Relax browsers, HSU communications students will handle the play-by-play webcasting for all three Abilene high schools starting tomorrow night. Working from the offices of the Abilene Reporter News, Kreg Boyd, Josh Green, and Bryan English, all students of Dr. Tim Chandler, assistant professor of communications, will simulcast a text version of high school football play-by-play to a growing audience of web consumers.

High school football is huge in Abilene, but graduates of the schools and parents of current players who are deployed overseas (or otherwise cannot attend) may not have access to local radio or television broadcasts. Since nearly everyone has internet access, the Abilene Reporter News developed a format for games to be simultaneously translated from audio to text, and updated live. To work, the system needs three football-savy translation specialists to do the play-by-play. That’s where Kreg, Josh, and Bryan come in. They will spend their Friday nights broadcasting from the internet offices of the Reporter News to a world-wide audience.

Kreg Boyd gets comfortable at his broadcast station

All three students jumped at the opportunity and met with Laura Guetschke, online content editor for the Reporter News for orientation, assignments, and the inevitable paperwork.

You can tune in to monitor the progress of the games if you’re stuck at work late without a radio, sitting in a command post in Iran, or on vacation in Hawaii.

Here are the links:

Abilene High games

Cooper High games

Wylie High games

Go Friday Night!

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 31, 2006 4:51 PM · Comments (0)

After a week of New Student Orientation for incoming freshmen, the rest of the University population moved in over the weekend and are enjoying their first week of classes. We’re thrilled to have everyone back safe and sound, and wish everyone a successful and challenging year.

Since returning sophomores, juniors, and seniors missed it, here’s a little review of the 2006 version of New Student Orientation (NSO). Remember what it was like for you……

Moving in is always interesting. Tuesday was about registration, moving into the dormitories, meeting the NSO steering committee, a picnic with parents, and mom and dad leaving. Who is your roommate? Will you like him or her? Where will you put all of your stuff???

It’s not easy for parents either; after all, what are they going to do with all the extra space in the house? Here a mother and father store away memories at the President’s Picnic before leaving for home.

Wednesday, students began to make friends and settled in a little with campus-wide games
The new freshmen received their beanies and started collecting autographs as they met new friends.

Thursday, students didn’t know what to expect after breakfast. They were just told to wear their grubbies and be prepared for anything. “The Game” that followed was the ultimate icebreaker, as teams competed in separate groups in swimming pools filled with paint. Contestant, Matt Ramey, gets the red pool.

As the event progresses, the paint runs together and the students all wear one color (which bears a striking similarity to HSU purple). The analogy wasn’t lost on the freshmen, whose differences and backgrounds were becoming less visible as the event wore on.

The theme for the week was "Super Heros." Freshmen were divided into super hero groups and had to come up with a cheer, sign, and personality to match. The group, "Captian America" got right into it.

Later, small groups of students gathered at the homes of faculty and staff for desert parties, and learned that university employees are just normal people who are here to help. Talk among the groups varied. The group visiting our house talked about expectations, fears, adjustment, “will I make it in college,” you know, the normal things. The group pictured below met at the Harden family home.

Later students saw a film at the Paramount Theater, then adjourned to Mr. Gattis for games until midnight.

If anything brings people together, it’s work. Saturday was a day of community service as students hauled off refuse and helped clean neighborhoods in the HSU area. We don’t have totals for this year yet, but last year’s class removed over 41 tons of garbage from neighborhood yards and empty lots.

Sunday, groups had breakfast with representatives of local churches in the Nix parking lot before heading out to worship at with the congregation of their choice. All in all a good week.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 29, 2006 4:07 PM · Comments (1)

“To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” This text is representative of the life and ministry of our 2006 fall convocation speaker, The Reverend Dr. Kelvin J. Kelley. The founder of F.A.C.E.S. Ministries, a nonprofit ministry which stands for First A Chance Eventually Success; the ministry was birthed from the realization that God has called each of His children to be in the earth what He would be Himself.

The Reverend Dr. Kelvin J. Kelley

The HSU alumnus and member of the HSU board of trustees will address HSU students, faculty, and staff at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Sep 5, in Behrens Chapel as fall Convocation officially inaugurates the academic year.

Dr. Kelley believes all things in ministry are released by natural laws, “The Father has ordained the seasons and times of renewal in our lives. We must choose to participate in this divine process through the means provided.” He sees the heart of ministry as flowing from one’s salvation experience, “This process creates DNA (divine nature affirmed) whereby we engage the world as sons and daughters of the Father and not merely servants."

F.A.C.E.S. was born of a vision to create a ministerial context conducive to spiritual growth and spiritual formation, “One must first address the existing developmental concerns in order to expose deficiencies and explore possibilities. The ministry context therefore becomes a microcosm of the viable Christian life!”

He finds inspiration in his spouse, the former Kimberly Griffeth, and his three children, Karrie, Kelvin, and Korey, “without a doubt family is a divine and precious gift; it renews our hope and broadens our perspective of the divine."

Dr. Kelley is involved in a number of local, regional, and national ministries including: Big Country Emmaus Community, Every Man Counts Ministries, Greater Abilene Ministerial Alliance, Pray Big Country, and Promise Keepers. He has been in ministry since 1991 and pastoral ministry since 1992, serving as pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Abilene, from 1998 to 2006.

The 1989 Bachelor of Business graduate from Angelo State University was called to a spiritual reconciliation with God in 1990. He earned a Master of Divinity degree at Hardin-Simmons University in 1999 and a Master of Arts degree in Family Ministry in 2002. He received the Doctor of Ministry at Abilene Christian University in May, 2006.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 22, 2006 4:01 PM · Comments (0)

On the heels of U.S. News and World Report’s tier one rating for Hardin-Simmons University, the prestigious academic publication The Princeton Review released it’s ratings of top colleges and universities in the United States. HSU was cited as a “Best in the West” university, one of 123 in the western United States, and one of only 21 so honored in the state of Texas.

In their annual survey, The Princeton Review asks 110,000 students nation-wide to rate their schools and report on their campus experiences. The 70 question survey includes topics such as academics/administration, life at the school, their fellow students, and themselves.

Dr. Craig Turner, president of Hardin-Simmons University, expressed pleasure with the rating, “This recognition from The Princeton Review, is particularly gratifying because it is a report card from those we serve; our students. Together with the recent tier-one rating from U.S.News, we have clear and independent validation of our institution’s commitment to excellence.”

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 22, 2006 2:55 PM · Comments (0)

Hardin-Simmons faculty and staff started the day with the best kind of news. U.S. News & World Report released its 2007 listing of “America’s Best Colleges”, and not only did HSU retain its tier-one ranking in the universities-masters category (for the 4th consecutive year since HSU broke into this elite category), it climbed 4 places on the list from 42 to 38. In a year when most west Texas colleges and Universities lost ground in the listing, a gain like this is major news.

Each year, U.S. News and World Report ranks universities based upon both quantitative measures and on their non-partisan view of what is important in education. Hardin-Simmons University is among 573 universities in the “universities-master’s” category. According to U.S. News & World Report, these universities “offer a full range of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs; but few, if any, doctoral programs.”

University President, Dr. Craig Turner was delighted with the news, “We are extremely pleased to be so highly rated by U.S.News. Peer institutions see the continued successes and innovations at HSU--ATS accreditation of our seminary, endowment of our honors program, funding of the magnet school, record enrollment, surpassing our university endowment goal a year early--and they recognize that great things are happening at our school. Our climb through the ranks of Tier One universities is gratifying, but it is a natural result of faculty, staff, alumni, students, and friends who love this institution. It is in the very nature of each member of the HSU family to continually improve the institution, and to guide tomorrow’s leaders with strength, love, and grace. As a Christian university, we have a responsibility to equip our graduates with the finest tools in academia, while placing that excellence firmly in the context of a moral, ethical, and spiritual family of faith.”

For all of you freshmen coming to New Student Orientation next week, you chose well!

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 18, 2006 11:30 AM · Comments (0)

Hardin-Simmons University welcomes its incoming freshmen class with a week of exciting and unusual orientation adventures. The theme is a closely-held secret for now, but will be unveiled as students register next Tuesday. The New Student Orientation (NSO) steering activity is winding down a frenetic week of preparation, including stage sets, student orientation packet stuffing, materials and venue preparation, and coordinating all the logistics that make this week so special. The HSU NSO has such a reputation for fun, team-building, and barrier breaking, that one of our senior football transfers asked if he could participate as an upper-classman.

NSO Steering Committee member Rachel Tomko stuffs one of over 400 student packets

Students register at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday in the Johnson building, and say good bye to parents later that evening after a day of parent orientation. Tuesday begins with ice-breaker activities, introduces the theme for the week, introduces students to campus traditions and is capped off with, well, beanie capping.

Steering Committee members work on the Mystery Set for the NSO theme

Thursday has to be experienced to be believed. Students are advised to wear their grungy clothes for the first event. You’ll see what we mean when we post pictures next week. After a day of information, tours, students meet HSU family as faculty and staff host dessert parties and small group meetings in their homes. A fun fest at Mr. Gatti’s tops off the day for those with any energy left.

And so it goes for the rest of the week. Community service projects, a movie, mixers, and a chance to meet and have breakfast with local churches. When NSO draws to a close, new freshmen should blend right in; except for the beanies that is.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 18, 2006 11:19 AM · Comments (0)

The HSU Friendship House back-to-school party was a tremendous success as over 40 children and their families cooled off in the HSU swimming pool, feasted on Betty Rose’s famous brisket, and received enough school supplies to make a “splash” in class.

At least 92 of HSU’s neighbors attended the event, and the smiles and laughter were contagious. Neighbors who hadn’t met each other chatted like old friends; even Mother Nature smiled as the threat of rain disappeared shortly before the party began.

This year, back-packs replaced paper bags as containers for notebook paper, scissors, crayolas, pencils, notebooks,and markers. “There was a special at WalMart and we just couldn’t pass it up,” said Neighborhood Enhancement coordinator, Linda Carleton.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 15, 2006 4:13 PM · Comments (0)

Debbie Jones, director of the Six White Horses program announced the date of try-outs for the 2006-2007 riding team. Jones needs to fill 3 vacancies this year, so cowgirls with visions of joining this elite equestrian team should start getting some quality-time in the saddle. Auditions will be at the Doc Beazley Six White Horses Center on the HSU campus, 19 Sep, at 5:00 p.m.
The public is invited to the try-outs.

Prospective riders must be enrolled as full-time students at HSU, and must have strong riding skills. Each applicant will be interviewed to assess their ability to represent the University and to maintain poise under stressful conditions. To make sure only the best riders are chosen, even current riders must audition each year.

Typically, prospects will demonstrate the ability to properly saddle a horse as judges evaluate their confidence, strength, and interaction with the horses. The group rides out to the arena where each prospect will demonstrate the ability to control a horse through a predetermined course. The course ends at the judge’s stand with the judges interview.

Riders perform throughout the year and are expected to groom their horses, handle tack and riding gear, and practice riding routines 2 – 3 times per week. The selection team generally chooses 8 riders so that at least 6 will be available at any given time for the program’s grueling schedule. Riders must have the stamina to guide a horse through complex routines while carrying one of the six flags that are associated with Texas history.

The 2005-2006 team will perform the finale’ of the season at this year’s West Texas Fair and Rodeo. If you miss the Six White Horses in the opening parade on 9 Sep, you can see them perform each night of the rodeo from 12-16 Sep. Their’s is the first performance of the evening, so you’ll need to be there by 7:30 p.m.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 15, 2006 4:09 PM · Comments (0)

The Hardin-Simmons University Friendship House is sponsoring a “Back to School Pool Party” for children, youth, and family members who live in the HSU neighborhood Friday, August 11th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the HSU swimming pool. In addition to swimming activities, the Friendship House will distribute school supplies to neighborhood children, and have a cookout.

This is the second year for the event, but will be the first year for the pool party. Last year, high winds and rain forced the event indoors. The rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the 30-40 neighborhood children who braved the elements. Children, families, and volunteers played games, feasted on a multitude of delicious offerings, and lined up for a large bag of provisions for the coming school year.

If readers are out shopping, Danyel Rogers, Friendship House coordinator, could still use scissors, crayons, and washable markers. Donations of school supplies are welcome at the Connally Missions Center on the HSU campus. Contact Danyel at 670-1257 if you have questions (she assures us that there is a 0% chance of rain tomorrow).

As part of the Neighborhood Enhancement initiative, HSU adopted the area between Ambler and I-20, Grape and Pine to meet and share resources with residents living near the University. Students in the neighborhood typically attend Ortiz Elementary, Mann Middle, and Abilene High schools.

A student from last summer's event inventories his bag of school supplies

The program has flourished, thanks to grants from the Shelton Foundation and the Community Foundation of Abilene. Recent activities include neighborhood cleanups, dedication of the Friendship House, a kid camp, programs with the HSU Center for Literacy and Learning, resident house-painting, the HSU Habitat for Humanity house, and much more.

Dr. Craig Turner, president of HSU, believes passionately in the Neighborhood Enhancement Center, “As a Christian university, Hardin-Simmons feels the responsibility to share our time, our friendships, our talents and skills, and our material blessings with those who live closest to us.”

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 10, 2006 11:34 AM · Comments (0)

Two HSU communications and marketing experts were tapped to speak at this week’s Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (TACVB). Abilene hosts this year’s event (we’re a Top 10 Texas Destination, you know) which annually draws over 200 representatives from Texas and Oklahoma.

The August 8-11 event is designed to provide professional training and problem solving forums for convention and tourism professionals. The week is spent in TACVB business meetings, orientations, recreational activities, and over 25 educational sessions.

First up (Wednesday the 9th) was Dr. Paul Potter, HSU professor of Mass Communication, who shared tips on how to be comfortable speaking in public. Convention and tourism promoters are just normal people with normal fears and anxieties, and public speaking consistently ranks among the top sources of distress among public relations professionals. His discussion room was packed with participants hesitant to open their mouths in front of a crowd, or afraid they’d say the wrong thing. Everyone is wired differently, but those who attended should have a better idea of how to relax and speak confidently before a group.

Leland Harden presents "Do-It-Yourself-Internet"

Today, our own Leland Harden, vice president elect of Institutional Advancement and director of University Communications, shared tips in the “Do-It-Yourself-Internet” session. The co-author of three books on internet marketing (Net Results, NetResults.2, and The Auction-APP) and successful founder of several internet companies showed attendees how to take control of their internet existence and make their websites more responsive to their needs. If the terms “data mining,” “viral marketing,” and “inbound link analysis” have you scratching your head, your business is missing a remarkable marketing opportunity. Come to think of it, there should be a few copies of NetResults.2 at local booksellers…

Other Abilene speakers include Doug Williamson, of the Abilene Reporter News, Donna Albus, John Dugan, and Hester Woods. The conference winds up Friday morning with a fitness walk and an awards breakfast.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 10, 2006 10:59 AM · Comments (0)

Deep in the mountains of Northern Slovenia, a group of Abilenians gathered for a very unusual outreach camp. They were about to give a group of Slovenian youth the experience of their lives.

Curt Howell, founder of the rock climbing guide service Crux, learned of the need for experienced guides through the First Baptist Church Missions Coordinating Council in Abilene. The adventure camp mission group Josiah Ministries had been working with youth in post Communist Slovenia and needed experienced climbers to help with their program. Howell didn’t think twice about offering his services, “Taking students climbing with the purpose of stretching and challenging them physically is how God engineered us.” He gathered staff, equipment, travel documents, and was quickly on the way to the Julian mountains in northern Slovenia.

Curt Howell helps Christian rappel into a sinkhole in the Julian Alps

Slovenia had been heavily Christian before the communist era, but now the population of 2 million people counts less than 1100 Christians among its citizens. A faith had been reduced to a footnote in history; although Josiah Ministries hopes to help turn that around. Said one Josiah member, “It feels like we’ve been doing CPR on the region for 5 years, and just recently the body is beginning to breathe on its own.”

The Communist era not only decimated the region’s faith, but instilled an innate distrust among the population. High adventure activities have long been known as barrier breakers, and Josiah Venture saw an opportunity to build trust among youth in hopes of planting a seed that will eventually reverse some of the damage caused by years of living in fear of persecution from government officials, and neighbors who might be government informants.

Curt goes over technical climbing details with Sasha

So it was that HSU grad Curt Howell, our own Bethany Howell of HSU University Communications, HSU grad student Jordan Neal, and HSU student Amanda Eichhorst joined with Josiah Venture adventure camp administrators to challenge 18 Slovenian teenagers, aged 13 to 21, to ask deeper questions of themselves; to question the “norm” and go beyond.

HSU climbing staff near Bevocs, Slovenia, (l-r) Curt and Bethany Howell, Amanda Eichhorst, and Jordan Neal

The cultural and religious environment was an eye-opener for Bethany Howell, “Coming from Abilene, it is hard to imagine a place where there is not a church on every corner. Although they are few, the Christians we met in Slovenia have a deeper faith than many in America because the choice to follow Jesus is a complete lifestyle change.”

Over six days the group participated in a round of hiking down mountains, exploring World War I bunkers, rappelling down into sinkholes, playing paintball, and trekking the Soca River. Trust relationships emerged as participants were forced to depend upon strangers to belay (control the safety rope), solve obstacles as a group, and rely on each other’s judgment in critical situations (often hundreds of feet above terra firma). Daily activities were designed to encourage the youth to think beyond themselves, beyond their culture, and beyond today; hence, the theme of the camp, “Beyond.”

Amanda Eichhorst with Matthies on the hike down from the mountain

Curt speaks for the group when he says, “Climbing is what we do, so we definitely enjoyed that part of the trip. But the most amazing thing we experienced were the relationships that we were able to make and help deepen.”

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 8, 2006 1:42 PM · Comments (0)

Things aren’t letting up in Jos, Nigeria. HSU's Dr. Phillip Palmer reports, “The number of patients in the outpatient clinic in the hospital seems to have exploded this week. We have had the opportunity to work with patients with polio, peripheral nerve injuries, strokes, back pain, neck pain, foot pain, and spinal cord injuries. We have enjoyed seeing the smiles of joy as patients reported that they were improving, and we have seen the pain in the eyes of those for whom physical therapy offered no benefit.”

Elayne Palmer had planned to work with the boys at the transition center, but her driver had to work for another family that day. She decided to go to the hospital and read to the children of women being treated for VVF.

Armed with six Little Golden Books, she walked to the hospital compound. Before whe knew it, she had 4 little girls hanging all over her. She wasn’t sure if they’d understand or even be interested in the stories, but, “They were captivated! The Saggy, Baggy Elephant and the Golden Egg book, which were loved long ago by my own children, were now being enjoyed by these precious girls. The most touching moment was when I pulled out The Christmas Story. Amina, an absolutely adorable Hausa child, murmmered along with me as I read, then she touched Jesus on every page and said, ‘baby,’ in English.”

The smiles among adversity that Luke noted in an earlier entry have had an impact on HSU student Eryn Mikel as well, “It is so honest and so meaningful. Every time you turn around, someone else in greeting you and smiling the biggest smile.” The photo below is of several of the widowed Nigerian women mentioned previously. They are being taught to sew as a marketable skill and will receive a sewing machine if they complete the 6-month course. They have nothing, yet they smile.

These people are just generally joyful. Despite the poverty, sickness, and death, these people have reason to smile. It makes me pray that my joy will never be dependent on my circumstances.”

Luke Palmer talks about a recent break in the grueling routine, “Friday and Saturday, the gang headed out to the Yankari Game Reserve in search of adventure. The encampment we stayed at was overrun with baboons and warhogs.

Baboons are the funniest creatures. One time, I saw a big baboon with a yellow bag in his mouth. Not too far behind him were a few African university students trying to figure out how to get their bag back.”

A number of HSU folks are returning from mission and service trips abroad in the next week. We hope to share some of these with you. Dr. Palmer and his crew return next week to hot showers and air-conditioning, with memories of a lifetime.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 7, 2006 3:40 PM · Comments (0)

HSU Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) took the portable village, Lone Star City, on the road visiting Sears Park and Pioneer Drive Baptist Church youth programs. “It went pretty well,” said SIFE president Blake Bradley, “but we’ll have to adjust the scenarios a little to keep the activity levels balanced.”

Among the businesses represented were an ice cream store, a doctor’s office, a uniform supply store, a fast food restaurant, a bank, a personnel agency, a WalMart, and a Home Depot. SIFE students gave the children instructions for the day and products and money to work with; then turned them loose to interact much like real businesses do in a community. The village is intended to give students an introduction to the importance of responsibility, economics, personal finance, and education in their future success.

The “workers” at the doctor’s office had to pick up money for the register, uniforms at the uniform store, and medical records for their “patients.” During the day, the receptionist and doctor gave “physicals” to applicants applying at WalMart, paid for lunch from Chick-fil-A, saw a few patients with aches and pains, and picked up their check from the bank at the end of the day.

The receptionist clearly hit his stride by giving animated instructions to “patients” coming for physicals, but the doctor was a little overwhelmed. The physicals were fairly straightforward, just a series of health questions, but when a “patient came in complaining of a hurt toenail, “Doctor April” was stumped, “I don’t know, I could give you a shot I guess. I guess I’m not a very good doctor.” One of the SIFE students was right there to encourage her and explain referrals for when a doctor isn’t sure about a medical condition, but she may have explained them too well; Doctor April referred her next 3 patients.

The children handled the workday pretty well, adjusting to business problems along the way. The ice cream storekeeper had to go to Home Depot to buy a part for the ice cream freezer. The WalMart store had a similar issue with its toilet (that’s when the children working at the WalMart had a discussion about who should be manager and who should be the sales associate).

After the business day ended the group talked about what they learned. Most of the children had played games as storekeepers before, but hadn’t had to rely on other businesses. One student summed up the exercise, and the lesson, by saying, “I didn’t know you had to do so many things just to sell ice cream!”

Lone Star City is expected to visit area schools this fall

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 7, 2006 2:42 PM · Comments (0)

Checking back with our crew in Nigeria, we find them elbow-deep in the daily challenge of helping too many people with too few resources. The conditions are appalling, but after an adjustment period, Dr. Phil Palmer, his family, and two of our HSU students are beginning to see the resiliency of the human spirit in unexpected places.

Student Eryn Mikel looked up from her rounds in the severely overcrowded Evangel hospital when she heard a small, sweet voice singing. Amid the suffering, stench, and cries of the horribly diseased and injured patients, she saw a young girl singing praises to God in the native language of Hausa. “Here is this young girl, so thin and frail, singing praises to the same God who brought me to Africa. It’s was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard,” said Eryn, “The same God who works in the busy streets all over the world cares for a young girl in Evangel hospitial; it is simply amazing!”

Another student, Jamie Eryn, attended a celebration for women graduating from the hospital’s VVF (Obstetrics Fistula) program which teaches survivors of this severely debilitating condition to survive. The women receive medical care, are educated in a number of health issues, and taught to make crafts they can sell to support themselves. VVF occurs during prolonged childbirth and results in damaged tissue; which later rots away reducing the women to walking corpses. A condition common to those living in poverty, sufferers are frequently kicked out of their homes and disowned by their families. At the graduation, “we arrived to drums, singing, and dancing. The women were praising God for their healing and for his grace. These women have nothing and are going home to nothing, but they still choose to praise God,” she said.

Elayne Palmer worked with a ministry to widows, “In Nigeria, when a husband dies, his family takes everything from the wife except her clothes and possibly her children. This ministry teaches women to sew and then rewards them with their own sewing machines when they complete 6 months of training.”

Elayne sums up the groups experiences so far as, “…a slide show on adrenaline. Pictures flood my mind, and the focal point of each picture is people. The people here are beautiful, with broad, welcoming smiles, but their situations range from comfortable to abject poverty.”

We should hear more from Dr. Palmer and crew over the weekend, so check back.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 3, 2006 1:59 PM · Comments (0)

Those who enter the HSU campus by the Cedar Street entrance probably wonder what the construction crews are doing to the venerable Hunter Hall.

More than a dormitory, Hunter Hall was a refuge, a study center, and social centerpiece in the lives of Hardin-Simmons University women since 1947. Still vibrant with memories, “The Girls’ New Dorm,” as Hunter was originally called, was named in honor of the late Judge Jesse C. Hunter, with initial funding from the oil industry. It is currently used to alleviate dormitory overcrowding and houses the Offices of Advancement and University Communications.

Hardin-Simmons University has long needed a dedicated welcome center to better serve prospective students and special guests of the University. This, coupled with the need for an attractive façade at the Cedar Street entrance (which would complement the Logsdon complex and the Johnson building) made Hunter Hall, with its ample first-floor lobby, the logical choice for the new facility.

The renovation, scheduled for completion in time for Homecoming (Oct 27-29), will convert the east side of the building into a grand, aesthetically pleasing entrance with structural elements that mirror other buildings in the immediate area. The new welcome center will feature a drive-through entrance with stately columns, and a beautifully restored lobby. The lobby will retain the decorative features familiar to those who called Hunter Hall home while attending HSU, but upgrade amenities for guests and hospitality staff.

Although staffing details are still being worked out, the welcome center is seen as the starting point for a prospective student and/or guest’s HSU experience. An information desk is planned to meet the individual needs of visitors, and guests will have elegant grouped seating and an available coffee/beverage area. Signage will direct guests to the center.

Although parking is somewhat restricted during the current construction phase, re-striping the parking lot will result in a net gain of parking spaces, even with the drive-through entrance. Some of these spaces will be designated for visitors only, but there should be a similar number of spaces for students and staff when the center opens.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 2, 2006 2:50 PM · Comments (0)

If you’ve peeked through the doors at Woodward-Dellis lately (and you shouldn’t, because the signs say “please don’t enter”), you might think we’ve landed a military contract with all the long tubes lying around like cannon barrels waiting to be fitted. Actually, if you'll forgive the play on words, these are meant for canons not cannons.

The Hardin-Simmons School of Music and Fine Arts has just received a rare Moeller 28 rank pipe organ which, when fully assembled, will fill Woodward-Dellis Recital Hall with richly textured tones that only an instrument of the finest quality can deliver. The works of Bach, Widor, Saint-Saens, and Frescobaldi will have to wait a while, though; since the new instrument now only fills the recital hall with a bewildering array of pipes, plumbing, electronics, and well, things that will just have to remain a mystery to mere mortals like me.

The organ, given to HSU by Dr. Burton Patterson, is a completely reworked Moeller from the early 1950’s. The assembly of such an instrument is a vast and complex undertaking. Nevertheless, master organ builder Tom Cotner is already at work on the instrument and estimates a completion date of 6-8 weeks.

Smaller than the Logsdon organ, the Moeller is a perfect match for Woodward-Dellis. The organ will be used as a teaching instrument, practice instrument, solo performance instrument, accompanying instrument for choirs, ensembles, and solos with organ accompaniment.

Mr. Lawson Hager, dean of the School of Music and Fine Arts, says the new addition will enhance the appeal of the HSU organ program by offering a selection of instruments with varying capabilities, “We are extremely excited to have such an instrument in our recital hall. It will definitely enhance the performance opportunities in the hall. It is wonderful that a man, who really doesn’t have any close ties to HSU but knew of our music heritage, was so gracious to give such a wonderful gift.”

A dedicatory program will be scheduled when installation is complete. Once the organ is assembled, it must become acclimated to its new home, be tuned several times, and be voiced for the recital hall. We’ll bring you more on the new pipe organ as assembly proceeds. For now, the organ-in-a-box is strewn (but carefully strewn, with each part marked for a specific location) across the entire stage, floor, and seating area of Woodward-Dellis. I guess the computer stand I put together last weekend wasn’t so difficult after all.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 1, 2006 4:44 PM · Comments (1)

The Six White Horses finally get a rest after a packed summer schedule of Texas Rodeos, the Boston Lion’s Club International parade, and now, the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Billed as the “Daddy of ‘em all,” the Frontier Days rodeo and western events is the largest such gathering in the United States. The HSU Six White Horses have been invited every year in the modern era of the event, and made the trip again this year.

With only a two-week break after Boston, the horses were on the road again, this time going west. Short one rider (a wedding and a work commitment kept the sixth and alternate riders from traveling), the master cowgirl herself, Debbie Jones, took the sixth position as the horses rode in 8 grand entries and acted as outriders in 4 parades. Jones, the Six White Horses program director, also pulled the preacher’s buggy with Powder and Shine in the harness in each of the parades.

Thursday, July 27, was Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the Cheyenne event, so the riders wore their pink outfits, made bows for the horses, and painted their hooves with pink glitter.

When the riders weren’t entertaining the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the Frontier Days Rodeo and Western Celebration, they hopped into a 1930’s era Yellowstone tour buss and drove off to watch the Air Force Thunderbirds show, visit the Cheyenne Frontier Days museum, tour the Wyoming museum, and dine at innumerable pancake breakfasts.

One thing the Six White Horses riders are known for is their work ethic, and Cheyenne was no exception. On parade days the girls were up at 4:30 a.m. (and 5:30 a.m. the other days) to clean pens and wash their horses.

The team is on the road home now; the girls will scatter for the summer, and the horses can take a month off. Fall starts with try-outs for positions vacated by graduating seniors, We’ll see 20 – 25 girls trying out for 3 positions, so the competition will be tight…and sometimes unintentionally comical. We’ll report it for you with all the behind-the-scene’s details.

Posted by Dave Coffield · August 1, 2006 9:45 AM · Comments (0)