The W.C. Buthman Endowed Visiting Scholar and Lectureship Program

Established and endowed by his family, colleagues, former students, friends and admirers in November, 2000, the W. C. Buthman Endowed Visiting Scholar and Lectureship Program honors the distinguished legacy and service of the late Dr. Buthman, former Academic Dean and Professor of History at Hendrix College. In keeping with Dr. Buthman’s interest in and commitment to international affairs and global issues, the program focuses on scholars and lecturers whose expertise speaks most directly to the concerns of the collegiate center section of the new Hendrix curriculum known as "Challenges of the Contemporary World". In this way, the Buthman Program solidifies and enhances a most integral part of the College’s educational mission as it engages a new millennium replete with global issues and fundamentally articulated by global dynamics.

The W. C. Buthman Endowed Visiting Scholar and Lectureship Program brings up to two scholars per academic year to the campus, beginning in the Fall, 2001. As the endowment grows, additional visiting scholars and related programs may be included.

Scholars are selected with the following criteria in mind:

• That they bring fresh perspectives to the analysis of global issues and trends.
• That over time a wide range of global issues and dynamics are addressed in keeping with the curricular agenda of the College’s "Challenges of the Contemporary World."
• That scholars utilize interdisciplinary perspectives and methodologies whenever possible and relevant.
• That they promote cross-cultural appreciation and understanding.
• That they stimulate critical thinking about and evaluation of global issues and trends.

Scholars will receive a modest honorarium, plus expenses associated with their visit to campus. In return, they will be expected to spend up to three days on campus, engaging in a variety of opportunities by which to articulate their views on a range of global issues: public lectures, classroom visits, informal colloquia, and social occasions.

Selection of scholars will be undertaken by the International Relations & Global Studies Committee, appointed by the Dean of the College, which will solicit nominations from the Hendrix community at large. Nominations for Buthman Fellows should be made to the Chair of the IRGS Committee.

Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies provides opportunities for the study of the current and historical role of entrepreneurs in market economies. It provides a forum for public debate about the roles played by entrepreneurs in local, regional, national and international economic spheres. The Center provides focus for public debate concerning the effects of economic policy in such areas as taxes, property rights, government spending, and the regulation of entrepreneurship. The Center engages in activities complementing the educational enterprise at the College, such as sponsoring nationally prominent speakers on an occasional basis. The Center will sponsor internships for Hendrix students with entrepreneurs and will undertake other educational activities for the public consistent with the above purposes, such as seminars, workshops, and retreats focused on business and business leadership in relation to the liberal arts. For additional information contact Dr. S. Keith Berry, Professor of Economics at 450-1233.

Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language

Foundation programs enrich the study of literature and language at the College in a variety of ways. Students and faculty attend public presentations by and meet with nationally and internationally acclaimed scholars, novelists, poets, playwrights, and theatre directors. These visitors explore such annual program themes as Southern literature, 20^th century culture, literary criticism, Africa, the French Revolution, and human earth relations. Many students also participate in such Murphy Programs as the Language House, a year’s residential living experience rotating annually among French, German, and Spanish; a Writing Center, which provides peer tutoring services; a semester of study in London; creative and essay writing competitions; foreign and other film series; classical and other literature readings; and a senior studies seminar in Master Works. The new Bertie Wilson Murphy Building serves as a center for these programs, providing on-campus lodging for the Foundation’s visiting faculty, writers, and lecturers and a seminar room and library for those visitors to visit informally with students and faculty. Other building events include student and faculty poetry and other readings, film evenings, faculty coffees, and student literary group meetings. Additional information is available form the Foundation’s office in the Murphy Building or call 450-1399.

The Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling

In the formation of both its curricular and its co-curricular expectations, Hendrix College appeals to two founding traditions: the liberal arts and the United Methodist Church. The educational ideals of both traditions hold that education is not merely about what our students know but who they become, not about mere information gathering but character and spiritual formation. An educational mission shaped around these ideals asks those who are learning, and those who are teaching, to make education speak to the questions of vocation: Why am I here and what shall I do with my time and talents? Who am I, and what kind of person should I strive to become? What sort of life’s work will I find fulfilling and meaningful? What is it my enduring passion to do and what does the world need what I have to give? What does my God ask of me? Providing programming that encourages and assists students in the exploration of vocational questions and the consequent discernment of call is the purpose of the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling.

The Miller Center provides multiple pathways for individuals to explore the content and nature of their life’s true calling. Following theologian Frederick Buechner’s wisdom that one’s calling may be found where the individual’s “deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” many of the Center’s programs involve students in individual and group service projects in the local area, across the United States, and in other countries. Students, faculty, and staff who wish to be involved in service to the world and to use that experience for the exploration of their passions and calling will find numerous forms of support from the Miller Center.

The Miller Center is committed to the idea that the life of wholeness and vocational fulfillment is marked by the successful integration of information and value, faith and knowledge, secular duties and faith
commitments, material concerns and spiritual strivings. The Center therefore provides a variety of curricular and co-curricular activities designed to help participants explore the intersection of their academic study, their ethical ideals, and their religious understanding. The Center provides retreats, domestic and international mission trips, internships at non-profit agencies and faith-based institutions, conferences on faith and the academy, and undergraduate research opportunities on vocation. The Center supports the development of courses on vocation and workshops for faculty and staff on the vocation of teaching at a church-related, liberal arts college.
The Miller Center seeks to create a space within where listening to the call of one’s religious faith is respected, nurtured, and woven in the intellectual life of the collegiate community. The Miller Center provides programming for individuals across all religious and philosophical perspectives; however, in honor of the Methodist heritage of the College, some elements are designed specifically to assist those exploring a Christian vocation, whether through professional ministry or active lay leadership. Through the Center, students may participate in a ministry exploration group, apply for support to visit seminaries, intern with pastors, attend spirituality retreats, and experiment living in an intentional Christian community through on-campus themed housing.

Special Events

The Special Events Committee presents special, non-class programs in the fine and performing arts. Outstanding events of the past have included Marcel Marceau, The North Carolina Dance Theatre, Pilobolus, The Mystic Arts of Tibet, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Steven Petronio Dance Company, Lucinda Williams, T Bone Burnett and Sam Phillips, Van Dyke Parks, Richard Thompson, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The National Theatre of the Deaf, The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and Taj Mahal. For seasonal information call (501) 450-4545.

Steel Center

The Marshall T. Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy is named for Dr. Marshall T. Steel, distinguished alumnus and President of the College from 1958 to 1969. The Steel Center was made possible by a bequest from Mrs. Ruth Veasey of Dermott, Arkansas. The purpose of the Steel Center is the enhancement of the College’s capacities in the fields of religion and philosophy. It does this by sponsoring lectures throughout the year by notable speakers from throughout the nation; by offering workshops on philosophy of religion, theology, and related topics; and by sponsoring the Friday Afternoon Discussion in the Raney Building each Friday. In addition, the Steel center offers opportunities for continuing education for clergy and laity in the region by sponsoring the annual Steel-Hendrix lecture and awards ceremony. Dr. Jay McDaniel, Professor of Religion, 450-1284, serves as director.