Pfeiffer University News

Pfeiffer co-hosts the Charlotte District Proclamation Institute

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Published on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 ( 10:36 am )

Pfeiffer University and the Charlotte District Academy of Christian Discipleship is co-sponsoring the Charlotte District Proclamation Institute, a series of six separate sessions focused on preaching the Word and biblical studies. The Institute will be held at the university's Charlotte campus, 4701 Park Rd.

There will be ten session leaders all teaching classes, ranging from, "The Content of Preaching" by Dr. James C. Howell, senior pastor of Myers Park UMC, to the "Proclamations at Weddings and Funerals" by Dr. George Thompson, who is completing his seventh year as district superintendent, Charlotte District Office of the UMC. Click here to download the event brochure.

Registration will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the following days:

• August 10- “The Content of Preaching”
• August 24- “Theology of Preaching”
• September 7- “Proclamations at Weddings and Funerals”
• September 21- “It’s what you Preach and how you Preach it”
• October 5- “Sacred Storytelling: Making the Bible come alive for Today’s Congregations”
• October 26- “Making Worship Planning an Integrated Team Approach”

The cost will be $50 per person for all six sessions. Registration will be limited to the first 40 to register. Checks are to be made payable to Charlotte District UM fund. Funds will be used as honorariums for our session leaders.

For additional information, contact Rev. Kathleen H. Kilbourne, director, Master of Arts in Practical Theology at Pfeiffer, at (704) 945-7315 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Pfeiffer names new associate vice president for academic affairs

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Published on Friday, August 06, 2010 ( 11:24 am )

Dr. Alan Belcher (pictured right) has been named associate vice president for academic affairs at Pfeiffer University. Belcher, who held a similar role at the University of Charleston, in Charleston, W. Va., began his new duties on Aug. 2 and will report directly to Dr. Tracy Espy, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“This position is a new one, and I am excited about Dr. Belcher’s recent appointment and look forward to working alongside him to expand our efforts to promote faculty success,” said Espy. “His leadership, accomplishments, academic experiences, and commitment to faculty excellence and inclusion have prepared him well for this important new role.”

In his new position, Belcher will assist the provost with operational oversight of the Graduate Studies division and will collaborate with program directors on curriculum, recruitment and enrollment of students and other academic concerns of the graduate studies area.  He will work with academic affairs, and other administrative offices in developing, maintaining and conducting effective assessment activities. Belcher will also work in partnership with the provost to assist all areas of the university in preparation for regional and national accreditation, and serve as chair for the university-wide planning committee.  The associate vice president for academic affairs serves as a senior member of the Dean’s Council.

Belcher began his career as a teacher in the Kanawha County Schools in West Virginia. A short time later, he joined the faculty at the University of Charleston as an assistant and then an associate professor. During his more than two decade tenure at the University of Charleston, Belcher has served in numerous administrative capacities, including program director, faculty coordinator, registrar, director of institutional research and vice president of student services. Most recently, he served as assistant dean of the graduate school of business and as associate to the provost for curriculum and technology.

His extensive scholarly contributions to the fields of assessment and outcomes, changing campus culture and distance education have been presented in various settings and publications.

Belcher earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in secondary education and education administration, respectively, from Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. He earned a second master’s degree in information systems from West Virginia College of Graduate Studies, Institute, W. Va., and a Ph.D. from Capella University, Minneapolis, Minn. 

Established in 1885, Pfeiffer University is a comprehensive United Methodist-related university, with multiple campuses, including Misenheimer, Charlotte and the Triangle, committed to educational excellence, service and scholarship.

Media contact: Natasha A. Suber, (704) 806-0802

Pfeiffer welcomes 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Curt Tomasevicz Aug. 22

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Published on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 ( 7:38 pm )

Olympic Gold Medal Bobsledder Curt Tomasevicz (pictured right) will visit the Pfeiffer University campus on Sunday, Aug. 22. Best known for the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal win in Vancouver, Canada earlier this year as part of a four-man team, Tomasevicz will share “Finding Your Personal Success,” the story of his own success, his faith, goal-setting and how to achieve desired goals.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. in the Merner Center for Health and Physical Education on the Misenheimer campus. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and admission is first come, first seated. For more information about Tomasevicz’s visit to Pfeiffer, contact Katy Martin at (704) 463-3239 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

A native of Shelby, Nebraska, the gold medalist made an appearance in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, only two years after his 2004 debut as a bobsledder. Tomasevicz placed sixth in four-man in Torino, Italy, with driver Steven Holcomb. He has won the U.S. National Push Championships the past three seasons. He won his first World Cup gold medal with driver Steve Holcomb in Italy in 2007. He began his first attempts at driving in the U.S. Team Trials in October 2007 and competed in a few America’s Cup races earning a bronze in Calgary in 2008. He and Holcomb also took silver at the Whistler World Cup in February 2009.

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Pfeiffer celebrates adult graduates statewide during summer ceremony Aug. 7

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Published on Monday, July 19, 2010 ( 8:37 pm )

Students from Charlotte, RTP and university’s statewide programs receive well-earned diplomas

Pfeiffer University will salute and celebrate approximately 500 adult students who have completed programs in the Schools of Graduate and Adult Studies during its annual summer commencement. Due to expected large crowds, the university will host two separate ceremonies at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Merner Center for Health and Physical Education on the Misenheimer campus on Saturday, Aug. 7.

Degrees representing 16 academic disciplines will be conferred upon Pfeiffer’s summer graduates, who are among the more than 7.5 million adult students classified as the fastest growing educational demographic. According to a report conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, students over the age of 25 are earning their college degrees at a record rate, despite the many tremendous sacrifices required in order to balance other responsibilities while pursuing their degrees.

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Pfeiffer announces 2010-11 events subscriber series

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Published on Monday, July 12, 2010 ( 9:38 am )

Event Plus offers entertaining performances, stimulating lectures; season’s inaugural event held at N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis

The 2010-2011 events subscribers’ series line-up for Pfeiffer University’s “Events Plus” has recently been announced. This season will feature stimulating and topical lectures, as well as entertaining and interactive cultural programs provided by the university’s best cultural exhibitions and performances as well as informative lectures presented by Pfeiffer’s premier, award-winning faculty and community speakers.

This year’s series calendar spans from August 2010 through April 2011. The season will kick-off at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11 with a unique and exclusive opening event at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis. Dr. Michael Luther, president of the NCRC, along with faculty researchers will present the future plans for the campus and share their cutting-edge research. Following this presentation, exclusive tours of the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory will be offered to subscribers. A light meal and cocktails will be served.

Additional highlights of Events Plus offer a medley of lectures that stem from the university’s commitment to provide lifelong learning. Led by a distinguished board of business and community leaders, the series will offer subscribers a chance to interact with the most talented students, faculty, staff, musicians, intellectuals and performers as a way to broaden their knowledge and understanding of education and the arts. Special lecturers such as Dr. Luke Dollar, assistant professor of biology at Pfeiffer and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and Professor Weihong Yan, director of the Confucius Institute at Pfeiffer, have served as past lecturers. In addition to these distinguished faculty members, the series has featured many of Pfeiffer’s talented students in choral, instrumental, visual, cultural and performing arts.

Events Plus subscribers will have access to the NCRC event, plus four additional exclusive series events on the Pfeiffer campus. At each event, participants get the opportunity to network and socialize with community and business leaders and to mingle with friends and share a dinner planned especially for subscribers.

Additional information about the 2010-2011 series schedule along with membership information is available at www.pfeiffer.edu/eventsplus. For more details or to express your interest in becoming a subscriber, contact Blake Martin at (704) 463-3075 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .



Media contact: Natasha A. Suber, (704) 463-3040 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Pfeiffer publishes unique compilation of microfinance research

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Published on Monday, June 21, 2010 ( 1:00 am )

“Banking on the Future: Exploring Microfinance as Service, September 29, 2009 Proceedings” is now available

The G.A. Pfeiffer Library at Pfeiffer University has announced publication of “Banking on the Future: Exploring Microfinance as Service, September 29, 2009 Proceedings.” The book is a unique compilation of stimulating research papers which were presented during Pfeiffer’s first microfinance colloquium held last fall and it is now available for purchase.   

The colloquium was sponsored by the Francis Center for Servant Leadership at Pfeiffer, and brought together people from academia, faith-based microfinance institutions, microfinance practitioners and the servant leadership community to explore the many facets of microfinance. This year’s microfinance colloquium will be held on Friday, Oct. 1 on Pfeiffer’s Charlotte campus, 4701 Park Rd.

According to Dr. Rosemary Minyard, assistant professor of economics and finance at Pfeiffer, many believe that microfinance could be part of a global solution to help the poor – and others – become more self-sufficient, but the debate is contentious. Minyard said she believes the Pfeiffer publication can help people appreciate the complexities of microfinance as an example of servant leadership.

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Village Church of Pfeiffer makes conference “Top Ten” list

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Published on Thursday, June 17, 2010 ( 1:42 pm )

Western N.C. Conference of the UMC recognizes campus church for increased growth in worship attendance

Of the more than 1,100 congregations within the Western N.C Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) that have an average worship attendance of 125-249, the Village Church of Pfeiffer University was recognized for achieving a 33.5 percent increase in worship attendance for 2009. Worship attendance increased from 200 to 267. This accomplishment has put the Village Church on the celebrated “Top Ten” list among churches within the conference.

The people of the Western N.C. Conference of the UMC have a mission: “Follow Jesus, Make Disciples, Transform the World.” This mantra has led to the reconstruction of the conference to offer more focused leadership and specific goals. Churches are growing and sharing their ideas to help ministry work more efficiently and bring more people to Christ, according to a recent conference correspondence. The Top Ten list was created as a way to celebrate those important initiatives.

The different categories honored on the “Top Ten” list were:
       • Largest Percentage of Baptisms, Confirmations, and Membership
       • Highest Professions of Faith
       • Greatest Growth in Membership
       • Greatest Growth in Membership and Worship Attendance

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Pfeiffer selects executive firm to assist presidential search

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Published on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 ( 6:46 pm )

The executive firm that has conducted presidential and top-ranking administrative searches for Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Berea College, Averett University as well as local institutions like Catawba and Mars Hill Colleges, has been selected to assist in the process to identify the ninth president of Pfeiffer University.

Pfeiffer has retained RPA Inc., a nationally-known executive firm based in central Pennsylvania. In its more than two-decade history, RPA has grown steadily to become a comprehensive consulting firm offering a wide array of services that include recruitment consulting for the identification and placement of presidents, cabinet-level officers, deans, and the recruitment of development staff at all levels. They also provide management consulting, organizational assessment, leadership development, capital campaign consulting succession planning and development information technology consulting.

"Not only did RPA provide an outstanding presentation, but most importantly, they have worked with small, private liberal arts colleges comparable to Pfeiffer, and that made them best-suited for the role,” said Greg Hunter, who chairs the university’s board of trustees and the search committee. “That experience helps them to best comprehend and appreciate the university’s church-relatedness and its core mission for service. RPA also strongly recognizes the university’s strong desire to identify an extraordinary and unique match for its next leader. We feel great about our selection of this firm and look forward to working alongside them during this very critical and important transition.”

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Pfeiffer scholarship honors Bill and Joetta Rinehart

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Published on Thursday, March 18, 2010 ( 10:26 am )

A scholarship at Pfeiffer University has been established to honor Joetta and Bill Rinehart of Asheville. Friends of the couple led the effort to raise gifts and future commitments of over $95,000 to fund the scholarship in recognition of the couple’s church and community service.     

In acknowledgment of the Rinehart’s lifelong service to the United Methodist Church, the Joetta and Bill Rinehart Endowed Scholarship will be awarded annually to Pfeiffer students who are preparing for church-related vocational service. Eligible students include those majoring in Christian Education, Christian Education-Music, Christian Missions, Music, Religion, and Youth Ministries. 

Joetta Rinehart served for more than 15 years on the board of trustees at Pfeiffer, a comprehensive United Methodist-related university, with multiple campuses, including sites in Misenheimer, Charlotte and the Triangle. Established in 1885, the University emphasizes the development of students as servant leaders through an integration of service experiences and academic training. 

Pfeiffer receives $105,000 from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation

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Published on Wednesday, March 03, 2010 ( 2:32 pm )

Pfeiffer University has received a $105,000 grant from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Inc., located in Atlanta, to support female undergraduates and students.

“As aslways, we're very pleased with the generous ongoing support that Pfeiffer receives from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation,” said Shon Herrick, vice president for university advancement. “This 2010-2011 gift will allow us to further provide a quality academic experience, by awarding scholarships, to several deserving and talented female students.”

The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Inc., assists more than 200 institutions located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia annually through its charitable work. The Foundation devotes most of its resources to the Lettie Pate Whitehead scholarship program, which provides scholarship grants to schools and colleges for deserving female students. While most of the scholarships go toward undergraduate higher education, the Foundation maintains a special interest in health education.  For more information on the Foundation, visit www.lpwhitehead.org.

Gray Stone Day School Updates

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Published on Thursday, October 08, 2009 ( 8:30 am )

December 2010

Unlike many new schools, the construction of Gray Stone Day School, a public charter high school located on the Pfeiffer campus, is slightly ahead of schedule. The 50,000 square-foot building is nearing completion and school officials hope to move into the new facility at the end of this month – a few weeks earlier than projected.

“We’ve been very fortunate and extremely pleased,” said Helen Nance, head of the school and Gray Stone co-founder. “Between the tremendously good weather and the efficiency of the folks from John S. Clark Construction, who have been wonderful to work with, the project is somewhat ahead of the plan.”

Nance said the school’s teachers, parents, and especially students, are “thrilled and look forward with lots of anticipation” to their new surroundings, which will provide many new amenities including a video conferencing center. Earlier this year, Pfeiffer donated 18 acres of land behind Merner Center for Health and Physical Education to build the new school, which cost approximately $7 million to construct.

April 12, 2010

Gray Stone Day School will break ground on a new $7.2 million facility that will allow the school to meet its growing enrollment demands. Several distinguished guests will be part of the groundbreaking ceremony that will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14, behind the Merner Gymnasium on the Misenheimer campus. Pfeiffer recently donated 18 acres of its land to Gray Stone, which has occupied an academic building on the campus for eight years.

The college preparatory school attracts students from eight counties and 10 school districts, including Mecklenburg, the state’s largest - and Gray Stone graduates have been accepted to colleges like Pfeiffer, Dartmouth, West Point, Elon, Wake Forest, and UNC Chapel Hill. Albemarle native Lindsey Eudy, a Gray Stone senior, recently received a full tuition scholarship to attend Pfeiffer. Eudy will begin as a freshman at Pfeiffer this fall.

March 4, 2010

Construction update

The entrance road by the Henry Pfeiffer Chapel up to the bridge will be closed to ALL parking and entrance from March 8-12. It will be a construction only entrance.

Please use the northern entrance by the post office to enter north campus. You may utilize parking areas behind Goode Hall and Washington Hall. All pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic may not enter CONSTRUCTION areas past the tennis courts. Thank you in advance for your patience, understanding and cooperation.

Tracey Wyrick
Misenheimer Police Chief


February 12, 2010

Gray Stone Day School has been working tirelessly for quite some time to raise the necessary funds for their own facility. Their efforts have paid off, and they are now ready to begin the construction process. Of course, this process will involve some inconvenience and disruption, particularly to those of us on the north side of campus…so I wanted to give you an idea of what to expect in the very near future.

The DOT will begin creating an access road next week, at which time you will start to see construction traffic on campus. Access to the north campus via Chapel Drive will be limited to construction-related traffic, and non-construction vehicles will be redirected to the entrance road next to the post office. Construction of the access road is expected to take about eight weeks, and once that is completed, construction of the facility will begin on the new site. Please note, the existing road and bridge to the gym will remain in place until after June 1, at which time it will be dismantled.

In addition to the modified traffic flow on north campus, some parking spaces will also be unavailable starting next week. Parallel parking next to the chapel will no longer be available, and other areas could possibly be affected as well. We will certainly try to give as much notice as possible if other parking-related issues arise.

With all of the extra activity that will be taking place over the next several weeks, I want to encourage you to please be especially alert and cautious as you travel about campus. There will likely be extra pedestrian traffic, as well as construction traffic and workers…so let’s stay safe! This is an exciting time for Gray Stone, and for Pfeiffer…and your patience during this process will be much appreciated.

Dr. Chuck Ambrose
Pfeiffer University President

November 5, 2009

Greetings!

One of the first things to be done for the new road construction will be replacing the water main along the Merner Terrace (the road by the Chapel).  The Pfeiffer North Stanly Water Association will start work on Monday at 6 a.m. There will be a water outage most of the day for the following facilities, Merner Center, Jane Freeman, Merner Gym and all houses on Merner Terrace.  

Traffic and parking will be limited along Merner Terrace, I would encourage you to access north campus parking areas by using the Post Office entrance. There will be access to the gym parking lot but no access to other north campus lots from Merner Terrace.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.  Please, feel free to call if you have any questions.

Sharon K. Bard
Director of Facilities


October 1, 2009

As most of you are aware, we have been working for more than a year now to assist Gray Stone Day School , which is located on the Pfeiffer University campus, in the establishment of their own separate facility. Up to this point, the majority of this work has taken place behind the scenes. There have been numerous stops and starts along the way; but very soon you will begin to see some exciting changes unfolding on the Misenheimer campus, and I wanted to give you a heads-up as to what to expect in the coming weeks and months.

Within the next ten days, a temporary bridge to Merner Gym will be constructed. To provide a staging area for the placement of this temporary bridge, the first two rows of the parking lot behind Jane Freeman (those closest to the creek) will be roped off beginning Friday afternoon, through the next weekend. As part of this process, it will be necessary to remove two or three trees in order to accommodate this project. Please note, there are still final legal and logistical issues that are being worked out with Gray Stone and their board of directors. We are confident that these final details will be settled within the next several days. In the meantime, the temporary bridge is a necessity in order to move forward to the next step in the process.

Over the course of this construction project, you will receive periodic updates and other necessary construction-related notifications. Please be sure to read and heed these notices.

Gray Stone is a tremendous asset to Pfeiffer and to the local community, and the school appreciates the support of the larger campus community in helping provide a quality experience for its students. Those of you who work in close proximity to Gray Stone's classes will attest that having a separate facility will not only benefit their students, but ours as well. The freeing up of classroom space in Harris Science Building will greatly enhance the academic experience for our science students, especially those who are enrolled in our new nursing program.

Thank you for your patience with the inconveniences and aggravations that will naturally occur during this process. I welcome any questions or concerns you may have.

Dr. Chuck Ambrose
Pfeiffer University President

About Gray Stone Day School

Gray Stone Day School is a regional school that provides a college preparatory curriculum for students in grades 9-12 who live in a rural area.  While developing a strong character, students engage in highly challenging courses that will require them to work diligently in and out of the classroom. Because of its location on Pfeiffer University's campus in Misenheimer, North Carolina, students are exposed to daily university campus life.  It is a state-supported school and therefore there is no charge to any North Carolina state resident. At this time, Gray Stone Day School serves 300 students from Stanly, Rowan, Cabarrus, Montgomery, Mecklenburg, Davidson, Randolph and Iredell counties.

An Eye Witness to History

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Published on Thursday, May 21, 2009 ( 6:31 am )

By Eugene Pickler

With the election and inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama it is a good time for an old eye witness to history to remind others from where we have come.  History books teach the young about the changes in the last century, but they rarely view it from personal observations.  This is one man’s personal remembrances.

I was born in Stanly County and grew up on a farm located on Long Creek in the northern part of the county.  My first association with a black person came before I can remember.  James Scott, a young black man worked on the farm for my father starting in 1930.  He was a part of the Adam Scott family, which was our closest neighbor.  They were poor.  They lived across the creek in a house that had no more than 400-square feet, and the floor of the house was the ground. Three generations lived in that one room together.

James Scott usually went home for lunch, but in the summers when there was a lot of farm work to be done, my mother sometimes fixed his lunch so he could eat as quickly as my father.  He ate with us in our kitchen at the same time as my family, but always at a separate table.  Blacks and whites did not eat together.

In 1940, I started to school in the first grade at Richfield School.  There were no kindergartens in North Carolina at that time. The school bus came down the road to pick me up and I could wait in my living room and watch for the bus.  On cold days I would stay in the warm room until I saw the bus coming.  While watching for my bus, I often saw three of the Scott family children from across the creek walking by my house on their way to school near New London, four miles away.  There was no bus for black children and their family had no car.  As a child I remember thinking how unfair that was.

Their school was a two-room elementary school.  If they wanted to attend high school they would have had to walk eight miles each way to a black school in Albemarle.  After the end of World War II in 1945, a bus was provided for the black kids. For the first time a bus was available to take them to either the elementary school in New London or the high school in Albemarle.

In 1952, I enrolled in N.C. State College in Raleigh.  All students and faculty were white.  In the college cafeteria all food servers were white.  Except for some janitors and maids, all employees at the college were white.

In the summer of 1953, I was in the Naval Reserve and was sent to boot camp at Bainbridge, Maryland for two weeks.  I was put in a company with a group from New Hampshire, which included one black sailor.  At the end of the first week we had 12-hours liberty in Baltimore.  I went with several others in my company, including the one black sailor. We were all in uniform.

In Baltimore the five of us decided to eat lunch in a café.  We went in and sat down to order.  The manager came to our table and told us that our black member would have to go to a back room to eat.  We all got up and left.  Lunch that day was a hot dog sold by a street vendor.

In the spring of 1954, I was enrolled in a history class at N.C. State.  During one class, the professor discussed the upcoming decision by the U.S. Supreme Court about school segregation. He thought the Supreme Court would not declare that “separate but equal” schools were unconstitutional.  A few weeks later we learned that my professor’s prediction was wrong.

Soon after the Supreme Court decision, several of my fraternity brothers and I were discussing the situation in a “bull session.”  One of my friends said the south would fight another war before it integrated the schools.  Some, but not all of the guys agreed.

In the fall of 1955, with no demonstrations or threats, N.C. State admitted its first black student – a young man who was enrolled in the Master of Science in engineering program.  I never saw him, but I knew he was there.

Also, in the fall of 1955, most of the congressmen and senators from the south signed the “Southern Manifesto” as it was called.  It said that they would do everything in their power to keep the schools from being integrated. One of the few congressmen who did not sign it was congressman Harold Coley from Nashville, N.C.  As a result of him not joining the segregation group, the “manifesto” was the only big issue in his primary campaign for re-election in May of 1956.  He won by a very close margin.

Late in the 1950s a law was repealed, after a lot of angry debate in the legislature, which had been passed sometime following the Civil War.  Under the law that still existed when I was a college student, it was not legally possible for a white man to father a child with a black woman.  That meant any child of mixed race with a white father had no financial help from the father and could not legally claim him as the father.

In 1956, I entered a graduate program at Michigan State University.  I ate most of my meals in the university cafeteria and for the first time in my life I saw blacks and whites sitting at the same tables and enjoying a meal together.

By 1959, I returned to Stanly County and joined the family farm business.  It was then that Pfeiffer College admitted its first black student, the wife of a black medical doctor from Abemarle, Mrs. Aline Noel.  Over the next month or two I heard a number of local men, whom I knew, say they would never contribute to Pfeiffer again because the college had accepted a black student.

In 1962, at the ripe old age of 28, I ran for the Board of Education in Stanly County and won.  The schools were segregated.  The pressure for integration was causing trouble and demonstrations in many part of the South.  Our Board of Education wanted to avoid that situation.  So, in early 1964 we held a secret (and therefore illegal under state law) meeting and decided to invite the leaders in the black community to get one or two black students to apply for admission to North Stanly High School.  One of those leaders was a black preacher, Dwight Rose, who worked at my farm.  They responded to our invitation and in the spring of 1964 we voted in a regular school board meeting to admit two black female students to North Stanly High School at the beginning of the next school year.  It was accomplished without problems.

The next school year, black students were admitted to several previously all-white schools in the county and later the black schools were closed.  In about 25 years, I had gone from watching black children walk four miles to school to helping close the black schools.  We had gone from separate and very unequal schools to one school system.

From the 1960s on, most people know the history of public education.  What happened before the 1960s is not so well known.

One last footnote:  Several years after integration, while I was still on the Board of Education, the board sold the two room elementary school near New London.  By law it had to be sold at auction.  For $50 a local community group bought the building and turned it into a community center.  It can be seen there today on U.S. Hwy 52 between Richfield and New London. 

I am glad I have lived long enough to see a black American ascend to the U.S. Presidency. Our country is not a perfect one, but there has been considerable progress, and it has risen to new heights.

Eugene Pickler, 75, is an agricultural expert and international consultant who raised poultry for five decades. He is a part-time economics professor at Pfeiffer University and has served on the faculty since 1961. He and his wife, Janet, live in New London, N.C.