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Alumnae/i Days 2012: Rejoice in Our Inheritance

Thanks to all who attended Alumnae/i Days 2012. It was great to see you!

Check out pictures from the event!

Watch the video of the chapel service during which time Distinguished Alum the Rev. Ed Newberry preached. 

During the event, we honored  the Rev. Dr. William V. Davis ’65 (Academia), the Rev. Dr. Edward B. Newberry ’71 (Pastoral Ministry), the Rev. Theron D. Provance ’87 (Specialized Ministry), and the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Weingartner ’82 (Mission) with Distiguished Alumnus Awards.

The Rev. Dr. William V. Davis ’65
Distinguished Alumnus in Academia

For nearly 50 years the Rev. Dr. William (Bill) V. Davis ’65, distinguished alumnus in academia, has been teaching English and literature. More than 30 of those years have been spent at Baylor University, where he serves as professor of English and writer-in-residence.

Bill earned his degrees from Ohio University (A.B., M.A., Ph.D.) and Pittsburgh Seminary (M.Div.). Since then he has taught nationally and internationally at 10 universities, three times as a senior Fulbright Scholar in Austria and Denmark.

In addition to his extensive teaching, Bill has also written broadly. The latest of his 11 books is Landscape and Journey, winner of the 2009 New Criterion Poetry Prize and the 2010 Helen C. Smith Memorial Award for Poetry. He has also published more than 100 critical articles, 1,200 poems, a dozen short stories, and 50 reviews. Bill has been active across the States and the globe presenting poetry readings and lectures.

Bill is a member of the Academy of American Poets, Poetry Society of America, International Association of University Professors of English, and Texas Institute of Letters (former president), among others. He is married to Carol.

The Rev. Dr. Edward B. Newberry ’71
Distinguished Alumnus in Pastoral Ministry

For more than three decades the Rev. Dr. Edward (Ed) Newberry ’71 has served as pastor of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to working with this congregation, Ed was pastor of Chatham-Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church in Chicago for seven years.

His contributions to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are extensive. Ed has served the General Assembly on the Vocation Agency Task Force: Improving Minority Prospects for Ministry, Council on Administrative Services, Vocation Agency Task Force on Guidelines for Committees on Ministry, and Special Committee on a Brief Statement of Reformed Faith, and as commissioner three times. Within the Catawba Presbytery, Ed has served on the Committee on Ministry and Catawba and Mecklenburg Presbyteries Task Force on Metro Urban Ministry. For the Charlotte Presbytery, Ed was co-moderator, co-chair of Mission Design Task Force, on the Leadership Development Committee, and co-moderator of Committee on Preparation for Ministry.

In addition to his work within the Church, Ed sat on the Board of Trustees for Union Presbyterian Seminary, Va., and Mecklenburg Ministries. He has also served on the Dean’s Advisory Council, Union Presbyterian Seminary at Charlotte. Ed is a member of the Knoxville College Alumni Association and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

“I am truly thankful to God for my calling into the ministry of Word and Sacrament and for my time of service in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” says Ed.

A graduate of Knoxville College, Ed received his M.Div. from PTS before earning his D.Min. from McCormick Theological Seminary. Married to Dema, Ed is the father of two and grandfather of four.

The Rev. Theron D. Provance ’87
Distinguished Alumnus in Specialized Ministry

For more than a decade, the Rev. Theron (Terry) Provance ’87 has been helping the poor in Asia, Africa, and Latin America secure low interest microcredit loans through Oikocredit. Terry serves as executive director of the world-wide, non-profit organization founded by the World Council of Churches.

Oikocredit is one of the world’s largest sources of private funding to the microfinance sector. They provide credit and equity to small businesses through microfinance institutions across the developing world and directly to trade cooperatives, fair trade organizations, and small-to-medium sized enterprises. Oikocredit is privately financed; individuals and organizations invest in Oikocredit, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and numerous congregations.

The name Oikocredit for the Economic Development Cooperative Society comes from the Greek word, oikos, meaning “household”—encompassing economy, ecology, and ecumenism—and the Latin word, credere, “to believe.”

An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Terry served a congregation in Pittsburgh before administering an international program in the UCC national office. He has also worked for the National Council of Churches and the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers). Terry has traveled extensively throughout the world visiting more than 100 countries to work for peace, economic justice, disarmament, and racial equality.

Terry earned his degrees from University of Salzburg, Austria (B.A.), Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Pacific School of Religion (M.A. in Christian Social Ethics). He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Maria, and son, Ian.
 

The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Weingartner ’82
Distinguished Alumnus in Mission

The Rev. Dr. Robert (Rob) Weingartner ’82, distinguished alumnus in mission, served in the pastorate for 20 years before becoming the executive director of The Outreach Foundation. Throughout his service to the Church, Rob has had a passion for global mission.

A graduate of Oral Roberts University (B.A.), Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Princeton Theological Seminary (D.Min.), Rob completed coursework toward a doctor of missiology at United Theological Seminary. He went on to serve three churches in Indiana and Ohio.

Since then Rob has worked with The Outreach Foundation, a validated mission support group of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Outreach Foundation engages Presbyterians and global partners in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. His ministry takes him across the life of the church and around the world.

Rob has served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in numerous ways including as a member of the General Assembly Council, Worldwide Ministries Division Committee, Executive Committee, and GAC project team to create the Young Adult Volunteer Program. With the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee, he currently serves on the Permanent Judicial Commission.

Rob’s mission-focused publications include “A Presbyterian Understanding of Evangelism,” in Let Us Reason Together: Christians and Jews in Conversation (Witherspoon Press, 2010), and “Missions within the Mission: New Diversities in the One Family,” in A History of Presbyterian Mission: 1944-2006 (Geneva Press, 2008).

Rob is married to Terry, a middle school nurse, and they have three adult children.