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Photo by JENN ALBRECHT |
The American Scholastic Press Association has awarded the Marlin Chronicle a First Place rating for the year, its tenth in a row. The ASPA also accorded the newspaper its Best Service to the Community Award for the Chronicle's Hurricane Isabel coverage.
The Virginia Press Association provided The Marlin Chronicle nine awards in
its annual state-wide college competition: Bladen Finch, First Place for Photo
Illustration; Colin Higgins, First Place for Art Illustrations; Julia Green
and Jana Popeleski, Second Place for Front Page; Megan Zirkle, Second Place
for Feature Writing; Staff, Third Place for General Makeup; Brandon Elliott,
Third Place for Headline Writing; Sabrina Enayatulla for Column Writing; Colin
Higgins, Third Place for Art Illustrations; and Ben Ruehlmann, Third Place for
Spot News Photo.
As this issue went to press, The Society of Professional Journalists awarded
The Marlin Chronicle Third Place in its Best All-Around Non-Daily student newspaper
Mark of Excellence Competition 2003 for Region 2.
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| Photo courtesy of WESLEYAN DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Dr. Joseph S. Johnston, Sr. was the first acting president of the college. |
Dr. Joseph S. Johnston, Sr., the first president of Virginia Wesleyan College, died April 8 at the age of 93. Johnston served as president for one year before the college opened in 1966. He was also the first chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1961-1964, the organizational years after the Commonwealth of Virginia chartered Wesleyan.
"As a historian, I appreciate the steps he took to generate support for the college," said Vice President for Academic Affairs Stephen Mansfield. Mansfield had chatted with Johnston and represented Wesleyan as commentator at Johnston’s 90th birthday celebration at White Stone United Methodist Church in White Stone, Va., the same location as his funeral services April 12.
Johnston graduated from the University of Virginia and Yale Divinity School. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Randolph-Macon College. On May 17, 1995, Johnston Hall was dedicated in his name for his role in founding the college. The Virginia Annual Conference honored him with the 2003 John Wesley Distinguished Education Award for his contribution to higher education.
Johnston was an ordained minister and served as superintendent of the Norfolk District of the United Methodist Church from 1959-1965. He served as minister of Epworth UMC in Norfolk from 1948 until 1952 and Reveille UMC in Richmond from 1952-1959. Johnston was also superintendent of the Petersburg District from 1972 until his retirement in 1978. He was part of the Ecumenical Conference in Oxford England in 1951 and served as president of the Virginia Council of Churches from 1959 until 1962. Johnston's collegiate involvement also extends to Ferrum Junior College as a trustee from 1960 to 1965.
Johnston was a main supporter of the 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which called for integration of schools. In a time when many southerners were against integration, Johnston, the point person for religion in Richmond at the time, got others in the ministry to go in with him to buy a one-page ad in the Richmond Times-Dispatch voicing clergy support for the Supreme Court decision.
"One of my joys was to know Dr. Johnston," said Mansfield, "someone of great integrity and very intelligent." Johnston leaves behind a wife of 68 years, Edna Cralle, and three children: Anne Eubank, Virginia Sanders and Joseph Shackford, Jr.
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