Julie Fowlis will play at Harding University on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. as a part of the University’s 2015-16 concert series. The concert will be held in the Administration Auditorium, and the cost is $3.

Fowlis and her band began their tour in the United States on Oct. 8 in Johnsbury, Vermont. The band will play shows at 15 different venues across America and end their tour at Harding.

Fowlis is a Scottish, Gaelic singer and multi-instrumentalist. Her fourth and newest album, “Every Story,” was released on Feb. 24, 2014.

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in music at the University of Stratchlyde in Glasgow, United Kingdom, Fowlis attended a Gaelic language college to improve her language skills and to study traditional Scottish music.

Fowlis won the Horizon award at the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, was nominated for the Folk Singer of the Year award in 2007, and won Folk Singer of the Year in 2008.

Dr. Rex Horne, who has served as president of Ouachita Baptist University at Arkadelphia since 2006, has been named as the new president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges & Universities.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Dr. Don Weatherman, the president of Lyon College at Batesville and the chairman of the AICU executive committee.

Horne will replace Rex Nelson, who has served as the AICU president since January 2011. Nelson recently was named to the new position of director of corporate communications for Simmons First National Corp. Simmons, which is based at Pine Bluff, is a financial holding company with assets of $7.8 billion and operations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

“Rex Horne is a graduate of one of our Arkansas independent colleges and the president of another,” Weatherman said. “There couldn’t be a better background for the next president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges & Universities. Dr. Horne is respected throughout the state. I was concerned about the task of replacing Rex Nelson, who served our organization effectively and professionally. I’m delighted we were able to find an educator who is also effective, professional and respected in every region of Arkansas.”

Horne is the 15th president in the history of Ouachita, which was founded in 1886. Prior to becoming Ouachita’s president, he was the senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church at Little Rock for 16 years. Prior to becoming pastor at Immanuel, Horne served as a pastor in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. He was president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1995-97.

Horne grew up at Camden. He completed his freshman year at Ouachita before finishing his bachelor’s degree at Arkansas College (now Lyon). He later earned a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at Fort Worth and a doctor of ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He was a weekly columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for 10 years and is the author of three books. Under Horne’s leadership, Ouachita has significantly enhanced and expanded campus facilities.

“I’m honored to have my friends, the presidents of Arkansas’ private colleges and universities, invite me to be the president of AICU,” Horne said. “I hope my experience and relationships will serve these institutions and our state well.”

Horne and his wife, Becky, are the parents of four grown children. The Hornes have been married since 1972.

AICU represents the state’s 11 accredited private institutions of higher education. It operates from offices in North Little Rock, specializing in governmental affairs and public affairs for private higher education.

Members of AICU are Arkansas Baptist College at Little Rock, Central Baptist College at Conway, Crowley’s Ridge College at Paragould, Harding University at Searcy, Hendrix College at Conway, John Brown University at Siloam Springs, Lyon College at Batesville, Ouachita Baptist University at Arkadelphia, Philander Smith College at Little Rock, the University of the Ozarks at Clarksville and Williams Baptist College at Walnut Ridge.

What’s now AICU was founded in the spring of 1954. Charter members of what was then known as the Arkansas Foundation of Associated Colleges were Arkansas College (now Lyon College), College of the Ozarks (now a university), Harding College (now a university), Hendrix College, John Brown University, Ouachita Baptist College (now a university) and Southern Baptist College (now Williams Baptist College).

During the organization’s more than six decades of existence, more than $20 million has been raised and distributed to member institutions. In the early years, the funds distributed were unrestricted and used for a variety of purposes. Now, all money raised is used for student scholarships.

AICU is governed by a board of trustees consisting of the 11 presidents of the member institutions and a group of more than 20 business and civic leaders from across the state. The organization’s executive director now carries the title of president. Horne will end his tenure as Ouachita’s president and begin his new duties at AICU this summer.

Williams Baptist College held a Veteran’s Day luncheon Nov. 11 to honor school employees and students who have served in the United States military. A group gathered in the President’s Dining Hall for a special meal and a time to fellowship.

WBC President Dr. Tom Jones, A US Air Force and Army veteran, hosted the event. Other attending veterans included: head baseball coach Frank Lee, who served in the US Air Force, and Williams Physical Plant employees Brian Meredith, Jeremy Allen and Jim Pritchett, all veterans of the US Army.

Williams is a four-year, liberal arts college at Walnut Ridge.

Lynsey (Riley) Auman was named Williams Baptist College’s 2014 Distinguished Young Alumna during Saturday’s Homecoming/Parents Day festivities.

Auman, who is a native of Sherwood, Ark., graduated from Williams in 2006. She earned a degree in English education, and now lives in Nashville, where she works for World Relief.

The mission of World Relief is to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable of people. In the United States, the organization largely serves refugees who have had to flee their home countries due to persecution.

Auman began her work with World Relief Nashville four years ago, helping secure employment and promote self-sustainability for refugeesliving in the Nashville area.

In 2011, she took on the role of Journey Youth Services Program Manager. Journey provides after-school programming, mentorships, and cultural activities for refugee youth as they adjust to life in America and teenage life in general.

“I had an excellent college experience at Williams,” said Auman. “I was given the opportunity to grow both as a learner and a leader. Because of the personal attention given to me by incredibly talented professors, I gained skills and experience that I still use in my job today.”

She is married to Joshua Auman and is the daughter of Lynn and Cheryl Riley.

John Brown University teams took home first and third place in the undergraduate division of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plans competition. The ceremony was held in Little Rock on Wednesday. JBU teams won $35,000 in prize money and the first place team will advance to the Tri-State competition in May.

The JBU business plans outlined enterprises in customizable dolls and new business funding.

Undergraduate first place: Arleesa: Jeremy Enders, Andrea Good, Chase Skelton, Jake Wilson.
Arleesa seeks to provide families engaging ways to craft custom products with their children, centered on the core values of: character, self-esteem, diversity, imagination and fun.

Undergraduate third place: Funding Fathers: Chris Hembree, Timothy Luff, Jacob Moore
Funding Fathers uses the power of The Crowd to equip businesses with funding and customers.

JBU had three of the top six teams in the competition finals. The University of Arkansas, Hendricks College and Harding University were also represented in the undergraduate top six.

“Preparations for the competition began last August, studying every aspect of their industries, as well as the statistics involved,” said Eva Fast, JBU instructor of business and team adviser. “I am proud of the diligence and dedication the teams put into this completion. They are exceptional leaders and a pleasure to advise.”

The competition requires each team to complete a thorough business plan including a mission, vision, strategy, marketing, financials and investment opportunities for the first five years of business.

More information about the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competition Business Plan competition is available at dwrgovernorscup.org.

John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked first by “U.S. News & World Report” in the Southern Region among baccalaureate colleges. JBU enrolls more than 2,000 students from 42 states and 45 countries. JBU is a member of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Pictured: Front Row: Jacob Moore, Shantelle McHone, graduate assistant, Eva Fast, JBU instructor of business and team adviser, Andrea Good and Jeremy Enders. Back Row: Chris Hembree, Timothy Luff, Chase Skeleton and Jake Wilson.

For more than a year now, the biology department at Williams Baptist College has been developing aquaponics systems and investing in students who will not only work on the project locally, but be able to use the biological system on the mission field.

After all of the hard work, research and training that has occurred, a group from Williams will spend their spring break in Haiti, teaching locals how to build an aquaponics system of their own.

Dr. Melissa Hobbs, associate professor of biology at WBC, has taken the helm of the college’s aquaponic development. According to Hobbs, “Aquaponics is the growing of plants and fish together, in one integrated ecosystem, allowing both to thrive. This ecosystem uses bio-mimicry, which uses natural bacterial cycles to convert fish waste to plant nutrients.”

When one of Hobbs’ classes began researching aquaponics, they discovered Morning Star Fisherman, a Florida-based organization that teaches people how to develop and use their own aquaponic system. Last summer, Hobbs took a group of Williams students to Florida to receive training on the biological process.

“The purpose of our trip to Florida was to equip a team of students with the knowledge and skills to build aquaponic systems and the understanding that the ultimate use of this knowledge is to teach others how to fill the body with nutrients while being filled with the Holy Spirit,” added Hobbs.

“The information we gained while in Florida really strengthened our belief that missions should be a hand up, not a hand out.”

While the initial system is kept in a greenhouse adjoining WBC’s Sloan Center, those working with the aquaponics system are able to develop their skills through various outlets that have been constructed around Williams.

Last spring, Bob Pingel, husband of Williams’ director of women’s residence Wilda Pingel, volunteered to help renovate an existing garage near the historic Commandant’s House on campus. This expanded workplace adds much needed to room to develop the project.

“The biology station that Bob was instrumental in building will allow our students continued aquaponic training and will also be used to build and test aquaponic systems specifically designed for the needs of partnering missionary groups and their resource availability,” said Hobbs.

Members from White Oak Baptist Church of Walnut Ridge, led by Pastor Doran Gregory, also gave of their time and resources to develop parts of the biology station. An outdoor system was needed, so people from White Oak aided in building a 25 feet by 35 feet concrete foundation and two cinder block grow beds.

“Construction of an outdoor concrete grow bed is labor intensive and expensive, but we would not have been able to offer missions training the summer of 2014 without the outdoor system,” stated Hobbs. “Now, with the large foundation, we will have enough space to train students in constructing outdoor systems on the mission field. The ways that White Oak has helped us are truly invaluable to our purpose.”

Sam Henry, a fisheries biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, will also join the Williams team when they set out for theUniversity of Northern Haiti. Henry’s aquaponic system designs have been highly influential in the development at WBC and will also be used while in Haiti.

“Aquaponics is the only form of aquaculture and crop agriculture that is possible in many communities around the world with limited water resources,” noted Hobbs. “These communities will benefit from learning techniques that will enable them to produce sustainable food sources for themselves. It’s exciting to put into practice all that we have been learning. We really are living out James 2:14-18”

Central to that passage is James 2:17, which reads, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” The group of 14 heads for Haiti on Friday, March 21, and will return Saturday, March 29.

Williams is a four-year, liberal arts college at Walnut Ridge.

Harding University announced Jan. 14 that Dr. John Henderson, associate professor in the physician assistant program, would become medical director of the program, replacing Dr. Bill White, who is retiring May 2014.

Henderson graduated from University of Memphis in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in biology. He then received his M.D. in 1967 at University of Tennessee. In addition to maintaining private practices in Searcy for more than 20 years, he also worked for Central Arkansas Cardiology Clinic and Searcy Medical Center. Henderson is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the cardiovascular subspecialty board of Internal Medicine, the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians and the Arkansas Medical Association.

White first started working with the University in 1974 as medical director for the NASA Astronauts’ Physical Fitness program. He was also an adjunct professor of nursing until 1989 and an adjunct professor of voice from 1988-1994. He returned to Harding in 2007 and assumed his role as associate medical director of the PA program. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Arkansas and an M.D. from University of Chicago.

Harding is the largest private university in Arkansas with 6,295 students. The University also maintains campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France, Greece, Italy and Zambia. For more information visit www.harding.edu.