Volume 21, No. 1 – the Magazine of Florida's First Private University – Fall 2004
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Volume 21, No. 1 – The Magazine of Florida’s First Private University – Fall 2004 STETSONSTETSON UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY Faith, community drive alumna to success By Molly Justice aith and community are close to Bernadette Morris’ heart and the foundation for the two North Miami Beach-based companies she founded, Sonshine Communications and Black PR Wire. Morris, who studied English for two years at Stetson in the ‘80s, discovered her love for communications as a student at Stetson – working as a student assistant in the public relations ALUMNA PROFILE office after classes. Her initial plans called for law school, but that all changed when Morris transferred to the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, to earn a degree in English and Communications. (At the time, Stetson did not offer its current Communication Studies major.) She later Fearned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida International University in Miami. “My time at Stetson helped prepare me for the many challenges and opportunities I face today,” she said. “At Stetson, I learned the value and importance of time management and developed critical thinking skills. I also had the opportunity to interact with some really creative thinkers, which challenged me to think through every project very carefully.” Morris’ varied experience includes PR coordinator for the Northeast Florida Safety Council, writer/ producer and PR manager for WJCT-TV in Jacksonville and associate dean/division director of the Office of Public Affairs at Miami-Dade Community College. Morris’ first company, Sonshine Communications, offers public relations, marketing, advertising and graphic design services. Building on her success, she launched Black PR Wire in 2000. The company distrib- utes a variety of client communications to more than 1,200 Black-owned publications and media throughout the country and the Caribbean. “I believe that every event and activity is a story,” she said. “PR is one way to express your message to the public and evoke awareness and social change. It is also a creative outlet to reach a specific market and sector. The work we do at Sonshine has to be creative, innovative and informative. We work to be our BEST (bless, edify, share and touch), and we deliver quality, substance and style.” Morris and her companies are involved in numerous community projects, ranging from small business to church and ministry work. They develop free collateral products for these clients and offer an internship program for future PR professionals. At the same time, they sponsor and support a number of community organiza- tions, including the local commu- nity cable station – at which Morris serves on the board – and various community revitalization campaign projects. “I love the Lord, and everything I do and everything this company does will demonstrate principles of godly leadership, honesty, guid- ance, grace and favor,” she said. STETSON UNIVERSITY STETSON UNIVERSITY Volume 21 – Number 1 CONTENTS FEATURES His subject is politics, but students are his joy: Professor T. Wayne Bailey 2 duPont-Ball Library to host Frankenstein Exhibit, Spring 2005 4 Adams makes most of life’s opportunities, challenges 6 Stover Theatre: 75-year-old survivor, stage of makeover 8 Rising star propels law school forward 11 The Beckerath organ: an enduring legacy 12 Today’s vision for Sage Hall: scientists working together 32 ‘Voice of the Hatters’ signs on for 53rd season 44 DEPARTMENTS H. Douglas Lee, President Alumna Profile: Bernadette Morris Opposite page Linda P. Davis ’73, Vice President for University Relations Cupola 15 Mary Anne Rogers, Executive Director Alumni News 15 of Public Relations and Weddings and Anniversaries 18 Communications Alumni Awards 20 Danielle Laprime ’95, MA, editor and New Hatters 22 designer Reunion Highlights 26 Cover: Political Science Professor Student Profile: Maya Yankelevich - T. Wayne Bailey joins his former student The world is her classroom 31 former State Rep. Suzanne M. Kosmas on Under the Cupola 34 campus. Photo by David Fithian Heard about Stetson Pie Transitions 39 Day? Books, Etc. 42 See page 42 STETSON UNIVERSITY is published semi-annually by Stetson University, DeLand, Florida 32723, and is distributed to its alumni, families and friends. Printed by Independent Printing, Daytona Beach, on recycled paper. Visit Stetson University on the Internet: <www.stetson.edu>. FALL 2004 His subject is politics, but students are his joy By Betty Brady tetson’s senior professor, Dr. T. Wayne Bailey, created the university’s Political Science Department, Washington Semester and Model U.S. Senate. In 42 years at Stetson, he has sent countless students on to graduate school, law school and public service careers. Six alumni currently serve in the Florida Legislature; others are on staff. Through his students and a lifetime of political work, his influence pervades Sthe Capitol in Tallahassee and extends to Washington, D.C. Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland ’64, now a director of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and a Stetson Trustee, credits Bailey with stirring his interest in politics through the Washington Semester, encouraging him to pursue public service after he was injured in Vietnam and later helping him find a teaching job. During this summer’s Democratic National Convention, Cleland told the Florida delegation flatly that he would not be where he is without Bailey. “I had mentors who encouraged me, and I enjoy serving as a mentor,” Bailey says. “It’s gratifying to have alumni call and say I’ve helped them find their way in life.” Now teaching the children and grandchildren of former stu- dents, he has no plan to retire: “As long as it’s satisfying, I’ll be here.” Photo by David Fifthian A Florida native, Bailey worked his way through college. He grew up on a farm north of Pensacola, graduated from rural Chumuckla High School as valedictorian and entered the University of Florida at 15. “My family was mired in politics,” he says. “I used to drive with my father to late night political meetings. I saw both good and bad things happen. At 15, I was campaigning for Claude Pepper.” He majored in Political Science at UF, and earned a master’s degree in Teaching from Peabody College in Nashville, now part of Vanderbilt University. At 20, he was teaching four or five classes a semester – from Western Civilization to Public Speaking – at Chipola Junior College in Tallahassee. He also broadcast the college radio pro- gram, coached the intercollegiate debate team and advised the Baptist student group. After five years, he returned to UF for a doctorate in Political Science, encouraged by two of his undergraduate professors and a graduate assistantship. His wife, Frances, to whom he has now been married for 50 years, taught elementary school. “Teaching emerged as my natural gift,” he says. “I didn’t know it would be so satisfying. The joy of teaching was a pleasant surprise to me – serendipity. My life has just unfolded; it wasn’t planned. I took advantage of opportuni- ties as they arose.” He received his doctorate in 1963, and Stetson hired him to fill in for History Professor Gilbert Lycan, who was taking a year’s leave. Stetson had no Political Science Department at the time, and when the year was up Dean Hugh McEniry asked Bailey to stay and create one. The department now has five faculty members and 120 student majors. 2 STETSON UNIVERSITY “The college experience is ... a process of maturing and developing a whole life expectation.” – Dr. T. Wayne Bailey Dr. George C. Edwards III ’69, who holds the Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies at Texas A&M University, College Station, recalls that Bailey took about 25 seniors each year to New York and Washington, D.C. to explore the United Nations and the Capitol. He remembers meeting William O. Douglas, Gerald Ford and other prominent leaders. “We had no Washington representative, and no professional staff in the Political Science Department. But we had Wayne Bailey, and that is all we needed.” From left, William Voigt, president of the Says Dr. William Mishler ’69, professor of Political Science at The University of Arizona, American Lung Association, and Patsy Yawn, Tucson, “From the start, Wayne Bailey seemed to see qualities in me that I did not know I a member of the board of directors of the possessed. Despite receiving a ‘C’ in that first course (and probably deserving worse), ALA from Florida, congratulate Bailey, Wayne took me under his wing, as he did for all of Stetson’s Political Science majors, and center. began to mold my life.” Bailey keeps up with alumni – advising them long after graduation. He feels fortunate that Stetson values that kind of concern from faculty members. He hasn’t produced book Bailey honored for after book, but says his political interests keep his teaching current. political work against “My political activity comes back to the classroom,” he says. “Raising questions on the cusp is what academic life is all about. I got involved in Florida Democratic Party politics smoking at a time when there was a political vacuum here,” he says, adding that he worked with his summer Dr. T. Wayne Bailey was Lawton Chiles and Reuben Askew to revitalize the party. He was elected a state commit- surprised to find himself mingling with teeman from Volusia County in 1970, then ran for chair of the Florida Democrats and physicians and medical researchers in won, an office he held until 1992. A national committeeman from 1972-80, he has T Washington, D.C., as one of 13 health and attended nine Democratic conventions, including this year’s, and served as a member of medical pioneers honored nationally by the the Electoral College. Discovery Health Channel. Also interested in local government, he served as vice chair of the Volusia County The only political scientist in the group, he Charter Commission, which helped establish the first charter government in Florida.