Dear Centenary Family,This morning, Centenary College officially opened the fall 2015 semester – and

the College’s 191st academic year – with the annual President’s Convocation in

Brown Chapel. We were privileged to welcome General Robin Rand, Commander

of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command, as the convocation speaker. General

Rand’s participation reinforces the relationship between Centenary and Barksdale

Air Force Base, institutions whose contributions to our community are measurable

and enduring. I am proud to announce that this special relationship will be further

strengthened when Centenary officially partners with Barksdale this November for

the College’s fourth annual Veterans Day observance on Wednesday, November 11.

Col. Kristin Goodwin, Commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale, will be the

guest speaker for the traditional program in Anderson Auditorium.

The Global Strike Command’s mission of deterrence and assurance is a powerful

reminder of the realities of the 21st century world that we encourage our students

to explore and in which we are preparing them to lead. Inside this newsletter, you’ll

read about the College’s recent Mellon Foundation grant and get an update on our

World Houses, both initiatives that are helping Centenary students learn about and

engage with some of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century.

I’m also proud to be able to report here on the success of our Ladies and Gents

athletic teams in their first year as official NCAA Division III members. In the

2016-2017 season, Centenary will lead the way athletically as one of the first colleges

in the nation to add women’s triathlon as a varsity sport.

LETTER FROM THE

PRESIDENT 2015

Centenary College of Louisiana is a selective, residential, national liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is a membr of the Associated Colleges of the South.

Office of the PresidentCentenary College of Louisiana2911 Centenary BoulevardShreveport, Louisiana 71104318.869.5101president@centenary.edu@PresidentRowe

Mellon GrantThe Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is investing in our academic program with a

$100,000 grant to fund the project Deepening the French Connection and Linking

Curriculum to Global Challenges. This funding from the Mellon Foundation’s Higher

Education and Scholarship in the Humanities program will expand French and

Francophone studies at the College and complement the Global Challenges adopted by

the faculty as a framework for the academic program.

Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy (pictured at top right) has joined us in a tenure-track position

in French that has been added to support the expanded Francophone program. Mellon

funding will provide partial support for this position in the first two years. The courses

we are adding will emphasize Louisiana’s cultural ties to both France and to French-

speaking regions in the Caribbean and Africa. Dr. Augustin-Billy will join Dr. Dana

Kress to provide leadership to students and staff in our French-language Living Learning

Community, Le Quartier Français, as well as our heritage language press, Les Éditions

Tintamarre.

The Mellon award will also provide training and site visits for our August immersive

term program Centenary in Paris. The project will also offer faculty members the

opportunity to attend collaborative teaching workshops that will aid them in the

development of additional immersion term courses.

At a time when inhumanity dominates the headlines, we believe that investments in the

humanities are crucial. We are honored to be partnering with the Mellon Foundation

to increase opportunities for our students to deepen their understanding of human

experience and promote respectful and meaningful engagement.

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Homecoming andParents & Family WeekendOctober 23-25, 2015

UPCOMING EVENTSVeteran’s DayCelebrationNovember 11, 2015

Christmas CandelightServiceDecember 4 @ 6 pm

World HousesCentenary’s three World Houses – common residences with a common purpose – debuted

in the 2013-2014 academic year, providing a pathway for our students to turn learning into

action and personal growth into public good. Each World House community brings together

students whose intellectual interests and personal passions lead them to engage with three

complex, global challenges of the 21st century as identified by the Centenary faculty: to live a

meaningful life, expand our circles, and create a sustainable life.

Working alongside partner organizations in the Shreveport-Bossier area, students residing in

Centenary’s World Houses for Peace, Social Justice, and Environmental Sustainability have

contributed hundreds of community service hours through the College’s annual World House

Service Day and other projects throughout the year. World House community partners are

Community Renewal International (World House for Peace), the Fuller Center for Housing of

Northwest Louisiana (World House for Social Justice), and Shreveport Green (World House for

Environmental Sustainability). After their first year, students have the opportunity to deepen

their commitment to addressing a particular global challenge by joining one of the Living

Learning Communities (LLCs) integrated within the World Houses. LLCs combine academic

coursework with focused leadership and service activities.

In 2015-216, the World House for Peace will be enriched by the addition of our newest LLC,

Middle East and North Africa (MENA). With MENA joining GreenHouse in the World House

for Environmental Sustainability and Le Quartier Français, Santé, and Node in the World

House for Social Justice, each World House will now host a complementary LLC. Even more

exciting, in the upcoming year each World House will have an LLC faculty member in

residence for the first time, with Jeanne Hamming (English) advising GreenHouse, Spencer

Dew (Religious Studies) advising MENA, and Andia Augustin-Billy (French) advising the

French-speaking Le Quartier Français. Centenary students often cite close relationships with

their professors as the source of some of their most meaningful learning experiences. The

Faculty-in-Residence component of the World House/LLC program opens even more avenues

for our students to deepen their understanding of and engagement with the complex global

challenges of the 21st century both inside and outside the traditional college classroom.

Our challenge is living a

meaningful life – our response is

the Social Justice World House

Our challenge is living a sustainable

life – our response is the Environmental

Sustainability World House

Our challenge is expanding our

circles – our response is the Peace World House

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Take Care,

B. David Rowe, Ph.D.President

AthleticsIn 2014-2015, Centenary student-athletes competed for the first time as full-fledged

Division III members, and the entire campus was energized by a season filled with

both team and individual successes. Division III athletics at Centenary provides our

student-athletes with a well-rounded collegiate experience that balances rigorous

academics, competitive athletics, and the opportunity to pursue a multitude of other

co-curricular activities. With over 230 varsity athletes participating on 17 teams,

athletics plays a central role in the lives of a significant percentage of Centenary

students.

Centenary teams achieved milestones and set records, from the first lacrosse win in

program history to the first men’s basketball regular season conference championship

since 1990. The Gents finished third and the Ladies fourth at the SCAC swimming

championships in February, and the College was proud to play host to the SCAC

Baseball Championship during a gorgeous graduation weekend. Though the Gents

fell to Trinity in the championship game, a highlight of the tournament was having

the late Virginia Shehee on hand to watch her last two games in Shehee Stadium.

Throughout the season, Centenary had 11 teams competing in championship play.

Individual Ladies and Gents also garnered both conference and national accolades,

with 21 athletes earning all-conference designations in six sports, including four

players with top honors. Seven student-athletes were named All-Americans or Academic

All-Americans, and at the conclusion of the baseball season our Centenary family

celebrated as one of these All-Americans, Gents pitcher Taylor Henry, became just the

third Division III player to be selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Taylor

has enjoyed a successful summer with the Kingsport Mets, a rookie league affiliate of

the New York Mets.