Dr. Jim Shepherd is Catawba College's new director of choral music and assistant professor of music. He will join the faculty at the college in August for the start of the 2012-2013 academic year. Shepherd comes to Catawba from Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, where he served during the 2011-2012 academic year as assistant professor and director of choral and vocal music.

Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, chair of and an associate professor of history and politics at Catawba, says the June 28 U.S. Supreme Court decision on President Barack Obama's health care law "turned out to be a definitive legal and policy victory for the President, but perhaps a political victory for the Republicans in the long run."

Political expert and Catawba College professor of politics Dr. J. Michael Bitzer will be offering insight on the U.S. Supreme Court's health care decision today, June 28, at 10:00 a.m. Tune in to the News 14 Carolina website, which will be streaming LIVE COVERAGE.

by Julian B. "Duke" Thompson '41 - Julian B. "Duke" Thompson and Betty Sumey Thompson ’43 met while students at Catawba and recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Betty and Duke were married in April of 1942 in Florida, and then again, two months later in Pennsylvania due to military regulations and war time interference.

Catawba College alumnus and trustee, Daniel Bross '71 of Seattle, Wash., who serves as Microsoft's Senior Director Corporate Citizenship, was included in "Treasury & Risk" magazine's annual "100 Most Influential People in Finance" list for 2012. The 2012 list focuses on CFOs, treasurers and risk managers who impacted the world of finance and treasury this year.

Catawba College professor of politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer was featured in a recent article on the CharlotteObserver.com website. The article discussed the emerging dynamic between Phil Berger and Thom Tillis.

Thirty-four Catawba College freshmen and 13 members of a college leadership team of upper class students, faculty and staff spent two and a half days participating in the June Lilly Center Freshman Retreat. The retreat, which allowed the incoming students an opportunity to explore what it means to be a college student and how to be successful in one's college experience, was held June 22-24 at Johns River Valley Camp in Collettesville, N.C.

Evangelist Bill F. Sheeks, a 1956 Catawba College graduate, will lead a four-day revival July 1-4 at Fellowship of Praise Church of God. Sheeks was born in Kannapolis, N.C., in 1934 and began his ministry after graduating from Lee College in 1954. He received his bachelor's degree from Catawba and his master's and doctorate degrees from the California Graduate School of Theology in 1979.

Two hundred and twenty three students enrolled for summer school classes at Catawba College. Of this total, 116 came from the day program and 107 from the School of Evening and Graduate Studies.

Catawba College and the Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Clapp, the college's chaplain and senior vice president, were recognized at the annual conference of the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ. The June 14-16 conference event, held at the Holiday Inn in Salisbury, was hosted by the Western Association.

Catawba College alumnus Kevin Leonard, lobbyist for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, was promoted to deputy director. Leonard will share the deputy director title with Patrice Roesler. Leonard has been with the association since 2009 and has worked for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and for the state Department of Labor as a lobbyist. Leonard graduated from Catawba in 1995 with a degree in Political Science.

Catawba College professor of politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer was featured in a recent article on the NewsObserver.com website. The article discussed N.C. Rep. David Price's newly unveiled legislation that would restructure financing of presidential elections by substantially increasing the public tax dollars used to match private contributions.

On the June 20 edition of News14 Carolina's Capital Tonight, Catawba College Professor of Politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer and James Kotecki discuss the polarization of politics in America, and Larry Shaheen and Dan McCorkle duke it out in our Quick Takes Section.

Jonathan Jackson of Moyock, NC was elected as Governor of the American Legion Tar Heel Boys’ State Wednesday, June 20 during the week-long event held at Catawba College. Jonathan is a rising senior at Currituck County High School. He is the son of Rebecca Logan and Steven Jackson.

Catawba College Alumnus Glen Lloyd has been named the new Assistant Director of Multicultural Programs at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Lloyd's duties will include overseeing the Mentoring for Student Success Program, advising the Diversity Leadership Council, and developing outreach methods to the campus community.

We have just the event to get your competitive juices flowing! Come and enjoy the Silent Auction on Thursday, August 2 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Kirkland Lobby of Goodman Gymnasium on campus.

Visit www.catawba.edu on your mobile device - Catawba is pleased to announce the launch of a mobile app that is universally device-friendly. The app is built for a touch-optimized user interface system for all popular mobile device platforms, smartphones, and tablets and does not require installation or a download.

"The Checklist Manifesto," by Atul Gawande is the common summer reading for the incoming class of first-year students at Catawba College. These students will be discussing this text during orientation in August and during their fall semester first-year seminar classes.

In a recent News14 Carolina interview, Catawba College Professor of Politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer commented on North Carolina's unemployment rate, which was 9.4 percent in May, well above the national average of 8.2 percent. "Realistically they need the unemployment rate to continue to go down," Bitzer says, "Holding steady or even increasing a little is really going to be problematic."

Catawba College 2003 alumnus Josh Jordan will join the baseball coaching staff at Duke. Jordan, a former Hunter Huss High standout, is joining the Blue Devils baseball coaching staff as an assistant coach. Jordan played baseball at Catawba, helping the Indians claim the 2002 South Atlantic Conference title before embarking on a 10-year coaching career.

William Lacy Swing, a 1956 alumnus and six-time U.S. Ambassador, will be honored on June 26 by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) for his many contributions and lifetime of public service.

St. Thomas Players, the award-winning theatre company of the Center for Faith & the Arts, will present Dinner with Friends, written by Pulitzer prize winner, Donald Margulies. Dinner with Friends will be presented in the Florence Busby Corriher Theatre on the campus of Catawba College on June 14-16 and 21-23 at 7:30pm and June 17 at 2:30pm.

In a recent News14 Carolina interview, Catawba College Professor of Politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer commented on the advertising battle that is just beginning over two hotly contested congressional seats in North Carolina. "The airwaves are just going to be completely over taken by campaign commercials," Bitzer says.

Catawba College will host the 73rd annual session of Tar Heel Boys' State June 17-23. This is the ninth consecutive year that the weeklong event has been held on campus and approximately 300 participants, all rising high school seniors from North Carolina, are expected. Notable state leaders traditionally speak at sessions during Tar Heel Boys' State. Past speakers have included the N.C. governor and lieutenant governor, the N.C. attorney general and secretary of state...

A total of 101 students have been named to the Presidential Honor Roll List for the 2011-2012 academic year at Catawba College, according to Dr. W. Richard Stephens, Jr., Provost of the College. Students named to the Presidential Honor Roll List have achieved a 3.7 grade point average in 30 or more semester hours. Students on the 2011-2012 academic year Presidential Honor Roll List include...

A total of 263 students have been named to the Dean's List for the 2012 Spring 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.

By Hugh Fisher, for the Salisbury Post - The holidays bring with them joy and splendor, warm memories and favorite songs, comfort foods and family memories. The challenge for many Americans is not just enjoying the season, but surviving it. Erin Wood, assistant professor of psychology at Catawba College, said that two of the keys to happier, healthier holidays are positive attitude and realistic expectations.

Several open houses for Catawba's Evening Program are scheduled during the month of June. Prospective students will have the opportunity to learn more about the evening degrees offered by the School of Evening & Graduate Studies. View details on the open houses and programs below...

Catawba College is pleased to announce that Dr. W. Richard Stephens, Provost, is one of 20 senior college administrators selected by the Council of Independent Colleges to participate in a year-long Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program for prospective college and university presidents.

The family of Marvin A. "Skeeter" and Ann Francis has established a scholarship at Catawba College. Although Ann Francis and her late husband, Marvin, never attended Catawba, their son, Marvin A. Francis, Jr. did, and is an alumnus from Catawba's class of 1979.

Beginning with this fall's incoming first-year class, Catawba College students will need to complete community service hours to officially graduate with honors. That proposal was approved unanimously last year by both the Student Council and the Honors Faculty Board at Catawba.

Several top names in sports writing and sports broadcasting from around the nation filed into Salisbury on Saturday, June 9 for the 53rd National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Induction. The banquet was held in Goodman Gym on the Catawba College campus. View the list of honorees who were scheduled to be in attendance.

The Catawba College Board of Trustees elected a new slate of officers at its May meeting. Darlene Landis Ball of Greensboro, a 1962 alumna of Catawba, was elected chair of the board, succeeding Paul Fisher of Salisbury. Ball had served on the board since 2001 and served as its vice chair since 2008.

By Sarah Campbell, salisburypost.com - Jametta Gilmore applies for at least two jobs a day. It's a pace she's been holding steady since graduating from Livingstone College on May 5. Robin Perry, director of career services at Catawba College, said Gilmore has the right idea.

In a recent WSOC-TV interview, Catawba College Professor of Politics and political expert Dr. J. Michael Bitzer commented on the effect of the second month in a row of meager job gains to the stock market and experts' optimism.

Athena Bless of Asheboro, NC, a member of the Women's Soccer team is in Paraguay this summer on a sports mission trip with "Athletes in Action." Athena is sharing her experiences and photos through her blog below...

June 10-16 will be the 73rd consecutive year of Tar Heel Girls State, and for the twelfth year, Catawba College will host the weeklong session. At the annual event, sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of North Carolina, several hundred girls from across North Carolina, all high school juniors who are academically in the top third of their class, will participate.

Lindsay Smith of Salisbury contends that her research data supports her theory that there is a correlation between head injuries and Alzheimer's disease. The research she outlined in a paper presented at a super-regional convention of Alpha Chi, national college honor society, was so convincing to the scholarship committee that it won her an Alpha Chi Region III scholarship.

Concussion-resistant helmets will be purchased with funds raised in the 18th annual Catawba Football Golf Classic held May 11 at the Warrior Golf Club in China Grove. Catawba Head Football Coach Chip Hester said the fundraiser "really just exploded this year." "I think we had a worthy cause that people just wanted to be a part of and it was fueled by great leadership ," Hester explained. "The response was overwhelming and people really got behind the effort."

Catawba baseball's historic post-season ride in 2012 came to an end in another one-run affair in the semifinals of the NCAA II College World Series in Cary, N.C. Despite an outstanding pitching effort from Nick Lomascolo on three days rest, Catawba could not muster much offense in falling 2-1 to West Chester.

A current and a retired Catawba College employee have been honored with new scholarships established in their honor. Joanna Jasper, Catawba's chief information officer, and David E. Setzer, who retired in 1997 as special assistant to the president after 36 years of service, were honored with the scholarships created by gifts from an anonymous donor.

2007 Catawba alumna Lauren Ebersole of Hagerstown, Md., recently wrapped up her 27-month stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Indonesia. Read about her final goodbyes and about the adventures she shared while being posted there...

People who know Jay Baker realize he's been riding a bicycle most of his life. The same could be said about his dedication to firefighting. So when those two worlds come together in this year’s inaugural Carolina Brotherhood ride from Wilmington to Asheville, Baker will be one of the 30 firefighter cyclists pedaling for the family of a fallen brother.