The Lyon College Board of Trustees approved a slate of new and current trustees to be recommended to the Synod of the Sun for election to the board for terms beginning July 1.
The Synod is the regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). As a Presbyterian college, Lyon operates under a covenant with the Synod.
New Synod trustees who were recommended for a four-year term include Suzanne Evans Blair, ’68, of Batesville; Bill Bristow, ’72, of Jonesboro; and Brien Nix Hall, ’92, of Ash Flat. Nominated for a two-year term was Raymond LaCroix Jr. of Batesville.
All four have previously served as trustees. LaCroix is a former chairman of the board who rotated off the board in 2012. Hall has been serving as an alumni trustee, but will move to Synod trustee status when his term as an alumni trustee ends in June.
Current Synod trustees who were recommended for re-election to four-year terms include Sarah “Cricket” Oquist, ’93, Debbie Wilhite, ’74, and Perry Wilson. Oquist is from Minnesota and Wilhite and Wilson are from Little Rock.
Recommended for re-election to a one-year term on the board was Warren Stephenson of Little Rock.
The reappointment of the Rev. Gordon Garlington of North Little Rock as a clergy trustee was recommended to the Presbytery of Arkansas. The board also recommended the appointment of the Rev. Stephen Hancock of Little Rock as a clergy trustee. Hancock has been serving as a Synod trustee.
Also new to the board will be Scott Daniel, ‘93, of Little Rock who was elected to a three-year term as an alumni trustee representing Arkansas outside Independence County, and Landon Downing, ’13, of Sidney who was recently elected by the student body as the new Young Alumni Trustee.
The board also elected officers for 2013-14. Re-elected were Stephen Williams, ’82, of Little Rock, vice chair; Ricky Davis, ’80, of Heber Springs, secretary; and Charles Whiteside III of Little Rock, treasurer. Perry Wilson continues as board chairman for the second year of a five-year term.
In other action:
• The Board requested a feasibility study to consider the possibility of adding football to the college’s varsity athletic program. Athletic Director Kevin Jenkins will chair the committee made up of faculty, staff and community members that will examine the feasibility of a football program. President Donald Weatherman said he wants the study completed by mid-June.
• The Board is also considering adding varsity wrestling to the athletic program.
• The Board voted to eliminate its February meeting and only meet twice a year – in October and in April. The college’s Black Tie Blue Jeans Ball will be held Feb. 28, 2014, even though the trustees will not meet that month.
• The Board discussed the need for more residential housing on campus as enrollment grows and some current residence halls need to be replaced. One of the options being examined is panelized construction, a method of building certain parts of a structure in a factory rather than onsite. Panelized construction eliminates a lot of time and waste associated with traditionally built structures, but allows for a variety of uses and designs. College officials are looking at other institutions that have used this method to build residence halls.
