Spire Spring 2018

college news

Bluefield College has introduced two new master’s degrees: a Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences (MABS) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Offered in partnership with the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), the MABS will begin this fall with classes on the VCOM campus in Blacksburg. The online MBA will begin soon after and will have concentrations in leadership and healthcare management. The two new master’s degrees are the school’s third and fourth in just three years, following the Master of Arts in Education in 2015 and the Master of Science in Nursing in 2017. For more information, visit bluefield.edu/mabs and bluefield.edu/mba .

Bluefield College received one of its largest charitable gifts in recent years – a $651,000 bequest from the Guy E. Beatty Revocable Trust to support student scholarships and campus improvements. A longtime BC friend through an association with the Virginia College Fund (VCF), Guy Beatty (pictured right) was a prominent real estate developer in Northern Virginia. He served on the VCF’s Board of Directors, and his $651,000 gift to Bluefield College was part of an overall $2.7 million bequest to the Virginia College Fund. BC will use 70 percent of its portion for scholarships and 30 percent for academic and student-related campus improvements. Read more: bluefield.edu/beatty .

Seventy-eight seniors received diplomas in December 2017 during the school’s 26th Annual Winter Commencement, which featured a keynote address from entrepreneur Dr. Bobby Griffin (pictured) and two speeches from distinguished graduates Rebekah Ivester, a traditional church music major, and Christopher Robinson, an online management and leadership major. Dr. Griffin, whose remarks were less like a commencement address and more like a testimony, shared how he came from an obscure early life and overcame insurmountable odds to achieve renowned personal and professional success. Giving his life to God, he said, is how he turned his life around. View dozens of photos from the day at bluefield.edu/winter17grads .

The college began the 2017-2018 academic year without Dr. Donna Hardy Watson – a pillar of the Teacher Education Program who stepped down from her position as dean of the School of Education – but took steps to assure her legacy would remain through the creation of the Dr. Donna Watson Goodness and Light Alumni Award. In fact, during Homecoming 2017, the school presented the inaugural Goodness and Light Award to Hannah Spicer Owens, a 2013 BC grad who teaches English at Narrows (VA) High School. Check out photos and other details from the award ceremony at bluefield.edu/watsonaward17 .

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