QuickNotes | November 2024

Close to 1,000 alumni and their families returned to Southern to celebrate, reconnect, and reminisce over the weekend of October 24-27. Nearly 100 Die Meistersinger alumni gathered for the 50^th anniversary of the group’s origin and blessed a full sanctuary with their music on Sabbath afternoon. Pavel Goia, ’99, inspired fellow alumni with his stories and his call to allow God to make us “Fit for Eternity.” The current and former deans and chairs of the School of Health and Kinesiology gathered with alumni to celebrate 60 years since the department was founded, and a big group of alumni joined a farewell breakfast for Dale Walters, ’81, head of the Applied Technology program within the School of Engineering and Physics, who is retiring at the end of this school year.

Honored alumni were recognized at the Kick-off Banquet. Congratulations again to our 2024 award recipients:

Distinguished Service | Boaz, ’04, and LaRae (Coleman) Papendick, ’04
Alumna of the Year | Mamie Pruitt, ’79
Young Alumnus of the Year | Jeremy Grabiner, ’14
Graduate Studies Alumnus of the Year | Victor Czerkasij, ’83 and ’00
Honorary Alumnus | Braam Oberholster, PhD
Lady of the Year | Kari Shultz, ’79

Alumni enjoyed workshops on artificial intelligence, cooking, brain health, and more. They fellowshipped over meals, enjoyed choral and orchestra music, celebrated honored alumni,  and oohed and aahed over classic cars and tractors. Mark your calendar for Homecoming Weekend 2025 on October 23-26 to join another fun-filled weekend honoring the lifelong friendships and memories that unite us.

Enjoy photos from the weekend at southern.edu/homecoming.

– Staff Report

David French, JD, bestselling author and columnist for The New York Times, traveled to Southern’s campus to speak with faculty, students, and the community on September 19 for the R. Lynn Saul’s Lecture Series hosted by the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC).

During French’s time on campus, he interacted with students and faculty during class time and a luncheon, then gave a lecture titled “A Nation Divided: Where Do We Go From Here?”

“Our opinions about the other party have only gotten worse. We don’t just disagree, we have animosity,” French said, sharing that many people no longer want to be friends with others who hold different beliefs.  “Sometimes it can be hard to be a solitary dissenter in a community where everyone disagrees with you, or often you can feel oppressed or intimidated sometimes in hyper-partisan cultures where you’re on the outside looking in.” 

His solution for how to move forward, based on his Christian beliefs, is that people need to create a greater sense of connection in society. “We are awash in hatred, but we know the antidote,” French said. “The antidote to hate is love. The antidote to cruelty is kindness.” He shared that each person can help heal the nation through friendships, connecting with people on a human level, and striving “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). “The call now is to move from fear,” he said, “to reach out to people with whom we disagree, to love unconditionally. That is what heals us.”

French’s lecture was not just a one-way communication. Following the presentation, he was joined on stage by LaTrice Currie, co-anchor for Chattanooga-based Local 3 News, who moderated the Q&A portion of the event. This interactive session allowed the audience to actively participate and ask French questions. 

French graduated from Tennessee’s Lipscomb University with a bachelor’s degree, and then earned his doctorate at Harvard Law School in Massachusetts. He has worked as senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a lecturer at Cornell Law School in New York, and a litigator focusing on constitutional law. In 2006, he obtained an age waiver from the U.S. Army and served in Iraq. His most recent book, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation, outlines the dangers of polarization and the need to engage with people who have opposing viewpoints. 

The Chattanooga Times Free Press was a sponsor for this event, part of the lecture series promoting prominent journalists and top communication professionals who visit campus to inspire a new generation of truth seekers, storytellers, and influencers. The series honors the legacy of Lynn Sauls, ’52, PhD, former chair of what is now SJC, who passed away in 2023. 

The recording is available for a limited time here.

– by Alexis Dewey, senior mass communication major

The first of three groups of students from Southern, joined by employees and family members, left campus on October 2 to quickly respond to the devastation in North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. 

Even before the Category 4 storm struck the coast and moved inland, killing upwards of 300 people, the university’s Disaster Response Program coordinators—Laura Racovita, PhD, dean of the School of Social Work, and Cheryl Craven, ’99 and ’21, director of Christian Service—began recruiting volunteers and coordinating with partner organization 2Serve to move into areas of need as soon as routes were cleared. Processes to excuse students from classes were pre-approved, allowing Southern to deploy help more speedily as a result.

Hosted by the Fletcher Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the first group included 44 volunteers who stopped along the way to pick up supplies ranging from bottled water to baby food. Once on the ground, the Southern crew helped run points of distribution, clear debris, tarp roofs, and remove drywall and flooring as well as mud in flooded homes of local residents. 

In a message to Southern President Ken Shaw, Fletcher Academy President and CEO Chris Carey noted volunteers’ “enthusiasm and dedication were evident from the moment they arrived, ready to make a difference.” Despite nights spent in sleeping bags on the floor of the church’s fellowship hall, nothing dampened the courage and willingness of those who chose to live out the university’s mission statement to “pursue Spirit-filled lives of service.” 

When the second group's trip was canceled due to infrastructure challenges at the base site, many students were quick to ask if there was space to join an alternate group instead. Four students and a professor from the Physical Therapist Assistant program spent the weekend of October 5 assisting in cleanup efforts, and Group 3 joined the work on October 8 with 20 more volunteers who were ready to model the hands and feet of Jesus.

Nearly 400 of Southern’s 3,229 enrolled students hail from the states hit hardest by Helene—the Carolinas and Georgia—and many more have family and friends that live in flooded and damaged areas, some still without power. One student from North Carolina is senior marketing major Mason Harmon, who described the trip as unlike anything he had ever experienced before. “Witnessing so much destruction and seeing people’s entire livelihoods and communities completely devastated was such a sobering reality. I definitely feel that my assistance in the cleanup efforts made a positive impact, but due to the magnitude of the situation, I wish that I could have done more.”

Harmon also shared how the response holds personal significance for him. “I’m beyond grateful for Southern’s willingness to serve in my home state and proud of my university family for stepping up to support the communities of Western North Carolina.”

In addition to coordinating recruiting and trip logistics, Racovita also oversees pre-deployment orientations and post-service debriefings. Students have reported being “enriched by these missions where even the smallest things had a big impact, not only on the people they served but also on themselves.” Campus volunteers with servant hearts will continue to explore ways to help rebuild damaged communities, especially those so close to home.

– by Allison Grundy, junior business major, and Tina Frist Smith, '89 and '23, communication manager

Held on October 3 at The Signal in downtown Chattanooga, Southern’s annual A Taste of Southern gala invited guests to sample what Southern has to offer. Nearly 300 local professionals attended the event, raising approximately $222,000 with proceeds adding to Southern’s endowed scholarship for first-generation college students.

“We want to make a difference for students, and one way we do that is through hosting A Taste of Southern for our community,” says Ken Shaw, ’80, EdD, president. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for businesses and organizations in Chattanooga to learn more about our university, to connect with our top-notch students as they prepare to enter the workforce, and to show support financially.”

Barbara McKinney, ’81 and ’85, MD, says, “As an alumnus and board member of Southern, I am thrilled to provide scholarships for first-generation students!”

Jenifer Estrada, junior social work major, is one recipient of the First-Generation Student Endowed Scholarship. “Some of the challenges that I have faced as a first-generation student are feeling very burnt out and overwhelmed with financial stressors. It honestly takes a mental toll having to feel like you’re kind of alone in it,” she shares. Upon learning she was receiving a scholarship from funds raised at A Taste of Southern, she responded, “It just feels like a weight lifted off when you’re being told that people want to help you. I know God is going to bless them in so many other ways.”

Geoff Sewell, MD, was a first-generation college graduate in his family. Now, as a board member of Southern, he loves that students have this scholarship opportunity. “This is another way that Southern is thoughtful about its students and finding ways to support and encourage them in their educational journeys,” he says.

The gala’s entertainment included music from multiple-GMA-Dove-award winners Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, along with smooth melodies from Southern’s Jazz Ensemble, a cooking demonstration from the university’s Vegetarian Culinary Arts program, and a silent auction. Guests also had the opportunity to meet handpicked intern candidates from the current student body.

Sewell shares that he enjoyed interacting with students at the event. “It was great to see their reactions to the accolades and accomplishments presented by President Shaw,” he says. “The great work done by both students and faculty was an obvious point of pride for them.”

Sponsors for this year’s event included San Sebastián Development, Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Irvin and Evea Bainum Foundation, Morning Pointe Senior Living, SouthEast Bank, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Grant and Pam Tuttle, and other community partners.

Visit southern.edu/tastephotos to view images from the event.

– by Becky Brooks, '03, editorial manager

Southern’s School of Nursing is the first nursing school, and only the second healthcare program, in the United States to utilize the R42 Bariatric Manikin, newly released in 2024. The manikin provides nursing students with needed experience as they care for patients with different body types.

In the skills lab at Southern, manikins are used to allow students to practice a variety of tasks, including checking vital signs, inserting a nasal gastric tube, and changing the dressing on a wound. 

“Our goal is always to simulate reality as much as we can,” explains Kerry Allen, ’98, associate professor and skills lab coordinator in the School of Nursing. “We want students to interact with manikins that mimic what they’re going to see in a hospital setting.”

Allen first saw R42 when she attended the International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare in January and gained approval to purchase it soon after. The name R42 references the 42% of Americans who are obese, with the manikin simulating a person weighing 300 pounds. The first on campus that simulates an obese body type, it is 3D printed with a realistic skin texture and fully articulated limbs.

Allen explains that understanding different body types—and the skills needed in each situation—is beneficial for many of the tasks that nurses undertake, such as turning patients in the bed or changing bedding while the bed is occupied. Students in Southern’s Fundamentals of Nursing course have already worked with R42 when learning about body mechanics, moving patients in their beds, and administering IV medications. 

Because of Southern’s investment in learning, students have the chance to work with many patient types in the skills lab before they enter a hospital, better preparing them to work with live patients. The newest manikin is one more step in maintaining a strong program fostering success in future nursing careers.

– by Chehalis Eno, junior English major