December 14, 2007

     Bryan College will celebrate its first winter graduation ceremony Dec. 21, as some 80 students are expected to receive their degrees.

     Academic Vice President Dr. Cal White said the college administration decided to add the second commencement service as the growth in enrollment resulted in increasingly large May graduations.

     “With our growth in enrollment, we realized our May graduations would become larger and larger, making it difficult to maintain the personal touch that is a Bryan hallmark,” Dr. White said. “Also, it was becoming more and more of a challenge to provide seating for family and friends.”

     Another contributing factor was the nature of the Aspire degree completion program, which has groups of students completing their coursework throughout the year, rather than only in May and December as is the case with traditional students. “For these students, as well as our traditional students who finish in December, we felt giving them a commencement service closer to their actual completion of courses would be appropriate,” Dr. White said.

     While some 200 students received their diplomas this past May, the first December graduating class will have some 80 members, he said.

     Awards will be presented to the traditional graduate and the Aspire graduate having the highest academic record in their respective programs.

     Dr. W. Gary Phillips, pastor of Signal Mountain Bible Church and former professor of Bible and Philosophy at Bryan, will be the speaker.

     High conference and regional performances earned Bryan’s men’s cross country team and women’s volleyball team trips to national championships this fall.

     The men ran their way to the Appalachian Athletic Conference championship and the NAIA Region XII championship Nov. 3, 25 points ahead of second-place Milligan. After the race, Coach Rodney Stoker was named AAC Coach of the Year, five runners were named to the All Conference first team and four to the All Freshman team.

     All Conference honors went to Daniel Goetz, Zach Buffington, Josh Bradley, Bryson Harper and Zach Mobley. All Freshman honors went to Mat Albin, Hunter Hall, Bryson Harper and Zach Mobley.

     At the NAIA national championship, the Lions finished in 27^th place, with Daniel Goetz first across the line in 65^th place.

     The volleyball team shook off injuries to two key players to battle to the AAC tournament finals before falling to tournament champion King. Still, they earned the right to advance to the NAIA Region XII tournament, where they again finished second after a five-game battle in the title match. The Lady Lions placed two players on the region All Tournament team, Gabrielle Claxton and Kathryn Rawley, and two—Gabrielle Claxton and Robin Renfroe—on the All Region first team. Kathryn Rawley was named to the All Region second team.

     Coach Leo Sayles and his charges accepted a bid to the NCCAA national tournament, played Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in St. Paul, Minn. The team lost their first two matches in pool play, but bounced back to defeat Southwestern Assemblies of God 3-0 in their final game.

     During the tournament Robin Renfroe was named an NCCAA first team All American and Amber Smith was named to the All Tournament team.

     The Bryan administration is embarking on a ‘final stretch’ fundraising effort for completion of the long-awaited new entrance to the college from U.S. 27.
     With half the needed $1.5 million already raised, the decision to press ahead has been made. Bryan’s increased enrollment, the number of visitors to campus events, and the benefits of exposure to the 25,000 cars that daily pass where the new entrance will be located have driven this move.
     Bryan President Dr. Stephen Livesay said, “The Board of Trustees fully recognizes that the Bryan Drive entrance has served the school well over the years, but growth, safety, and the overall look of the new facilities on ‘the hill’ will best be served by completing the entranceway. God continues to bless Bryan College with increasing student enrollment and as prospective students and their families visit the campus, our desire is that our faculty, staff, and facilities will continue to play a part in God’s leading.”

     An athletics facilities improvement effort that has spanned more than a year comes to a close this month as workers put finishing touches on an addition to Summers Gymnasium.

     Vice President of Operations Tim Hostetler said the 5,742-square-foot office and locker room complex was the final step in a project that included construction of a practice gymnasium, construction of an athletic training room on the west side of Summers, and renovation to the traditional front of the gym.
     Before the new semester begins, the coaching staff is to move into the second floor of the newest addition to Summers. Each head coach and the new sports information director will have a private office, and assistant coaches will share office space. There is a conference/signing room and a work area on the upper level. The first floor, on the same level as the Summers game floor, houses the Bryan men’s and women’s team locker rooms.
     Perhaps the most striking addition to the upper level is a new façade which compliments architectural elements of other campus buildings. Also upstairs are exercise and weight rooms.
     Dillard Construction of Dayton was contractor on the $1.15 million project.
     “In the past year we have improved the athletics facilities at the college for our intercollegiate teams and provided significant benefits for our intramural program and for students who want to exercise on their own,” Mr. Hostetler said. “These new facilities will help provide a quality overall program as we work toward eventual construction of the new athletics center.”