Twelve Months of Meredith College Highlights
As a new year and a new semester begin, take a look back at highlights from a year filled with historic moments, academic achievements, special events, Meredith traditions, and more.
January
Alice in Wonderland
Meredith College continued a tradition that began in 1924. Once every four years, faculty and staff perform Meredith’s special version of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Details about the cast are kept secret, and students love to guess who will play each part. Visit the Meredith
Archives site at meredith.edu/library/archives/alice/alice.html for more on this tradition.
February
Social Media Leader Randi Zuckerberg Delivers Woman of Achievement Lecture
Randi Zuckerberg, former head of marketing for Facebook, presented Meredith College’s 2012 Woman of Achievement Lecture on Monday, February 27, 2012. The Woman of Achievement Award recognizes women who are inspirational role models.
Read more here.
March
Inauguration of President Jo Allen, ’80
Meredith College history was made on March 22, 2012, when Jo Allen, ’80, was formally installed as the first alumna to assume the leadership of the 120-year old institution.
The installation ceremony was the culmination of a week of inauguration events honoring Allen, who began as the College’s eighth president in July 2011. Read more here: meredith.edu/marketing/archivesdetails.php?id=10192 and visit meredith.edu/inauguration/video.php for video highlights.
Landis Presents Faculty Distinguished Lecture
Associate Professor of Nutrition, Health and Human Performance Bill Landis presented the 2012 Faculty Distinguished Lecture on March 13, 2012. His lecture, titled “FROM ONE SEED: a Journey from Farm, to Plate, to You,” focused on local food, and featured the premiere of his original short film, “Seed.” Using on-location footage and featuring interviews with growers, scientists, Meredith students, and farmer’s market consumers, the film follows the development of a single organically-grown tomato plant from seed to market. The Faculty Distinguished Lecture has been a tradition at Meredith since 1964.
April
Tenth Celebrating Student Achievement Day Held
On April 17, 2012, Meredith held its Celebrating Student Achievement event for the tenth time. The annual event focuses on student achievement in academics, the arts, leadership and all aspects of college life. Celebrating Student Achievement Day is a showcase of undergraduate research. More than 40% of students participate in undergraduate research while at Meredith. The 2013 event is scheduled for April 16.
May
President Allen’s First Commencement Features College Colors
On Sunday, May 6, 2012, Meredith College held commencement exercises, the first commencement for President Jo Allen, ’80, since her return to Meredith to serve as the College’s first alumna president. Another new aspect of the 2012 event were the maroon caps and gowns worn by undergraduate members of the Class of 2012, who voted to wear regalia in the College color as a way of expressing their pride in Meredith. Four hundred seventy seven degrees were awarded. Of those, 370 were undergraduate degrees, and 107 were graduate degrees. Meredith conferred the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Social Work, as well as master’s degrees in business, education and nutrition during the commencement exercises. Click here for more.
Meredith Dance Selected for National American College Dance Festival Performance
The Meredith College Dance Program represented the Mid-Atlantic American College Dance Festival (ACDF) at the National ACDF festival, May 24-27, 2012, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.
June
Meredith College Hosts Race for the Cure
Meredith College again served as the host site for the Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure. This is one example of the College’s commitment to serving the community. Also in 2012, Meredith hosted community-focused events including the NCICU Ethics Bowl, a panel discussion on North Carolina’s Amendment One vote, workshops for teachers, and more.
July
President Allen Marks First Anniversary at Meredith
July 1, 2012, was the first anniversary of the day Jo Allen, ’80, officially began her tenure as president of Meredith College. Allen called her first year “a whirlwind of meeting, greeting, connecting and learning” as she spent much of this year getting to know Meredith alumnae, students, employees, donors and other Meredith supporters. Read more: meredith.edu/marketing/archivesdetails.php?id=10421
Endowment Establishes First Engineering Scholarship at Meredith
General Norman C. Gaddis, of Durham, N.C., has established the Hazel Lee Gaddis Engineering Scholarship at Meredith College. The endowment is the first scholarship for engineering at Meredith College. Gaddis, a retired Air Force brigadier general, made this gift in memory of his wife, Hazel Lee Gaddis. Click here to read more.
August
Meredith Welcomes Class of 2016
Meredith College welcomed more than 400 freshmen into its Class of 2016 on August 11, 2012. The students came from 15 states and 12 countries, including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Togo. The Class of 2016 includes 60 honors scholars, the largest incoming class of Honors Program participants in Meredith history. This is a 40% increase over the number of honors students who entered in the previous class. Click here for a video of Move-In Day.
Author Jeannette Walls Brings Lessons From “The Glass Castle” to Meredith
Another August highlight was a lecture by Jeannette Walls, author of the 2012 Summer Reading Program selection, “The Glass Castle.” Click here to read more. Click here for a video about the role the Summer Reading Program plays in Meredith students’ First Year Experience.
September
Meredith Celebrates $1 Million Gift from Philanthropist Porter Byrum
Meredith College celebrated the $1 Million gift made by philanthropist Porter Byrum on September 20, 2012. Byrum made this gift in memory of his mother, Isa Ward Byrum, who was a student at Meredith College in the school’s earliest days. The gift will support need-based financial assistance for Meredith students. Watch highlights from the celebration here: youtu.be/uino2lcKv_o.
US News Ranks Meredith #3 in the South
Meredith College is ranked third on the 2013 edition of the U.S. News & World Report list of the South’s Best Regional Colleges. Meredith was also named to the “Great Schools, Great Prices” list, ranked 9th among regional colleges in the South. U.S. News describes this ranking as “taking into account a school’s academic quality, and the 2011-12 cost of attendance for students who receive the average level of need-based financial aid.”
Artist Chris Jordan Brings Mass Consumption Issues to the Forefront
Artist Chris Jordan shared how he uses art to bring attention to mass consumption issues in the Fall Convocation “Running the Numbers: bringing statistics to life through photography.” The lecture was held on September 19, 2012. Much of Jordan’s work has to do with environmental issues, sustainability, the scale of mass consumption, and health. Jordan’s visit also included class visits, an artist-led tour of the NC Museum of Art, and an informal Q&A with students. His visit was sponsored by the Meredith College Convocation Committee, the Department of Art, and through major additional support from the Meredith Environmental Sustainability Initiative, which is funded by a generous grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. Read more here: meredith.edu/enews/announcement_details.php?id=10655
October
Professor of Dance Earns NC Dance Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award
Meredith College Professor of Dance Alyson Colwell-Waber received the North Carolina Dance Alliance (NCDA) Annual Award during the organization’s annual event, October 20-22, 2012. The NCDA Annual Award honors an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to the growth and development of dance in North Carolina. Visit meredith.edu/about/accolades-awards.htm for more awards earned by Meredith faculty, staff, students and alumnae this year.
Cornhuskin’
Cornhuskin’, Meredith’s annual competition between classes, was held October 29 through November 2. This Meredith College tradition began in 1945. Watch a video of the Cornhuskin’ parade here: youtu.be/NL8Brh74YKk and see a timelapse of this year’s Can Art competition here: http://youtu.be/OlORCAd6_p4
November
First Honoring Women Veterans Event Held
Meredith College commemorated Veterans Day with a special event, Honoring Women Veterans, on November 14, 2012, in Jones Chapel. At the event, President Jo Allen said it was fitting that Meredith, as a women’s college, should especially honor women veterans but that the event was meant to salute all veterans. She asked veterans and active duty military in the audience to stand and be recognized. Read more about the event here: meredith.edu/marketing/archivesdetails.php?id=10984 and watch highlights here: youtu.be/PsqMAUPi34w.
Meredith M.Ed. Graduate Earns National Teaching Award
Tiffany Lachenmayr, a graduate of Meredith College’s Master of Education program, has been named North Carolina’s Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award winner. Lachenmayr teaches fourth grade math and science at Garner’s Timber Drive Elementary School. She earned an M.Ed. in elementary education from Meredith College in 2010. Learn more here: meredith.edu/marketing/archivesdetails.php?id=10976
Meredith Fashion Faculty Member Wins International Competition
Assistant Professor of Fashion Merchandising and Design Eunyoung Yang earned first place in a juried gallery exhibition at the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) annual conference. ITAA is a professional, educational association composed of scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines in higher education. This is the second year in a row that Yang has won an award in this competition. Click here for more information. Visit meredith.edu/about/accolades-awards.htm for more awards earned by Meredith faculty, staff, students and alumnae this year.
December
Celebrity Chef Rachael Ray Visits Meredith
Celebrity chef and TV host Rachael Ray discussed her latest book, “My Year in Meals,” at Meredith College on December 10, 2012. Rachael Ray’s visit to Meredith College was sponsored by Quail Ridge Books. Click here for more.
In this Issue:
Twelve Months of Meredith College Highlights
Ghana Service Trip Supports Meredith’s Sisters United Effort
Founders’ Day Lecture to Be Held February 20
Chemistry Majors and Faculty Attend American Chemical Society Regional Meeting
Meet Meredith’s Student Phonathon Supervisors
Meredith Athletics –Always In Season
Have you presented research or attended a professional meeting recently? Has your department earned an award? Share news of these accomplishments and more with the Meredith community. Faculty and staff are invited to email items to Melyssa Allen, “Campus Connections” editor, at allenme@meredith.edu.