December 2004

Alumni News

Houston Alumni to Welcome the Gents in January

Come join your fellow Houston Centenary Alumni, along with the Centenary College Staff, to support the Gents as they take on the University of Houston Cougars. On Monday, January 10 at 7 PM, dinner will be provided with a cash bar at El Tiempo at 3130 Richmond Avenue in Houston. The basketball team, the coaches, and the Athletic Director will be present from 6-7 PM to greet their fans. Join in the next night to cheer the Gents on to victory against U of H! Date of Game: January 11, 2005. Game Time: 7:00 PM. Game Location: Hofheinz Pavilion, University of Houston Campus. The College will provide tickets for the game on Tuesday night for those who attend the dinner on Monday night. Please RVSP to insure your place at this highly anticipated, special event. For more information contact .

Attention: Centenary College Choir Alumni!

Be a part of Homecoming in February by joining the Alumni Choir for the Sunday Worship Service on February 20, 2005. Associate Director of Church Careers DeAndre Johnson '04 is organizing the alumni choir. Rehearsal will take place in the Brown Chapel at 8:30 AM Sunday, February 20, 2005. Email for more information.

Prospective Arkansas Students Can Get to Know Centenary in Their Own Backyard!

Prospective students (and their parents) want to know what people will be like at Centenary, how well they will relate to the new community, will they make friends, do other students value education the same way, and do they value fun the same way. Centenary alumni in Conway and Little Rock can help answer these questions and more. Join in one of these events and mingle with prospective students, current students, staff, and fellow alumni:

Conway, Arkansas: Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 6-8 p.m.
Home of Jim and Sherry Owen (parents of Sarah Owen '06), 2500 Tyler Street
From I-40: Take Exit 129, turn west on Hwy. 286 toward Conway. Continue on 286 until you get to Donaghey St., turn right. Stay on Donaghey approximately 2 miles to Tyler St. and turn left. Driveway is just past Fair Oaks Drive and house sits back from the road.
RSVP : or 1-800-259-6447

Little Rock, Arkansas: Thursday, January 6, 2005, 6-8 p.m.
Home of Jim and Elise 71 Argue (parents of Emily Argue '06), 13409 St. Charles Boulevard
From I-430: Exit Rodney Parham going west until it turns into Hinson Road (at the intersection of Green Mountain). Travel on Hinson Road and turn left on Napa Valley. Turn right at light at St. Charles Blvd. From West Markham: Go north on North Bowman, which becomes Napa Valley Drive. Turn left at light at St. Charles Blvd.
RSVP or 1-800-259-6447

What do Mardi Gras beads and pickup trucks have in common?

The Highland Mardi Gras Parade in Shreveport, that's what! If you are a Shreveport/Bossier area alumnus and are ready to let the good times roll, then get on board for next year's Krewe of Highland Mardi Gras Parade. And, if you have a large pick-up truck and want to help we need you! Contact to volunteer your vehicle and yourself (to drive) for the day. For the first time in the history of this family-friendly, neighborhood parade, the route is being extended all the way to Centenary Blvd. and will pass right by the front of campus. The Jones-Rice Soccer Field will be designated the Official Family Zone. All alums and their families are invited, so mark your calendars for Sunday, February 6, 2005 at 2 PM! It's going to be a good ol' time!

Class Notes Online

Read the latest class notes, marriages, births, and in memoriam listings: HERE . They are updated monthly.

Campus News

Another Special Centenary College Choir performance not to be missed

The Centenary College Choir's annual Christmas program, sponsored again this year by Willis-Knighton will be aired on Christmas Eve. Local alumni can tune in to KTBS-TV Channel 3 at 10:35 p.m. for the program that was filmed earlier this month in the lobby of Hamilton Hall.

Noted Jesus Scholar John Dominic Crossan at Centenary Jan. 18-20; Public and Student Joint Sessions Planned

The Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan — considered by many to be the foremost scholar of historical Jesus — will speak Jan. 18-20 during seminars at Centenary College. Dr. Crossan, professor emeritus of religious studies at DePaul University, has written 20 books on the historical Jesus in the last 30 years. Four of them have become national religious bestsellers: The Historical Jesus (1991), Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (1994), Who Killed Jesus (1995), and The Birth of Christianity (1998). Dr. Crossan has been a frequent guest on prime time television including such programs as: PBS' Frontline Series, "From Jesus to Christ;" ABC's "Primetime Special with Diane Sawyer on Mel Gibson's Film, The Passion of the Christ , NBC's Dateline, "The Last Days of Jesus;" and ABC's "Peter Jennings Reporting: The Search for Jesus." He is a former co-chair of the Jesus Seminar and a former chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, an international scholarly association for biblical study based in the United States. He will present sessions on "Jesus & Paul" and "Rome & America: Replacing the Empire of Rome with the Kingdom of God," which are part of the Faith and Reason seminars produced by the D.L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation of Jackson, Miss. The local program is in conjunction with the Center for Theological Studies at Centenary. The program schedule is as follows:

  • Tuesday, Jan. 18
    • Seminar Session 1: "Roman Imperial Theology and the Normalcy of Civilization"
  • Wednesday, Jan. 19:
    • Student sessions: "Recent Archaeological Discoveries and the Historical Jesus and Paul"
    • First-Year Experience (student) session: "Truth-Telling in Biblical Scholarship" (Open to registrants as seating is available)
    • Seminar Session 2: "The Radicalism of God and the Ambiguity of Biblical Tradition"
    • Seminar Session 3: "Jesus, Paul, and The Kingdom of God"
  • Thursday, Jan. 20
    • Seminar Session 4: "The Resurrection of Jesus for Contemporary America"
    • Lunch with Dr. Crossan: "The Life of the Public Scholar"

All of Dr. Crossan's lectures will be delivered in Kilpatrick Auditorium, located in the R.E. Smith Building on the southeast corner of the campus. His books will be available in Room 100 of the Smith Building. Cost for all sessions, including lunch with Dr. Crossan, is $125. The costs for portions of the program are $100 for sessions 1-4 and the student sessions; $30 for each individual session; and $25 for the Jan. 20 lunch. To register, call 601-354-0767 or 800-882-7424, contact or download the registration form at http://www.faithandreason.org . Registration forms and further information are also available via Rev. Don Meeks, Director of the Center for Theological Studies, at 318-869-5156 or .

Goodbye Miss Lavail!

Honorary Alumna and Centenary's beloved “Miss Lavail” Stewart retired after 59 years of working in Centenary's Dining Hall. Generations of Centenary students will always remember her famous Red Velvet cake and yeast rolls. She will be missed. Notes and cards may be sent to Mrs. Lavail at 1827 Oakdale Street, Shreveport, LA 71108.

Centenary Remembers Dr. Richard Kirk Speairs, Jr.

Dr. Richard Kirk Speairs, Jr., 84, who taught biology at Centenary College from 1949 until 1967 passed away, Thursday, December 9, 2004, in Shreveport from a case of West Nile encephalitis with a subsequent fractured hip. Dr. Speairs was chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU in Shreveport from the time it opened in 1967 until he retired in 1987. He donated his body to LSU Medical School in Shreveport. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Betty McKnight Speairs, Professor Emeritus of Centenary College. Memorial donations may be made to the Ouachita Mountains Biological Station (OMBS, Museum of Life Sciences, One University Place, Shreveport, LA 71115-2399) or to the charity of your choice. Notes and cards of condolence may be sent to Mrs. Speairs at 600 E. Flournoy-Lucas Road, Apt. C-4, Shreveport, LA 71115.

Updates

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Contact information can be updated online at http://www.centenary.edu/alumni .