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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Feb. 14, 2013) — Longtime Milligan College professor Dr. Ruth McDowell Lavender will speak at the college’s annual Journeys Lecture on Monday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. in Milligan’s Hyder Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Hosted by the Milligan chapter of Alpha Chi, Lavender will share her memories, stories and experiences from her 15 years of service at Milligan. Lavender plans to retire at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year.
“In my lecture, I plan to use specific pieces of literature to share what I have learned throughout the years about what it means to be human,” Lavender said.
A short question and answer session and informal reception will follow the lecture.
For those who are not able to attend the event, the lecture will be recorded and available at a later date at www.livestream.com/milligancollege.
Lavender is a professor of English and humanities. Along with teaching, she served as the chair of Milligan’s general education review committee from 2007-2010.
In the summer of 2008, she received a Fulbright-Hays award to travel with a group of high school and college teachers around the major cities of South Africa. In 2009, she received a stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study “The Rule of Law and the Liberal Arts” for five weeks at the University of New England in Maine.
In addition to her time in the classroom, Lavender spent almost three years working with the elderly in nursing homes alongside her students in a group called Service Seekers.
“I have enjoyed being around young people for so many years,” Lavender said. “The students in the Milligan community gave me a reason to keep going during the most terrible time of my life, while loving and supporting me in the best time of my life. I will miss them.”
To learn more about Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu.