Samford University in Birmingham honored alumni, crowned a new homecoming queen and hosted almost 5,000 graduates and family members Nov. 6–8.
Three alumni were singled out for special honors at the homecoming banquet.
Mike and Carolyn Yeager Robinson, of Alabaster, received the 2009 Alumni of the Year awards. Eric Motley, managing director of the Henry Crown Fellowship Program at the Aspen Institute in Washington, was named Outstanding Young Alumnus.
The Robinsons were cited for their longstanding involvement in many aspects of Samford life, including the Alumni Council, the Bulldog Club advisory council and Samford Auxiliary. They are founders of a journalism and mass communication scholarship in memory of Mike’s late brother Timothy Robinson, a Samford graduate and distinguished journalist.
Mike and Carolyn, who met as Samford students, are members of the classes of 1961 and 1960, respectively. Originally from Dora, he is a retired Air Force Colonel who also worked for Northrop-Grumman on the B-2 stealth bomber. She is originally from Mobile.
Motley, a 1996 graduate and former Samford student government president, is the first recipient of a new honor to recognize a distinguished graduate who is under age 40 and who earned a degree within the last 15 years.
Other alumni honored during the weekend included the inaugural members of the department of journalism and mass communication’s Wall of Fame. Honorees are journalism educator and former department chair Jon Clemmensen, of Birmingham; newspaper journalist Carol Fishburne Nunnelley, of Birmingham; and book publisher Randall Williams, of Montgomery. The new honor coincides with the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of the journalism curriculum as a department at Samford.
Homecoming 2009 also marked the 25th anniversary of the return of Bulldog football to Samford after a 10-year hiatus. Members of the 1984 team enjoyed a reunion and introduction prior to the football game against Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern. Samford won the game 31–10.
At halftime, senior English major Mary Laura Rogan, of Vestavia Hills, was crowned homecoming queen and senior communication studies major Bee Frederick, of Montgomery, was named honor escort. They were elected by vote of the student body.
The homecoming court also included seniors Holly Long, of Macon, Ga.; Josh Perkins, of Woodville; Tai Richardson, of Opelika; and Zack Seanor, of Alpharetta, Ga.; juniors Amy Allen, of Duluth, Ga.; and Rich Havard, of Gloster, Miss.; sophomores Kelly Polo, of Peachtree City, Ga.; and Grant Willis, of Millbrook; and freshmen Abby Sander, of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Tanner Fox, of Lakeland, Fla.
Saturday’s events also included gatherings for many affinity groups and a parade led by grand marshal James Briscione ’01.
A New York chef and repeat champion on the Food Network’s “Chopped” program, Briscione shared his culinary talents at a demonstration in the education school’s newly refurbished nutrition and dietetics foods lab.
Dozens of former A Cappella Choir members also traveled from several states to enjoy a reunion sing-along in Reid Chapel. (SU)
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