This year, new faculty joins the College of Arts and Sciences.  Professor Jeff Ringer, Dr. Wendy Steinberg, and Professor Alan Wheeler are new additions in the English, Psychology, and Anthropology discipline respectively.  

Professor Ringer, pictured middle, at his wedding

Professor Jeff Ringer is a Lee alum finishing his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition through the University of New Hampshire while teaching here at Lee.  His dissertation is on Evangelical Identity and Academic Writing, which he says is an important reason he is here.  “Part of the reason that attracted me to coming back here was teaching students who were the subject of my dissertation.  I hope to continue researching and help design courses and programs that involve students and writing majors with research.”

Dr. Steinberg teaching her Statistics class

Dr. Wendy Steinberg, who taught previously at Eastern University, feels her charge is to teach Statistics and Research Methods effectively.  The class is her passion, and as many students are afraid of statistics, her goal is “to help them find it enjoyable, fun, and useful.”  To her, that is the definition of success, and she believes it’s possible. She is the author of Statistics Alive, an introductory text on the subject.

Professor Wheeler with Byamba

If he were to accomplish anything while here at Lee, professor Alan Wheeler says, it would be to give students a broader perspective of the world while encouraging them to draw closer to Jesus.  He always felt called to be a missionary, but God had other plans.  He became an anthropologist because he has a “natural love for the exotic, the distant, the unusual.”  Here, he is pictured with Byamba in one of Mongolia’s remotest regions, only accessible traveling by moose trails for over 100 miles.  The only contact this tribe had prior to Wheeler’s visit was Hungarian scientist 40 years ago. Wheeler is working on a doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Richard Jones of the Lee University anthropology program recently published two articles in Twenty-First Century Anthropology: A Reference Book.  The collection, which is edited by Jamie Birx of the Encyclopedia of Anthropology, is put out by Sage Publications and serves as a reference text for undergraduate students seeking a topical overview.  The two-volume collection contains 107 planned essays.

Jones has two essays ready to be published in the collection.  The first, “Kinship Systems”, is an overview of how kinship studies have changed and developed between the late nineteenth century and now.  It deals with marriage, family, and kinship classification systems.  

Jones’ second article, “Values in Anthropology”, discusses what makes anthropology what it is, arguing for it as a science.  Anthropology began as a science and remains one, although it contains humanistic elements.

Lee University’s Asian Studies Program will be presenting an Asian Studies Seminar on January 26-30, 2009. The sessions will take place from 6-8 p.m. each night in room 114 of the Helen DeVos College of Education. Topics will include business, language and religion.

Monday night’s discussion of Eastern religion and philosophy will be taught by Lee’s Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies, Edley Moodley. Tuesday’s discussion of Thai language and culture will be taught by Professor of Education JoAnn Higginbotham. Wednesday’s topic will be Business in Asian Markets, taught by Assistant Professor of Business, Guy DeLoach. Japanese language and culture will be discussed on Thursday night by Associate Professor of English Arden Jensen. The week will conclude on Friday with Assistant Professor of Chinese Phebe Gray’s discussion of Chinese language and culture.

These events are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Murl Dirksen at mdirksen@leeuniversity.edu.

Submitted by the Office of Public Information

Lee University Associate Professor of telecommunications and pianist, Dr. Richard Sparks, is set to release his newest album, Christmas Love, on November 1.

Christmas Love features piano solos “celebrating the spirit of Christmas.” The album was inspired by a range of artists including George Winston, Vince Guaraldi, Richard Carpenter, and Paul McCartney. The genres comprising Christmas Love are equally diverse, featuring popular works such as Merry Christmas, Darling; Christmas Time is Here; and Tennessee Christmas.

Sparks says, “I wanted this collection of carols, modern classics, and the original title song to evoke both the celebration and the solitude of the season.”

Sparks has previously released four original albums and two collections of smooth jazz and pop piano. However, the style of Christmas Love is markedly different. With the solo acoustic piano and simple arrangements, Sparks feels he has “found a recording style that feels like home for him as a player.”

Sparks recorded the album in his home studio from July to October 2007. Christmas Love contains one original song, and listeners can look forward to hearing more original pieces by Sparks in the future.

Christmas Love is available both at the Lee University Campus Bookstore, and online at www.cdbaby.com/ricksparks. For more information on this album please contact Dr. Richard Sparks at ricksparks@peoplepc.com.

Submitted by the Office of Public Information
Original Article by Katie Gee

The stands of the Paul Dana Walker Arena on the Lee University campus were “packed with pink” on November 2 as Lee University and Berry College were playing their conference volleyball match to raise money for the Mary Ellen Locher Foundation in Chattanooga which works to raise breast cancer awareness.

“As of right now we have raised about $17,000,” said Coach Andrea Hudson. “We far exceeded our goal of $10,000.”

“It was great to see the community get behind this cause,” said Hudson. To show their support, spectators wore pink t-shirts with “Volley For The Cure” printed on the front which were sold for a donation at the university and in the Cleveland community for weeks prior to the event.

During the game, the Mary Ellen Locher Foundation awarded Gretchen Higdon, a student and volleyball player from Ooltewah High School whose mother is a two-time survivor of breast cancer, with a scholarship. The foundation awards these scholarships to children whose parents were lost to or are survivors of breast cancer in an effort to relieve the financial burden that is put on families in this situation.

The success of this event was made possible people and organizations throughout the Cleveland community, said Hudson. “All over town on Friday I saw people wearing their pink shirts,” said Hudson. “The week before the game Bradley, Cleveland, and Walker Valley High Schools got really involved. The principals, teachers, coaches, and volleyball players helped raise awareness at their schools. It was amazing to see how much support we received from the community.”

This event was organized by Zandra Whaley, Hudson’s sister, who works at the Plastic Surgery Center of Cleveland with breast cancer patients.

Submitted by the Office of Public Information
Original Article by Elizabeth Hamilton