I can hardly believe I’m in my 15th academic year as president of Belhaven College—the second longest serving president of any of the four-year schools in Mississippi.

It seems like just yesterday that I held the first press conference in Girault Auditorium (which we’ve since torn down), made the first major decision about whether or not we could afford to continue the music program, and hired the first new person on the leadership team—Tom Phillips, who served as VP for Campus Operations and oversaw the physical transformation of the campus.

Much has changed in 15 years.  God has been good and gracious to Belhaven College.

•         We launched, by faith, new campuses in other states, moved into online education, expanded graduate degrees, developed our Worldview curriculum, and have grown the size of our faculty and staff as the enrollment took off.

•         We developed extensive construction projects across the campus that seemed to go on forever, trusted God to supply our needs during tough times when we didn’t know how we’d meet payroll, and rejoiced in years when we were blessed with modest surpluses.

•         We negotiated hurricanes, purchased property on Riverside Drive, ramped up the Arts to become a world leader, began a football program, and faced accrediting challenges that sometimes scared me to death and other times made me burst with pride for the quality of Belhaven.

Normally at milestone anniversaries of college presidents, the school magazine displays charts and graphs counting successes during the leader’s tenure. In my 15th year, I didn’t want to do that kind of counting for three reasons:

1.         It would be both selfish and silly to think I did this.  The remarkable progress of Belhaven is only the result of God empowering 262 full time employees and 317 adjunct faculty, as well as scores of alumni, friends, and churches who continue to give and pray for the College.

2.         Good things didn’t start the day I got here.  I’m deeply thankful for my predecessors in leadership who advanced Belhaven in such important ways, going all the way back through the nine presidents before me—and especially
Drs. Cleland, Kennedy,and Wilson of this most modern era.  And I thank God for strong leaders like Dan Fredericks and the senior faculty who have carried so much during these years, as well as a Board of Trustees who
have been unshakable in their vision for a
Christ-centered college.

3.         I didn’t plan God’s direction for Belhaven during these years—the Lord did.  My responsibility as president is to guide us in being good stewards of the resources (people, dollars, and ideas) and be ready to capture the opportunities God has given us.

I also did not want to create a “score-card” for the past 15 years, because that is not how God measures success.  I feel so strongly about this, I wrote a book to address my concern, stating this in the opening chapter:

“The Church has been duped into fostering a generation of leaders, board members, employees, and constituencies who value short-term gain over longview significance. Ministry leaders believe it and act accordingly—hiring and rewarding people who can promote Band-Aid fixes as monumental solutions, creating plans that promise the moon and always come up short, raising funds from unrealistically compressed donor relationships, and touting to boards and constituencies those results that can most easily be measured and applauded.”

As the apostle Paul challenged us in I Corinthians 13, it is time to put away childish things in leadership and not be wooed by the immediacy of appearing productive by making meaningless sounds like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. Rather than our noisy quarterly reports (or even 15-year graphs), our standard for how we measure success as Christian leaders needs to reflect the longview desires of God, built on values that endure.

When I look back on the 15 years I’ve been privileged to lead Belhaven College, I want to focus on:

•         students whose lives were transformed as they captured God’s best for their future

•         faculty who have invested in developing insightful worldview thinking and Christ-like mentoring

•         chapel services during which the Lord spoke to us all in deepening ways

•         athletic teams and residence hall living that purposely built character

Those successes don’t show up in graphs or charts, but they are how God measures the value of Belhaven.

I love Belhaven College—I love our God-honoring mission and the people who have such a passion for ministry through Christ-centered higher education.  I love that we have been given a worldwide reach for the Gospel from this charming campus in Jackson, Mississippi.

As I look back over these years, I’ve loved every day, and I am filled with anticipation knowing the Lord has great things in store for us in the years to come—I ’m counting
on that!—RP

HAPPY 103rd BIRTHDAY, MRS. HARMON!

Ever think “what was the greatest thing before sliced bread?” Mrs. Mary Harmon could tell you.Belhaven’s legendary retired home economics professor just celebrated her 103rd birthday. This means Mrs. Harmon was growing up in Goodman, Miss. long before sliced bread was even invented (1928) or the creation of the Model T car—or even the discovery of Penicillin.

Mrs. Harmon, a member of the Legacy of Learning, began her Belhaven career in 1952, when Dr. Gillespie asked her to “finish out” a semester in the home economics department. This temporary position quickly turned into a 30-year career of which Mrs. Harmon says, “I loved every minute of it.” When asked what she taught, she answers without skipping a beat, “everything it takes to make life worthwhile.” Her love for home economics is still evident by the grace and hospitality she shows in her Jackson home today. Mrs. Harmon says she was drawn to home economics by her “love for beauty, progress, and family life.” Not only was family life an important aspect of her teaching, it is evident by her own life that she views family as foremost. Upon meeting her, it doesn’t take long to hear about her
love for her late husband, “T Carter” Harmon, and her daughter, Mary Parker Harmon Buckles, both of whom
she admires greatly.

Perhaps it’s also Mrs. Harmon’s sense of humor that kept her teaching home economics for so many years. She tells the story of a former student who called her up on Christmas morning wondering how to thaw and cook the turkey she had just pulled out of the freezer. Mrs. Harmon instructed her to do three things: put it back in the freezer, go out and find whatever she could, and save that turkey for next year!

In 1954, when the announcement was made that men would be entering Belhaven, Mrs. Harmon says she glibly remarked, “Oh, that won’t concern me”—only to have the very first man at Belhaven take her class! He wanted to become a buyer for the food service industry, and when he graduated, he got the job.

In her 103 years, Mrs. Harmon has faced many things—from the outlandish (finding a snake in the home economics dining room)—to the gut wrenching (watching her uncles and brothers leave on the train to serve in World War II). Through it all, she has developed an attitude that can only be described as selfless. From taking it upon herself to empty the swimming pool in the basement of Fitzhugh for more classroom space (they had to back trucks up to the windows…there was no “easy way” to empty the pool)—to putting most of her paycheck back into the home economics program—Mrs. Harmon truly has lived out the Belhaven motto, “to serve, not to be served.”

Her legacy continues through her students, who still use
her recipes and speak of her as “family.” Mrs. Diana Howie ’69
says that Mrs. Harmon was like a mother to her students, and today, she is like a great-grandmother to her students’ grandchildren! Just this past September, Mrs. Howie’s granddaughter, Caroline Grace Hodges, was the seventh child baptized in the baptismal gown sewn (by hand) by Mrs. Howie for Mrs. Harmon’s  “Child Care and Clothing” class in 1968. Even 40 years later, Mrs. Howie says, “I find myself doing things in my home like we did them in the Home Economics ‘practice house’.” She adds, “Mrs. Harmon has impacted a lot of people through the years, and I am fortunate to be among them. She’s never been just a teacher to her students—she’s always been family.”

Mrs. Harmon, thank you for adding to the rich Belhaven heritage with your 30 years of diligence, grace, and perseverance. And in your own words of encouragement to Belhaven: “Keep on keeping on!” —MP

back to ’09

Belhaven

Spectacular weather, meaningful events, and wonderful interactions between Belhaven alumni were the highlights of Back to Belhaven – Homecoming 2009!  When the curtains closed on the final event of the weekend, more than 350 individuals participated in the festivities across campus.

“I enjoyed myself greatly during the weekend,” expressed Sara Smith T, a member of the Class of ’89.  “I was so very impressed with the state of my alma mater.  The campus looked wonderful, the students were friendly and helpful, and it was great to be with all the dear faculty who were such blessings in my life.”pectacular weather, meaningful events, and wonderful interactions between Belhaven alumni were the highlights of Back to Belhaven – Homecoming 2009!  When the curtains closed on the final event of the weekend, more than 350 individuals participated in the festivities across campus.

Homecoming events kicked off on Thursday, November 5, with the Blazer Volleyball team squaring off against conference foe, the University of Mobile, in the Rugg Arena.  The annual Homecoming Dance continued its recent tradition of being held on Thursday, as the student body ventured out to Reservoir Pointe in Ridgeland to eat, fellowship, and dance, dance, dance.

Friday, November 6 was full of activity from the beginning, as the Office of Admission conducted its “Discover Day” program for prospective students and their families.  After alumni checked in at registration, they were welcomed at the Alumni Reunion Reception in the McCravey-Triplett Student Center commons.  From the general reception, individuals from the classes of 1959, 1969, and 1999 branched off for special gatherings at various locations.

The highlight event for Friday evening was the “Thirty Years of Excellence” Celebration honoring Dr. Al Chestnut and Dr. Phil Kelly for their thirty years of teaching service in the Belhaven Science Department.  (See page 14 for recap)

More than 120 people attended the 17th Annual Belhaven College Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday evening in the H.C. Bailey Dining Commons.  The five new members inducted into the Hall this year were:  Mrs. Wanda McDonald Gatlin, ’99 (Women’s Basketball); Mrs. Leanne Smith Henderson, ’02 (Women’s Soccer); Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald, ’88 (Men’s Soccer); Mr. Orley Hood, ’71 (Sports Information/Manager); and Mr. Danny Lewis, ’81 (Men’s Basketball).

The 4th Annual Belhaven Homecoming 5k Run/Walk took place first thing Saturday morning, November 7.  Participants enjoyed spectacular weather as they either ran or walked the 3.1 mile course that rolled throughout the Belhaven neighborhood.  Both male and female champions were crowned, with the winning times being a little more than 18 minutes and just short of 20 minutes, respectively.

A crowd of nearly 130 people was present for the Alumni Awards Luncheon, honoring Belhaven alumni for their outstanding achievements in the arenas of business, church ministry, community service, and education. This year’s recipients were:  Mr. Mark J. Windham, ’77 (Alumnus of the Year); Mr. Grant Callen, ’05 (Young Alumnus of the Year); Mrs. Erma Driver, ’04 (Community Service Award); Mrs. Peggy Skattebo, ’78 (Church Service Award); Mrs. Beverly Weathersby, ’78 (Bettye Quinn Education Award); and Mr. John Eichelberger, ’76 (Jim Park Business Award).  In addition to hearing from each of the recipients, attendees were witness to the induction of the newest members into the Fifty Year Club from the Class of ’59.

The Blazer Football team got caught up in a shootout with Mid-South Conference foe Shorter College.  Unfortunately, the Blazers could not pull out the victory, falling by a score of 55-42.  At halftime of the game, Mr. Alex Freel and Miss Madison Childs were crowned the 2009 Homecoming King and Queen.

Saturday evening the Belhaven String Chamber Orchestra presented “The Landing,” by Belhaven’s Dr. Andrew Sauerwein in the Concert Hall of the Center for the Arts.  All those who attended enjoyed featured performances by the Belhaven College and Jackson Community Symphony Orchestras.  Additionally, the Blazer Men’s Basketball team defeated the Pensacola Christian College Eagles by a score of 86-64, and improved to 3-0 on the season. —MD

Ten Radically Counter-Cultural Things that You Can Learn at Belhaven that You Won’t Learn at Other Colleges.

Dr. J. Ligon Duncan, III, Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson and member of Belhaven’s Board of Reference, spoke at the Fall Academic Convocation. He contrasted Belhaven’s emphasis on the biblical worldview with 10 “isms” that are at odds with Christianity.

(”Isms” at odds with Christianity listed in gray)