September 2012

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News & Events

Forging ties to the College’s newest blacksmiths
Greg Neeley named head men’s basketball coach
Alumni welcome President Solnick in Asheville
2012 Harwood-Cole Memorial Lecture
Register for Homecoming and Family Weekend – Oct. 5-7
In the media
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Forging ties to the College’s newest blacksmiths

Twenty-three years after graduating from the College, Dale Morse ’89 is still living his life based upon the school’s Triad of academics, work and service. Each year he travels from Virginia to help the Blacksmith Crew members advance their skills. It’s something he does to stay connected to the College and embodies the belief that service is one of three strands of a meaningful, well-balanced life.

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Greg Neeley named head men’s basketball coach

Greg Neeley, who turned around the men’s basketball program at Ancilla College in Donaldson, Ind., in his two seasons as head coach, has been named head men’s coach and sports information director, effective Oct. 4.

“Coach Neeley is a great fit for our basketball program,” WWC Athletic Director Stacey Enos said. “He is a hard worker—evident by his success at Ancilla—and is a proponent of incorporating service into a team's experience.”

Neeley succeeds Kevin Walden, who accepted the head coaching position at Knox College in late August after leading Warren Wilson to its first winning record since the 1980s this past season. The Owls ended the season with a nine-game winning streak and a No. 9 ranking in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association.

“I want to sincerely thank President Steve Solnick, Dean of Students Paul Perrine, Stacey Enos and the search committee for this fantastic opportunity,” Neeley said. “I’m looking forward to working with our student-athletes and all the entities on campus to continue the positive momentum of the men’s basketball program.

Neeley is not a stranger to the Southeast, having previously served three years as assistant men’s basketball coach at Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga., an NCAA Division III program. Under head coach Lee Glenn, Neeley coordinated recruiting efforts for a program that achieved its highest win total in seven years in his final season there. He also coached the Piedmont men’s and women’s tennis teams.

Neeley has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio Northern University and a master of business administration degree from Piedmont.

Alumni welcome President Solnick in Asheville

Sixty local alumni attended the fall mixer on September 13. Liberty Bikes, owned by Mike ’70 and Claudia Nix ’69, provided the perfect setting for an evening of music, mingling and food.

Tunes were provided courtesy of Joe Hallock ’00 and John Hairfield. Donations from Jacob '98 and Alicia Sessoms '00 from Table, Jamie Ager '00 and Amy Frey Ager '00 from Hickory Nut Gap Farms, and Jennifer and Neil Thomas ’84 from Montford Walk-in Bakery furnished a veritable feast of barbecue on homemade rolls and falafel bites with cucumber and tzatziki. Dean Jackson ’00, owner of Fifth Element Massage and Fitness, gave free chair massages (of which our new president took full advantage).

The crowd spanned generations, with recent graduates and those more deeply rooted, including a few faculty, staff and legends from the College like Ernst ’49 and Pat Laursen. A highlight of the evening was hearing from our president, Steve Solnick.

Mike and Claudia want to make this an annual event, with one caveat and lofty goal: they want to outgrow the expansive bike shop. That means we hope to see all of you locals next fall.

There are six more receptions for President Solnick in cities on both coasts of the United States. We hope you can make it to one of them. Please email Kelly Ball if you are able to attend.

If you’d like to host your own alumni mixer, wherever you live, we’re here to help. Email Dustin Rhodes ’95 with any ideas or questions.

2012 Harwood-Cole Memorial Lecture

Russell Banks will be the speaker at the Harwood-Cole Memorial Lecture Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. in Canon Lounge of the Gladfelter Student Center. A 3 p.m. reception with music by The Dixie Darlings precedes the free lecture.

Included among the numerous honors and awards Russell Banks has received are the Ingram Merrill Award, the John Dos Passos Award, the Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Laure Bataillon Prize for best work of fiction translated into French. Banks was New York State Author (2004-2008) and is the founder and President of Cities of Refuge North America. He is the winner of the 2011 Common Wealth Award for Literature; also in that year, the French Minister of Culture awarded Banks the rank of Officier des Arts et Lettres.

For more details about the Harwood-Cole lecture, contact Christine Nugent at 828-771-3061 or nugent@warren-wilson.edu. The Friends of the Pew Learning Center and Ellison Library sponsors the annual event.