Georgetown, KY – The 248 Georgetown College seniors who walked at commencement and the 21 members of the Class of 1962 who returned for their Golden Anniversary Reunion won’t soon forget the picture-perfect ceremony on Giddings Lawn, May 19, 2012. More to come in the next issue of Insights magazine, but, for now visit the College’s flickr page to see if you – or someone you know – were captured digitally by our photographer!

Among the many people we hope you won’t forget are…

(At right) Dr. Brad Hadaway, center, who was presented with the coveted Don and Chris Kerr Cawthorne Award for Excellence in Teaching by Provost Rosemary Allen and President Bill Crouch. The popular winner is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Program Coordinator for Oxford Programs.

Doug McDonald, who has overcome a number of physical challenges, received the President’s Honor Award. But, he also was one of two named on Academic Honors Day earlier in May for the top Psychology award. The former GC groundskeeper and his wife, Laura Levy McDonald ’06 – here, with their daughter, Clarke Elizabeth – survived a serious head-on automobile collision in 2008.

Mac Bailes, right, an Elementary Education major and Christian Leaders Scholar who gave an inspiring Senior Address. A President’s Ambassador and a member of PHA, he is the fourth son of Steve and Shannon Bailes of Owensboro to graduate from GC!

Senior Class President Portia Watson, left, who announced her classmates were “paying that grace forward” with a gift of $12,500 to the College. Portia, of Mount Washington, KY, is one of GC’s three Fulbright Fellows and will be teaching English in Thailand next school year.

Commencement Speaker Barry Munitz, Trustee Professor and former Chancellor, California State University, who said we are not serious enough in the U.S. about improving our schools – and encouraged all graduating seniors to consider Teaching as a career at some point.

Dr. Munitz also told the seniors to “take a risk, make a mistake – you’ll learn more. I’m urging you to try something where you are less sure of success.”

2012 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival Queen Jaime Horne (Photo courtesy of Joe Harris)

Jaime Horne, a rising Georgetown College senior from Paris, went into this past weekend’s 2012 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival pageant in Pineville just for the experience and “to have fun.”

Who could know whether recent history – winners from Georgetown College in 2008 and ’09 – would help or hurt? Not to mention that the first was her older sister, Kimberly Horne, or the second was also a “sister,” Megan McKay – with both being present for support. Incidentally (or not?!), all three are Kappa Deltas and Jaime is the current Beta Lambda chapter president.

No matter. Saturday afternoon, at the coronation ceremony at scenic Pine Mountain State Park, there was GC’s Belle of the Blue – Jaime – at the tail end of the procession wearing the queen’s cape and unique crown of pearls. That’s the dramatic way the audience finds out at this grandest of traditions (since 1931). And, that’s the way her roommate Ashley Vallance of Russell and other sneak-peeking friends were among the first to know.

“Don’t even call it a pageant…there’s probably no place in the country that has this kind of tradition,” said Jaime, who’s grown up knowing of KMLF’s importance to the region. Her mother, Pam, graduated from Middlesboro High down the road; Pam’s parents, Al and Mary Sue Vicars (now also of Paris, KY), were originally from Harlan.

“My grand-parents were the first people who showed me how much this means,” Jaime remembered. “I didn’t think it could be any more special…but this one was magical.”

Among Jaime’s magical moments:

* Hearing the shouts of support when the large number of candidates (23 representing Kentucky colleges and universities) were paraded through Pineville in convertibles. “I don’t know how many times I heard – not my name, but –‘There goes my Georgetown girl!’,” she recalled with pride.

Jaime and escort Devin Rogers showed their Tiger Pride on the first day of KMLF!

* Seeing good friend and escort Devin Rogers ’12 presented with the coveted Cawood Smith Award, named for the late Harlan attorney who was known for wearing colorful sports coats at the event. Devin, a Communication & Media Studies major from Corbin, received $200 to purchase his own colorful jacket to wear to the 2013 KMLF. He’ll also be remembered for doing the backstroke in the reflecting pool (tradition holds the winner’s escort is thrown in)!  

“I wasn’t surprised at all that Jaime was chosen queen…she worked so hard all week,” said Devin, who began his job as director of social media for Lexington-based Premier Home Services Group on Tuesday. “She’s a beautiful person inside and out.”

* Getting to meet members of the Asher family (Asher Science Center) at the Pineville Community Hospital breakfast on Saturday morning. They attend every year.

*Being presented – by Ray Harm Jr. of Georgetown – with a print by the late, famous wildlife artist Ray Harm featuring cardinals on mountain laurel that was personalized just for her.

* Wearing a hat designed by Georgetown’s Polly Singer (whose business is in Lexington) at the breakfast and in the parade.

Jaime said that having her sister coach and encourage means a lot. “Kimberly is so kind and gracious to let me share things like Kappa Delta and Mountain Laurel,” said Jaime, who almost didn’t attend GC for fear she wouldn’t enjoy following in the footsteps. But, she’s happy that she did.

“What we’ve done is similar, but we’ve done so in different ways…so it’s unique for both of us,” said Jaime, who will be a Tiger cheerleader for a fourth year this fall (Kimberly cheered two years).

Kimberly, who just finished her second year of law school at University of Dayton, said, “I am so thankful I am able to share this unique tradition with my sister. I envision Jaime and myself as 90-year-old women continuing to support and take part in the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival each year.”

Their overwhelmed mother couldn’t be happier that both  daughters have had these opportunities at Georgetown College. “We are so grateful that Jaime was able to represent Georgetown College and be part of a tradition that means so much to our family,” said Pam Horne, a 2^nd-grade teacher at Cane Ridge Elementary in the Bourbon County Schools system. “Over the past five years though our experience with the festival, we have had the opportunity to rekindle old friendships and made new life-long friends. The people of Pineville and Bell County continue to demonstrate southern hospitality that is absolutely unmatched.”

Her husband, Bart, is obviously grateful for their daughters’ experience at GC as well. Witness his involvement as construction manager for the newest Georgetown College residence complex – like Rucker Village, a Jim Barlow project – that is going up now on Military Street across from Hinton Field.

Beyond making good use of the $3,000 winner’s check, what’s next for the former summer lifeguard? Jaime leaves this week for Columbia, SC, for a summer job that’s more relevant to her Psychology major – working as an activities director for Methodist-based Agape Senior Living. She said looks forward to assisting the physicians and nurses with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

After graduation next May, Jaime hopes to become a national Leadership Development Consultant for Kappa Delta like her good friend Shelby King ’12, who’s helping establish chapters around the country and aiding existing ones. In five years, she plans to be into her career after finishing a Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

For more on the KMLF, see the story in the Middlesboro Daily News.

Georgetown College is hosting RoboGames 2012 in June, a theme playing off the London Olympics. The middle school camp dates are June 18-22 while elementary school camp (4^th-5^th grade) is June 25-29. All sessions are on campus from 9-11:30 a.m. Campers will build and program their own robo-athletes and compete in their own RoboGames, ending with an all-in “Sumo-bot” competition to see whose robo-athlete is the ‘Last Robot Standing.’ Dr. Andrea Peach, Associate Professor of Education, conducts the robot camps and will provide more information by email: apeach0@georgetowncollege.edu. Or go online:  http://www.georgetowncollege.edu/robots.

Then from July 10-12, 2012, there will be a Summer Robotics camp for 5^th-8^th grade students at Ed Davis Learning Center, 151 Ed Davis Lane, Georgetown. Also under the direction of Dr. Peach, campers will create and program robots to complete real-world tasks using the Lego NXT robots and then enter their completed project in an All-in Robo Games Tournament. More information and applications are available at the Ed Davis Learning Center. Contact Mr. Ednal Maynard, Director, at 502-867-5846.

Jim Newberry

Georgetown, KY — James H. “Jim” Newberry, former Lexington, KY, Mayor and most recently Managing Partner, Hargrove Madden, LLP, has joined the staff of Georgetown College as General Counsel and Special Assistant to the President. He will also serve on the College’s Executive Cabinet, according to William H. Crouch, Jr., Georgetown College President, who announced Newberry’s appointment.

“Jim Newberry has been associated with GC for many years as a legal advisor,” said Crouch. “We are delighted he now joins our team to continue providing legal assistance and also to be a part of our strategic thinking team.”

Newberry is a native of Hiseville, Kentucky. He received his undergraduate and law school degrees from the University of Kentucky. While an undergraduate, he served as student body president and as a member of the UK Board of Trustees. He served as a member of the University Of Kentucky Athletic Association Board Of Directors, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and served as president of Omicron Delta Kappa.

Jim began his legal career in 1981. He has practiced with various firms in Lexington, concentrating his efforts on representing a variety of small and medium-sized businesses, and he practiced as in-house counsel for Airdrie Stud, one of Kentucky’s largest thoroughbred farms. In private practice, Jim periodically represented the University of Kentucky, Berea College, Transylvania University and Kentucky State University. He served as counsel to Georgetown College during its negotiations to restructure its relationship with the Kentucky Baptist Convention. Jim served as managing partner or partner-in-charge of the Lexington office at three separate law firms during his career.

GC’s new General Counsel has also been involved in the public sector, serving as an Executive Officer in the Office of the Lt. Governor of Kentucky, and as Acting Secretary of the Cabinet for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection before serving as Mayor of Lexington.

“These are exciting times for higher education generally and for Georgetown College in particular,” said Newberry. “I’m delighted to participate with Dr. Crouch and the Georgetown faculty, staff and students in making Georgetown the preeminent Christian-based liberal arts college in America.”

Jim and his wife, Cheryl Ann, have two sons, Drew, 12, and Will, 11. They are all members of Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington, where both Jim and Cheryl Ann have served as deacons. Jim has also served as Calvary’s Deacon Board Chair.

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 For additional information:
James Moak, CFO, Georgetown College
502-863-7970
james_moak@georgetowncollege.edu

Georgetown, KY (May 24, 2012) – The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced today that it has selected 47 small colleges and universities in the United States – including Georgetown College for the second consecutive time –  as the recipients of grants totaling over $50 million that will enable the schools to work together to create more engaging science classes, bring real-world research experiences to students, and increase the diversity of students who study science.

 Georgetown College, which was awarded $1.3 million by HHMI on the previous grant cycle in 2008, will receive $1.1 million this time.

“I’m so pleased that HHMI is recognizing and supporting the contribution our science program makes to educating Kentucky students,” said Dr. Rosemary Allen, Provost of Georgetown College. “For the second straight grant cycle, Georgetown is the only institution in Kentucky to receive HHMI support.  This is a compelling endorsement of the quality of what we do at Georgetown College.”

David Asai, program director at HHMI, pointed out that 215 of the best small institutions in the country were invited to apply a year ago. “Schools are invited because of their track record for sending students to medical and graduate school,” he said. “So, just to be invited means you’re doing something right.”

According to Asai, “reviewers felt that one of Georgetown College’s strengths was the number of first-generation students with terrific potential it was attracting.” That fits perfectly with one of HHMI’s goals – finding and developing talent in under-served populations.

“Science is only going to be as good as the scientists themselves,” Asai added. “At HHMI it’s important to identify future scientists, develop them and help them get better.”

That’s precisely what Dr. Mark Christensen (Biology), the executive director of Georgetown’s HHMI program, and his team of professors intend with this repeat four-year grant: Expand the pool of highly talented leaders in science research and education who hail from first-generation backgrounds by increasing the number and percentage of those students who pursue advanced degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields.

During the previous four-year grant period, Georgetown has had two very successful sub-programs of the HHMI program – EGSL (Early Grades Science Literacy) Program and GC-PALS, a seminar series and summer research program. In the past three years, 36 students have completed HHMI research projects at such institutions as University of Kentucky, Marshall University, University of Oklahoma, University of Pennsylvania and UCLA as well as on the Georgetown campus; 19 research students this summer will bring the total to 55. And, 24 more students are already committed to research projects in Summer 2013.

Christensen expects three new components to truly breed added success:

(1)  The pre-college “bridge” course, which will give first-generation freshmen valuable skills for approaching math and science

(2)  A science-based Foundations Class for freshmen, and

(3)  The STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math – and note the additional “M” for Medicine) Fellowship Program, which will enlist science majors to help mentor younger students as well as reach out to the rest of campus

“Now there will be something for our Science students each of their four years here,” said Christensen. He added that with this new HHMI grant, “basically, we have an 8-year program now. We are building a ‘scientific community’ here!”

Dr. Allen, the academic dean of the College, agreed: “I am so impressed by the work of our science faculty in developing such a meaningful program. They have led us through several years of extraordinary achievement, including not only these two straight HHMI grants, but also our recent recognition of our Chemistry program by the American Chemical Society and grants from the National Science Foundation as well as from private donors and foundations. The sciences are a signature program for Georgetown College.”

More on where GC Fits Into the HHMI Picture

 One of the significant changes in the 2012 competition was the requirement that each application focus on a single overarching objective that defines the context for the proposed activities. (See the category GC was placed in BELOW, Persistence of All Students*)

In the past, applications were organized around four — often disconnected — components. HHMI’s David Asai noted the previous modular design often led schools to “check the boxes” rather than encouraging them to think strategically about how the activities will contribute to a science education objective. Asai said the focused design of the proposals will hopefully make it easier for grantees to measure and understand their progress. “We want to find out what you are doing that is making undergraduates better prepared to be successful as future scientists, teachers, or members of a scientifically literate public,” he said.

“Themes are very important for the nation, for what we hope to learn,” Asai said. “We (at HHMI) hope that Georgetown College can model ideas for other institutions. In other words, lessons learned at Georgetown will inform other institutions.”

 Persistence of All Students *

Programs to encourage the success in science of students from all backgrounds. Strategies include research experiences, mini-grants for faculty mentoring, pre-freshman “bridge” programs, curriculum redesign, and faculty and staff training.

Barnard College, New York, NY ($1.0M)

California State University, Fullerton – Fullerton, CA ($1.2M)

Carleton College, Northfield, MN ($1.0M)

Carroll College, Helena, MT ($1.0M)

Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA ($1.4M)

Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY ($1.1M)

The Claremont Colleges—Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, and Scripps College—Claremont, CA ($3.6M)

University of Minnesota – Morris, Morris, MN ($1.2M)

University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, Puerto Rico ($1.3M)

University of Richmond – Richmond, VA ($1.4M)

University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX ($1.2M)

Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA ($1.0M)