COMMENCEMENT REPORT 2003

IN ALL THINGS ... CHRIST PRE-EMINENT -.i

'03 Class Begins New Chapter Speaker Skillen Tells Graduates to Bear Bold, Creation-Wide Witness

"Do you see, graduates? It will be in the way you love your friends, in the way you farm the earth and tend the animals, in the way you develop your medical or legal or educational practice, in the way you perform your music, and in the way you seek justice in town councils, legislative assemblies, and the courts that you are suppo ed t demonstrate the redeeming love of Christ, the Lord of all."

Commencement weekend included banquets for both Quest and traditional graduates and their family members, the Comrnencement Concert and the President's Reception dessert.

Family and friends wat hed as 375 graduat walked aero the rage during Covenant' forty- eventh

commen ement exercise at the hattanooga on­ven tion Center on May 10, 2003. The graduate included traditional student , working adult who have fini hed

the Que t degree completion program, and rndents re­

ceiving ma ter of education degrees. The commencement ceremony was the first led by Covenant's new pre ·ident,

Dr. Niel Nielson , who as un,ed the pre idency last Jul . Dr. James Skillen, pre id nt of the Center for Public

Justice in Wa hington, D.C., presented the commencement addre . The center i committed to

publi ervice that re ponds to God's call to do ju rice in

local, national, and international affair . "Everything you do in every ph.ere of life through

the obedience of Chri twill, together with all the -plen­dors of the nations, be carried into the City of God,"

Skillen told the graduate . "Bearing te timony to hrisc ... may not win you the

credentials ome want to ee, but you must do it boldly, with public deeds, in the creation-wide, big- ere n way that the Bible calls for," killen explained.

What Summer Break? May Term, Conferences, Master's Program Keep Campus Active Covenant's mi · ion and IT1inistrydon't take the summer off. Learning thr ugh academic program and conference i a year-round ent rpris that keep the campus a tive.

May Term off~red cour es on carnpu and in Budape t, Hungary. Appro. imately even education majors studied in Budape · t with Dr. Steve Kaufmann, while ninety other students remained on campus. Classes

offered on the can1 pu inclu led Age of Eu rope, onternporary Global History, and Elementary Statistical

Method . A pecial topics course in computer networking provided students with hand ·-on experience a · they as isted the Technology ervices department in preparing re idence hall for wirelec; · Internet service thi fall.

Covenant' conference program tarted it twelve­week run anticipating 10,000 adult · , children, and teens to spend time at a camp or conference. Long- ·tanding annual conferences uch as the a tie in the Clouds Rug Hooking Seminar and the kyland Bible Conference have taken advantage of the college' facilities for approximately 30 year . Student Life keeps the campu full of junior and enior high youth group for even weeks of the summer. Group range in size from 30 people to over 850 in a single conference.

Sum.mer conferences introduce Covenant to thou ands of young people while providing additional revenue for college. The conferences also provide jobs for many Covenant tudents who stay in the Chattanooga area during the summer, especially international student who find it difficult to go home.

ln late June, Coven.ant's master of education students arrive on campus for an intens ive three-week in-residence program. This year, there are seventy students enrolled. Dr. Jeff Hall i serving as interim dean in p lace of Dr. Jack Fennema, who retired from the dean's position. Dr. Fennema will serve as an adjunct professor for the program. Rebecca Dodson '74 is assistant dean.

During the program, students interact with fe llow professionals as they tackle on-the-job issues in the clas morn. Students prepare for their July classes with significant amounts of pre-campus work. Upon arrival, they pend time interacting with fellow students and listening to faculty presentations. After leaving campus, the tudent-profes ional return to their schools and apply what they have learned. The thirty-hour program takes three years to complete. Students follow one of two tracks, either Educational Leader hip, or Integrative Curriculum and Instruction.

Comings and Goings Profe sor Drake Smisson of the foreign language det1artment, and Dr. Jack Fennema of the education department, have retired from Covenant. Smisson began teaching at Covenant in 19 6. Plea e keep him and his family in prayer a he continue hi struggle with ALS. Fennema taught from 1971 to 1975 and 1999 to 2003.

Ethan Pettit '75 , as istant librarian, i leaving to teach at the Christian Academy of Japan. Phyllis Crooks '63, long-tirn.e bookkeeper, retired

June 30. Two new pr fessors will

be joining the Covenant faculty for the Ltpcoming academic year. Ms. Diana Cochran received her Ma ter

of Arts in Spani h from Florida State Univer ity and will teach in the foreign language department. Dr. Allen Slade received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University ofTenne see and will be the new bu in.es profe sor in the Quest program.

Dr. Kevin J. Eames joins the staff as director of the Center for the Theological E 'ploration of Vocation. He was previously an assi tant professor of psychology at Dordt College. He has a doctorate in counseling psychology from. Georgia State University.

Steve Randolph, a Dalton, Georgia, native, is the college's new vice president f finance and administra-

tion. He received a ma ter of busines administration

degree from Georgia tate University. He has previous ly held po ition with Mas Mutual Financial Group in Bo -

ton and SunTrust Bank in Atlanta and rlando. Hi daughter, Katie, i a ophomore at Covenant.

Jose Chavez is serving a human re·ources director. He received am.a ter' degree in education from Indiana University and a bachelor' degree in busines ­

administration from the Univer ity of Texas. He ha previously held po itions with AT&T, Alcoa, and Ryder

sy rems. His mo t recent po ition wa with a engineering con ulting firm in Corpu Christi, Texas.

New Campus Food Service Chosen Students, Faculty, Staff Represented on Food Service Selection Committee Chartwells College and Univer ity Dintng ervice-, a

division of Con,pas Group was elected by the Food Service Provider Selection Committee as their

overwhelming first choice among the three finali t companie . The college igned a fi\'e-year contract with

Chartwells with a five-year renewable term. Chartwell is known for "a real em pha 1s on

presentation and food quality," according to Herb Politano, auxiliary service director.

Francine Morgan has been selected as director of dining ervices. She i an experienced food service

manager who ha served at Florida Atlantic University, Univer ity of North Florida, Mar Hill College and many other colleges and universities.

The transition to Charcwells will institute a major change in the meal plans which will allow for "greater value, greater flexibility and greater control" in dining, Politano said. The meal plan will now be based on an entire eme ter rather than a weekly meal limit. For example, rather than purchasing a twenty-one meal weekly

plan, a student would purchase 270 meal that could be used throughout the semester. Each plan al o includes fifty "dining dollars" that can be used in The Blink snack bar or to purchase extra meals.

Keep up with Covenant this summer at

www.covenant.edu

Eight Complete First May Internship Week

Top row (left to right) Bill Turner, Will Bragdon, Chris Cushenberry, Phillip Bleecker. Front row: Julie Codington,

Heather Ludlum, Laura Knowles, Kelsey Benson

Immediately after graduation, eight students participated in the college's fir~r Ma) Internship Weck, den~loped by

the recent!) formed ALadem1c Internship Program. The week wa~ des1uned rn encoural"e student~ to think more ,.., .,

clearly and broadly about "calling"- to ,1llow theological wisdom to influence their -o ncept of ,,·hat 1t means to

be called to mini try, or any area ot work and ser\'lce. The students spent their days shadow1n,r( ministry and

bu, ine s leaders in hatrnnooga Mayor Bob Corker's of­

fice, the Chattanuoga enter for onprofits, Tricycle Inc., AAA Women's ervices, Memorial Ho pital Can­

cer Resource and Counseling enter, Esperanza del Bar­rio, lump1e - Ice ream, hattanooga Market, hattn­

nooga Maga:::inc, the human resources department at

Kry tal, the Chattanoogan, Project Jo eph Ministry to Muslims, and the Bethlehem Center's Economic Devel­opment Office.

Each evening, Robby Holt, who ha a ma ter of di­vinity degree from Reformed Theological eminary and

is studying in England toward hi - doctorate, led group Ji cu sion .

" tudent reflected on how their concept of calling i shaped by the Go pel-howwe, as the Church, act out the drama of redemption in the world. Who we are as unique individual , how we determine what and where to work and serve, and how we conceive of calling are al l part of this act of interpreting what we learn from Scrip­ture, as well of our act of interpreting Scripture to the world," said Caleb Ludwick '94, Academic Internship Program director.

HOMECOMING 2003! Circle October 10-11 on your calendar and plan to get

reacquainted with old friends this fall!

Friday Alumni Kick-off Banquet Homecoming Music Department Concert Jazz on the Overlook

Saturday Alumni Brunch All-Alumni Meeting Cookout Reunion Desserts at Alumni Homes

Package pricing for meals and events: Individual $25.00 Couple $43.00 Family (3 or more) $55.00

For more info email: homecoming@covenant.edu or call (800) 574-6063. Look for updates at: www .covenant.edu/ events/homecoming

Also: Volleyball, Cross-Country and Soccer! L----------------------------------------J

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