Greetings from Bryan College.

A new school year is almost ready to begin, and we are excited to welcome another incoming class to the Bryan family.

Dr. D. Michael Lindsay, assistant professor of Sociology and assistant director of the Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life at Rice University, will deliver the convocation address on Aug. 26. Classes and the Spiritual Life Conference begin the next day, and it’s off to the races for the students.

We look forward to bringing you these monthly campus updates throughout the school year, and invite your comments.

We hope to see you on campus whenever you can make it, but especially encourage you to attend Homecoming Oct. 3-5.

August
Aug. 12

6 p.m., 2nd Annual Welcome-to-Bryan Cookout for new faculty and staff and their families at the President's home.

Aug. 14-17
Resident Assistant orientation.

Aug. 18-20
Student Government Association retreat.

Faculty Workshop.

Aug. 19

6 p.m., Back to School Dinner for faculty, staff and their families.

Aug. 20

Worldview Team retreat.

Aug. 21-22

Orientation Group Leaders’ orientation.

Aug. 23

New students arrive.

Aug. 25

Continuing students arrive.

Aug. 26

Registration

7 p.m., Convocation. Dr. D. Michael Lindsay, asst. director, Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life, Rice University, will speak.

Aug. 27

First day of classes

11 a.m., 7:15 p.m., Spiritual Life Conference. Also, 11 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. Aug. 28, and 11 a.m. Aug. 29.

Aug. 30

All-College Picnic

September

Sept. 1

Labor Day. Classes will meet.

Highlight, a single-day visit for students and parents to get an in-depth look at Bryan College.

Sept. 3-4

Worldview School Conference, Lighthouse Ministries, Nashville, TN

Sept. 5-6

PCI Retreat

Sept. 10

4 p.m., Faculty Repertoire, Rudd Auditorium

7 p.m., Worldview Youth Group Conference, Grace Bible Church, Dayton, TN, weekly for five weeks.

Sept. 11

7 p.m., Worldview Parent Information Conference, Providence Academy, Johnson City, TN.

Sept. 12

Worldview Conference, Providence Academy, Johnson City, TN.

E-Lumine - The Electronic Newsletter of Bryan College

Heagen nominated for Rotary Scholarship

Jandi Heagen, a sophomore Communication Studies/Politics and Government major, has been nominated by Rotary Clubs District 6780  to receive a Rotary Cultural Scholarship Grant from Rotary International.

Rotary Scholarships have provided international studies opportunities for nearly 38,000 students since 1947. Students serve as goodwill ambassadors to their host countries and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups.

Jandi, from Zanesville, Ohio, hopes to study in Ecuador, but the country assignment will be made by the Rotary Foundation. She said she is not proficient in Spanish, but has had some classes in the language. “One of the goals of the scholarship is to become proficient in the host country’s language,” she said.

She has been recommended for the award following a selection process that involved the Dayton Rotary Club and Rotary District 6780, which covers East and part of Middle Tennessee. She is the first student sponsored by the Dayton club to be recommended for this scholarship.

Following the local selection, her nomination was forwarded to the district level, where she interviewed with a committee in June. The district committee recently forwarded her nomination to Rotary International, which is expected to announce country assignments late this year. She plans to be in her host country for the fall semester of 2009.

In addition to her studies, she expects to work with local Rotary clubs on service projects, and hopes to teach English in an orphanage.

Bryan President Dr. Stephen D. Livesay said he is pleased with Jandi’s selection. “She is an outstanding student who will represent Bryan College, the Dayton Rotary Club and our Lord well.”

Fall semester opens Aug. 23

New faculty, a renovated cafeteria and more beds in Huston Hall will greet students when they arrive on campus in a few weeks for the 2008-09 academic year.

Four new full-time faculty members will bolster programs in biology, language and linguistics, exercise and health science, and education, while the Worldview Teams have a new director and assistant director, Dr. Cal White, academic vice president, reported.

Early in the summer the operations staff and contractors completed renovations to the cafeteria to better handle feeding a growing student body. They also converted rooms in Huston to hold three beds instead of two, adding a total of 14 spaces.

Director of Enrollment Management Michael Sapienza said a renewed focus on retaining students seems to have paid off, as returning classes at this point seem larger than in the past. Coupled with a good recruiting year, the college is anticipating another increase in enrollment this fall. New students are to report Aug. 23, and returning students are due back on campus Aug. 25.

Mark your calendar now for Homecoming '08!

Mark your calendar and make your travel plans to “Come Home” to Homecoming, Oct. 3-5!

Alumni Director David Tromanhauser said a full weekend is planned for alumni to connect with classmates, honor outstanding alumni, and see how Bryan is growing.

The “Come Home” theme “really expresses our desire for alumni to renew ties with Bryan,” David said. We’re really excited about what is happening here and want to share that excitement, and want alums to catch the vision of what Bryan is becoming, even as we honor our heritage.”

Special events this year include “My Big Fat Greek Luncheon,” for Greek and Bible majors honoring Dr. John Anderson, long-time Greek professor; and induction of Brett Landes, ’82, (basketball), and David Willson, ’90, (soccer), into the Athletics Hall of Fame.

Homecoming will kick off with the alumni golf tournament on Friday, followed by the Good Ole Days and Class Reunions dinners. Alumni honors will be announced at the banquet Saturday, and homecoming will conclude with an alumni chapel service Sunday.

Dr. Debi Bowles Newman, ’83, will speak at the alumni chapel service, as well as in the student chapel on Friday. Dr. Newman is women’s pastor at Christ Church in Plano, Texas. She has worked with the Minirth Meier Clinic for 18 years, and is the author of seven books.

For the full schedule or to register for homecoming, visit the homecoming web site.

Bryan Center seminar to examine role of the church

The Church: What’s the Point?

For those regular churchgoers, the question may seem irrelevant. But for a generation that believes the local church is obsolete and meaningless, yet demonstrates an interest in spiritual matters, the question is critical. This will be the subject for a seminar presented by the Bryan Center for Critical Thought and Practice Sept. 24-27.

Dr. Drew Randle, seminar coordinator, said the issue is one Christians need to understand and answer. “Every generation of Christians needs to make sure that the local church meaningfully reflects what Jesus had in mind when He established the Church. Today, perhaps more than ever, many Christian students and adults, for that matter, see something amiss, or believe that something is missing in the local church, leading many to abandon the local expression of Christ’s body. This is an issue which the Church must address to avoid sliding into a state of cultural irrelevance.”

Three speakers and three breakout group leaders will provide insights and facilitate discussion of the state of the church. Dr. Chip Henderson, senior pastor of Pinelake Church, Brandon, Miss.; the Rev. Scotty Smith, pastor for preaching, teaching and worship of Christ Community Church, Franklin, Tenn.; and Dr. W. Gary Phillips, pastor of Signal Mountain Bible Church, Signal Mountain, Tenn., will speak in plenary sessions. Dr. Paul Boling, professor of Christian Thought and Philosophy at Bryan; the Rev. David Delmotte, pastor of Birchwood Baptist Church in Birchwood, Tenn.; and Dr. Doug Russell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Dayton, Tenn., will lead breakout sessions.

For more information about the program and the speakers, please visit the Bryan Center web site at www.bryan.edu/church.