Public School officials from area high schools or representatives from 10 different systems were on Catawba College’s campus Wednesday, September 24, 2008 attending an update luncheon. At this third annual event, college administrators briefed them on recent enhancements to different academic programs, including special scholarship opportunities available to students.

Marching bands from Rowan and surrounding counties will visit the Catawba College campus on Saturday, October 4 to compete in the third annual Lord Salisbury Marching Band Classic.

The Center for the Environment at Catawba College will host a special presentation Nov. 10 by the founder and president of Earth Policy Institute. Lester Brown, called "one of the world's most influential thinkers" by the Washington Post, will speak at 7 p.m. in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on the Catawba campus. Registration is required for the event.

The Third Annual Ugly Bug Ball, scheduled for Oct. 3, will feature a Southwestern theme. This year the fundraiser for the Center for the Environment at Catawba College will continue to offer dancing and fun, but it will also celebrate the Center's past and upcoming air quality efforts.

Simple Living television host Wanda Urbanska and green building consultant Jennifer Pippin will discuss the trials and tribulations of creating their green homes on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at the Center for the Environment at Catawba College.

Local, state and national campaigns will be represented on Catawba College's campus during Campaign 2008 Day, slated from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 30 in the Cannon Student Center. Representatives from the Rowan County Board of Elections will be on hand to register students to vote.

It's Back to Jack for the Catawba College Vernaculars when they present their first concert of the new school year. The outdoor event will feature eleven songs made famous by Michael Jackson done up in the Vernaculars' own way — heavy on the rock, hold the disco. Free and open to the public, the concert will be held on the lawn outside the Catawba Student Center on Sunday, October 5th, starting at 3:00 p.m.

Catawba College's Omicron Chapter of Alpha Chi, the national college honor society, held an initiation ceremony for candidates Friday, Sept. 19 in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on campus. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the college's annual Family Weekend.

Students from Corriher-Lipe Middle School made a trip to Catawba College's campus on Tuesday, Sept. 23 to teach some first-year college students a little something about how learning happens. The lesson they taught, on stage and in Spanish, was in the form of a dramatic presentation of scenes from Cervantes' "Don Quixote."

Catawba College's English Department is sponsoring a reading by Anthony Abbott, Professor Emeritus at Davidson College, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7 in Tom Smith Auditorium of Ralph W. Ketner Hall on campus. Abbott will read his poetry and excerpts from his latest novel The Three Great Secret Things.

Want to learn more about the Master of Accounting program at North Carolina State University? Current students and interested alumni of Catawba College are invited to a session on Tuesday, October 7 at 11 a.m. in the Peeler Crystal Lounge of the Robertson College-Community Center.

At a recent political rally for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Uptown Charlotte, Catawba College political science professor Dr. Michael Bitzer said the energy level there was “through the roof“ and that Obama hit all the key points for North Carolina voters and delivered.

Catawba College alumni and friends in the Salisbury-Rowan County area gathered on campus Sunday, Sept. 21 to meet and greet the College's 21st president and first lady, Dr. and Mrs. Craig Turner. Although the Turners had attended similar gatherings over the summer in Charlotte, Hickory, Greensboro and Raleigh getting to know alumni and friends of the college, Sunday's event marked the first opportunity for people in Salisbury and several hundred took advantage of it.

Catawba College students and residents around the campus have more than six months to prove that they'll use the Salisbury Transit system. This thanks to a new agreement worked out between Salisbury Transit and the College's Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling.

Albert H. "Tuck" Gudger, Sr., a 1948 alumnus of Catawba College, says a new scholarship he has established at the institution is just another way he is "giving back." Preference for the Albert H. "Tuck" Gudger, Sr. Scholarship will be given to a wide receiver on the football team, a position that Gudger once held.

Two Catawba College Theatre Arts students were winners in the 2007-2008 Metrolina Theatre Awards. The fifth annual awards ceremony was held Sept. 14th at McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square in Charlotte.

19 golfers played 100 holes on Monday, September 15th at McCanless Golf Club to raise money in support of Catawba's athletic program. With gifts and pledges as of the playing date, over $36,000 has been raised as it was once again a rousing success and thanks go out to all Catawba Alumni, Parents and Friends that have supported the 100.

The 2008-2009 academic year marks the "Year of China" at Catawba College, according to the institution's Glenn and Addie Ketner Center for International Studies. A faculty-staff coordinating committee selected China as the focus for Catawba's inaugural "Year of …." program in part because of the focus that the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing brought to that country. In recent years, China, the most populous nation in the world, has emerged as a political and economic force, with Chinese products f

First-year theatre arts students will present "War (In Peaces)," a production of seven improvisational pieces featuring unique short scenes, poems, songs, dance and other exciting surprises during Catawba College's Family Weekend Sept. 19-21.

"Hatred will not be the last word in Lockerbie." This line uses just a few words to encapsulate the theme from Catawba College's upcoming production of "The Women of Lockerbie." The production runs at 6:55 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 23 and 24, and at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25-27, in Hedrick Little Theatre of the Robertson College-Community Center at Catawba. It is the first play of the Blue Masque's 2008-2009 season.

Catawba College became a little greener recently. On Monday, August 25th, the institution's housekeeping staff began using green cleaning products in nine buildings on campus. But adoption of the green cleaning products did not just happen, it evolved as housekeeping staff tried various green seal products and made their own assessments about which would do the best job. These staffers also participated in green cleaning training sessions and often reassessed their own ideas of what constitutes

By Dr. Jim Epperson, Catawba College Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts. The Blue Masque Hall of Fame will induct its first class of honorees on the Sunday of Homecoming Weekend, October 19th at 10:30 a.m., in the Peeler Crystal Lounge of the Robertson College-Community Center.

For the second year in a row, Catawba College has been named one of the nation's best music schools by "In Tune Monthly." Catawba was one of only 38 institutions included in the magazine's listing of The Best Music Schools of 2009.

Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, associate professor of political science and history at Catawba College, was recently invited to the University of Louisville's McConnell Center to deliver a public presentation on the 2008 election and the television show, "The Simpsons." In addition, he was a guest lecturer for a criminal law class and spoke on "Cinematic Crime: Using the Movies to Explore Law, Crime, and Justice."

This year, Catawba College students, along with faculty and staff members, are using their Catawba ONE Card. It's their official College picture ID and allows them access to almost everything on campus, but it can also be used like a debit card at some key on-campus locations and at several local merchants.

Catawba College is one of eight higher education institutions selected as development partners for the student retention portion of SunGard Higher Education's Enrollment Management software suite, according to Catawba's Chief Information Officer Joanna Jasper.

For years, dozens of needy students at Catawba College received scholarship assistance thanks to an anonymous donor. Now, more than five years after this donor's death, those students and future students will know to whom they need to be thankful.

Two Catawba College seniors have been recognized with double awards. Katrina Pergerson of Spring Lake, N.C., and Rachel Roberts of Knoxville, Tenn., both received a Yarbrough Research Grant from the N.C. Academy of Science and a stipend from North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities for use on their student projects.

The editor of "Natural Home & Garden" magazine will speak on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the Center for the Environment at Catawba College. Robyn Griggs Lawrence will talk about "Creating a Green, Healthy Home: Shelter for Mind, Body and Soul" at 7 p.m. in Room 300 of the Center facility. A 6:30 p.m. reception in the Center lobby will precede the presentation.

by Lainey Nichols '09. Ireland is a blur. Last night, we arrived in Cork — the cleanest airport in both hemispheres. Thank goodness for hygiene and soapy smells, because a few of us were behind a real, live hurling team from Ireland just prior to boarding the plane ... and all that entails. It is not my intent to be hypercritical or judgemental, but these hurlers seemed so stereotypically meat-headed that they should have had their own Saturday Night Live skit...

Ellen T. Ruff, President-Duke Energy Carolinas, will be the speaker for the second Distinguished CEO Lecture Series at Catawba College on Wednesday, October 1. Sponsored by the Business Advisory Board for the Ralph W. Ketner School of Business, the lecture will be held at 4 p.m. in the Peeler Crystal Lounge of the Robertson College-Community Center. Musical entertainment will begin at 3:45 p.m.

Students in Catawba College's Class of 2012 were required to read Jim Wooten's book, "We Are All the Same" over the summer in preparation for their first-year experience. This common summer reading provides a common thread for intellectual discussion during their first-year seminar classes in the fall and during their classes on globalization in the spring.

Catawba College's opening convocation held Thursday, August 29 in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel marked the start of a new academic year, Catawba's 157th, and a new president, Catawba's 21st. President Dr. W. Craig Turner convened the college and officiated as employees of the College were recognized for their years of service.

Catawba College President Dr. W. Craig Turner commissioned 14 students as Junior Marshals in a ceremony held Wednesday, August 27 in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on campus. These Junior Marshals were chosen from the junior class based on academic rank and are among the most honored students on campus. They embody the best of Catawba College both in academic achievement and service to the College community...

In trying to read the tea-leaves of the 2008 elections, what can we expect on November 4th? Will it be more of the same (2000 and 2004) or something completely different? Who will show up? Where are the battleground states and races to watch? What will be the impact of November 4 on our political landscape? These and "other political ramblings" will form the topic of the first Catawba College Community Forum of the 2008-2009 academic year.

Catawba College's Community Music Program is pleased to announce the addition of new faculty members for 2008-2009 classes. This program is now enrolling students for classes, ensembles and lessons. Classes and lessons begin the week of September 8, 2008. To register or for more information, please call the Catawba College Community Music Office...