Bluefield College

Page history last edited by dtaylor@bluefield.edu 6 mos ago

CAMPUS NAME AND ADDRESS

Bluefield College

3000 College Drive

Bluefield, VA 24605

http://www.bluefield.edu

CAMPUS AT A GLANCE (brief description)

Dedicated to being Virginia’s premier Christ-centered liberal arts college, preparing critical thinkers and transformational leaders to impact a changing world, Bluefield College offers a challenging, innovative academic and co-curricular experience within a climate of diverse Christian tradition.

In covenant with the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the college is committed to developing students’ potential through academic excellence and the integration of faith, the liberal arts, career-oriented programs, and service to God and the global community.

Located in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to offer baccalaureate degrees in 22 majors of study, including business, forensic science, graphic communication, criminal justice, teacher education and Christian studies, Bluefield College is touted for its classroom technology, affordability, personalized instruction, and learning settings on the mission field and in countries abroad.

KEY FACTS

Location:

South-Western Virginia, about 100 miles from Roanoke

Enrollment:

2,096

Other interesting tidbits:

The city of Bluefield bills itself as "America's Air-conditioned City." They back up their boast by serving free lemonade anytime the temperature reaches 90 degrees!"

Bluefield College Earns National Award for Service!:

For the second year in a row, Bluefield College has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for its exemplary efforts in 2008. Check out the full story!

BONNER PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

Name of Campus-Wide Center:

The Dan MacMillan Center for Service, Mission and Ministry (DMC)

History:

The Dan MacMillan Center for Service, Mission and Ministry opened October 19, 2007 after the renovation of an existing house on campus into an eight-room facility. The DMC serves as the center where Bluefield College can coordinate, focus and effectively present its commitment to developing and graduating servant leaders.

Type of Bonner Program: Bonner Leaders

Year Began: 2001

Bonner Program website: Check us out Here!

Number of Bonner Leaders	Bonners Active in AmeriCorps	Other AmeriCorps Ed Award
6	6	1 – AmeriCorps VISTA

2008-2009 BONNER CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS:

The Bluefield College Bonner program is in it's second year of existance. This year proved to be a very effective foundation-building year. For the first time ever, we were able to have a Bonner Retreat, which was held in Pipestem, WV. The retreat provided a wonderful weekend of environmental service projects and the time needed for students to take on planning and developing campus-wide service projects. Never before has Bluefield College focused its efforts on campus-wide opportunities. Our goal this year was to make the campus body aware of the many needs of members in the community and to provide service opportunities for the campus to reach out to those community needs.

We implimented the following campus-community service projects and hope to make them an annual event, while adding more projects and service opportunities each and every year. The service days/projects were as follows:

1. Make A Difference Day: Provided five various sites for students to serve at in a day-long project.

2. Catch-A-Star Program: Provided Christmas gifts to children whose parents are in prison.

3. Read Across America Day: Read to children in grades K - 2

4. Earth Day: Environmental Park Clean-Up

5. Global Youth Service Day: Roanoke, VA - students helped with revamping the "Kids in Crisis" facility.

Next year, we hope to continue this idea of using Bonners to launch campus-wide/community involvement in service projects by adapting Davidson's College "Engage for Change" initiative to Bluefield College. By focusing on a specific social issue we will hopefully create a campus buzz of awareness and interest in service.

Finally, many Bonners at Bluefield College, as well as students outside of the Bonner Program, have a heart for the growing number of at-risk youth in our community. The Bonners began working with our after-school program, The Wade Center, to discuss how we can better address this specific issues that teens are dealing with today. We want to find ways to enhance the after-school program in order to motivate the at-risk youth to consider their gifts, talents and abilities and encourage them to pursue a career through educating themselves at college and/or in the work force. You can find out more about some of our research and planning efforts with Wade by checking out our Campus Issue Profile!

KEY CONTACTS

President:

Dr. David Olive

Center Director:

David Taylor

Email: dtaylor@bluefield.edu

Phone: (276) 326-4257

Bonner Director:

Sharde Hardy

Email: ssherman@bluefield.edu

Phone: (276) 326-4471

MORE ABOUT US (our partners, trips, structure, best or unique practices)

Bluefield College first began its relationship with the Bonner Foundation in 2001, but had to take a small leave of absence in 2005 due to a lack of funding. However, with the arrival of President Dr. David Olive in 2007, combined with the establishment of a center for service, mission and ministry the Bonner program was rejuvenated in the Spring of 2008. Today nine students are enrolled in the AmeriCorps Bonner Leaders Program. Daily, Bluefield College can see a growth in its community partners. Bluefield College is located in the heart of the Appalachian region, which provides a plethora of opportunities for students to meet poverty, agricultural and literacy needs.

Check Out Some of Our Community Partners!

The WADE Center @ www.wadecenter.com

The Bluefield Union Mission @ www.bluefieldunionmission.net

The ABEL Crisis Pregnancy Center @ www.abelcenter.org

The Clinch Valley Community Action @ www.clinchvalleycaa.org

The Second Chance Learning Center @ www.secondchancelearning.com

ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

During the Spring of 2008, Bluefield College had the blessed opportunity to resurrect its two-year AmeriCorps Bonner Leaders Program. Each week, five students met to begin the process of their two-year journey. Meetings were held on a regular basis as a way for students to blend together and share their experiences. We invited potential community partners to meetings to help them better understand the role of the Bonner Program in the community. In return, Community Partners shared their hearts, passions and community needs, which provided an opportunity for Bonners to explore new pathways of service.

CLICK HERE To Read A Complete Account Of Our 2008 Annual Report.

2009 ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES