December 29, 2023

As we reflect on 2023, we celebrate the many ways the heart of Huntingdon College was on display across all facets of campus life throughout the year. 

Students returned in January for the Spring semester and were awed by the new sound and lights system installed in Ligon Chapel (article), the transformation of Drum Theater into a hub for the new Huntingdon Esports program (artlcle), and the creation of additional glassed-in study spaces in the Caroline Slawson Campus Commons in the Houghton Memorial Library.  

To celebrate MLK Day in January, the Office of Student Development and the Department of Teacher Education partnered together to collect school supplies to donate to Halcyon Elementary School.  

On January 27, more than 100 Huntingdon College sophomores in the College’s CALL 200 class visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and considered, both individually and in groups, vocational discernment and ethical responsibility (article).

The 2023 Academic Showcase in February featured poster and public presentations, speeches, performances by the jazz band, choir, Huntingdon Winds, and percussion ensemble, the dedication of the Phillis Wheatley plaque in the library, glimpses of academic clubs and honor societies, and so much more to capture and celebrate the life of the mind.

February also featured Huntingdon’s annual Black History Month Art Exhibit which honored the work of Birmingham artist Larry Silver (article).  

The Spring calendar was filled with events hosted by the Center for Career and Vocation, the Library, Counseling Services, and the Office of Student Development. The nearly 100-year old tradition of passing the Oracle from the senior class to the junior class continued. Ariel Dixon ’25 was crowned the 91^st Miss Huntingdon (article), and Nevaeh McIntyre ’24 was elected the 107th president of the Huntingdon Student Government Association (article). All new SGA officers were sworn into office and celebrated with a campus-wide inaugural ball in April.  

Business and Accounting students had a chance to visit with Anoop Mehta, CPA, who is the Chair of the American Institute of CPAs. A panel on “Perceptions on Race and Athletics” moderated by Dr. Chris Clark '07 brought Donald Jackson, principal of the Sports Law Group, and Jahmal Kennedy, sports broadcaster for WSFA, to campus for a conversation with students. 

Dr. Jacqueline Allen Trimble ’83, poet, professor, and director of the honors program at Alabama State University, read from her acclaimed second book of poetry, “After the Apocalypse,” for a combined Houghton Memorial Library/Department of Languages and Literature/NetVUE Grant event.  

Civil rights historian and renowned writer Dr. Tim Tyson, author of “Blood Done Sign My Name” and “The Blood of Emmett Till,” among other volumes, spoke for the Ellison-Chapman Benson Symposium, as well as with two classes while on campus. Dr. Andy Kim of the National Security Studies at the Air Command and Staff College spoke on the Ukraine and Russia conflict.

Throughout the Spring semester, Huntingdon’s Madison Society, a new club for conservative thinkers, presented a variety of speakers including Rachel Ferguson, who spoke on “The Case for Pro-Black Conservatism," Phillip W. Magness of the American Institute of Economic Research who spoke on the topic, “The 1619 Project: Facts and Fictions,” and Michael Maibach, Distinguished Fellow for Save Our States, who addressed attendees on the nation’s electoral college system and contrasted the U.S. election system with that of other countries.

The men and women wearing the scarlet and grey performed well in Spring athletic competition highlighted by the men’s golf team securing the inaugural Collegiate Conference of the South tournament championship and an invitation (once again) to the NCAA Division III national championship. The Huntingdon beach volleyball team advanced to the final four at the national championship. Individual and team athletic accomplishments were recognized at the annual Athletic Banquet in April (article).

In the Spring, the College also celebrated great accreditation news. Huntingdon’s Master of Athletic Training program earned accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) (article). The inaugural cohort of master’s degree students received their degrees at the May commencement. Huntingdon’s Educator Preparation Programs, housed in the Department of Teacher Education, have earned national accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) (article).

To conclude the Spring semester, dozens of students were recognized for scholastic achievement at the April Awards Convocation (article). Student engagement in service to campus organizations was celebrated (article), the Spring Dean's List was honored (article), and 176 members of the Class of 2023 were deployed to apply wisdom in service at the May 6 Commencement (article).

The summer months were busy as the College rolled out the scarlet carpet for new students attending Home Sweet Huntingdon events in June and July.

Additional properties were secured on College Court and Woodley Terrace to prepare for the largest residential student body in College history in the Fall, including the Diane Smith Wendland, Class of 1953, Home dedicated on Woodley Terrace. Dr. Sarah Sours transitioned into her new role as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty (article). Mr. Anthony Vittore was hired to serve as the Director of Huntingdon College Bands (article). Eight new faculty members were onboarded to lead classrooms in the Fall (article).

In August, the Fall semester began as the College welcomed the largest freshman class in over 50 years, and hosted a dynamic four-day new student orientation experience (article). 63 freshmen immediately hopped into leadership roles as members of the Freshmen Leadership Initiative (article). Fraternities (article) and sororities (article) had highly successful recruitment campaigns in August as over one hundred freshmen students joined one of the College's seven Greek social organizations. Chaplain Rhett Butler '13 had huge attendance at campus ministry events in August which continued throughout the Fall semester (article).

As the Hawks were preparing to kickoff the Fall athletic season, Huntingdon announced the addition of women's flag football to our lineup of athletic teams and welcomed Angela Rowe as our inaugural head coach (article). The first season of flag football competition will take place in the Spring of 2025.

Our athletic teams competed well in the Fall season. The inaugural Huntingdon Esports team made their presence known by securing the ECAC Rivals National Championship in Overwatch (article) and the regular season conference title in Rocket League (article). Hawks football secured the Wesley Cup with a dominating victory over BSC (article) in route to an 8-2 season and share of the USA South conference championship. The indoor volleyball team had a great second half of the season propelling them to the second seed in the conference tournament and an opening round victory at home.

Representing our cross country teams, Mac Brooks '24 and Kate Smith '25 won the individual Hawk 5k titles, and Kate's win propelled the Lady Hawks to a first place team showing (article). Mac continued his strong Fall by also winning the Hawk 8k Invitational. Men's golf snagged a second place finish at the Rhodes Fall Invitational and the ladies of Huntingdon's women's golf team capped off their most successful Fall season ever by winning the Chick-Fil-A Invitational in October (article).

In October, hundreds of Huntingdon alumni returned home for the celebration of Homecoming 2023 (article). The weekend kicked-off with the announcement of the Heart of Huntingdon campaign to build a new wellness facility and outdoor swimming pool in the existing footprint of Pratt and Hanson Hall (article). Watch the video below!

Just like the Spring, the Fall calendar was full of events hosted by the Center for Career and Vocation (article), the Library (article), Counseling Services, and the Office of Student Development. The semester concluded with a celebration of Fright Week (article), the Countess of Huntingdon Ball (article), and a full week of music events including a beautiful Fall concert by the Huntingdon Concert Choir, senior recitals by Jalyn Lewis '24 and Abigail McManigle '24, a Veteran's Day Concert featuring the concert band, jazz band, and percussion ensemble, and the final Fall performance of the Marching Scarlet and Grey on Senior Day.

In November, the College dedicated the Elizabeth and Cam West Study Room in the Houghton Memorial Library (article). New roles were announced for Dr. Sara Shoffner and Dr. Lisa Dorman to advance their roles providing student support (article). The Fall semester Dean's List was published (article), and the new online shop for the Scarlet and Grey Shop opened. You can shop now at https://hcbookstore.huntingdon.edu/.

Even after the Fall semester ended and students began to enjoy the seven-week Winter break (article), four Winter athletic teams have remained on campus. The men's wrestling team secured the team's first ever win over a Top 20 nationally ranked team (article), and the inaugural women's wrestling team found success in Virginia (article). The men's basketball team under the leadership of new head coach Zac Richards is off to an exciting start (article), and the women's basketball team has already secured two wins over BSC.

Finally, this year in review is dedicated to my former colleague and our shared friend, Su Ofe, who passed away on November 14 following an extended illness. Su served with great distinction as a member of the Huntingdon administration for 29 years and she loved to tell the stories of Huntingdon College. Many of the articles embedded in this year-end Huntingdon College News were written by Su.

Every year, Su, along with Laura Brelsford, Cathy Wolfe, and I compile lists of alumni news for publication at the end of each year. We celebrate the dozens of Huntingdon alumni who were married in 2023, welcomed a child in 2023, and completed a graduate school degree in 2023. We also honor and remember the Huntingdon men and women and friends of the College who passed away in 2023.

Births of Future Hawks: https://www.huntingdon.edu/alumni-babies-born-in-2023/

Huntingdon Wedding Celebrations: https://www.huntingdon.edu/students-and-alumni-celebrate-matrimony-in-2023/

Graduate School Completions: https://www.huntingdon.edu/alumni-celebrate-graduate-school-degrees-in-2023/

Huntingdon's 2023 In Memoriam: https://www.huntingdon.edu/huntingdons-2023-in-memoriam/

We also extend thanks and sincerest appreciation for the nearly 4,000 charitable gifts our Office of College and Alumni Relations team received during the 2022-2023 fiscal year, June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023. Every gift to Huntingdon College makes a difference.

If you haven't made a gift to Huntingdon in calendar year 2023, we'd be honored to receive your gift at www.huntingdon.edu/give.

Here's to each of you as we set our sights on 2024. I can't wait to welcome students home for the start of Spring classes on January 8, recognize the 170th anniversary of the chartering of Huntingdon on February 2, the celebration of the class of 2024 at Commencement in May, meet the class of 2028 in the summer, the excitement of Homecoming October 25-26, 2024, and the enjoyment of all of the other events that take place throughout the year with students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the College. Hawk 'em.