Welcome
Welcome to the first edition of E-Lumine, a new electronic newsletter from Bryan College to its email-savvy alumni and friends. We plan to publish E-Lumine regularly, keeping you better informed of what’s happening on campus and what Bryan students, faculty, staff, and alumni are doing.
We invite you to pass along E-Lumine to your friends and to encourage them to contact Bryan and add their names to the E-Lumine distribution list.
Of course, if you do not wish to receive future email editions of E-Lumine, please see the "unsubscribe" section below and follow those directions. But we hope you will enjoy this new electronic newsletter and will stay with us for years to come.
E-Lumine
Martin Luther King Day
Bryan students, faculty and staff observed their first Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day Jan. 17, by helping churches, non-profit agencies and senior citizens tackle projects to clean up, clear out or prepare for their own services throughout Rhea County.
Teams of students and faculty and staff members tackled projects from washing windows in Dayton, to helping churches in Graysville clean up or repair damage from flooding late in 2004. They pulled up old carpet at a Bible camp in Spring City and helped build walkways and clean up a construction site at a Bible camp in Dayton. They helped libraries organize the books on their shelves, played with children in a housing project in Dayton and cleaned up a community park. One team played games with senior citizens after spending time in the kitchen preparing a number of meals for their new friends.
President Dr. Stephen D. Livesay said the day was "significant because we're doing the right thing. Dr. King encouraged us to come together to strengthen our communities, alleviate poverty and foster dignity and respect for all human beings."
Alumni Chapters growing
Four chapters of the Bryan College Alumni Association are organized and looking for alumni in their areas, and more are on the way, Vice President for Advancement Robert F. Davis announced this week.
Chapters in Orlando, Fla.; Dayton, Ohio; Richmond-Petersburg, Va.; and Nashville, Tenn., have begun as pilots for what we hope will be a network of chapters in areas where there is a concentration of alumni.
Alumni in the Orlando area may contact Lewis Alderman Jr., class of 1986, at la1805@aol.com. In the Dayton, Ohio, area, contact Jackie Perseghetti, class of 1982, at perseghetti@donet.com. For Richmond-Petersburg, Va., email John Corcoran, class of 1968, at chaplainjohn@earthlink.net. And those in Nashville, Tenn., may contact Mark Robbins, class of 1980, at robbinsproperties@comcast.net.
Alumni in other areas who would like to connect with their alumni “neighbors” through an alumni chapter of their own may email alumni@bryan.edu for information about organizing a chapter.
Lenten Annual Fund initiative
The period of Lent holds a very special place in the church calendar. Believers take time to cultivate the spiritual soil of their lives in readiness for the planting of the seeds of faith at Easter. Bryan College is challenging alumni and friends to cultivate the soil of love for Bryan College in readiness for the planting of seeds of a deeper commitment to the college.
Three letters and a final phon-a-thon, focusing on Isaiah 40:31 and Hebrews 12:1-2a, will be undertaken between Feb. 11, and April 15. The letters will be mailed to different segments of the college community from Alice Mercer, W. Gary Phillips, Jim Barth, Peter Held, Dr. Livesay, and Robert F. Davis. We trust that you will respond with a generous, sacrificial gift to help the college “run the race with endurance and new strength.”
Enrollment up for Spring
Bryan is reporting one of its highest enrollments ever, with 675 students registered for the Spring semester.
Registrar Janet Piatt said 490 students are enrolled in the traditional program at the Dayton campus. In addition, 185 degree completion students are enrolled in the Aspire program on campus and at Bryan’s off-campus locations in Chattanooga and Cleveland.
Enrollment is up despite 22 seniors graduating in December 2004, thanks to 18 new students enrolling in the traditional program, and a growth in the Aspire ranks. Aspire enrollment jumped by 32 students from the 153 who were registered in the fall.
Lady Lions minister in Bahamas
Thoughts of a winter holiday in the Bahamas brings visions of sun, sand and the beach. But for members of the Lady Lions basketball team, their pre-Christmas missions trip was much more than fun and games.
Coach Matt Bollant and the Lady Lions spent five days and four nights in the Bahamas on a basketball missions trip just before Christmas. And although they played basketball, “mission” was central to the experience.