Greetings from your friends at Bryan College.

Our new school year opens in just a few days, and the campus soon will be filled with students preparing to make a difference in today’s world.

In this issue of E-Lumine, we take a look back at the accomplishments of the summer and a look ahead at some of the exciting plans and prospects for the coming year. Homecoming and the Bryan Center seminars on worldviews in September and human life in October are three events we hope you will plan to attend.

As always, we invite you to pass E-Lumine along to friends and classmates who may not be receiving this on-line communication from Bryan. Encourage them to add their email address to our mailing list. Also, should your preferences change, please follow the link at the bottom of this page.

E-Lumine

We are resending this issue of E-Lumine because we have had a number of reports that readers were unable to open pictures. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. Thanks for your understanding.

Record enrollment anticipated

It’s almost New Year, on the academic calendar, anyway, and it looks like things will be starting off with a bang.

New students are to arrive on campus Aug. 20, returning students are due back Aug. 22, and classes are to begin Aug. 24.

Bryan President Dr. Stephen Livesay said he is excited about enrollment for this fall, anticipating a record number of students to register. Based on the number of students who have made enrollment and housing deposits, the college is expecting more than 220 new students on campus. The largest entering class to date numbered 199.

“Adding this wonderful entering class to our returning student body, plus those enrolled in the Aspire degree completion program, we anticipate 750 students enrolled at Bryan this fall,” Dr. Livesay said. Later this month, the college will also be enrolling additional students in on-line distance learning programs. “This record enrollment will be a significant step toward our goal of 1,200 students in the next few years.”

Because of the projected enrollment, residence halls—including Rhea House—are full.

Michael Sapienza, director of admissions and financial aid, said at least two factors contributed to the jump in enrollment. Early this year the offices of admissions and financial aid were combined, producing more open communication between the two staffs and better coordination of efforts. The technology staff also provided computer programs to allow staff members to better track prospective students’ progress toward admission.

Second, he said, the addition of men’s and women’s cross country teams has created additional interest that is drawing students.

Challenging speakers on tap this fall

The chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will headline a list of outstanding speakers coming to Bryan College this fall.

Michael Cromartie, recently elected chairman of the Commission on International Religious Freedom, will deliver the convocation address as school formally opens on Aug. 24.

Mr. Cromartie is vice president at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of both the Evangelicals in Civic Life and Religion and the Media programs. He is host of Radio America’s weekly broadcast “Faith and Life” and an advisory editor of Christianity Today.

He is the editor of 12 books on religion, politics, and society, most recently Religion, Culture, and International Conflict: A Conversation.

In September the Bryan Center for Critical Thought and Practice will present a seminar titled “Defining Worldview.” Speakers for the Sept. 25-27 program include Nancy Pearcey, the Francis A. Schaeffer scholar at the World Journalism Institute and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute; Dr. James Olthuis, professor of philosophy and religion at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Canada; Dr. David Noebel, founder of Summit Ministries; Dr. David Naugle, chair of the department of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University; and Dr. James Sire, retired editor of InterVarsity Press and campus lecturer for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

October’s Bryan Center topic, “The Law and What It Means To Be Human,” will feature presentations by Dr. Gerald Bradley of the Notre Dame Law School; Dr. Christine Rosen from The Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Jerry Zandstra of the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Dr. H. Wayne House, president of Oregon Theological Seminary; and Dr. Hadley Arkes of Amherst College.

“A Bryan education is both broad and deep, thanks to the outstanding work of a dedicated faculty,” President Livesay said. “The speakers we bring to campus enhance the quality of the educational program, challenging students to dig deeper into critical issues our world faces. We are excited with the line-up of speakers we have this fall and believe they will certainly set the tone for a great year.”

Operations busy during the summer

When students return to campus in a few days, they will see a nearly completed Communication Studies building and a few other changes on campus, reflecting a busy summer by the Operations staff.

Tim Hostetler, vice president of Operations, said work in the former shop building has reached the point that Communication Studies faculty will be able to move into their new offices shortly, freeing space in the former Communication Studies building for renovation.

Focal point of the new building is the atrium which connects the two older structures. Masons are bricking the exterior while work continues to finish the interior. A feature of the atrium will be a display of student and faculty art, a new bust of William Jennings Bryan, as well as a video screen offering visitors a choice of short informational programs about the college.

One change will be apparent to students even before they arrive on campus. Mr. Hostetler said in response to suggestions from students the Bryan Bookstore no longer will stock textbooks but will order textbooks requested on line. “Textbooks are listed on the Bryan web site and can be ordered through the bookstore or ordered on line through other retailers’ sites,” he said. “We expect this change will save students between $100 and $200 a year in book costs.”

Other summer projects include:

• Replace the roof on Woodlee-Ewing residence hall
• Add four card access entry points for Woodlee-Ewing
• Build a sidewalk through the woods behind Long residence hall
• Reconfigure the Long ground floor to a men’s residence hall
• Complete work on the Spoede Café in the library

In addition, the operations staff supported three conferences and two Summit sessions that brought some 1,600 visitors to campus.

Plan now to attend Homecoming

Dedication of a new statue of William Jennings Bryan and of the Rankin Communication Studies Center will highlight the 75th Anniversary Homecoming celebration Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

The statue, to be located on the Rhea County Courthouse lawn facing Bryan Hill, is a gift in recognition of the relationship between the college and the community, tracing back to the 1925 Scopes Evolution Trial, Bryan President Dr. Stephen D. Livesay said.

“While he was here for the Scopes Trial, William Jennings Bryan said Dayton would be an ideal location for a college that would educate students with the Bible as its guiding authority,” Dr. Livesay said. “Mr. Bryan died in Dayton five days after the trial, and his dream came true five years later, when William Jennings Bryan University opened. We are grateful that friends of the college made this special tribute possible.”

Chattanooga sculptor Cessna Decosimo was commissioned to create the statue, and chose to portray Bryan as he appeared about 1891, when he was first elected to Congress. In discussing his work, Mr. Decosimo said the date is significant because it also is the year in which the Rhea County Courthouse was built.

The dedication service will feature music by a community choir and the Bryan Chorale, remarks by federal, state and local officials and cutting a 75-foot-long birthday cake for friends to enjoy. After lunch, the college also will dedicate the Rankin Communications Studies Building, a facility made possible through a bequest from the estate of alumna Joanne Rankin, ’56.

The Rankin Center is an adaptive combination of the former Communication Studies and shop buildings, providing expanded faculty office space, classroom and labs, and work space for student publications.

In addition to traditional activities such as class reunions and athletic contests, the Bryan Choir will present a concert Oct. 1, featuring an excerpt from the opera “Baby Doe,” which includes William Jennings Bryan among the characters.

Homecoming will conclude Sunday with an alumni worship service. Speaker will be Dr. John Oliver, professor of practical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C., who spoke regularly at Bryan conferences in years past.