Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, political expert and Professor of Politics at Catawba College was recently featured in several articles discussing the effect of Gov. Bev Perdue's exit from office on voting this May on the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriages in North Carolina. Bitzer says the contested primary is a golden opportunity for those who want the state to remain the only one in the southeast without a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Dan Miller, president of 48 Days, LLC and author of the widely acclaimed 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Dreaded Mondays will be the keynote speaker for the 2012 Lilly Colloquium, to be held at Catawba College on Thursday, February 16, 2012. Miller will speak at 11:00 a.m. in the Omwake-Dearborn Chapel and again at 7:30 p.m. in the Tom Smith Auditorium. Both presentations are free and open to the public.

Catawba College will be among other area colleges, universities and community partners to collaborate as part of a unique educational and civic initiative related to the 2012 election season and the presidential nominating conventions. The program, called "49er Democracy Experience," was launched by UNC Charlotte and will offer many types of educational programming led by UNC Charlotte faculty and others from area colleges and universities, including Catawba College...

Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, political expert and Professor of Politics at Catawba College was recently featured in an article by the Charlotte Observer regarding the possibility of two Charlotte mayors facing off for the N.C. Governor position following Gov. Bev Perdue's announcement that she would not seek re-election.

The Martha Kirkland West Scholars are students from both inside and outside of the state of North Carolina who have demonstrated leadership, community involvement and a strong commitment to teaching. The Scholars are so designated in honor of Catawba College alumna, College trustee and former Teacher Education faculty member, Dr. Martha Kirkland West of Salisbury, N.C. Watch a video of the Teaching Scholars singing the Standards Song...

Noting that only two higher education institutions in the Carolinas were selected to receive a prestigious Duke Energy 2011 Power Partner Award, Catawba College President Joseph B. Oxendine accepted Catawba's award during a Jan. 25 luncheon hosted by Duke Energy on campus. Oxendine explained that Catawba College and Clemson University were the only two higher education institutions tapped for the awards.

By Verity Pryor-Harden, Class of 2015 - Technology's unique ability to continue a man's life after his death and to bring unexpected strangers together is explored in Catawba College's production of "Dead Man's Cell Phone." The production, directed by Theatre Arts adjunct faculty member Craig Kolkebeck in the style of Japanese Noh theatre...

He has been called a visionary for transforming food retailing and has been named among "Tar Heels Who Made a Difference" in the 20th century. Ralph W. Ketner, one of the co-founders of Food Lion and chairman emeritus of the board of Food Lion, Inc. , will deliver the keynote address at Catawba College's ninth annual CEO Lecture on Thursday, March 1. The event is free and open to the public.

As recently as 2004, it would have been unheard of for the Republican Party to spend money on TV ads in North Carolina this early in the election season. The state was a shoo-in for Republican presidential candidates. "I mean it was basically a true part of the Republican Southern base," says Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer.

Four members will be inducted into the Catawba College Athletic Training Hall of Fame on Feb. 18. The induction of the Class of 2012 will take place between noon and 2 p.m. in Peeler Crystal Lounge of the Robertson College-Community Center on campus. The inductees are (with graduation year): Jim Bradley '86 of Mebane; John Lukowski '92 of Irmo, S.C. ; Angela Shirk Sneed '93 of Mooresville; and Jeff Tucker '90 of Jensen Beach, Fla.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. Bobby Lomax '56 graduated from Catawba College, majoring in biology and chemistry as part of his premed studies) by Mark Wineka, SalisburyPost.com - As he marks his 50th year as a Salisbury dentist, Dr. Bobby Lomax still has a way with patients. "I've just always had a good feeling, being in his hands," says Ronald Moose, who went to Lomax for more than four decades. "He just made you feel comfortable, which is not easy."

The Catawba Conservation Camp, a summer camp that teaches middle school girls about the importance of conserving and protecting the natural environment, will continue operating this summer, thanks to a $25,000 Ribbon of Hope grant. In late 2011, the NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation's Board of Directors awarded the Ribbon of Hope grant to Catawba College to continue its Catawba Conservation Camp or C3 that began in 2009 with funding provided by a three-year grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

By Kathy Chaffin, SalisburyPost.com - The more than 100 people who attended Thursday evening's presentation at the Center for the Environment facility on the Catawba College campus learned they had something in common: high ozone levels. They heard about the results of a Piedmont Carolina summer air monitoring study conducted by the Center for the Environment through its Campaign for Clean Air and Dr. Cindy DeForest Hauser, associate professor of chemistry at Davidson College.

College financial aid officers and specialists will be available across North Carolina on Saturday, February 18th to help high school seniors and families complete and submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms online. There will be free FAFSA Day programs in all 100 counties with most sites open from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

The Center for the Environment at Catawba College is now accepting applications for its 2012 National Environmental Summit for High School Students. The event, "Redesigning Our Future," is an intensive experience which is open to high school students who will be juniors and seniors in the 2012-2013 academic year.

A total of 286 students have been named to the Dean's List for the 2011 Fall semester at Catawba College, according to Dr. W. Richard Stephens, Jr., 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. View list of students...

Registration for spring classes that begin the week of January 20 is now underway in Catawba College's Community Music Program. Classes end the week of May 10 with recitals. Since 1984, the program has provided a variety of quality musical experiences including private lessons, music classes and performance opportunities to help students of all ages and abilities in Salisbury and the surrounding areas develop lifelong musical foundations and skills.

Dr. Eric R. Hake, associate professor of economics at Catawba College, presented a paper at the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA)/American Economics Association Conference in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 6, 2012. Seven students, accompanied by two Catawba College faculty, will present four pieces of research at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association.

Catawba College Professors Sean Meyers and Janice Moore Fuller will be on hand for the opening of an exhibit of their photographs and poems on Thursday, January 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Waterworks Visual Arts Center, Delhaize Room. The exhibit entitled "This Has Been My Life All My Life: Portraits of Residents, Lutheran Home-Winston Salem, North Carolina" includes 16 pairings of photographs and poems based on interviews with the residents.

Catawba College was among businesses, colleges and school systems throughout Duke Energy's service territory chosen as a 2011 Power Partner Award recipient. Since 1993, the program has recognized customers who share Duke Energy's commitment to strategic energy solutions and economic development.Catawba was selected because of its participation in Duke Energy's Smart Metering and SmartBuilding Advantage programs.

The annual Blue-White Spring Football game is set for 10:00am on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Come and watch the 2012 Indian squad as they begin the road back from last season's disappointing year. A lot of young players got their first taste of Division II football last fall and will be much improved as a result.

By Dr. Forrest Anderson, Assistant Professor of English - Laura van den Berg, author of the prizewinning short story collection "What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us," will read at Catawba College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18. The event, slated in Tom Smith Auditorium, is free and open to the public.

Dr. Sanford Silverburg, professor emeritus of political science at Catawba College, authored a chapter included in a 2011 book published by Cameron May of London. Dr. James Slate, associate professor of economics at Catawba College, will attend the annual meeting of the Academy of Economics and Finance to be held in Charleston, S.C., Feb. 9-11.

Classes for the third year of Catawba's "J term," concluded on January 4, with 104 students seizing the opportunity to earn course credit online and/or to travel abroad over the break between semesters. While some courses included a travel component and took students to London, France, Nashville and even Nicaragua, other online courses netted them three credit hours in subject areas ranging from English to Psychology.

Please join us for a memorial service honoring the life of our friend Louise Tucker who passed away on December 18th. The service will take place on Sunday, January 22 at 2:00 p.m. in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on campus. A 1944 graduate of Catawba College, she went to work for the College where she served as secretary to the registrar, associate registrar and assistant to the vice president for planning and academic services. She retired in 1986.

Stephanie Bruce grew up in public housing. Now she helps people move out of it. Bruce, 45, serves as the new coordinator for the Family Self-Sufficiency program at Salisbury Housing Authority. Bruce graduated from the program herself in 2004, learning skills and saving enough money to move out of Civic Park Apartments a year later and buy her own home.

Source: AllAccess.com - Clear Channel Alternative WEND (106.5 The End)/Charlotte appoints Dusti Kempf '11 as Programming Asst. replacing Jessica Ray, who will now focus 100% of her time to the Total Traffic Network. Dusti will also program The End's new music show. WEND APD/MD DZL said, "Dusti is a Music Biz major who has just graduated from Catawba College here in North Carolina. She spent her internship time in the programming department here at CC/Charlotte.

The 2012 Class of Catawba Sports Hall of Fame Inductees has been announced. The four members of the Class of 2012 have been selected as follows: John D. Coble (d) '52 Football; Scherrie A. Dalton '98 Women's Soccer; Gregory K. Payne '98 Football and Baseball; Bill H. Wilhelm (d) '57 Baseball Coach.

By Sarah Campbell, SalisburyPost.com - The flip of a coin sent Scott Campbell and Art Franzen on a trek to the highest mountain in the world. The pair, torn between a climb to the base camp of Mount Everest and going up Argentina's Aconcagua, let a simple coin toss be the deciding factor.

Two new and temporary administrative positions were filled Tuesday evening by the Davidson County Board of Education. At the monthly meeting, the board unanimously approved Lydia E. Mack, as the assistant principal of both Midway and Friedberg elementary schools, and retiree Max T. Cole as the temporary assistant principal of Central Davidson Middle School.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Tomsula, a 1990 Catawba College alumnus and native of West Homestead, Pa., has served as defensive line coach for the 49ers since Jan. 16, 2007) by Kevin Lynch, Niner Insider Blog - A source said that 49ers defensive line coach Jim Tomsula may interview or has already interviewed for the University of Pittsburgh's head coach position. Former coach Todd Graham left five days ago to take the job at Arizona State, after former 49ers coach Dennis Erickson was fired at ASU.

Michael Baranski, professor of biology at Catawba College, recently spoke to the Winston-Salem Journal about "Flat Rock" in Stokes County. The rock formation is made up of a mass of granite that is 300 feet long and is one of only two found in the northern part of the Piedmont. "Soils are hard to form on it, and it is very, very dry," says Baranski."

Dr. Dolan Hubbard, a member of the Catawba College Board of Trustees and 1971 alumnus, will spend the 2012 spring semester at Harvard University, where he will be a Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellow at the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research.

In a recent Creative Loafing Charlotte article, Catawba College Professor of Politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer commented on why Larry Kissell may be the political story of 2012.

In a recent WBTV interview, Catawba College Professor of Politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer commented on the endorsement by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley of Mitt Romney for President. Watch the video...

Noted historian David Goldfield writes: "The Civil War killed 620,000 Americans, traumatized survivors, and devastated a vast swath of the country. The war was America's greatest political failure. It was a tragic example of what happens when religious and ideological extremism captures the political process. Could the war have been averted? Could the grand results of that war – the liberation of four million slaves and the salvation of the Union – have been accomplished peacefully?"