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Vol. 43 No. IX
Serving the
CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY
Community
May 25, 2012
Inside
Departments:
Across the Campus . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Trivia Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
In This Issue:
SAM’s #1, Again! . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Ginny Bass Wins DLA
Wagner Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Athletic Department
Walks for Zac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Jeanette Taylor Joins The
Loch Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Yaacoub Featured on
“One World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
CMS Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
David Ludley is Ready for the Open Door
by John Shiffert, University Relations
The General is now a Doctor, too
Steve Stephens Awarded Honorary
Doctorate by Bluefield State College
Clayton State University is reluctantly
saying good-bye to one of its iconic facul-
ty members, writer and artist, Professor of
English and Art History Dr. David Ludley,
who is retiring after 36 years.
“I love teaching and I’ve had 36 years of
it here at Clayton State,” says the
Jonesboro resident. “Although I love
teaching, I now look forward to having
time to finally focus on what talents I
have in painting and in writing. I have a
few novels and several poems under
development. It’s time to pursue some
other things I love: writing, painting, hik-
ing, traveling, maybe even flying in a yel-
low biplane! It’s an open door. And I can’t
wait to see what’s on the other side.
“After he heard I was retiring, (then-
Clayton State Theatre Director) Phillip
DePoy came to my office and we had a
wonderful discussion of what a dream it
would be for creative people to finally
have the time they need to pursue their
creative talents.”
Since he retires as Clayton State’s second-
in-seniority faculty member (behind
Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jim Braun), it
is certainly true that generations of
Clayton State students have benefitted
from Ludley’s talents in the classroom.
It’s been a relationship cherished by all
parties, and formally recognized by
Clayton State President Dr. Thomas J.
Hynes and Clayton State Provost Dr.
Micheal Crafton, who announced at
Ludley’s recent retirement party that he
was officially raised to the rank of
Professor Emeritus of Art History and
English.
“I am grateful every time some old stu-
dent yells at me in some parking lot, ‘Hey,
you’re Professor Ludley, right?! You were
my teacher!’ And I love to hear them fol-
low-up with comments about how much
art now means to them,” he says.
Ludley’s success in the classroom was
also recognized by the University, since
he was a finalist for either the Alice Smith
Faculty Award, or the Teacher of the Year
Dr. Ludley and family
photo credit gr8photo.com
Brigadier General (Ret.) Robert L.
“Steve” Stephens, vice president of
External Relations for Clayton State
University, went home to West Virginia
on Saturday, May 12, to give the com-
mencement address at Bluefield State
College, and to receive a singular honor.
“The General,” as he’s known around the
Clayton State campus, is now a doctor as
well.
As part of his keynote speech for the
Bluefield State graduation ceremonies
Stephens, a native of Welch, W. Va., was
awarded an honorary Doctorate of
Humanities, becoming the first Clayton
State administrator in recent memory to
receive an honorary degree from another
institution of higher learning. The award
comes as Stephens prepares to retire from
Clayton State after 10
years of service. His
final day will be June
30, 2012.
Located in Bluefield,
W. Va., and largely
serving students from
southeastern
West
Virginia and south-
western
Virginia,
Bluefield State was founded to serve the
racially segregated public schools in the
local coal camps in 1895. The institution
eventually evolved into a black teacher‘s
college, and was renamed Bluefield State
Teachers College in 1931. The name
Bluefield State College was adopted in
Stephens
Ludley, cont’d., p. 5
Stephens, cont’d., p. 9