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Inside Eckerd: The Latest News
May 23, 2014
We bid farewell to the Class of 2014 on Sunday, May 18. More than 5,000 family and friends joined together to reflect on the life-changing experiences that only Eckerd offers. Now the pace of campus life slows for the summer -- like our grads, it is a time to reflect on the busy year that was and to plan for the year ahead. Students, faculty, staff and alumni will be busy, fulfilling scholarships and fellowships, conducting research, attending professional development sessions, presenting at conferences, volunteering or traveling abroad. Inside Eckerd will take a break for the summer, returning in August with a new look and publication schedule.
If you have suggestions for Inside Eckerd, please email Tom Scherberger: scherbte@eckerd.edu.
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Congratulations, 2014 Grads!
More than 500 degrees were awarded during Commencement, which took place under the largest tent of its kind in Florida, with sunny skies and cool breezes.
The class of 2014 hailed from 41 states and 10 countries. They and their family and friends were welcomed by President Donald R. Eastman III and by Board of Trustees Chairman Miles C. Collier.
Photo, Melissa Lyttle, Tampa Bay Times
Melissa Harris-Perry, political scientist and aunt of graduating senior Christina Smith (above), delivered the Commencement address and received an honorary degree. "This is the moment when you begin your own journey," Dr. Harris-Perry told the graduates. "Your families laid your foundation.Your teachers gave you tools and raw material. But you must now construct a life."
Residential program graduate Wyatt Cameron McMurry was chosen by his fellow students to deliver greetings to the graduating class while Kevin Duane Johnson was chosen by the PEL graduates.
The day before, President Eastman delivered remarks during Baccalaureate titled, "The Last Big Question."
View hundreds of photos from the day. Watch a time-lapse video shot and edited by Eckerd students of the Commencement tent being erected. You can also view Commencement 2014 through the lens of social media.
The week before the regular graduation ceremony, the second annual Eckerd Pet Commencement was held at Fox Hall, honoring the support and companionship our furry friends provided students during their four years at this pet-friendly college. The Associated Press sent this story nationwide, while the Tampa Bay Times produced a video of this year's ceremony.
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PEL Changes Lives
St. Petersburg City Council member Darden Rice says her bachelor's degree through Eckerd College's Program for Experienced Learners (PEL) changed her life. She talked about her experiences at a May 21 open house on campus for prospective students. Rice graduated with distinction from the Program for Experienced Learners in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in American Studies. She explained how a quality liberal arts education can help a professional regardless of their chosen field. "My career took off after I graduated from Eckerd," said Rice. "Eckerd was the place for me. It didn't take long to realize this was the atmosphere for me to thrive in and was the intellectual atmosphere I was looking for." Rice was elected to the St. Petersburg City Council in 2013, representing District 4. Prospective PEL students can call or e-mail Admission Counselor Julee Breehne at (727) 864-8226 or breehnjr@eckerd.edu. Read more.
 The Program for Experienced Learners, Eckerd's popular Bachelor's degree completion program, has appointed Olivier Debure as its new Administrative Director. The position's responsibilities include overseeing staff development, recruitment and retention of students, marketing initiatives, strategic direction and coordination with other Eckerd departments.
The Program for Experienced Learners (PEL) gives busy adults the opportunity to complete a Bachelor's degree in a classroom-learning environment. Small class sizes and high-quality faculty create a premium college experience, along with the opportunity to network with other professionals. Students can take classes at PEL's St. Petersburg or Tampa locations.
Debure's experience in marketing and academia makes him an ideal leader to help PEL continue to adapt to the ever-changing environment of adult education. Read more.
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Faculty Focus
The National Institutes of Health awarded $747,000 to Eckerd College to fund computational modeling of how certain cancer-fighting drugs interact in the human body. It is the first NIH grant ever awarded to Eckerd College. Assistant Professor of Chemistry Joseph Larkin, Ph.D., will use the grant to develop methods to study boron-based pharmaceuticals that fight resistant cancers, such as pancreatic and ovarian cancers. The NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K22 Career Development Award will fund three years of study, beginning this summer. Eckerd College students will work with Larkin on the project, along with graduate students and faculty from the University of South Florida. Read more.| Tampa Bay Times
The quality of intellect and spirit that has made colleges and universities our most cherished institutions is selflessness. The goal of teaching, research, and service, the traditional triad of collegiate missions, is not riches or profit, but enlightenment. Nowhere is this goal more clearly evident at Eckerd College, and nowhere is the life of the mind made more manifest, than in the scholarship and artistic productivity of its faculty. - President Donald R. Eastman III
The online edition of the 2014 compilation of Eckerd faculty scholarship, A Celebration of Scholarship - Eckerd Faculty in Word, Image, & Performance,
can be viewed here.
Assistant Professor of Biology Greg Gerdeman's research of the effects of cannabis on the brain received well-deserved media attention recently as the debate over medical marijuana heats up in Florida. A column he wrote for the Tampa Bay Times went viral, with more than 16,000 Facebook shares, 17,000 emails and 250 Tweets. The Times also published a front-page story about Dr. Gerdeman's research and he was quoted in USA Today.
 Marion Smith, Ph.D., approached this year's annual Spring Concert of the Eckerd College Concert Choir with decidedly mixed emotions. The Mother's Day event drew a crowd to Wireman Chapel, with lots of mothers and their children in attendance. This year's program was titled "Come Let's Be Merry,'' reflecting the celebratory nature of the music. But this was the last choral concert under Smith's direction. He is retiring after 27 years as Director of Choral Music at Eckerd College. "There are a lot of mixed emotions," he said before the concert. "It will be an emotional time for me." Yet he also is looking forward to the freedom that retirement brings, even if he's not exactly sure what he will do. "I'm ready," he says, "for a new adventure.'' As he told the Tampa Bay Times, "I've really lived my dream all of these years." Read more.
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Tell Us What's Happening
Do you have an idea for a news item, announcement or fun fact? Contact us (the Office of Marketing and Communications) and it may be featured in an upcoming issue. Don't forget, we're here to help. Check out our website - it's chock full of resources just for you! |
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Feel-good Story of the Year  It was the hit heard 'round the world. When injured Eckerd softball player Kara Oberer could not make it around the bases after scoring the game-winning home run against Florida Southern College last month, two opposing players put down their gloves and carried her to home plate. The incredible act of sportsmanship came six years to the day after a similar scene unfolded between Central Washington and Western Oregon. "Six years later, integrity wins again," was the ESPN headline. The story ran on the front page of the Tampa Bay Times, and in newspapers and TV stations around the world. Watch the video
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Only at Eckerd 
Edgar Award-winning author Lori Roy appeared May 5 at the Eckerd College Reading and Art Party to help unveil to an audience of 150 guests the 2014 edition of Eckerd Review at Cobb Gallery. Roy won the 2012 Edgar Award for best first novel, and her second book, Until She Comes Home, was nominated for best novel this year. She attributes much of her success to her four-time attendance at the annual Eckerd College Writers' Conference: Writers in Paradise, co-founded and co-directed by Emeritus Professor of Literature and Creative Writing Sterling Watson and best-selling author Dennis Lehane, a 1988 graduate of Eckerd's Creative Writing program and last year's Edgar Award winner for best novel.
 An interview of Roy is included in
Eckerd Review 2014, a collection of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art created by members of the Eckerd community and published by students. During the Reading and Art Party, Roy participated in a Q&A session covering parts of that interview. The event, which included a special tribute to retiring nine-year Eckerd Review Faculty Adviser Helen Wallace, also featured readings from other works in the Review, such as poems by St. Petersburg Poet Laureate Peter Meinke and Eckerd College President Donald Eastman. Visual art from the 2014 Review, displayed in Cobb Gallery May 5-9, was celebrated at the party. Read an online edition of the journal.
Where else can you find the variety of summertime experiences offered at Eckerd? From athletics camps to water sports, residential Summer Science Splash to the new Florida Humanities Council's "New Eyes for a New Century" program, you will find something to fit your needs. Read more.
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Employee Spotlight 
The Board of Trustees has approved the promotion of Dean of Admission and Financial Aid John Sullivan to Vice President for Enrollment Management. John joined Eckerd in 2004 as director of admission and was named dean in December 2006. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 Renee Register '83, director of the Waterfront, was named Staff Member of the Year during the annual Staff Appreciation Lunch on May 13 at Fox Hall. In the words of her nominator, Renee's "passion for Eckerd College and the entire community is consistently demonstrated through her willingness to assume responsibility and contribute to the College's ability to maintain its vision as a place that changes lives."
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"The Eckerd Life" a Huge Success 
"The Eckerd Life," our 25-hour online giving challenge this month, was a resounding success. While the goal was to raise $25,000 in 25 hours, we raised $100,963 from 430 gifts, 70% of which were from alumni!. The campaign generated tremendous online engagement as well, from alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends - nearly 2,000 likes, 300 comments, and 200 shares on Facebook alone. Review a summary of the online posts. If you missed the 25-hour challenge, you can give online by clicking here.
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