Samford Crimson
Serving Samford University Since 1915
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
www .samfordcrimson .com
Samford suffers losses
Provost’s daughter
dies in car accident
Annie Murphree
The Samford Crimson
Monday night, around 9:30
pjn., Caitlin Creed, daughter of
Samford University Provost Brad
Creed, died in a car crash in Texas.
Caitlin was a freshman at Baylor
University.
“The assumption is that Caitlin
fell asleep at the wheel, but we
may never know for sure what
happened,” Executive Director of
University Communications
Phillip Poole said Tuesday.
The 19 year old graduated from
Homewood High School in 2006
and entered Baylor this past fall.
Baylor students have this week off
as in preparation for final exams.
According to Poole, Caitlin was
on her way to visit her grandmoth¬
er who is ill in a hospital in Tyler,
Texas. She was planning on meet¬
ing her mother, Kathy Creed, who
was already with the grandparents.
Dr. Creed and his remaining
children, Charlie and Carrie
Grace, flew to Texas on Tuesday
after receiving news of the acci¬
dent. Charlie is a sophomore at
Homewood High School, and Car¬
rie Grace is a fourth grader.
Caitlin ’s outgoing personality
served her well, as a high school '
cheerleader and participant in
beauty pageants, according to
those who knew her. After enter¬
ing Baylor, Creed declared a
social work major.
“Caitlin herself was a person of
very strong faith,” Poole said.
“She was a very compassionate
person who had strong convic¬
tions about the well being of
everybody. She never met a
stranger, and she lived her faith
every day.”
Jen Vinson, a sophomore Span¬
ish and education major, spent
time with Creed on a mission trjp
to Ecuador two years ago.
“I remember how sweet she
was, and she always had a smile on
her face. She was great at working
with children,” Vinson said.
Even if students didn’t know
Caitlin, they have shown sympa¬
thy for the Creed family.
“There’s an overwhelming
response of people on (Samford’s)
campus,” senior music major Eliz¬
abeth Godfrey said.
Godfrey created a group on
Facebook after the accident, ask¬
ing for prayer for Dr. Creed and
his family. Hundreds of members
have already joined.
“Everyone on campus thinks that
Dr. Creed is one of the strongest
leaders here,” Godfrey said.
Dr. Creed served as dean of
Truett Seminary at Baylor prior to
See CREED, page 2
1989 murder:
Former SU debate
coach stays in jail
Kimberly Holland
The Samford Crimson
William Slagle, the former
Samford debate coach and profes¬
sor who in 1989 stabbed student
Rex Copeland to death, was
denied parole Monday.
A statement from Copeland’s
parents said their son, who was
one of Samford’s star debaters,
had grown tired of the pressure of
college debating. He informed Sla¬
gle that he wished to quit so he
might focus on his classes, his fra¬
ternity and law school.
According to court records, Sla¬
gle was apparently displeased with
Copeland’s decision and confront¬
ed him at Copeland’s apartment on
the night of Sept. 21. 1989.
Shelby County district attorney
Mike Campbell prosecuted Slagle
for die murder, and he told the
Alabama Board _of Panions and
Parol» Monday that the stabbing
was so violent, investigators were
able to follow the path of the strug¬
gle easily.
Court records say that after the
killing, Slagle returned to his office,
called Copeland's apartment and
left a message on the answering
machine pressuring Copeland to
practice more.
Slagle attended Copeland’s
funeral and visitation, offering his
condolences to the family. He con¬
tinued to teach his classes at Sam¬
ford for a few days but later wrote a
In their statement, Copeland’s
parents recall the months when
Slagle was missing.
“We lived in fear and mental
torment as we grieved for the loss
of our precious son. We now knew
who murdered him, but we did not
know where he was taken or when
be might return to hurt others,” the
statement said.
Slagle surrendered to authorities
and was put on trial. He was con¬
victed of murder in 1990, sen¬
tenced to life in prison and is serv¬
ing his term at Kilby Correctional
Facility near Montgomery.
In an emotional plea to the parole
board, Copeland’s father, retired
U.S. Air Force Col. William
Copeland, asked them to keep his
son’s murderer in jail. Eight people
testified on behalf of Rex Copeland,
including Alabama Attorney Gener¬
al Troy King, representatives from
Victims of Crimes and Leniency
(VOCAL) and a representative
from Gov. Bob Riley’s office. A
crowd of 30 came to the hearing to
show support for William and
Emilea Copeland, Rex’s parents.
Slagle's lawyer, Susan James,
was the only person to speak on
behalf of. Slagle, now 60. James
said her client was a model prison¬
er and did not constitute a risk if he
were pardoned.
The
this case
she told the boerd.
William said the family feared
for its safety if Slagle were
not to put us
Biology professor’s life
remembered by many
Nick HoJdbroolcs I The Samford Crimson
Samford professors and shad ants mourned the loss of
biology professor Ron Jenkins Monday evening at Raid Chapel.
Annie Murphree
The Samford Crimson
Less than a year after being
diagnosed with cancer, biology
professor Ron Jenkins passed away
Friday night at age 54. Jenkins,
who earned his PhD. in biology
from Auburn University, spent the
past 19 years teaching at Samford.
The admired professor will
always be remembered as an avid
outdoorsman who had a passion
for the wonder of life and a deep
respect for nature.
“He worked hard to protect wild
areas in the state, cleaning up
rivers and preserving native
species,” David Chapman, dean of
the Howard College of Arts and
Sciences said. “He was an out¬
standing researcher who brought to
light the effect of paper mill efflu¬
ent on various fish species. He
even had to be escorted off a paper
mill property when he was found
taking samples at a settling pond.”
Retired biology professor W.
Mike Howell and Jenkins became
close over the years they spent
teaching at Samford. The two
worked on a book, “Spiders of the
Eastern United States: A Photo¬
graphic Guide,” for seven years.
They also
со
courses in
biology, particularly field courses
to places such as Dauphin Island.
Junior biology major Erinn Ojard
foodly remembers a course she took
from Jenkins. ‘The best part of his
course was the field studies we did
in the Shades Creek area, in which
we got a sampling of the insects and
small vertebrates living in and
around the creek. We took photo¬
graphs and then released the insects
or animals, because Dr. Jenkins had
a deep respect for nature and want¬
ed to do no harm in his environmen¬
tal studies,” she said.
According to Howell, Jenkins
was the first scientist to find male
hormones in freshwaters and his
work is presently the leading
authority on it.
Besides being a lead researcher
in his field, Jenkins’s reverence for
the sanctity of life overflowed out¬
side the classroom.
“He was a great believer in the
reverence for life. He believed that
See JENKINS, page 2
Spring Fling 2007
Andrew Woencr I The Samford Qumson
■ plays an outdoor concert for students as part ofttw Spring Rng weekend fertMfei.
A tuxedo-clad “Smith” takes
battle by storm
Lydia Hignite
The Samford Crimson
and
Parsons
leaves
Greek
position
Ben Hankins
The Samford Crimson
Amidst emotional tears and a
standing ovation, Director of
Greek Life Frank Parsons
announced his resignation at the
annual Greek Awards ceremony
last night.
Parsons is leaving Samford after
spending a total of 13 years at the
university. He has served as a pro¬
fessor, worked in Residence Life
and1 most recently, held the posi¬
tion of Director of Greek Life.
“I’m very saddened for the
Samford ^immunity, but I under¬
stand that it is a great opportunity
for him,” IFC President Rob How¬
ell said. Tie’s held key positions
at Samford and ones that have
been integral to student affairs. I
can’t imagine what the university
is going to do without him.”
Parsons will be going south to
Montgomery to serve as vice pres¬
ident of student affairs and dean of
students at Huntingdon College.
Huntingdon is a liberal arts college
affiliated with the United
Methodist Church, serving
approximately 800 students.
"Professionally, I feel that I
have more to offer than what I’m
doing right now at Samford,” Par¬
sons said. “I’ll be able to use my
lalents at a different
sod I feel I'm ready to
to
