Union Artist Studies With Italian Sculptor

Lee Benson, assistant professor of art, was handpicked by Italian master sculptor Bruno Lucchesi to attend the Scottsdale Artist School in Scottsdale, Ariz. Jan. 27-31.

Benson attended one of only four workshops that are conducted each year in the United States by the Italian artist. Lucchesi, born in 1926 in Luca, Italy, "has a dazzling command of his medium in the tradition of the master sculptors of the Renaissance," Benson said.

Lucchesi's work is exhibited in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and in several private collections.

Benson, who joined Union's faculty in 1996, recently had a sculpture dedicated by the Area Council for the Arts in Rome, Ga. The 19 foot by 40 foot wide bisque archway that Benson created is the first piece of clay sculpture to adorn a public right-of-way in Floyd County, Ga.

Union Faculty Publish

Book shelves across the country are filling with works by Union University administrators and faculty. In 1996 alone, nine bound works were published by Union-affiliated authors.

"The active involvement of Union's faculty in the community of academic and evangelical scholars is just another demonstration of our commitment as an excellence-driven university," President David S. Dockery said.

Dockery wrote the Southern Baptist Convention's winter Bible study, Ephesians: One Body in Christ (Convention Press). The textbook features application statements and interactive learning activities interspersed throughout each chapter. It is accompanied by a video commentary featuring personal interviews with Dockery.

Steve Beverly, instructor of communication arts, joined Ivy Scarbrough, a Jackson attorney, to write Winning Against DUI (Pineapple Press), a handbook for victims of and advocates against drunk driving.

Ron Boud, professor of music, published two books of organ solos titled Sunday Morning, Sunday Evening and Great Postludes (Word Music Company).

R. Kelvin Moore, assistant professor of Christian studies, wrote The Psalms of Lamentation and the Enigma of Suffering (Edwin Mellen Press).

Michael Duduit, executive vice president and assistant professor of communication arts, authored Communicate with Power: Insights from America's Top Communicators (Baker Books). The book features interviews with America's leading preachers and teachers including Max Lucado, Bill Hybels, Chuck Swindoll, Warren Wiersebe, George Barna, and others.

David Gushee, associate professor of Christian studies, wrote Preparing for Christian Ministry: An Evangelical Approach (Scripture Press Publishers).

Paul Jackson, assistant professor of Christian studies, published An Investigation of Koimaomai in the New Testament: The Concept of Eschatological Sleep (Edwin Mellen Press).

Hal Poe, dean of academic resources and information services and associate professor of Christian studies, published The Gospel and its Meaning: A Theology for Evangelism and Church Growth (Zondervan).

Many other faculty and staff members have participated in scholarly writing throughout the year, publishing articles and presenting convention papers.

Bridger Ends Union Tenure With State Award

Pauline Bridger, Georgia Wilson Distinguished Professor of Nursing, Pauline Bridger concluded 32 years of service to Union University in December 1996. In her last semester as a member of the faculty, she was honored by Tennessee Nurses Association.

Bridger was named the recipient of the 1996 Alma Gault Leadership Award by the Tennessee Nurses Association at the group's annual convention in Nashville, November 15-17.

This award honors a nurse who has consistently demonstrated leadership in action toward improving the health of the community. The award was established in 1971 in tribute of Alma Gault of Nashville who pioneered regional planning for nursing and who was an advocate of the right of all people to quality health care.

Described by Carla Daster Sanderson '81, dean of the school of nursing, as "a scholar and well respected nursing educator," Bridger is also recognized as a valuable member of the Jackson community. She has consistently served as a CPR instructor and community health educator. Bridger has been a mentor and a role model for countless professional nurses.

"Ms. Bridger has had a dramatic impact on the minds and lives of many students," John R. Borden `78, chief operating officer at Columbia Regional Hospital of Jackson, said. "Her gentle kindness, her words of encouragement, her caring touch, her thoughtful and understanding wisdom, and her persistence in striving to always elevate the profession of nursing to its highest potential, clearly exemplifies what the profession is truly meant to be."

---

Professors Depart Union After 55 Years

Three Union professors recently announced their plans to retire or leave the University at the end of the 1996-97 academic year.

Rodney Everhart, professor of education, will conclude eight years of service to Union. Everhart first joined the Union faculty as an associate professor in 1968 after teaching on the elementary school level in Missouri for seven years. He left Union in 1971 to become a professor at the University of Tennessee - Martin, but returned in August 1992.

Lytle Givens, professor emeritus of sociology, joined the Union faculty in 1978 and will end 19 years of teaching at the University with his retirement. Before coming to Union, Givens served in assistant professorships at Huntington College and the University of North Alabama.

Ernest Pinson, professor emeritus of English, will end a 28-year Union teaching career in May when he will join his wife, Pat Pinson, at William Carey College, Mississippi. She is a former Union professor and is currently dean of the Gulf Port campus at William Carey College.

After obtaining his Ph.D. at the University of Ohio, Pinson continued with post-doctoral studies at the University of Virginia NSF and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England.

"On behalf of the entire Union faculty, I thank Drs. Everhart, Givens and Pinson for their combined total of 55 years of exemplary service to the students we are privileged to teach." Howard Newell, provost, said.