Through a gift from the estate of the Katharine Weisiger Osborne, a Catawba College Trustee who died on April 3, 2008, a new First Family Scholarship has been established at the College. The Katharine W. Osborne First Family Endowed Scholarship will assist future students of high academic quality in attending Catawba.

by Amanda Sowards '10. November 4, 2008 will always be a highlight of my life. As I grow older and start a family, I hope to be able to share my first time voting experience with my children and grandchildren when the day comes that they anxiously wait for and their voice can equally be heard as a citizen of the United States of America.

The Catawba College community is wrapping up the fall semester and making plans to celebrate the Christmas holidays.

In Catawba College's fountain on Stanback Plaza Monday, Nov. 17, 2,300 plastic ducks floated, waiting to be plucked from the water by College Chaplain, Dr. Kenneth Clapp. It was the fifth year of Catawba's Duck Draw Community Service Fundraiser and the ducks were used to raise money to buy turkeys – actually, turkey dinners to feed needy local families on Thanksgiving.

For the twenty-first consecutive year, the Catawba College Department of Music will present its annual Service of Lessons and Carols. The Thursday, December 4 performance in the Omwake-Dearborn Chapel is the only one open to the general public. A Tuesday, December 2 performance is for invited guests of the College only.

Through the Independent College Fund of North Carolina, Charlotte-based Clariant Corporation – the U.S. headquarters of one of the world's leading makers of specialty chemicals – has awarded three $2,000 scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year to students planning for careers teaching math or science.

Plans are being made for the campus's annual Tree Lighting by Catawba College's Student Government Association, the Music Department and the President's Office. The event, which is planned just for the campus community, will take place Monday, November 24, on the interior campus, in front of the Cannon Student Center.

When Lester Brown spoke at Catawba College on Nov. 10, he did so with quiet urgency and some hope, warning his audience that unless civilization changes its ways, its end is truly near. This environmental Paul Revere, the founder of Worldwatch Institute and current founder and president of Earth Policy Institute, says "we're in a race between natural tipping points and political tipping points," and that what we need most of all is for "the market to tell the environmental truth."

Rashad Smith of Salisbury, Associate Dean of Admissions at Catawba College, was recently inducted into the East Rutherford High School Hall of Fame. Smith, a 1996 graduate of East Rutherford High, participated in football and track and field there.

Catawba College first-year student, Lori Beth Fraley of Cleveland, was named a national winner during the National FFA Convention, held in October in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was recognized as the national winner of the Agricultural Sales – Placement Proficiency Award for her work while a member of the West Rowan High School’s FFA Chapter. Fraley's FFA advisors at West Rowan were Jason Chester and Clark Adams.

Singer/songwriter Katie Bragg, a Catawba College junior from Snow Hill, Md., says she "became bolder in college," and the recent release of her first self-titled CD, containing four original songs, is a testament to that.

Dr. W. Craig Turner was officially installed as Catawba College's 21st President on President's Day, Monday, February 16, 2009. The date coincided with the federal holiday, Washington's Birthday or President's Day, and the annual meeting of the College's Board of Trustees.

Saturday, November 1st featured a volleyball match against Brevard in Goodman Gymnasium. Following the match, all convened for dinner in Kirkland Lobby of Goodman Gymnasium. A program after dinner featured some of our former players that returned and attendees got their first chance to hear from our new President, Dr. Craig Turner.

For five years, Catawba College's Residence Life staff has used ducks to raise money to buy turkeys – actually, turkey dinners to feed needy local families on Thanksgiving. Catawba's Duck Draw Community Service Fundraiser has raised money to feed close to 400 families over the past four years and this year, the goal is to provide at least 120 families with a Thanksgiving meal, surpassing the 500 families fed mark.

From the "mystical" puzzle appearing on a tortoise shell to using number symbolism and algebra to predict the gender of a newborn, mathematics played an important role in Ancient China. From a traditional view of mathematics, they had a sophisticated (and even modern) number system and could perform large calculations.

1978 Catawba College Alumnus Pat McCrory of Charlotte returned to his alma mater by helicopter on Saturday, Nov. 1st. The occasion was a Salisbury campaign stop for McCrory, the North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate, who is hoping to secure a win in the Nov. 4th Election.