Twin Pillars Banquet celebrates service, academic excellence

^{Carson-Newman’s Bonner Center held its 2016 Twin Pillars banquet to help celebrate the service and contributions. Pictured is Bonner Center Director Chad Williams, left, with students who received the Twin Pillars Award of Excellence in Scholarship and Service. Standing with William is left to right, Ashley Barton, Rachel Clingenpeel, Jordan Elliott, Taylor Fitzpatrick, Kendra Ivins, Bailie Roy and Jalen Sanders.}

(April 11, 2016) –Carson-Newman University’s Bonner Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement held its 2016 Twin Pillars Banquet. Held in Stokely Memorial Cafeteria, the event highlighted several individuals by presenting them with this year’s Twin Pillars Awards.

“The annual Twin Pillars banquet for the past several years has been an engaging celebration of service and academic excellence on Carson-Newman’s campus, and this year’s 4th annual Twin Pillars Banquet was no different,” said Chad Williams, director of the Bonner Center. Williams said there were a record number of nominations for the awards, contributing it to the quality and quantity of service-learning work done by both those on campus and in the community.

“Tonight was about recognizing and celebrating those whose work not only builds on Carson-Newman’s rich service history,” said Williams, “but also lays a strong foundation for all the great civic engagement work that our C-N community will do in the future.”

Those receiving awards during the event include:

Twin Pillars Award of Excellence in Community Engagement:
– Dr. Beth Vanlandingham and the African-American Heritage Alliance of East Tennessee (AAHA) for the campus student-curated exhibit “We March with Selma” Exhibit, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Twin Pillars Award of Excellence in Scholarship and Service:
– Ashley Barton, Church Hill, human services major with a minor in sociology
– Rachel Clingenpeel, Roanoke, Virginia, double major in human services and Spanish
– Jordan Elliott, Maryville, graphic design major
– Taylor Fitzpatrick, Murfreesboro, human services major with a minor in social entrepreneurship
– Kendra Ivins, Chattanooga, mathematics Major with a teaching licensure
– Bailie Roy, Sweetwater, accounting major with a minor in finance/economics
– Jalen Sanders, Detroit, Michigan, psychology major

Twin Pillars Award of Excellence in Service-Learning Instruction:
– Dr. Kim Johnson, associate professor Family & Consumer Sciences