The Hendrix-Murphy Foundation staff, from left: Henryetta Vanaman, program manager; Hope Coulter, director; Sarah Engeler-Young ’91, assistant director; and Teri Schneider ’99, office and building manager.
CONWAY, Ark. (January 23, 2019) – The Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Programs in Literature and Language recently celebrated 40 years on the Hendrix
College campus, and that milestone year included the graduation of its first
cohort of Murphy Scholars. The success of the Murphy Scholars Program has led
to expanded staffing at the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation, with two Hendrix alumni
taking on new roles in the foundation’s work of enriching the study of
literature and language at the nationally-ranked liberal arts college.
Sarah Engeler-Young ’91, who served the Foundation for 13 years
as its Office and Building Manager, has received a promotion to the new
position of Assistant Director. Her work will focus on the proposal
process—helping Murphy Scholars and other students develop proposals for
literature and language projects, then administering and tracking the projects
as they move toward completion. Given her liberal arts education as a sociology
and theatre arts major at Hendrix, and her master’s degree in theatre history
and dramatic literature, Engeler-Young is well aligned with the literary mission
of the Foundation.
Teri Schneider ’99 has filled Engeler-Young’s previous position
of Office and Building Manager. Schneider, a former English major, also holds a
master’s degree in English, and taught English and creative writing as an
adjunct instructor for a number of years alongside her previous career in
retail. With that background, she too fits right in at Hendrix-Murphy as she
supplies administrative support to the Foundation, including managing payables
and scheduling events in the Murphy House.
Hope Coulter, a member of the English Department, continues with
Hendrix-Murphy as Director, and Henryetta Vanaman continues as Program Manager.
“Sarah is especially looking forward to working more closely
with students as they develop their proposals,” Coulter said. “And it’s great
that Teri is bringing her love of literature and language back to the Hendrix
campus to step into Sarah’s former position.”
For the Murphy Scholars Program, first-year Hendrix students
from across all academic disciplines apply to become Murphy Scholars through a
competitive process — the program accepts just 30 students per year. A shared
love of literature and language connects Murphy Scholars majoring in more than
24 fields of study in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. During
their time in the program, Murphy Scholars avail themselves of dedicated funds
and mentorship by specially hired two-year Fellows to pursue their interests in
literature and language. They also take Oxford-style tutorial courses in
literature and language, meeting weekly with their professor and one or two
other students to discuss readings and exchange essays. The program makes
Hendrix one of only a handful of institutions in the U.S. offering traditional Oxford-style
tutorials. The expanded Hendrix-Murphy Foundation staff will enable this
program to continue to flourish.
About the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Hendrix-Murphy Programs enrich the study of literature and
language for Hendrix College as a whole, as well as for students with intensive
interest in those areas of study. The late Mr. Charles H. Murphy, Jr., former
Chair of the Board of Murphy Oil Corporation and former member of the Hendrix
Board of Trustees, established the Foundation in 1978 in memory of his mother,
Mrs. Bertie Wilson Murphy. A 1905 graduate of Galloway Women’s College — which
later became part of Hendrix College — Mrs. Murphy possessed a lifelong love of
literature and language, to which these programs are exclusively dedicated. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu/hendrixmurphy.
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.