Samford Crimson
Serving Samford University Since 1915
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
www.samfordcrimson .com
Volume 93 I Number 3
Samford benefactor leaves behind legacy
Jena Hippensteel
The Samford Crimson
Dean of the School of Performing Arts,
Joe Hopkins, paid tribute to one of Sam-
ford’s respected patrons, John E. Swearin¬
gen, prior to the performance of “The
World Goes Round.”
He died of pneumonia and Alzheimer’s
disease at Brookwood Medical Center.
For students who are not familiar
with Swearingen personally, they may
recognize his name. Swearingen Hall
was named in honor of him, and Bolding
Studio was named after his wife, Bonnie
Bolding Swearingen. She is a Samford
Theatre Alumna.
“Mr. Swearingen exemplified integri¬
ty, respect and honesty. In his autobiog¬
raphy, “Think Ahead,” John imparts his
wisdom of living life and conducting
business with his father’s admonition:
‘work hard, wash clean and always tell
the truth.’ Of all the stories I’ve heard of
his 89 years of life, I have yet to hear a
negative comment,” University Relations
Jim Hamil said.
Swearingen was bom on September 7,
1918 in South Carolina and graduated
form the University of South Carolina
with a degree in chemical engineering and
later received his masters in science from
Camegie-Mellon University in 1939.
His father taught him a love of educa¬
tion and a dislike for politics.
“I’m probably the only chemical engi¬
neer in the country with six years of
Latin,” Swearingen said.
As an accomplished businessman,
Swearingen was Chief Executive Officer
of Standard Oil, now known as BP-
Amoco. The company is now one of the
most powerful companies in the world.
Thanks to his position in the compa¬
ny, Swearingen’s name is synonymous
with that of the company’s.
Swearingen received honorary degrees
from 15 different colleges and universities
in his lifetime, one of which came from
Samford.
He was a member of the National Acad¬
emy of Engineering, National Business
Hall of Fame and the Chicago Business
Hall of Fame.
He had a reputation as an active
Republican and friend of President Gerald
Ford. He made no attempt to hide his dis¬
like for federal regulators and roles. He
often berated the “naive Department of
Energy" and “hysterical oil critics.”
Swearingen’s tie to Samford is due to
his wife, whom he met at a golf game in
West Virginia.
“She was very active in college life
and remains active with the University
today. On any given day you may see her
walking through campus envisioning
ideas on how we can make Samford bet¬
ter,” Hamil said. “She is also one of
Samford ’s biggest ambassadors, spread¬
ing our name and reputation around the
See PATRON, page
г
Courtesy of the New York Times
John E. Swearingen died at at age
89 in a Birmingham hospital.
. Josh Beard & Jena Hippensteel I The Samford Crimson
Construction crews have been hard at work to finish the coffee house. Harry's opening ceremony will
occur in the end of September complete with performances scheduled by SGA.
Coffee house opening soon
Danielle Cloyd
The Samford Crimson
The Harry’s Coffeehouse reno¬
vation is nearing completion
thanks to funding supplied from an
anonymous alumnus.
“The gift made it possible to
make the stage much larger, add a
raised seating area, add pendant
lighting, paneling, and to remove
the tile floor,” Vice President and
Dean of students Ri hard Franklin
said. “There is also a place that has
been designated as a memorial spot
for the namesake of the room.”
Harry’s is named in honor of a
young slave from the 1850’s who
lost his life in a fire while trying to
rescue students on the original
campus site. The site has been a
benchmark on the university for
numerous years now.
Although called a coffee house,
many students consider Harry’s to
be an extension of food court seat¬
ing.
“I always used to go to Harry’s in
between classes to study and/or
socialize and personally cannot wait
to see all the improvements that
have been made to make it into a
much more appealing atmosphere,”
junior biology major Laura
Matthews said.
Plans to renovate Harry’s began
several years ago when students
requested that the university not only
upgrade Harry’s but also make it more
aesthetically pleasing and functional.
“I really appreciate the herd
work that has gone into making this
dream a reality and am especially
grateful to the administration who
let the students’ voices be heard on
this issue,” SGA Vice President for
Programming Lee Ross said. “It is
going to be an amazing perform¬
ance space and will hopefully be
used by all students. One con may
be that we might not ever find a free
table in there like we used too.”
Franklin said, “ We believe stu¬
dents will find it a more pleasing
place to hang out.”
One of the student organizations
that wanted to update the area was
the Student Activities Council of
SGA, which hosts weekly perform¬
ances in Harry’s.
“I am personally extremely excit¬
ed about the renovation. I wasn’t
expecting it to consist of so much, so
soon, but I am thoroughly pleased
with everything,” Ross said. “I saw
the layouts over the summer and
was not expecting what we got. The
See HARRY’S, page 2
School of Arts
undergoes major
curriculum changes
Sloan Scfimidtke
The Samford Crimson
Samford’s School of the Performing Arts is in the process of imple¬
menting major ciriculum changes. The university trustees approved a
recommendation in June that the art department break from the Col¬
lege of Arts and Sciences and combine with the currehrSchooTfiTPef^
forming Arts.
With biology majors signing up for dance classes and a new Art’s
recruiter on the lookout for future graphic design, art, or musical theatre
majors, a transition became necessary.
Performing Arts has been slowly evolving for the past few years, and
this year serves as a transitional period that will pave the way for the offi¬
cial shift of the school into a School of the Arts, according to Dean of the
School of Performing Arts, Joseph Hopkins.
“With this goal in mind, we have created a dance minor and added an
arts recruiter who will help us target the best talents and recruit in need¬
ed disciplines,” Hopkins said.
The dance minor includes classes in ballet, jazz and modern dance
with skill levels ranging from introductory to advanced. The minor also
involves courses in choreography, dance history and several other theater
classes.
Hopkins is also excited about the school’s intent to join all forms of
the arts through ground-breaking technological applications and new
learning techniques.
“I can tell you that the new iPod community is part of this plan,”
Hopkins said.
The iPod community allows students to see recent performances as
well as view podcasts of lectures and educational downloads.
“Designing an iPod community challenges us to rethink what are the
limits of the library, classroom and practice room," said Hopkins. “We
envision students reliving lessons in the practice rooms, hearing a recital
they missed as they drive down the highway, or reviewing a lecture as
they walk across campus. We are working to make learning more acces¬
sible.”
With the addition of the dance minor, Hopkins’ focus rests on creat¬
ing new opportunities for students majoring in other areas on campus
while still supporting the work of arts majors.
Hopkins said that the response to the new dance minor has been
overwhelming.
After greatly enjoying her P.E. dance class last semester, junior biol¬
ogy major Kelly Bums jumped at the opportunity to sign up for some of
Daniel house to be renovated
HOLLI SCONYERS
The Samford Crimson
The Daniel House has provided thousands of
Samford students with a place to reside and
study abroad in London over the years. Now,
some believe that the Daniel House is in need
of renovations.
“Renovations are desperately needed at the
Daniel House as anyone that has visited there
lately will attest to. With so many students and
groups using the Daniel House day in and day
out,
24/7/365,
the needs of the house vary from
needs of a personal borne,” Kathryn Gardner,
London program assistant, said.
The house is the official Study Centre for
Samford students in London. It was built
between 1974 and 1975, and since then it has
been a haven for students and faculty studying
overseas.
When first constructed, it was a single-fam¬
ily Georgian style home in a suburban district
to the west of London’s center.
In the 1930’s the house served as flats for
several different occupants, and in the 1940’s
the space became a boarding house.
Finally, the residence was utilized as a bed
and breakfast hotel in the 1960’s until Samford
purchased the property in the raid-eighties.
This past summer, Gardner and David
Whitt, University Bngineer, visited the house
for a week I
with
as Samford *8 inspector, Andy Clark.
Even after the meetings took place, there
are still no concrete plans to begin restora¬
tions.
“We are hoping that the Daniel House
will be undergping renovations. However,
we have not been given any time frame to
begin any renovations, nor any word about
the intensity of the renovations, expected
completion date, or cost projections,” Gard¬
ner said.
Students who have lived in the house agree
that a few repairs are in order.
Junior accounting major Becca Mosley
stayed in the house last semester.
Rachael Emery 1 The Samfool Crinwn
Samantha Chambers keeps her toes pointed with
fellow students during jazz class
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