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Hendrix Highlights of 2017

CONWAY, Ark. (December 19, 2017) – From fabulous faculty and super students to campus milestones and new facilities, here are some of the top stories from the fall 2017 semester at Hendrix:

  1. Hendrix Welcomed the Class of 2021
    This fall, Hendrix College welcomed 353 new members of the Class of 2021 to campus. This year’s incoming freshmen hail from 23 states and five countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Nepal, Australia, and Rwanda.
  2. Čapek Installed as Distinguished Professor of Sociology
    Hendrix sociology professor Dr. Stella Čapek was installed as the College’s fourth Elbert L. Fausett Distinguished Professor. Her course topics include sociology of the environment, food, cities, gender, medicine, and social movements, and her professional service spans local, state, and national activities.
  3. Momentous Milestones Celebrated for Cabe Theatre, Hendrix-Murphy, Henenberg
    With Cabe Theatre and the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language turning 40 years old, and Dr. Rosemary Henenberg, professor of theatre arts emerita, celebrating her 80th birthday, a September 9 event in Cabe Theatre honored the impact of these three Hendrix institutions.
  4. New Dawkins Welcome Center Opened
    Hendrix opened its new front door of campus, the Mary Ann and David Dawkins Welcome Center, at Harkrider and Winfield Streets. The 17,550 square-foot building, which houses the College’s admission and financial aid staff, honors United Methodists and longtime Little Rock residents Mary Ann and David Dawkins. Following Mary Ann Dawkins’ death in 2014, Hendrix received the largest gift in its history from her estate.
  5. Alumni Return as Inaugural Lecturers for Two Series
    Jessica Pettitt ’96 and Dr. GerShun Avilez ’02 came to campus for the inaugural Senate Jennings Lecture and the inaugural Mellon Scholar Lecture, respectively. Pettitt encouraged her audience to embrace difficult conversations as a way to make change – which is the foundation of her book, Good Enough Now: How Doing the Best We Can with What We Have is Better than Nothing. Avilez’s lecture, titled “Vanishing Acts: Black Labor, Social Absence, & Civil Rights Reform,” examined how Douglas Turner Ward’s one-act play A Day of Absence stands as a creative response the reality of civil rights reform in the 1960s, highlighting the gap between advancements in civil rights policy and actual lived experiences. He recently earned the Modern Language Association of America’s William Sanders Scarborough Prize for his book, Radical Aesthetics and Modern Black Nationalism. The prize recognizes an outstanding scholarly study of African American literature or culture.
  6. KIPP Partnership Expansion Opens Path for New Aspire Scholars
    New Hendrix Aspire Scholarships will cover up to the full cost of attendance for a number of Federal Pell Grant-eligible students graduating from KIPP Blytheville Collegiate High School. President Tsutsui signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Scott Shirey, Executive Director of KIPP Delta Public Schools, at an October 12 ceremony at KIPP Blytheville Collegiate High School.   
  7. Hamer Honored with 2017 Odyssey Medal
    Hendrix awarded its 2017 Odyssey Medal to Mark Hamer ’88 during a special ceremony in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center. Hamer, who serves as Director of International Business Development for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), was honored for his achievements in the area of global awareness.
  8. Odyssey Project Grants for Fall 2017
    The Committee on Engaged Learning awarded grants totaling $45,246.11 to 22 hands-on projects requesting funding through the Odyssey Program. The College has awarded $3.78 million in Odyssey grants to students and faculty since the program’s inception in 2005.
  9. Hendrix Warrior Athletics Achievements
    Hendrix Women’s Soccer reached the NCAA Division III Finals for the first time in school history, while Hendrix Football finished the season with 8 wins and 2 losses for its fourth consecutive season with a record of .500 or better, and the season with the most wins in school history. (View a detailed list of student-athlete awards and honors)
  10. Miller Creative Quad Details Announced
    The College anticipates the start of construction on the new Miller Creative Quad in May of 2018. Applying the highly successful mixed-use model of The Village at Hendrix, the Miller Creative Quad will include two new residence halls, with living and study space for students on the upper floors. It will be home to a new campus art museum, including galleries, prep area, art storage, and an auditorium and film screening room, as well as music faculty offices, practice facilities, and teaching spaces.

About Hendrix College

A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.