickoff for the game will be 8:05 pm.

Catawba College's Corriher-Linn-Black Library has received two federal grants totaling $52,968. The 2007-2008 grants, announced June 12, are being awarded by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered through the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources and the State Library of North Carolina. The awards are made possible by LSTA grant funding from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal grant making agency.

The Government of the United States is pleased to nominate Ambassador William Lacy Swing for the position of Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). IOM member states will elect a new Director General in June 2008 for a five-year term.

Phillip J. Kirk Jr., who has helped shaped North Carolina business, government and education policy for more than three decades, believes that having a sense of humor, being willing to admit mistakes and knowing how to express gratitude are among the fundamental qualities of great leadership.

With less than a month to go before the five new residence halls on the Catawba College campus are scheduled to be completed, crews with the project general contractor, Summit Development of Salisbury, continue to adhere to a strict timeline.

You can hear a bit of pride in the voice of alumnus John F. Rink '49 of Salisbury when he explains that he is one of the six among his seven siblings who graduated from Catawba College. Rink recently memorialized his late brother and fellow Catawba alumnus, Hillery H. Rink, Jr. '49, when he established an endowed scholarship named for him at the institution.

The list of players who have registered to attend (by decade), and returning Coaches. This list is updated weekly. Registration closes July 27, '07. Contact Gordon Kirkland for details or to register, gakirkla@catawba.edu.

The band FISHER STREET is finally announcing their summer tour plans. The Salisbury, NC-based band will be playing shows throughout the month of July in N.C., Va., and Md. The band will kick off their tour on Friday, July 6 at The Evening Muse in the NoDa area of Charlotte.