Six verbs, an adjective, and two nouns describe the Presbyterian College experience its president said Tuesday, as the college held its traditional Opening Convocation to formally begin the 2006-07 academic year.

In his opening remarks, PC president Dr. John Griffith said a series of banners around campus bearing these important words - "Learn," "Engage," "Lead," "Invent," "Excel," "Lead," Serve," "Global," and "Honor" - should reflect the values of the college and inspire its community to action.

"Lead" and "Serve," in particular, are hallmarks of PC, he said.

"The highest quality education - the type of education you will receive from PC - is not a selfish act," said Griffith. "It is an act that is about service - learning to use your God-given talents to serve others and serve them well."

Griffith also pointed to some of the major highlights of the academic year - including renewal of the covenant between PC and the Presbyterian Church USA, the construction of a Habitat for Humanity home in Clinton, the yearlong study of Islam, a new downtown college bookstore, and the beginning of construction on the new science building.

Student Government Association president Brittany Flowe, a senior from Greenwood, S.C., also reminded members of the incoming Class of 2010 that they are "embarking on the best four years of your life."

"You have so much to look forward to," she told freshmen. "For the Class of 2007, this is our victory lap. Each of us seniors are filled with the bittersweet knowledge that very soon our time will be over and we'll be moving on to exciting places and new opportunities. My challenge, if you will, to all students is to make the very best of your time here."

New provost delivers keynote address

New college provost Dr. Robert Holyer delivered the keynote address, "The Paradoxes of Liberal Education."

Holyer began by reading the college's mission statement and pointing out that it places PC in a long tradition of liberal education that dates back to ancient Greece. A liberal arts education, he said, seeks to develop basic intellectual capacities - originally writing, speaking, mathematics, and critical thinking and, later, philosophy.

In addition to these basic skills, the liberal arts also have evolved to include a broad range of subjects - the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities - that are offered by the modern liberal arts institutions, Holyer said.

In this modern form, he noted, a liberal education is inherently a secular enterprise.

"First, there are no sacred questions - and no sacred conclusions," he said. "(There are) no questions in your education that cannot be asked honestly. No questions that are out of bounds. No beliefs that are not open to examination. No conclusions that we must necessarily arrive at. Whether as faculty members or as students, we are free to question and examine all things."

Liberal education also is secular, Holyer said, because it is not bound by sacred authorities - not by personal beliefs nor what anyone has taught an individual in the past.

"In other words, we are not free to appeal simply to the sacred authorities of our past," he said. "Because of the inherently secular nature of liberal education, we, as a community, enjoy a special freedom called academic freedom. Faculty and students alike may responsibly ask any question and advocate responsibly any conclusion of which their research or investigations lead them - without fear of repercussion. This is the cornerstone of any community devoted to free inquiry."

This freedom, however, can be unsettling, Holyer noted, and, in fact, should make students uncomfortable from time to time as they call into questions things that have defined their world.

"If at some point during your four years at PC this does not happen, we have failed you or you have failed to engage your education personally," he said.

But the paradox of this liberal education, said Holyer, is that it "flourishes best in a community of faith" because a student's moral and spiritual growth also are essential.

Holyer said that during his teaching career, he discovered that the spiritual sides of his students mattered and he quickly realized which students had or didn't have the character to succeed. So, paradoxically, he said, while faculty and students may venture freely in their intellectual pursuits, the liberal arts is at its most powerful when a college community holds some things in common.

The liberal arts are victim to fragmentation - disciplines, specialties, and sub-specialties - and students often take introductory courses that are largely disconnected, Holyer said. At PC, on the other hand, the goal is to help students search not only for intellectual truth but also for the spiritual truth inherent in a "deep and reasoned faith."

"My hope for each of you students is that your four years at Presbyterian College are the beginning of a rich moral, spiritual, and intellectual life - that ends up with a reasoned and satisfying faith of your own," he said.

The college honored two people who have both lead and served the college and their communities by presenting the Martha Anne Green Service to College and Church Award to Alvenes Barksdale of Clinton and an honorary Doctorate of Public Service to PC trustee and patron Irwin Belk of Charlotte, N.C.

Retired educator honored for service

Barksdale, who retired as an educator and guidance counselor after serving 32 years at Bell Street School, said that her relationship with the award's namesake - the college's beloved associate dean of students who passed away in 2004 - made receiving it even more special.

"I am humbled to benefit from Martha Anne Green's legacy," she said. "I thank you, Martha Anne - to God be the glory."

A member of Mt. Carmel A.M.E. Church in Gray Court, S.C., Barksdale is one of Clinton's most active and passionate volunteers. A retired educator who served more than 30 years as a teacher and guidance counselor at Bell Street School, she has given her time to a number of professional, civic, religious, and volunteer organizations, including the Laurens County branch of the American Cancer Society, the Laurens County Literacy Council, the NAACP, and the Clinton Bi-Racial Human Relations Council.

At her home church, Barksdale serves on the Stewardess Board, the Women's Missionary Society, the Willing Workers Club, the Lay Organization, and the Family Life Center Steering Committee. She also has served as a Sunday school teacher, as a church delegate to the Annual Conference, and as editor of the church newsletter, the Mt. Carmel Informer.

Barksdale's service to PC also is worthy of note. She has been influential in opening doors for Student Volunteer Services to work in community institutions, and has served on the Grandparent Advisory Council to CHAMPS, and as a minority student recruiter for the Office of Admissions.

PC and First Presbyterian Church of Clinton jointly presents the Martha Anne Green Service to College and Church Award each fall.

Belk receives honorary degree

Belk, the president of the Belk Group and a member of the PC Board of Trustees since 1976, has long been one of the college's leading patrons. Gifts from the Belk family have made possible Belk Auditorium, Mary Irwin Belk Hall, Carl C. Grotnes Hall, Carol International House, and the Irwin Belk Track at Bailey Memorial Stadium.

Belk also has given PC Italian marble statues, as well as a series of bronze statues, including the world's largest bronze Scots warrior outside the new football stadium. He also has funded student scholarships and an endowment for faculty development.

In addition to his many philanthropic endeavors in medicine, education, economic development, the arts, and in his own church, Belk also has made public service a priority in his own life - serving as a member of the N.C. House of Representatives and the N.C. State Senate and as a public delegate to the 54th United Nations General Assembly, in addition to serving on the boards of numerous charities and causes.

PCUSA moderator sends greetings

The moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, PC graduate Rev. Joan S. Gray, brought her welcome from the denomination - and she also shared a few personal insights into her alma mater, as well.

"This is a place where you can be who you know you were meant to be," she said. "So take advantage of that while you can. God is alive in this place. Don't be surprised if you find God needing you in places you never expected - and be prepared to come to terms with the claims that God has on your life and the adventure of being a believer while you are in this place."

Student awards presented

PC also presented its annual awards for underclassmen. The Freshman Academic Award for members of last years freshman class was presented to sophomores Lauren Elaine Bowers of Rock Hill, S.C.; John Benjamin Nunley of Lexington, S.C.; and George Dana Waters V of Aiken, S.C.

The Fraser Bible Award was presented to Leah Joanna Boshell of Blacksburg, S.C. The Hay Religion Award was presented to Katherine Blair McCants of Seneca, S.C.

The Class of 2010, transfer students, and new faculty also signed the college's Roll of Honor, pledging to uphold the student Honor Code.

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