Bishop Beat, April 2017

A Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of North Carolina Wesleyan College

Commencement To Be Held April 29

NC Wesleyan College will hold spring commencement Saturday morning, April 29 in Minges Auditorium of the Dunn Center for the Performing Arts.

The keynote speaker will be Mitch Mason. Mason serves as the FCA Football Chaplain at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is responsible for the spiritual and character development of the team. During his time in Chapel Hill, Mitch has led Carolina Football in a number of service projects including: Operation Christmas Child and Adopt a Family for the Holidays. He has spoken all over the United States and has been on Missions Trips from the Dominican Republic to the Middle East.

He received his biblical education at Southwestern Assemblies of God University where he earned a BA in English and later on, a MA in Theology at Life Christian University. He is an ordained Reverend and was a telephone crisis counselor and suicide prevention counselor at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay where he also worked with Sexual Assault Services.

He and his wife Chondra have been married 17 years and have two children. They reside in Chapel Hill, NC.

Wesleyan Leads Enrollment Growth

North Carolina Wesleyan College leads all private colleges in North Carolina in enrollment growth for the three-year period 2013 to 2016 according to figures released from the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) organization headquartered in Raleigh.

Wesleyan grew enrollment by 35% from fall 2013 to fall 2016 while Lenoir Rhyne, the college with the second highest enrollment growth for the three-year period, grew by 18%. Of the 36 NCICU member schools, 17 had a decrease in enrollment for the same period.

Wesleyan President Dr. Dewey Clark said he was pleased with the growth the college has experienced. "We are right where we want to be in terms of growing our student population," said Clark, "We expect a large freshman class again this year and anticipate an increase in the number of our existing students who return this fall as a result of some of the retention programs implemented as part of our Title III Grant."

While Wesleyan experienced record-breaking growth last year, Shaw University, St. Augustine's and a few schools in the western part of the state such as Greensboro College and Cabarrus College had higher growth rates for twelve month period. Wesleyan's enrollment growth was a healthy 5% while the average growth rate for the 36 member institutions was < 1%.

President Clark said the college will stay the course with plans to add more programs, enhance campus security and invest in campus beautification. The college added a number of programs this year, including new majors and minors, ROTC, and lacrosse. The summer will be busy with renovations and campus curb appeal projects.

Interested In Entrepreneurship Or Intrapreneurship?

Are you an entrepreneur or thinking of starting your own business? Great networking event as well as fun for the whole family to be held Saturday, April 22 on the front lawn of the Gateway Technology Center at the main entrance of campus. The Eastern North Carolina Center for Business and Entrepreneurship has partnered with several organizations in Rocky Mount for this event. Come out and learn more about what the Center for Business and Entrepreneurship will be doing in 2017-2018.


	Click Above To Reserve Your Spot!.

Dr. Rives Leaves Gift To Wesleyan College

Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives, who passed away on May 20, 2016, remembers NC Wesleyan in his will by leaving a gift of $10,000 from his estate. Half of the funds will be used to make improvements to the Hardee-Rives Room, located in the college library, and the remainder will go to the Littleton College Memorial Scholarship Fund . The scholarship gives first preference to a young woman from Eastern North Carolina with financial need who is planning a Christian vocation.

The Littleton College Memorial Scholarship Fund was established as a way to remember the spirit of the Littleton Female College in which Dr. Rives' mother attended. The College was first opened in January 1882 and had almost 300 students enrolled by 1902. Littleton College was later destroyed by fire in January of 1919. Because the college had no endowment, they decided not to rebuild and the college closed. Alumnae and friends of the college formed the Littleton College Memorial Association, and met annually to keep alive the spirit and work of the college. In July 1961, NC Wesleyan's President, the late Thomas A. Collins, invited the Association to meet on the campus of Wesleyan. President Collins stated to the Association to consider themselves the first "alumni organization" of the new college. Since then, annual reunions have been held on NC Wesleyan College's campus.

Academic Summer Camps Offered

Wesleyan College is offering academic summer camps for rising 10th-12th graders. Students will earn 1-hour of college credit during these week long camps. Each camp is limited to 15 students so register today.

Learn more and sign up at:

http://ncwc.edu/ncwc-academic-summer-camps/

NC Wesleyan Named One Of 50 Best Colleges For Adult Education 2017-2018

North Carolina Wesleyan College was recently selected by Great Value Colleges as one of the 50 Best Colleges for Adult Education for 2017-2018.

Great Value Colleges is a premier website designed to help people get the best possible education for their money. The school selection process was based on information obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics' College Navigator Database, U.S. News & World Report, Wikipedia, the individual schools' websites, Forbes and Best College Reviews.

The Office of Adult and Professional Studies at NC Wesleyan (ASPIRE) offers nine baccalaureate degree programs designed to meet the educational needs of adult learners. Students are able to choose from 5-week, 8-week, hybrid and online class formats through the ASPIRE program. Most of the professional development courses are completely online. All veterans and active duty Military students will receive a 10% discount on tuition. Visit http://ncwc.edu/adult/ for more information.

Students Receive Kiwanis Scholarships


	Left to right: Linda Tippette, Tisha Cuffee, Sarah Jeffers, Barbara Valentine

North Carolina Wesleyan College seniors Tisha Cuffee and Sarah Jeffers received scholarships from the Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club recently. The scholarships were given by the Club in memory of two of their former members, Don Tippette (a 1967 graduate of NC Wesleyan) and former U.S. Rep. Tim Valentine. Linda Tippette and Barbara Valentine, wives of the former members participated in the presentation. It was a special treat for the Wesleyan seniors to meet the wives, have lunch together, and be introduced to the Kiwanis Club members at the club's weekly meeting on March 30.

Dunn Center Winds Down 20th Anniversary Season

Don't miss out on the final three shows of The Dunn Center for the Performing Arts 20th season. For more information or to order tickets, click here. All shows are in Minges Auditorium.

April 21, 2017


Click for Official Promo

April 29, 2017


	Click for Official Promo

May 11, 2017

Rocky Mount Chamber Singers

Click To Hear

Wesleyan Students Give Back


	A few of the Wesleyan football players volunteered their time on a Saturday morning to help with the Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club pancake fundraiser. Funds raised will go towards scholarships for local youth attending summer camps.

Volunteers packaged over 10,000 nutritional meals as part

of the Stop Hunger Now, an event that is part of

the Rise Against Hunger which is an international

hunger relief organization.

For the second straight season, the NCWC baseball program

teamed up with the Vs. Cancer Foundation to help raise money to

benefit national childhood cancer research, as well as kids directly undergoing

treatment at a local children's hospital.

Reserve Your Wesleyan Memorial Brick

Students,organizations, parents, alumni, and community supporters now have the opportunity to inscribe their names at North Carolina Wesleyan College. The Office of Alumni Relations is selling bricks to be placed at the new entrance located at the south end of the Pearsall Library addition, or at the Leon Russell Chapel entrance.

Your brick will be a permanent tribute on the NCWC campus. In years to come, your family members, students, alumni, faculty, and visitors will see your name and recognize your loyalty to the College. Your gift is a special way to support NCWC.

A brick is a wonderful opportunity to honor a mentor, memorialize a loved one, commemorate an occasion or event, or simply make public your support to NCWC. Click here for complete ordering information.

Alumni Spotlight

Patricia Edmondson '98 Named Teacher Of The Year

Patricia Edmondson, a 1998 graduate of NC Wesleyan College, was recently named the 2017-2018 Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools Teacher of the Year. Edmondson is a sixth-grade teacher of English, language arts and social studies at Rocky Mount Middle School in Rocky Mount, NC. She has nineteen years of teaching experience.

"I love teaching and I fall in love with teaching every day. Teaching is a gift and we have to take it seriously and teach with our whole heart" said Edmondson following the announcement.

She received her associate degree from Edgecombe Community College, a bachelor's degree in elementary education from NC Wesleyan College in 1998 and her master's degree in educational administration from Grand Canyon University.

Faculty/Staff Spotlight

Marshall Leonard Named Head Cross Country Coach

Marshall Leonard has recently been named the new head cross country coach. He will take over the women's cross country program and will also begin recruiting to reinstate the men's program that last competed in 2010.

A native of Rocky Mount, Leonard brings a wealth of cross country experience to both programs, having coached at Nash Central, Northern Nash, Southampton, and T. L. Hanna High Schools during his career.

Leonard is an alum of nearby Northern Nash High School, where he enjoyed a stellar career in cross country, as well as indoor and outdoor track. He attended Anderson College in South Carolina and later served a four-year tour in the United States Navy. His military career saw him achieve recognition as a Quartermaster Second Class Petty Officer.

Said Leonard, "I feel deeply honored and blessed to be given the opportunity to coach the men's and women's cross country teams at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Growing up in Rocky Mount, I ran many of my races on the Wesleyan campus, and I will now take great pride in coaching here. My goal is to bring in quality student-athletes that will represent the school in a positive light, while working hard to be competitive at the highest level."

In addition to his coaching duties, Leonard will aid in the development of a cross country trail on campus. He will also be organizing several running events for students, faculty, and staff.

Student Spotlight

Diamond Allen Named RA Of The Year For 2016-2017

Diamond Allen is a first generation college student from Bridgeport, Connecticut. A double major in English and Psychology, Allen plans to graduate from NC Wesleyan in April 2018. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she plans to go to graduate school somewhere in North Carolina for speech pathology.

Allen was named RA (Resident Advisor) of the Year for the 2016-2017 academic year. She will be the first RA of Eli Hall for the 2017-2018 academic year.

She is currently the Vice President of Sigma Tau Delta, the Vice President of the Honors Program, and President of the Black Student Association. Diamond works with the Wesleyan Advancement office on alumni fundraising campaigns.

April 2017