E-Lumine
June 9, 2006
Articles in this issue:
Computer workshop offers look at IBM products - [ Article Below ] Construction projects nearing completion - [ Article Below ] Triangle clock upgraded - [ Article Below ] Bryan Scholarship Fund needs your help - [ Article Below ]
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Computer workshop offers look at IBM products
Bryan College was host for an IBM Academic Initiative Workshop sponsored by the Appalachian College Association at the end of May.
Earl Reed, director of Bryan’s computer science program, said faculty members from five ACA schools, attended the workshop, which gave participants hands-on experience with several IBM software products which are part of the IBM Academic Initiative and are free to member institutions. The week-long workshop dealt with web site development, but there were sessions on IBM’s DB2 database management system and a system known as Eclipse which facilitates programming in different computer languages. Eclipse was used in Java programming classes at Bryan last year and was well accepted.
One of his purposes in hosting the workshop was to get ideas from colleagues about improving the computer science classroom. “Instead, one faculty member tried to steal R.J. (student R.J. Smith, who helped facilitate the program and is chief technical assistant in the computer science classroom), and one wanted me to come talk to his academic dean about how we’re doing Bryan’s program,” Mr. Reed said.
As a result of the workshop, Mr. Reed plans to incorporate the new database program in his instruction when he next teaches introduction to database management, and to use information he learned about web site development when he next offers a web design class as part of an option in computer graphics that will be a joint effort with the Communication Studies Department.
Construction projects nearing completion
“Finish” is a word that’s beginning to be heard around some of the summer projects on Bryan’s campus, but as this edition of E-Lumine is sent out, work remains to be done.
.jpg) The project nearest completion is installation of the new floor in Summers Gymnasium. Workmen were putting the finishing touches on the floor this week, and operations staff members were cleaning the stands from the sawdust stirred up in the process. Alumni Coordinator Warren Cole said the sections of the old floor with a picture of a lion head and the college logos have been preserved and college personnel are deciding how best to display that piece of history.
 Vice President for Operations Tim Hostetler said work on North Hall is progressing on or ahead of schedule, with workmen ready to begin installing floor covering on the first floor. “We anticipate furniture being delivered by the last week of July, and our contractor assures us everything should be ready for us to furnish the rooms by then,” he said.
At the same time, work is continuing on converting Rhea House to office space for the Advancement Department. Operations employees are doing most of that project, although some will be contracted out, Mr. Hostetler said. The first part of August has been set as the target for moving the department to its new quarters, freeing the space Advancement personnel occupy in Mercer Hall for new occupants before the fall semester begins.
Triangle clock upgraded
 Bryan’s Triangle clock took on a new look and features in May, thanks to gifts from friends of the college.
Vice President for Operations Tim Hostetler said the clock was raised and an irrigated brick flower bed was built around its base. In addition, a satellite module was added to keep the time display accurate, and the clock was connected to a chime system which sounds out the hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.  daily. “For special occasions we can even have music play on the hour,” he said.
The 10-foot-tall Harvard Post Clock originally was installed in 2002 to honor the memory of former Bryan Trustee Billie (Mrs. Cliff) Barrows.
Bryan Scholarship Fund needs your help
God is blessing, students are receiving a quality education, and faculty and staff are working hard to spread the word that good things are happening on Bryan Hill. Maybe that explains why Bryan College is growing – and facing new challenges.
As the fiscal year ends June 30, one of those challenges is meeting the $800,000 goal of the Bryan Scholarship Fund, a critical element in providing a quality Christ-centered education to deserving students.
In recent years some 95 percent of Bryan students have received financial aid to assist with the cost of their education. This academic year it means the college awarded approximately $2.5 million in financial aid, an amount that will increase as enrollment grows.
Financial aid comes from several sources, one of the most important of which is the gifts of alumni and friends who share Bryan College’s vision of Christian education. This year, the Scholarship Fund goal of $800,000 is an unprecedented amount responding to unprecedented need. But the payoff is significant.
For example, this past year the entering class had an average high school grade average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and a 23 average on the ACT. Seniors scored at the top of nationally normed major field exams: Biology majors – 98th percentile; Psychology majors – 95th percentile; Business majors – 95th percentile; and English majors – 94th percentile.
As we prepare to close the fiscal year on June 30, we invite you to make a special gift – an investment – in the academic lives of Bryan students through the Bryan Scholarship Fund. Your gift will help confirm what has been accomplished this year and will set a standard for what can be done in the years to come.
To make a gift on line, click here, or mail your gift to Bryan College, P.O. Box 7000, Dayton, TN 37321.
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