April 2013

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News & Events

Inauguration of Steven L. Solnick
WWC first college in the Southeast to sign Real Food Commitment
Students win research awards at North Carolina Academy of Science
Canoe and Kayak Team wins national championship
WWC Cycling Team wins criterium at Southeastern Conference Championships
Hawkins wins Mid-Atlantic timbersports qualifier
Habitat for Humanity celebrates Sam and Evelyn DeVries
In the media
Links

Inauguration of Steven L. Solnick

On Saturday, April 27, Steven L. Solnick will be inaugurated as Warren Wilson’s seventh president. In addition to the inauguration ceremony at 11 a.m., there will be a range of events including a picnic lunch and entertainment by students, faculty and staff.

To read a recent profile of President Solnick in the Asheville Citizen-Times, click here.

For more information on inauguration, you can email Ally Wilson or visit the inauguration webpage.

WWC first college in the Southeast to sign Real Food Commitment

Warren Wilson and Sodexo Dining Services have signed the Real Food Challenge Commitment, partnering to become the first college in the Southeast to sign the agreement.

President Solnick and Dining Services General Manager Brian O’Loughlin signed the commitment April 15 in a ceremony on campus. The agreement, augmenting previous sustainability commitments by the College, states that WWC will procure 40 percent “real food” annually by the year 2020. The Local Foods Crew is charged with monitoring the food purchasing.

The national Real Food Challenge seeks to ensure that by 2020 at least 20 percent of college and university food purchases will be in the category of “real food”: local, sustainable, humane and fair trade. The Warren Wilson agreement is intended to double that percentage.

“We’re thrilled as a college to be signing this and to be partnering with Sodexo,” Solnick said. “I’m especially excited because this is student driven.”

Students win research awards at North Carolina Academy of Science

Early this month a group of eight students presented their Natural Science Seminar (NSS) research at the North Carolina Academy of Science annual meeting at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. Three students won awards for their research. In the Chemistry, Physics, Science Education and Health Sciences category, Mary Reding won second place for her research “Aflatoxins in peanut butter measured using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA).” In the Botany, Zoology, Ecology and Environmental Science category, Chelsea Kay won second place for “Sexual determination in freshwater jellyfish Medusae, Craspedacusta sowerbii, captured in Lake Fontana, North Carolina”; and Amelia Snyder won third place for “Migration of metals from a coal ash pond into the sediment of the French Broad River.”

Congratulations to all the students for presenting their research to the scientific community.

Canoe and Kayak Team wins national championship

On Saturday, March 30, Coach John Lightnin’ Griffith and the WWC Canoe and Kayak Team won the American Canoe Association’s Collegiate Whitewater National Championship. The ACA Collegiate National Championship is the premier event for colleges and universities from across the country to compete in canoe and kayak downriver racing. The championship competition features individual and team races in kayak and both solo and tandem canoes. With a total of 22 team and individual medals, the paddling Owls won the championship ahead of the University of Alabama, Albion College, Hollins University and Sweet Briar College.

WWC Cycling Team wins criterium at Southeastern Conference Championships

The Cycling Team pulled off a strong finish to its inaugural road cycling season at the Southeastern Conference Championships at Clemson University. The weekend started on Saturday morning with a brutal 8.35-mile individual time trial, where Izzy Cohan placed 3rd, Dillon Siff was 5th and Jonathan Frame took 7th. In the 20-mile road race Saturday afternoon, Izzy rounded the last curve of the course and rode strong to finish in 3rd place. The Sunday morning criterium race proved to be fast and furious around the flat 1/4-mile course at Glen Raven Custom Fabrics. Dillon was able to lead a successful attack with six laps remaining and put the WWC team in good position for the final laps of the race. Izzy won the race with Dillon and Jonathan not far behind. It was an exciting finish to an incredibly successful first road race season for Coach Addy Wygmans ’04 and the cycling Owls.

Hawkins wins Mid-Atlantic timbersports qualifier

Caleb Hawkins of Sedgwick, Maine, won the Regional Stihl Mid-Atlantic Qualifier Timbersports collegiate competition in Clyde, N.C. He placed first in stock saw, second in single buck, third in underhand chop and fourth in standing block chop. Hawkins was awarded a $1000 scholarship for his first-place finish and now advances to the U.S. Championships June 7-9 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. His victory in Clyde aired on ESPN and will air on the Outdoor Channel May 1 at 8 a.m., May 2 at 9 a.m. and May 5 at 3 p.m. Click over to the Forestry Program website for photos and a video of Caleb in action. In addition to Caleb’s victory, Sage Waring and Todd Gorham represented the WWC Tree Crew at the Charlotte Tree Climbing Competition. Competing against professional arborists, both students excelled in a series of events testing climbers' ability to set ropes, climb quickly, glide through the canopy, and rescue an injured climber. Sage placed second in the women's division and returned home with a new chainsaw.

Habitat for Humanity celebrates Sam and Evelyn DeVries

Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity recently received a gift from the estate of Evelyn DeVries. Evelyn and her husband, Sam, held a number of positions at the College between 1934 and 1976. To honor the memory of the DeVries family and to celebrate their importance to the Swannanoa Valley, one of the first homes in Habitat’s 17-home Swannanoa community will be built in memory of Sam and Evelyn. Habitat for Humanity is holding a wall raising on May 29 and invites the Warren Wilson community to participate. Contact Stephanie Wallace at 210-9383 or swallace@ashevillehabitat.org for more information.