James Harrison Hines, Jr., a 1982 alumnus of Gardner-Webb, is no stranger to joys and challenges in serving his community. For him, a career in public health is a call that is largely shaped by the legacy of his father who was both an environmental health and a mental health advocate in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad Region. With a Master of Arts degree in Health Education from Gardner-Webb and over 20 years of experience with the Cleveland County Health Department, it was only fitting that Hines be named the new Director of the Rutherford-Polk-McDowell District Health Department on Monday, March 1, 2010. In a special to The McDowell News, Mike Conley, describes Hine’s attention to the individual’s healthcare needs in partnership with the cooperating community as innovative, and not a “cookie-cutter approach.” Click here to read more about Hine’s public healthcare initiatives for Rutherford, Polk, and McDowell counties.

Batter up to the plate for Gardner-Webb’s Annual Beep Ball Game event sponsored by the Noel Program for Students with Disabilities. Beep Baseball is an alternative form of baseball which uses beeping balls and bases, and in Bulldog Country the competition is on between the blind/visually impaired students and blindfolded faculty/staff at the University. Come out to the Softball Field on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 3:00p.m.and see if the students will be victorious for the 18th consecutive year. A social with food and games will follow the ball game at Frank Nanney Hall from 5:00p.m.-6:00p.m. For more information on this event, please contact Sandy Hammett, NOEL Program Disabilities Specialist, by phone at 704.406.3615 or by e-mail at shammett@gardner-webb.edu

Gardner-Webb won its first-ever Big South women’s basketball regular-season championship, and has earned the No. 1 seed in this week’s Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championship, it was announced today by the League office. All games of the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Tournament will be played at the Millis Center on the campus of High Point University. The Lady Bulldogs posted a 15-1 record in Big South play. To learn additional information about the other teams in the Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championship, please click here.

The Gardner-Webb University Department of Fine Arts proudly presents a unique lecture entitled “Melodic Treasures” to be held in Blanton Auditorium, located in Hamrick Hall on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 8:00p.m. Janey Pease, an Adjunct Professor for Gardner-Webb’s Departments of Fine Arts and Psychology will lead the presentation in Express Arts Therapy. Pease identifies Expressive Arts Therapy as a rapidly growing area that focuses on the healing effects promoted by the creative process. Physical, psychological, and spiritual well being is nurtured in interpretative movement, therapeutic writing, sculpting and pottery, painting, music, storytelling, and even ecotherapy, which involves interacting with nature and the outdoors. The lecture will survey the history, theory, and practice of expressive arts therapy, and will include poetry and music.

Gardner-Webb University’s Department of Fine Arts and the Center for Continuing Professional Education presents “Brass Fest 2010” to be held Saturday, April 17, 2010 beginning at 9:00a.m and culminating with a special performance by the world-renowned Carolina Brass at 8:00p.m. Through clinics, masterclasses, and performances, this workshop will provide practical learning experience that will contribute to the continued proficiency of music students and educators alike. Topics for discussion include Careers and Creating Opportunities in Music, How to Practice, Preparing for Auditions, Contest Festivals, Judging, Jazz Improvisation, and more! Music educators can earn one of live continuing education credit for ten hours of continuing education. Participants, please bring your instruments!

At Gardner-Webb University our students are committed to using what they learn both inside and outside of the classroom to transform the world around them. That dedication to helping others has earned us a place on the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college can receive for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Our students and faculty deserve all the credit. This honor goes to each person on this campus that identified a challenge, organized a group of committed individuals and worked to be part of the solution. Tutoring kids, managing afterschool programs, feeding the hungry—our students did all this and more. We believe that service is how we will meet the challenges of our time, and we are proud that our students exhibited the leadership needed to make an impact on future direction of our nation.

The C.O. and Eliza Greene Lecture Series presents Dr. Marva Dawn on “The Theology of Suffering” to be held on Tuesday, March 23 beginning at 9:30a.m.in Blanton Auditorium, located on the main level of Harmick Hall at Gardner-Webb University. Dr. Dawn is the Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an internationally renowned theologian, author, and educator with Christians Equipped for Ministry who has preached and taught at seminaries and other religious forums throughout the United States and all over the world. An expert teacher in worship, Bible, community life, ethics, homiletics, and spiritual formation, Dr. Dawn continues to share her wisdom in over 20 books and 15 articles, some of which have won awards and others translated into Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese.

Gardner-Webb University invites you and a guest to the Raleigh Regional Alumni Event to be held on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at the home of alumnus Steve Simpson. This event, sponsored by Steve Simpson, Class of 1971 and Hal Elliott, Class of 1972, will begin at 6:00p.m.with a Gathering and Social. A complimentary dinner will follow at 6:30p.m.and a brief program at 7:15p.m. During this perfect opportunity to connect with classmates and alumni living in your region, you will hear an update on the interesting things taking place at the University. Register today and reunite with your Bulldog family!

It’s time to lace up your dancing shoes for a Gardner-Webb University Jazz Ensemble concert to be held on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8:00p.m in the O. Max Gardner Recital Hall. Under the direction of Dr. Matt Whitfield, Professor of Music and Director of Bands, fifteen Gardner-Webb faculty and student singers and musicians will perform an array of classical and contemporary jazz selections like “Satin Doll”, “Route 66”, and “Green Onions” that will set the rhythm for patrons in their seats or those on their feet. Though the event is free and open to the public, a good will offering will be collected during the evening.

Recently, I got to spend a few moments on the phone with Dr. Shirley Toney, Dean Emerita and Professor Emerita of Gardner-Webb University’s School of Nursing as well as author of Gardner-Webb University School of Nursing-History & Heritage. I was particularly intrigued by the book’s character that portrays a living testament. It does indeed chronicle the development of the School of Nursing, but it also reflects the personal histories of the those people who are the very heartbeat of the School of Nursing. It is a legacy story filled with pictures and anecdotes of the Gardner-Webb nursing family-students, alumni, staff, and faculty. Certainly, Dr. Toney captures the book’s meaning best when she writes, “Writing the book was a trip down memory lane–it needed to be written to recognize people, dedication, time, events, dreams, and resources that have made possible the education of almost 2500 RNs in one, two, or three of our nursing programs to date. All of these join to form the mosaic of the entity known as the School of Nursing at Gardner-Webb University.” Take a moment and read this personal reflection by the author.