Seasons

A day with no classes? Indeed. Freed-Hardeman students used Thursday, Sept. 30, as a day of service. More than 1,000 FHU students went into the community to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

When Lance Mosher was a child, he and his family moved to West Tennessee – where they had no friends or family – “on a whim,” he said. His mother and grandmother had taught him how to pray when he was a child; however, “going to church was not on our radar,” he said. As a teenager, he sought meaning in many things.

An unforgettable day for residents of five Middle Tennessee counties – Approximately 17” of rain fell on McEwen, Tennessee, in a few hours, setting a new record for daily rainfall in the state. Less, but still substantial, rain fell in Humphreys County. McEwen sits just east and upstream from Waverly, Tennessee. Headwaters of Trace Creek originate in eastern parts of the county, and the water drains westward through Waverly.

HOPE is both the name and the purpose of an organization which provides supplemental food to at-need children in the seven Chester County public schools. Begun approximately 10 years ago by the late Hope Shull, former FHU librarian, the program provides food to fill backpacks for 150 children each Friday.

A class assignment is sometimes, well, just a class assignment. But, for Casey Jackson, a senior from Knoxville, Tennessee, an assignment in Spring 2020 caused her to change her major and focus more clearly on helping those in need. Jackson was enrolled in Service and Philanthropy, an honors class taught by Jay Satterfield.

Adoption is a beautiful reflection of Christ's compassion and God's love for all of His children.

Freed-Hardeman University continued to move up in the U.S. News & World Report rankings released this fall. FHU is ranked in the Top Five of the magazine’s Best Value Schools; it is the sole representative of universities supported by members of the churches of Christ to appear in the rankings.

Freed-Hardeman University dedicated the Heritage Walk in front of Hope Barber Shull Academic Resource Center to the memory of former trustee Kerry Couch and in honor of his wife Lisa Puckett Couch Friday, Oct 15, 2021.

Although Dave Smith may claim that he was “not the best student to ever make it through Freed-Hardeman,” his business acumen and the success of his company MTM Recognition, belie that claim. He began the company as Midwest Trophy Manufacturing in 1971 as a one-man show. The first years saw a gross revenue of under $50,000, which in those days was on par with the competition. These days MTM has grown to upwards of $90 million in revenue. Not bad for an Alabama farm boy who went to college on basketball scholarships.

The Freed-Hardeman University Board of Trustees honored one of its own at the October 2021 board meeting. They recognized 50 years of service by Bill Morgan, Benton, Kentucky. Morgan became a member of the FHU Advisory Board in 1970 and the FHU Board of Trustees in 1993.

Freed-Hardeman has long embraced the idea of character and career education. The motto created in the 1950s is still just as relevant today: “Teaching How to Live and How to Make a Living.”

The American Nurses Association and the World Health Organization have extended the International Year of the Nurse into 2021 because of the pandemic and the increased visibility of nurses’ contributions.

Xi Chi Delta’s “Juke Box Hero” took home the sweepstakes trophy following Saturday evening’s performance of the 44th annual production of Freed-Hardeman University’s Makin’ Music.

Art students enrolled in Dr. Barbara England’s alternative processes class traded their digital cameras for a photographic method invented in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer. This process was used by Mathew Brady to document the Civil War.

“Thank you for providing quality professional development opportunities for those of us ‘on the go’ after school hours.”

Senior infielder Josh Sears was named an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention after a stellar season with the Lions.

The Freed-Hardeman University faculty presented the Faculty-Scholarship-Leadership Medal to John Parigger, a 2021 summa cum laude graduate from Manchester, Tennessee, at commencement. He completed a Bachelor of Science in psychology in Spring 2021.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) has awarded two competitive grants to Freed-Hardeman University. The initiatives provide no-cost access in order to remove barriers and provide a pathway to the teaching profession for selected participants. These programs will address the need for qualified teachers in Tennessee.

Mr. and Miss Freed-Hardeman University 2021 were celebrated Friday, April 23, during a special chapel presentation. Elected by the students, faculty and staff, the winners were Wisenie Jadis, a nursing major from Davenport, Florida, and Connor Creasy, a secondary education and history major from Milan, Tennessee.

Two Freed-Hardeman University students have received the Victor L. Durrington Award for Excellence in Biblical Research: Jon Paul Gulledge, a graduate student in theology from Corinth, Mississippi, and Drew Aldridge, an undergraduate student majoring in biblical studies from Jasper, Alabama.

Freed-Hardeman University has announced plans to create an endowed chair for the Graduate School of Theology as it begins the new Doctor of Ministry program. It will be named the Dr. Earl Edwards Chair for the Graduate School of Theology.

Both the Lions baseball team and Lady Lions softball team advanced to the NAIA Opening Round in post-season play.

National Fastpitch Coaches Association named Brittany Adair an All-American after her 2021 record-setting season. She was named a Second Team At-Large-Pitcher All-American for the NFCA after her first season with FHU.

Jennifer Creecy, who teaches in the College of Education, has completed her Ph.D. through Capella University, specializing in K-12 studies. Her dissertation explored the experiences of middle school mathematics teachers with problem solving and problem posing.

Freed-Hardeman University celebrated the 2020 Mr. and Miss FHU, Katie Morris and Kenneth Moore, Saturday, Aug. 22, in a ceremony in Chapel Hall. The event had been delayed because of COVID-19 and the subsequent early end of the spring semester.

Building on the momentum of two years of record enrollment, Freed-Hardeman University has again received strong rankings from U.S. News and World Report. FHU is listed in the top ten of Best Value Schools, coming in at number eight. The university is also included in the top one-third of Regional Universities in the organization’s 2021 Best Colleges report.

Freed-Hardeman University plans to offer a Master of Science in exercise science and rehabilitation beginning Fall 2021, pending approval of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Chad Brinker credits his success as an assistant director of pro scouting/salary cap analyst for the Green Bay Packers to his relationship building skills and his ability to spot natural talent. The business is not for the faint of heart, Brinker explained during his visit to Freed-Hardeman University in November. He shared his story in chapel and in a sports marketing class.

Freed-Hardeman University students in Matt Barker’s communication class raised $1,500 for Henderson’s Exchange Club/Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse by selling face masks that resembled the lower,  mustached half of FHU President David Shannon’s face. Funding for the project came from a $1,000 LEADS grant from Leaders Credit Union.

The story of  “Star Trek” legend Nichelle Nichols and how she helped change the nation’s space agency appeared on the big screen for one night only Feb. 2, 2021, in theaters around the country. “Woman in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA” focuses on NASA’s efforts in the late 1970s and ‘80s to recruit people of color and the first female astronauts.

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization, has named Freed-Hardeman University’s graduate elementary teacher preparation program among the top in the country for strong training in classroom management strategies.

FHU’s Office of Alumni Engagement has instituted an initiative designed to share the collective knowledge and wisdom possessed by the FHU family. A series of short videos, called “FHYou…Connecting Your Expertise” provides ideas, advice and best practices across a wide range of topics.

Dr. Bobbie Solley, former director of education development for Healing Hands International and a retired professor from Middle Tennessee State University, has worked to establish the Bobbie Solley Center for Excellence in Teaching at Freed-Hardeman University. The center was launched officially in January 2021.

Lion baseball players Josh Sears and Alex Huey were named NAIA Preseason All-Americans, the league announced a little over a month and a half before the 2021 season began.

During the past 85 years, the Freed-Hardeman University Annual Bible Lectureship, has brought thousands of attendees to Henderson for a spiritual feast. Faced with the pandemic, lectureship leadership was forced to re-vision the event for 2021.

Freed-Hardeman University’s second annual Day of Giving Nov. 5, 2020, resulted in gifts totaling almost $400,000. Spurred by challenges from two anonymous donors, 1,286 alumni and friends of the university made contributions to 51 projects, ranging from scholarships to equipment for the campus radio station. Requests came from the Associates, social clubs, the library, Mid-South Youth Camp, athletic teams and others.

When Jim Clayton, president of Clayton Bank, began a $1 million stock portfolio in 2007, the intent was that Freed-Hardeman University students would manage it, thereby learning about investing from a very real world perspective. In addition, FHU’s College of Business would share in the profits and pay back any losses.

Former Lion Bryan Battle signed a professional contract to play for KK Promo in Bosnia’s top professional basketball division, less than one year removed from his stellar season in an FHU uniform.

New coaches, new teammates, new conference— Lion guard Kortland Martin has had to deal with a lot of new during his time at FHU. His humility and work ethic not only helped him get through those changes but turned him into one of the top guards in the country also.

In the midst of a pandemic, live theatre returned to the Freed-Hardeman University stage Nov. 5-7, 2020. “Little Shop of Horrors” was FHU Theatre’s first production since March when COVID-19 closed the curtains.“The show went really well,” Director Cliff Thompson said. “It was well attended and the performances were solid. I received a lot of comments about the excellence of the set; how finished everything appeared.”

In the midst of a pandemic, Freed-Hardeman University has again set enrollment records. Total headcount for Fall 2020 stands at 2,188 students, with 1,727 of those being undergraduates. Both are all-time highs.

Two athletes were inducted into the FHU Sports Hall of Fame Nov. 7, 2020. Jim Carter, Lion first baseman from 1995 to 1997, and Haley Newby McRady, All-American Lady Lions basketball player who graduated in 2015, were added to the illustrious group.

In an abbreviated season that had no national tournaments, four Freed-Hardeman University basketball players garnered national recognition.

Feeding the Freed-Hardeman University, family a “real” Thanksgiving meal made the Lion’s Pride Dining Services staff happy, to say nothing of the students, faculty and staff. “We were super excited to offer a wide variety of more traditional holiday items,” Tamie Torres said. “This is the largest number of items we have been able to serve all semester, and we could not have been happier.”

Freed-Hardeman University honored 2020 spring and winter graduates at separate ceremonies Saturday, Nov. 21, in Loyd Auditorium.

Freed-Hardeman University President David R. Shannon has announced plans to welcome students back for on-campus instruction in August 2020. “We can’t wait to welcome new students and reunite with returning students on campus,” he said. “We are family, and we love spending time with family. We also want to keep our family safe, and as Lions, we want to Protect the Pride!”

Suffragist, attorney, writer and politician, Sue Shelton White rose from being the orphaned daughter of Chester County teachers to become one of the state’s and nation’s leaders in the fight for women’s rights, particularly the right to vote. Generally referred to as “Miss Sue,” her petite size belied her considerable abilities and will. James Tate, general counsel for the federal Social Security Board, called her “a lady warrior” – both a Southern gentlewoman and a fighter.

All spring sports at FHU, as well as the rest of the country, ceased in 2020. 

The sounds of sports were silenced: no crack of the bat, no swish of the net. 

The hush of the golf course seemed permanent. There would be no trip to the national tournament for the Lady Lion basketball team, and the NAIA World Series was not to be played.

Makin’ Music, Freed-Hardeman University’s annual musical extravaganza, did not take the stage in April for the first time in its more-than-40 year history. Hundreds of students had practiced for months. They had written lyrics, practiced choreography, designed costumes and staging and rehearsed for endless hours, all in anticipation of the annual event which typically draws large crowds to campus. Makin’ Music was canceled by concerns about the COVID-19 virus.

Freed-Hardeman University alumnus Rodger Holtin (‘72), lover of music, history, and vinyl, is nearing completion of a project to find and make available to friends of Freed-Hardeman, the sounds of her past. The FHU Vinyl Project, as he calls it, entails finding vinyl recordings of the college choral groups, chapel, the Pied Pipers and sermons, converting them to digital and making them available to other FHU alumni and friends.

To improve their musicality and to sharpen their audition skills, a group of FHU students participated in a theatre workshop at Playhouse on the Square. The venue is Memphis’ premier professional, regional theatre. They toured the facility and participated in a workshop with executive producer Michael Detroit and music director Nathan McHenry.

Two FHU students, Amelia Beames and Hannah Mabry, took the ultimate college road trip last summer, visiting 17 national parks and monuments as they completed an Engaged Learning Initiative (ELI) project.

Eleven students, accompanied by two members of the nursing faculty, Dr. Sarah Pierce and Linda Hodges, went to Cusco, Peru, for two weeks in January, 2020. “This project was all about providing medical care to the lower income people of Cusco,” Pierce said. They worked with the CerviCusco clinic.

Forty teacher education students drawn from the Introduction to Education and Special Education Foundations classes, along with their teachers, Dr. Alesha Northcutt and Ashley Estes, visited the Tennessee capitol for “Legislative Day on the Hill.” The day was designed to help students understand how to be advocates for education.

JESUS DECLARED, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

One, two, three . . . once upon a time, a showman came to a hamlet in Tennessee with a dream in his head and a love of children in his heart. Henry A. McDaniel, Jr. came to Freed-Hardeman College in 1969 to establish a theatre program. He brought with him an idea he had picked up at Florida State University. He would form a troupe of actors who would entertain children of all ages with songs, poems and stories. They would create magic without the aid of sets or props. With only their imagination and the cooperation of their audience, they would cast a spell on young and old and everyone in between.

Bible professor Stan Mitchell transitioned from this earth in Jackson, Tennessee, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, following a heart attack suffered the previous Friday on the Freed-Hardeman campus. 

In its 150th year, Freed-Hardeman University is celebrating more than its history. This fall’s numbers show another year of record enrollment, according to FHU President David R. Shannon. Total head count for the Fall 2019 semester stands at a record-breaking 2,117 students, an increase of 100 over last year. 

Seven Freed-Hardeman University students sang with the Young Adult Honors Performance Series in August 2019 at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. 

Freed-Hardeman University moved up eight spots in the 2020 U.S. News and World Report ranking of colleges and universities, making this the second consecutive year FHU has made major gains in the standings. In the past two years, the university has moved up 15 spots.

Christina Hines, sophomore art education major, was commissioned to paint a three by four foot canvas which will hang in Old Main to commemorate 150 years of FHU. The painting includes familiar faces such as FHU students, professors, past presidents and members of the Shannon family.

Think Bibles and bikers are an unlikely combination? Not to this gang. For almost 15 years, a group of FHU Bible teachers, along with a few of their friends, have taken extended motorcycle tours.

A former member of the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lion soccer team has received a top character award from the American Midwest Conference. Avis Van Kampen, a 2019 graduate from Atoka, Tennessee, has been selected as a finalist for the NAIA’s Dr. LeRoy Walker Character Award.

More than 500 persons gathered in Freed-Hardeman University’s Brewer Sports Center Saturday evening, April 27, to hear Paul Finebaum, a leading voice for sports coverage in the Southeast. Proceeds from the dinner benefit intercollegiate athletics at FHU.

Freed-Hardeman University has established an endowment fund to ensure future editions of Makin’ Music continue to enhance the experience of FHU students participating in the annual extravaganza.

FHU hosted the opening round of the NAIA Baseball National Tournament for the first time in school history, allowing the Lions to punch their ticket to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, in front of an appreciative home audience. Eight other sites across the country hosted opening round tournaments, also.

Mid-South Youth Camp, operated by Freed-Hardeman University, announced a campaign to raise $1.65 million to build a new dining hall. Several hundred attended the July 21 event, “A Celebration of God’s Abundant Blessings,” as they thanked God for what He had done this summer, kicked off the final week of summer camp and announced that $1,140,000 had been raised. 

While some college students made headlines with their spring break beach trips, many Freed-Hardeman University students chose to spend their time away from campus in a far different way. Some went with fellow social club members; others went with local congregations.

Henderson, Tennessee — (April 9, 2019) — Social club Xi Chi Delta’s “How the West Was Won” claimed Makin’ Music 2019’s top prize Saturday night, April 6, 2019, at Freed-Hardeman University’s Loyd auditorium.

Dr. C.J. Vires, provost and vice president for academics, presented the Faculty Scholarship-Leadership Medal to Isabel Harris, who graduated summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. Multiple faculty members described her as “one of the finest students they have had the opportunity to teach,” Vires said.

FHU’s Engaged Learning Initiative (ELI) exists to enhance the academic experience for FHU undergraduate students (fhu.edu/eli).  It connects the classroom with the real world – from theory to applied practice. Megan Luffman, senior communication and English double major, was among a small group of students who explored Europe this summer to study Freed-Hardeman alumni who served during World War II, and she shared her experience.

During a joint press conference at the Jackson Chamber Boardroom in Jackson, Tennessee, the presidents of Bethel University, Freed-Hardeman University and Martin Methodist College announced their schools’ transfers to the Mid-South Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Teams will first compete in their new conference in the 2020-21 academic year.

Dr. Joris M. Ray spent much of his career in education working for the public schools in Memphis. Now he is the district’s new superintendent, leader of 110,000 students and the second largest employer in Shelby County.

To celebrate the completion of her master’s degree in school counseling, Darby Miskelly and two of her friends, Chelsea Jones and Kristen Shouse, hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018.

Casey Gower, a 2019 graduate with multiple majors, soon scored not one, but two jobs. “Majoring in computer science, interactive digital design and photography allowed me to open my wings and express myself in so many different ways,” he said.

A member of the first nursing cohort at FHU/Dickson, alumna Brooklyn Polk works in the emergency department of TriStar Horizon Medical Center in Dickson. “I absolutely love my job,” she commented. “I love the excitement and fast pace of the workflow.”

Love one another as I have loved you, by this all men will know you are my disciples.  John 13:34

In January 2017, nine FHU nursing students and two nursing faculty members traveled to Thomazeau, Haiti, for seven days to serve on a medical mission team with LiveBeyond. 

The goal of this project was to expose students to biological topics such as diffusion, fermentation, metabolism, pH, plant biology, food source sustainability, muscle structure, blood viscosity, lipid transport, biomolecules, water, the scientific method and G protein coupled receptors in a novel way. To do this, students in BIO 110 explored these topics by performing experiments using the kitchen as a classroom and laboratory in the Fall 2016 semester. Student perception of learning gains in this course was assessed, and the results will be presented to the SENCER Summer Institute in 2017. 

Help-Portrait was founded by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart and Kyle Chowning in 2008. Each December, photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists around the world find people in need and take, print and deliver portraits — free of charge.

In August 2016 FHU photography majors traveled to New York City where they learned from professionals at MILK STUDIOS located in the city’s artist-centered Chelsea neighborhood. The Engaged Learning Initiative (ELI) provided students enrolled in ART 299/399 Fashion Photography the opportunity to step outside of the classroom and experience the life of a professional photographer.

In August 2016, a group of Freed-Hardeman University students participated in a sports marketing course that gave them the opportunity to gain real world experience.

In July 2016, FHU students participated in the third FHU Abroad trip in Madrid since 2013. Excursions are a vital part of the immersion experience in Spain. Most of the excursions were guided tours, with one of the professors from the University of Madrid in attendance. Weekend excursions and day trips allowed for extended forays into the heart and soul of Spain. As a means of evaluation, students completed a reflective journal as part of the requirement for the immersion credit designated as SPA 367.