Catawba College's new provost, Dr. W. Richard Stephens, Jr. is an advocate for always having a Plan B. In fact, he credits a series of Plan Bs for helping shape his career in academe. "Life often demands that you take a step back, two steps to the right or left and then go forward again," he explains. Rick Stephens has heeded life's demands.

Source: www.nicholas.duke.edu. Connor P. Coleman, a second-year graduate student at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University has been elected national co-president of the Student Association for Fire Ecology (SAFE). His term began January 1 and will run through December 31, 2009.

by Monisha Smith '04. My inauguration experience actually began November 5th. Working in a U.S. Senate office, our office has been greeted by thousands of phone calls from people seeking swearing-in tickets. I was lucky enough to be in Denver with then Senator Obama when he became the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party and couldn't wait to see him become President Obama on January 20th...

Student Blogs by the West Teaching Scholars in their Spring 2009 excursion to Savannah, Georgia. Thirty-one teaching scholars, along with faculty and staff from Catawba College's Ritchie Academy for Teaching, traveled to Savannah, Georgia January 17-20 and were amazed by the history and ecology of this Southern city and its coastal islands.

Four men and four women will play 57 different characters in Catawba College's production of "The Dining Room." The production opens on Tuesday, Feb. 10th in Hedrick Little Theatre on campus and runs through Saturday, Feb. 14th.

Catawba College's English Department is sponsoring a reading by author Joanna Catherine Scott and poet Scott Owens at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 10, in Tom Smith Auditorium, Ketner Hall. The reading is free and open to the public.

When members of the Catawba College community gathered for Opening Convocation on Thursday, January 22, it was for the purpose of recognizing outstanding academic student achievements. It was also an opportunity for College President Dr. Craig Turner to formally introduce two new administrators.

Experts from the renowned Rocky Mountain Institute will speak at the Center for the Environment at Catawba College on a new energy paradigm and the growth opportunities it will offer businesses and communities. The speakers will also address how the new approach will favorably impact air quality and other climate issues.

Why would anyone want to sing about winter? Because the winter season is a reality in every life, and Austrian Composer Franz Schubert, who faced illness and an early death at age 30, found resonance in poetry about shortened days, cold winds and the other discomforts of winter.

by Alex Will '08. I always found it tacky when writers began their commentaries by exclaiming that "they didn't know where to start." I thought it to be a cheap way to introduce a piece, a cop-out for an inability to find a creative introduction. Maybe I felt that way because I had never been in a situation where I felt overcome by emotion. A moment so singularly powerful that words can't even begin to describe what you were feeling. I think I experienced that moment on January 20, 2009.

by Alex Will '08. I try not to make it a habit to start my blogs with a disclaimer, but I feel as though this entry deserves one. If you were hoping to read an entry waxing on poetically regarding the inauguration, well you came a day too early. That entry will come after I have had enough time to process what has taken place, and what I have experienced. Today's entry involves Alex getting up way too early, walking way too much and hurting in way too many places.

Source: "Charlotte Blogs" website (from Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins). Dr. Michael Bitzer, Associate Professor of History & Politics at Catawba College was a guest speaker on a panel discussion that took place Wednesday, January 21. The group met to discuss the first 100 days that President Barack Obama will have in office.

Catawba College Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr. Carla Eastis was in Washington, D.C. on Monday, January 19th and witnessed the gathering of people in the capitol for Barack Obama's inauguration as the United States' 44th President. A colleague of hers at Brandeis University who is a member of the Obama transition team invited her to attend an event with his group on the evening of January 19th.

by Dr. Carla Eastis, Assistant Professor of Sociology. I have a leisurely morning with my friend and don't get to the Metro station till 11 a.m. The train is full — some people are standing — but not crowded. I get off at the Smithsonian station and ride the escalator to the surface. I hardly recognize this as the same place I was just 3 weeks ago on vacation!

by Dr. Carla Eastis, Assistant Professor of Sociology. About 10 folks get on the Amtrak train with me in Salisbury at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. Several of us are going to D.C., and the conductor puts us in one of the rear-most cars. That car is almost full already, and there has only been one stop!

Former NFL Pro Joe Ehrmann, now an ordained minister, will be the keynote speaker for Catawba College's sixth annual Lilly Colloquium on Tuesday, February 24. Ehrmann, who played professional football for 13 years and was selected as the Colts Man of the Year, followed his pro career by matriculating at Dallas Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary before being ordained in 1985.

By Kathy Chaffin, salisburypost.com. When Alex Hartsell was a little boy, his parents told him he could be anything he wanted when he grew up. And he believed them. It didn't matter that he was African-American. What mattered, he said, was that he made up his mind what he wanted to do and put forth the work and effort to accomplish it.

Alarming Study of Industrial Chemicals, Pollutants in Our Bodies is Subject of Center for Environment Presentation: An unsettling study about industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides in humans will be the focus of a talk at the Center for the Environment at Catawba College in February. Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group in Washington, will talk about the research and its implications...

by Alex Will '08. Have you ever been to the Plymouth Rock? Growing up in Plymouth, Massachusetts, I had more field trips there than I care to remember. But one thing I will never forget is that no matter what time of the year it was, one could stand next to the Plymouth Rock and hear multiple languages being spoken. People came from all over the world to see the place where the roots of these United States had been planted.

Catawba College students will watch the inauguration ceremonies and speech of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, from the comfort of the Cannon Student Center on campus. The College's Department of History and Politics has arranged for a widescreen television in the Leonard Lounge area of the Student Center with viewing scheduled to begin at noon on Tuesday, January 20th.

A total of 247 students have been named to the Dean's List for the 2008 fall semester at Catawba College, according to Dr. Edith Bolick, Interim Provost of the College. Students named to the Dean's List have achieved a 3.5 grade point average in 15 or more semester hours.

In May of 2008, Dr. John B. Green, Jr., Associate Professor of Marketing in Catawba College's Ketner School of Business, traveled to China with a group of Catawba students and members of the local community. They visited Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and points in between, exploring the culture and business environment of this emerging Asian giant.

Catawba College alumna Sally Whitney '77 of Mooresville has made a gift to establish the Parham-Whitney Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at her alma mater. The new fund will provide scholarship assistance to deserving females majoring in business.

If you sing, whether in a church choir, a community chorale or in a high school chorus, you are invited to a free voice clinic at Catawba College sponsored by the Departments of Music and Theatre Arts. Led by Leda Scearce, MM, MS, CCC-SLP, a Clinical Coordinator/Speech-Language Pathologist and Professional/Singing Voice Specialist for the Duke Voice Care Center at Duke University Medical Center...

The Catawba College Community Music Program hosted several fall semester performance events for students enrolled in the program. Established in 1984, Catawba Community Music was designed to provide a variety of quality musical experiences including private lessons, music classes, ensembles and performance opportunities to help students of all ages and abilities...

The Catawba College Community Music Program is now enrolling students for spring classes, ensembles and lessons. Providing quality music education and opportunities for students of all ages and levels of ability since 1984, Community Music is located in the Williams Music Building on the campus of Catawba College.

Catawba College offers an event for families and kids of all ages. Enjoy an evening of your Disney favorites, including classic Disney songs from "Mary Poppins," "Pete's Dragon," "Jungle Book," "Sister Act," "Snow White," and more contemporary favorites like "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Little Mermaid," "Tarzan," and "High School Musical." This musical extravaganza is fully costumed...

The City of Salisbury issued Level Two Mandatory Water Conservation Measures late Thursday afternoon (Jan. 8) after a windstorm damaged a Duke Energy Transformer at Salisbury-Rowan Utilities River Pump Station Facility. The mandatory water conservation efforts and restrictions currently in effect include...