CONWAY, Ark. (October 27, 2016) – Hendrix College alumni Wayland Holyfield ’64 and Dr. Cathy Langston ’87 received the Hendrix Odyssey Medal at a special convocation today in Staples Auditorium.
Awarded by the Hendrix College Board of Trustees, the Odyssey Medal is given to Hendrix alumni whose personal and professional achievements exemplify the values of engaged liberal arts education.
An award-winning songwriter, Holyfield received the Odyssey Medal for Artistic Creativity. His work includes 40 top 10 hits and 14 #1 songs. Artists who have recorded his songs include Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Ronnie Milsap, Anne Murray, The Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band, The Oak Ridge Boys, Charley Pride, George Strait, Randy Travis, and Conway Twitty.
Holyfield was introduced by Danielle Rosson ’18, a music major and psychology minor from Cedarville, Ark.
"At Hendrix, I discovered there was a high standard, a lot was expected, which is not a bad thing," said Holyfield, noting that he and his wife Nancy were married 45 years ago in Greene Chapel, adjacent to Staples Auditorium. "Thank you, Hendrix, for that standard of excellence."
Dr. Langston, a veterinary internist and nephrologist, received the Odyssey Medal for Research.
"Hendrix played a critical role in helping me achieve my goal of being a veterinarian," said Langston, who was introduced by Anna Claire Atkins ’17, a biology major and chemistry minor from Little Rock.
A leading authority on small animal nephrology, she was instrumental in establishing a clinical dialysis program at the Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York City, as well as providing guidance and support to other hospitals that have launched such programs. Her current clinical
interests include treatment of chronic kidney disease, complications of hemodialysis, and treatment of anemia of chronic kidney disease. The author of more than 100 publications, she has been involved in clinical research covering a variety of kidney conditions, including a clinical trial investigating a new
drug to treat anemia of chronic kidney disease.
“As we celebrate these two individuals, we also recognize the role that this special place we call Hendrix College has played in their success and in the lives of the thousands of students who have called Hendrix their academic home over the past the 140
years,” said Hendrix President Bill Tsutsui, adding that the honorees “took that broad, rigorous, and engaged experience of the liberal arts at Hendrix and built upon it careers of distinction and lives of meaning.”
“They are testaments to the Hendrix faculty and staff who taught and mentored them, models to the students here who are following in their footsteps, and inspirations to us all.”
About
Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges
That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.