Torchlite
May 2009 For a printable version, click
here.
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Students crowd into the Dunne Conference Center to hear presentations during TLU's first day-long Student Academic Symposium, “Seniors Leaving a Legacy,” on April 17. The symposium is a unique opportunity for all majors to exhibit their senior projects on a single day. Approximately 100 students took part in the symposium.
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TLU Today
2009 Spring Commencement – TLU is currently completing finals and preparing for commencement at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 9.
In anticipation of holding the commencement ceremony as scheduled, TLU is taking the following actions to minimize public exposure to the H1N1 or Swine Flu virus:
- The commencement ceremony is outdoors on the Chapel Lawn, and there is plenty of room for all who attend to spread out so that they are not forced into close contact with others. Chairs will be spaced farther apart than normal to facilitate this.
- The Alumni Association reception normally held after the commencement ceremony will not be held.
- Because public health officials are generally concerned about close contact among people in crowded indoor environments, TLU is cancelling the baccalaureate service scheduled for Jackson Auditorium at 10 a.m. Saturday. Some elements of the baccalaureate service will be incorporated in the commencement ceremony.
- There will be live streaming video of the commencement ceremony on the TLU Web site, www.tlu.edu, for those who cannot or do not wish to attend in person.
- TLU asks those planning to attend the commencement ceremony to not do so if they, anyone in their household, or anyone they have recently come in close contact with exhibit any flu-like symptoms or otherwise feel ill.
- TLU advises those most susceptible to viral illness – infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems – to not attend the commencement ceremony.
- Hand sanitizer will be available on site.
- The commencement ceremony is expected to last no longer than 75 minutes.
TLU officials will continue to closely monitor this situation, including participating in daily statewide conference calls with state and local health and emergency management officials. Any change in circumstances that might alter the plans for final examinations and commencement will be posted on the TLU Web site. The final decision on whether or not the May 9th commencement ceremony will be held will be announced at noon on Wednesday, May 6th.
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| D.W. Rutledge |
D.W. Rutledge, one of the most successful coaches in Texas high school football history and a TLU alumnus, will present the commencement address. A Kodak All-American linebacker and captain of Texas Lutheran’s 1974 NAIA national champion football team under head coach Jim Wacker, Rutledge was inducted into the TLU Athletic Hall of Honor in 1985, and in 1996 he was presented the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
As head football coach of Judson High School, Rutledge led his teams to seven 5A state championship games, and during his 17 seasons as head coach, he compiled a 198-31-5 record and advanced the Rockets to the playoffs 16 times. He was named “Coach of the Year” seven times, and the San Antonio Express-News named him “Coach of the Decade” for the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003 he was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, and in 2009 he was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Foundation Hall of Fame. Since September 2004 Rutledge has served as executive director of the Texas High School Coaches’ Association, the largest association of its kind in the nation.
For more information and updates regarding the 2009 spring commencement, visit the TLU Web site at
www.tlu.edu.
Summer Programs – Although most students leave campus for the summer, TLU remains a busy place. Along with summer classes for college students, TLU is offering a variety of programs on campus this summer, including the Advanced Placement Summer Institute for teachers, the Summer Music Academy, and a variety of sports camps.
High school students have the opportunity to experience college life and earn college credit at the same time this summer by attending TLU’s Lone Star Scholars Academy (LSSA) scheduled for July 19-Aug. 1.
For information on LSSA and all of TLU’s summer programs, visit the TLU Web site or
click here.
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Growing and Giving
Front Row with Verne Lundquist – Alumni, friends and sports fans are invited to the 6th Annual Front Row, Tuesday, June 9. A VIP Reception for those purchasing $2,500 or $5,000 tables begins at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. After dinner, CBS-TV sportscaster and TLU graduate Verne Lundquist will give guests a “behind the scenes” look at the life of a sportscaster and share stories and video clips from his four decades as a sports announcer. The event raises funds for TLU intercollegiate athletics and is being held this year at the Hilton Post Oak Hotel, 2001 Post Oak Blvd in Houston.
Click here to make your reservations.
Senior Challenge offers graduates their first opportunity to financially support their soon-to-be alma mater, and in late April of this year the students had already contributed over $2,000, far surpassing the campaigns of previous graduating classes. These gifts will also be graciously matched by both President Ann Svennungsen and Board of Regents Chair Karen Norman for a total well over $6,000! Our students give to show their appreciation for the dedicated professors and unique experiences they enjoyed here and assure their availability to future generations of Bulldogs. We are grateful for the legacy left by the Class of 2009 and we welcome this group of engaged and caring stewards into our alumni community.
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Scoreboard
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Staci Jackson
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Women’s Track & Field – The Texas Lutheran women’s track and field team competed April 29 at the 7th Annual J. Fred Duckett Rice Twilight Meet in Houston. Senior sprinter Staci Jackson posted her best time of the season in the 400. She finished fourth with a time of 56.09 seconds.
Jackson’s time is an excellent provisional mark for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She should be assured a spot in the championships. Her time currently is the third-fastest time in NCAA DIII.
Jackson has provisionally qualified for the NCAA DIII Championships in the 100, 200, 400, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay.
Casey Toombs, Devin Evans and Shyra Walker also competed in the open 400. Toombs crossed the line in 1:00.41, and Evans and Walker collected times of 1:01.07 and 1:01.27, respectively.
The 4x100 relay team of Sahara Bragner, Jackson, Evans and Walker finished seventh with a time of 47.98. The Bulldogs defeated the University of Texas at San Antonio’s “A” team, which posted a time of 48.09.
TLU has a good provisional time in the 4x100 and should qualify for the NCAA Championships. The time of 47.71, set at the Trinity Alumni Classic on April 9, currently stands as the sixth-fastest time in the NCAA DIII Championships.
The Bulldogs will compete at the University of Oklahoma Soon Twilight on May 9 in Norman, Okla. The NCAA DIII Championships are set for May 21-23 at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.
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Assistant Coach Ryan Hindt (9) with senior Drew Farr
Photo courtesy of Mississippi College |
Baseball – The Bulldogs ended the 2009 season with an overall record of 30-14. TLU, the champion of the American Southwest Conference West Division, was eliminated in the championship round of the ASC Championship Tournament series after losses to 12th-ranked University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas at Dallas.
The games at the conference tournament were the final collegiate contests for eight Bulldog seniors: Kyle Harvey, Kyle Palmer, Jeremy Macklin, Sal Tijerina, Dallas Horstmann, Drew Farr, Joe Gentry, and Chris Siniff.
Macklin and Harvey etched their names into the TLU record book with performances during the 2009 season. Macklin, an Austin native, established new single-season school records for RBI per game (1.63) and hits per game (1.88). He collected 67 RBI and 77 hits in 41 games played in 2009. Macklin’s numbers eclipsed the single-season per game marks of Aaron Merhoff, who had a 1.54 RBI per game rate in 1998 and a 1.54 hit per game rate in 1999.
In an early-season series against Mississippi College, Macklin set school records for RBI in a three-game series (18) and RBI in a doubleheader (14), and he tied the TLU mark for RBI in a single game (8). Macklin also established a new TLU three-game series record for runs, with 11.
Harvey set a new conference record for steals in a single season, with 30. The senior from Houston finished third in total steals for a single season, trailing only Dax Kiefer’s 35 in 1995 and 33 in 1994. Harvey did eclipse Kiefer’s records for single-season and career steals per game. Harvey swiped 0.681 steals per game in 2009 to better Kiefer’s mark of 0.673 in 1995. Harvey’s career steals per game mark of .630 edged Kiefer’s record of .563.
Harvey concluded his career with 75 steals in three years. The Harvey total is second on the TLU all-time list to Kiefer’s 90 from 1994 to 1996.
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Happenings
Spring Commencement 7 p.m., May 9
Chapel Lawn
Texas Lutheran Alumni @ Texas Rangers Baseball Game 7:05 p.m., May 27
For information call Taylor Carleton 830-372-8026
Front Row with Verne Lundquist 6 p.m., June 9
Hilton Post Oak Hotel
Houston
Homecoming 2009 – Nov. 6-7 For more information on these and other TLU events, to update your contact information, or to receive e-mail notification of Torchlite, please e-mail
alumni@tlu.edu, or call 830-372-8026.
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