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Vision 2010 Task Forces Launch As the spring semester begins, the Vision 2010 strategic planning process also begins a new phase, with the launch of task forces designed to support the College's efforts to be a nationally recognized women's college known for its academically rigorous and transformative education. Vision 2010 marks the beginning of a new cycle of long-range comprehensive strategic planning for Meredith. Meredith's last strategic planning process, which resulted in Initiative 2000, began in 1996. "The Vision 2010 effort will identify priorities for Meredith and strategies for reaching them that will take the College to a new level of excellence," said President Maureen A. Hartford. "The Vision 2010 committee is working with all constituencies of the College to formulate the final plan, which will be presented to the Board of Trustees for its endorsement in June." The six Vision 2010 task forces are
Facilitator training for task force members will be held on January 18. More information on Vision 2010 will be found in future issues of "In A Nutshell" and on the Meredith web site. Meredith Mourns Loss of Alumna Margaret C. Martin, '30
"With Margaret Martin's death, Meredith lost a beloved alumna, friend and supporter," said Meredith President Maureen A. Hartford. "We also lost her unique insight into 75 years of Meredith history. The whole College mourns her death." Martin, who served as student government association president during her senior year, graduated from Meredith in 1930 with degrees in Latin and history. Following graduate study at Columbia University, she served as an instructor and later an assistant professor of Latin and English at both Meredith and NC State from 1953-62. She has also been a member of the board of trustees and the alumnae association. From 1964-1970, Martin served as Meredith's director of alumnae affairs. She was the second person to hold the position. Martin is survived by a son, Zeno Martin, Jr., of Bermuda Run, N.C., two sisters, Mary Blackburn of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Fay Wills of Morehead City, N.C., and nieces and nephews. On Sept. 30, Meredith College formally renamed a newly renovated academic building in honor of Margaret Martin. The building, Margaret C. Martin Hall, houses the department of foreign languages and literatures along with the department of human environmental sciences (HES). During the dedication ceremony, Board of Trustees Chair Eugene Langley called the newly named building a "fitting tribute to Margaret Martin's contributions to Meredith College." Langley noted that Martin has "left her finger prints on every part of Meredith College" as a student, alumna, staff member, faculty member, member of two boards and as a philanthropist. Meredith Student Government Association President Mary Hemphill, '05, called Martin an "example of accomplishment…a great student, great leader, great educator and most of all, a great woman." Memorial contributions may be directed to the Division of Institutional Advancement, Meredith College, 3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, N.C., 27607, for the Margaret Martin Scholarship Fund.
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Meredith Mobilizes to Provide Relief to Tsunami Victims
Ideas and plans for Meredith's response began almost immediately after students returned to campus on January 9 for the start of the spring semester. Meredith's service council held a forum to gather input from the Meredith community on Monday, January 10. Betty Webb, English professor and study abroad director, and her husband John Rose, led Meredith's chapel service on Wednesday, January 12. The couple recounted their personal experiences in Sri Lanka on Christmas Day, one day prior to the tsunami. President Maureen Hartford has also assembled a special group -- to be led by Campus Minister Sam Carothers -- that is working to put together the infrastructure for a coordinated, sustained Meredith response. "I really want the shape and scope of the response to be defined by the community…," Carothers said. "The creative aspect of campus life, and especially this campus, will really drive our efforts." According to Carothers, the College has decided on a two-pronged strategy for providing relief to people in the affected regions. "At this point, we are focusing on fundraising for an international relief agency," Carothers explains. "However, as we do our homework, we will soon be hearing proposals that make our relief efforts more personal and that perhaps place Meredith people in the region." Individual students, faculty and staff committees and other campus organizations have begun planning their own fundraisers. For example, Carothers said he has been in touch "with a student who is planning a silent art auction and another student who taught herself to make jewelry and is planning to make and sell a very attractive bracelet that she designed." Although campus wide relief efforts are still in the formative stages, Dean of Students Ann Gleason has been impressed by the ideas that have surfaced to date. "The initial response from Meredith students, faculty and staff has demonstrated the kind of care and compassion that the Meredith community is known for," she said. "I have heard ideas from colleagues and students that are action-oriented and inspiring. I expect that the coordinated campus response will be generous, creative and sustained." President Hartford also has great expectations for Meredith's relief effort. "The Meredith community has long been known for its caring, compassionate response to the needs of others, and the people affected by this tragedy are in desperate need of the thoughtfulness, compassion and generosity that characterize our campus," she said. "Together, we will mount an inspirational effort to help our neighbors around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by this recent disaster." Additional information about the college's relief efforts will be announced through campus wide e-mails and a special "Meredith Responds" web site. For more information about Meredith's relief efforts, contact Sam Carothers, at ext. 8347 or carotherss@meredith.edu.
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Meredith alumna Margaret C. Martin, who had a 75-year history with Meredith College, died on December 14. She was 95 years old.
As Meredith faculty, staff and students focus on the beginning of a new semester, the campus community has turned its attention to helping the victims of the December 26 tsunami disaster that has devastated parts of Asia and Africa.