College mourns loss of prominent alumnus and supporter
Larry D. Striplin Jr., who graduated from Birmingham-Southern in 1952 with a degree in education, passed away Jan. 23 at a local hospital. Striplin was a trustee, innovative businessman, and generous contributor to the college’s athletics program and to student academic scholarships. Visit the News@BSC webpage for more.

Birmingham-Southern’s Exploration Term offers students rich learning opportunities
The January Exploration Term at Birmingham-Southern gave students an exciting change of pace: new projects on campus that addressed a variety of interests, global travel with faculty members, creative research, internships, or independently contracted study experiences across the state and nation—all for academic credit. New campus projects this year included “Reading from the Bones: An Introduction to Human Osteology” and “LOST: My Religion”. Eight students traveled to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, to examine the relationship between film festivals and independent cinema. Twenty students traveled to Ghana, Africa, for a collaborative Bunting Center for Engaged Study and Community Action/education department service-learning initiative aimed at teaching English as a second language to schoolchildren. Locally, students served in the Woodlawn and West End communities. More than 1,000 BSC students were enrolled in the term. The college changed the name of its January term from “Interim” to “Exploration” last summer to coincide with its new Explorations general education curriculum.

BSC announces event lineup for 2012 Black History Month celebration
The Office of Multicultural Affairs and Black Student Union at Birmingham-Southern are hosting a month of special activities to honor the positive impact and achievements of African Americans throughout the nation’s history. Visit the News@BSC webpage.

Award-winning Birmingham-Southern students to perform with local orchestra
Three Birmingham-Southern student musicians who were selected as winners of the college's annual Whittington Music Competition this past December will appear as soloists with the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra this month. They will perform Sunday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m. in Hill Recital Hall. The orchestra will be conducted by Joseph Hugh Thomas Professor of Music Lester Seigel ’79. The student winners are Iris Reddick (cello), a junior music major from Memphis; Rose Reddick (piano), a junior music major from Memphis; and McGinty Chilcutt (violin), a senior biology major from West Point, Miss. The highly competitive Whittington Music Competition is named for Frances and Dorsey Whittington, who were leaders of the Birmingham Conservatory of Music, which later became the Music Department at BSC.

BSC to present Holocaust exhibit and speaker series in February and March
Birmingham-Southern will launch an educational exhibit and lecture series beginning Monday, Feb. 6, to facilitate a platform for understanding what led to and what happened during the Holocaust, from 1933 to 1945. Visit the News@BSC webpage.

Horth to present next “Leadership Matters” lecture
David Horth, a fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C., will deliver the next “Leadership Matters” lecture of the 2011-12 academic year on Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. in the Norton Campus Center Theatre. The lecture is free and open to the public. More on the lecture series can be found here.

Birmingham-Southern Black Alumni Affinity Group kicks off Feb. 10
A brand new affinity group for black alumni will hold its first social of the year on Friday, Feb. 10, at Wiggins, Childs, Quinn, and Pantazis (The Kress Building, 301 19th Street North, Birmingham) from 5:30- 9:30 p.m. There will be free parking, live jazz band, hors d’oeuvres, special signature drink, and great networking opportunities with fellow alums. Spouses are welcome. To RSVP, contact Karen Brennan at 205/226-4909 or kbrennan@bsc.edu.

General Krulak to visit Jackson, Miss., Feb. 15
BSC President Gen. Charles Krulak will be introduced to prospective students, alumni, and current parents in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the River Hills Club, located at 3600 Ridgewood Road in Jackson. The admission event will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the alumni/current parents event will begin at 6:30 p.m. To RSVP for the prospective student event, contact Sydney Hawk '09 at 205/226-4673 or shawk@bsc.edu. To RSVP for the alumni/current parents event, contact Karen Brennan at 205/226-4909 or kbrennan@bsc.edu.

“The Sport of Entrepreneurship” to be topic at next Birmingham Alumni Business Luncheon
BSC alumnus and trustee George B. Salem ’75, the only two-time recipient of the Birmingham Venture Club’s prestigious Jemison Award for entrepreneurship, will be the speaker at the next Birmingham Alumni Business Luncheon on Thursday, Feb. 16. Everyone will gather at 11:30 a.m., and lunch will begin at 11:45 p.m. at The Harbert Center, located at 2019 Fourth Avenue North. Cost is $20 per person and is requested in advance. RSVP to Karen Brennan at 205/226-4909 or kbrennan@bsc.edu.

“ReWine’d with your Valentine” dinner at Café Dupont is Feb. 16
Join fellow BSC alumni at Café Dupont in downtown Birmingham Feb. 16 for an exclusive wine dinner featuring seasonal cuisine and a romance-inspiring presentation by Dr. David Resha, BSC assistant professor of media and film studies. His topic will be “Love, Cuisine, and the Cinema.” The four-course dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. at 113 20th Street North. Seating is limited to 60. Cost is $75 per person/$150 per couple and payment must be made in advance. Valet parking is available. RSVP to Karen Brennan at 205/226-4909 or kbrennan@bsc.edu.

Circle Oct. 19-20 on your calendar now for the 2012 Homecoming/Alumni Reunion Weekend!
Make your plans now to attend this year’s Homecoming/Alumni Reunion Weekend Oct. 19-20. There will be activities for the whole family. BSC football plays Sewanee that Saturday, and Alabama and Auburn have away games. Watch your mailbox in the coming days for more information.

BSC to host 2012 SCAC Basketball Championship; spring sports gearing up for action
The Birmingham-Southern basketball teams won’t have to travel far for their first-ever Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference post-season appearance, as the Panthers will host the 2012 SCAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships the weekend of Feb. 24-26. The first-round women’s quarterfinals will be played at Homewood High School in Homewood, Ala., but all other games will be played in Bill Battle Coliseum on campus. The BSC men currently are ranked 11th in the nation in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Panther spring sports also are set to kick off their 2012 seasons soon, including the 23rd-ranked baseball team. For a complete schedule of all BSC athletics events, visit www.bscsports.net.

Keep up with all BSC campus events and activities online!
The Birmingham-Southern campus is full of life and activity during the academic terms, and we want to make sure you are in on all the action! The first week of each month you will receive your monthly issue of From the Hilltop, which will highlight some events and direct you to the college’s events page on the Web site for other events. You can check our Web site at any time to get event updates and additional details at www.bsc.edu/events or by simply going to the main www.bsc.edu page and clicking on the Events@BSC icon. On the webpage you will find arts events, admission events, athletics events, alumni events, weekly calendars, and more. Sign up for our Events RSS feed while there as well. Also, we will be sending out a reminder each Friday about the upcoming events for the following week through our BSC Facebook page and Twitter feed. Please click on the Facebook and Twitter icons below to join us. We hope to see you on campus soon and often!

From The Hilltop is a monthly e-mail newsletter for alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, and other friends of Birmingham-Southern College. It includes the latest news about the college's academics, athletics, and alumni interests.

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