Lees McRae College - Ontaroga Yearbook (Banner Elk, NC)

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As Dr. Crain Inaugurated X , QF, . . . is Dr. Cynthia Tyson, keynote speaker for the Symposium on Christian Higher Education. In the background is Symposium emcee O'dell Smith. The Symposium on Christian Higher Education had an array of distinguished panel members who are con- stantly on the ufiring lines of Christian higher educa- tion. Clyde Robinson did his undergraduate work at Davidson College and his graduate work at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is the Administrative Coordinator of United Ministries in Higher Education. Mr. Joseph Grier is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Harvard University. He is an elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Char- lotte. He is chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees at Queens College. John Kuykendall is a graduate of Davidson College, Union Theological Seminary in Vir- ginia, Yale Divinity School.and'has his Ph. D. from Princeton University. He is President of Davidson Col-1 lege. Richard Ray is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and has his Ph. D. from St. Andrews University in Scotland. The keynote speaker, Cynthia Tyson, came to this country as a Fullbright Lecturer at the University of Tennessee. Her degrees, including her Ph. D. in English Literature, are taken from the University of Leeds. She is President of Mary Baldwin College. Higher education in many forms towers over every other enterprise in the church's mission as the place where more people and mission dollars are invested every year than any- where else outside of congregations. We are in colleges that historically have a purpose, have a mission, and it is that education is essential to the nature of the church. In the institutions of higher education and among the people who labor there, the church must attempt to make sense of Chris- tian faith to women and men whose vocation is the light of the mind viewing and interpreting knowledge from a Christian perspective, and, in faith seeking to understand the physical world, human nature, in the mind of God. -Dr. Cynthia Tyson At left, delegates assemble for inaugural'ceremony. Lower left, CRAIN FAMILY AND RELATIVES fl-rj: Sandra Mintz, Frank and Dorothy Rhinehartg C. J. and Inez Rhinehardt, parents of Alice Craing Arlene Pritchett, mother of Dr. Crain, Brad and Alice Crain, Emily and Bruce Crain, Basil and Salene Preas. . . . We want to assure you, Dr. Crain, that we will work with you, we will work for you, watch you work . . . our future is not behind us and, above all, we welcome you. J - Mrs. Jean Williams, representing the Board of Trustees I Mr. President, I speak as the Executive of the Synod of North Carolina and on behalf of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., as we trust to you, sir, this treasured college which is an important part of the mission of our church. I bring greetings, also, from President Dan West of Arkansas College who is President of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, representing the seventy colleges related to our denomination, and we greet you in their behalf. Graduates of Lees-McRae have given significant leadership in the world and in the church. In turn, our intention is to support your leadership here. , - Dr. John D. MacLeod, Jr., representing the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. Inauguration - 11

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William H. Wilson, Moderator of the 197th General Assembly, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., ad- dressed a capacity crowd in Hayes Auditorium and told the honored guests, faculty, trustees, and stu- dents that he wanted to offer a better understanding for the total church which is now called the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. The church is a peculiar in- stitution, Wilson stated. A lot of you out there, no doubt, have noticed this peculiarity, its strange- ness. But beyond these, and just as peculiar, the church is also unique among institutions to which we belong. I want to hold before you this uniqueness. When we keep well in mind the special character- istics that set us apart we will be far more faithful unto the Lord and more useful to the world. The church is called to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to work for justice and peace. We can't be the church, finally, without doing these good works. But this is not what makes the church unique? Wilson compared other organi- zations and groups that share these goals and ideals and stated that the church cannot claim these ethical commitments as something that makes it unique. But, instead, what makes the church unique is the Gospel, the Good News. It is in God's grace that we are loved, we are forgiven and that God will use us to make a difference in the world. The Gospel, which is the uniqueness of the church, is what we need today. After illustrating the ways the church is called to announce to its people to use their gifts, Wilson stated that, Basically we are to proclaim the Good News about what God has done and is doing with you and me and each and all of us, that we are giftedhborn ser- vants and children of God, who in God's forgiving grace can make a difference. The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church is a person who is elected by the Presbyterian Church to serve as its head as far as moderating the work of the church during its needs. - O'dell Smith Wilson concluded, All these summons to service, to work for justice, and all the rest will fall on deaf ears and dead hearts with- out that Gospel. Even if we do respond with good works we won't last long. Weill burn out. But with the Gospel at its center God makes us unique, held in the spotlight of our attention and the church can be a splendid service used in the full range of gifts that God has pro- vided to do His kingdomis work, to build up the body of Christ in love so that we move out toward Christ who is our future. 10 - Inauguration S erving The World Emphasized Berea College President John Stephenson, who nominated Crain for the presidential post, said, Edgar Tufts built a school here before Avery County was founded, at a time when the illiteracy rate in the North Carolina mountains was only exceeded by that of Eastern Kentucky. The winds of change continue strong in this high place. The population of the area is now utterly changed and with all the change Lees-McRae has changed, too, and will continue to change. The only question is how to remain true to its sense of mission. fcontinued, page 14j I Winds of change continue strong in this high place . . . Lees-McRae has changed, too, and will continue to change. The only question is how to remain true to its sense of mission. , -John Stephenson ff J Dr. Crain, Moderator Wilson, and E. O'dell Smith who introduced the speaker and presided over Symposium on Christian Higher Education.

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September 20, 1985 Inaugural Address: Bradford L. Crain hope this means that I can stay awhile. fSaid as Crain pointed to the new medallion placed around his neck by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. J I once saw a cartoon that showed two men talking, the one saying 'Show me a man with his feet on the ground and his head in the clouds' and the other man replying, 'And I'll show you a man with a 2,000- foot insearnf Today I feel like such a man - both feet firmly ,planted ,- head touching the clouds and dreaming the collective dream that is Lees-McRae College. Greeters, I thank you. I appreciate your kind words - and to those of you who know me best I appreciate your creative uses of reality. Wasn't it Tallulah Bankhead who purportedly said: 'To hell with criticism. Praise is good enough for mel, Mr. Chairman, with enthusiasm and confidence I accept the challenge, the responsibilities - and the joys - that I ah'eady know are part of the job of serving as president of Lees-McRae College. As I do so, I invite and encourage the Trustees, the Faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the college to commit their full energies and imagination as well to serving in a grand partnership with me insuring not only the survival of our college but its continued renewal and growth toward excellence. Isaiah 40:31 - 'But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eaglesg they shall run and not be wearyg they shall walk and notfaint. 12 - Inauguration Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman, distinguished platform guests, faculty and staff of Lees-McRae, Trustees, Advisors, honored guests and delegates, dear friends and family: In my professional career as an educator, I have heard four inaugural addresses and have read several others. As a somewhat obscure Subgenre of literature, inaugural speeches are intimidating by their erudition, by the very weight of their importance. Each speech with which I am familiar brought into focus the accumulated history and the envisioned future of that parti- cular college, often in the context of the current trends in higher education. And by virtue of the office,each presidential speaker was appropriately humbled and filled with under- standable pride - sometimes simultaneously, sometimes sequentially but always in combination. As I stand before you now, I understand the paradox of those competing feelings. And I understand the impossibility of marshalling together words to express all that this occasion demands. In the face of the impossible, I hope you will permit me some very personal reflections. I If you see a turtle resting on top of a fencepost, you know he had help getting there. I This has been a special week for me and for the college. So much has been done by so many that, were I to try to thank each person, I would surely miss someone and bore everyone. So may I say simply that the campus sparkles, the food has been delectable, the planning has been sensitive and precise, the programs filled with joyful noise, song, dance, prayer, purposeful talk, laughter, fellowship, flowers, and fun - a true celebration of our becoming new again. To all who made it happen, I thank you. To the community of Banner Elk and the surrounding area - you have welcomed me and my family warmly - even as we arrived here in the depth of winter. As some wag noted, it was so cold here this past winter that it got all the way down to celsius. The beauty of our community is ,knatehlessg There have been evenings as I walked from office to home when the stars and the lights of Beech Mountain touched each other, truly bringing the heavens to earth. And daylight scenes - in any season - snatch one's breath away: rime ice shimmering on trees matted against skies of Carolina blue - lush summer greens, washed clean by rains - and fall richness of colors that make Van Gogh's mad canvas experiments seem timid indeed. As Thoreau wrote: 'It would be no small ad- vantage if every college were thus located at the base of a mountain - Some will remember, no doubt, not only that they went to college, but that they went to the mountain? And, from my very personal perspective, it's good to live in a place where the word 'bald' is used as a noun meaning a place where rhododendron no longer grow. To my friends and my extended family - some of whom have journeyed far - your presence fills me with joy. To my mother who is here and to my father who is too ill to travel but who, I pray, will see this ceremony on .videotape - and to the Trustees of Lees-McRae - I thank you for nurturing me and for allowing me to be here today. To my children - Bruce and Emily g- I want publicly to say that my love for you both has been a great stimulus to my professional growth. And your love for me and pride in