Huntingdon signs partnership with Carver High School Montgomery, Ala.—At a news conference held earlier today, Huntingdon
College President J. Cameron West and Gary Hall, principal of G.W.
Carver High School, Montgomery, signed a partnership agreement for
Huntingdon's new teams in track and field to use the Carver High
School track facilities, and for Carver students to be mentored by
Huntingdon students. The agreement was also signed by Montgomery
School Superintendent Barbara Thompson and by Robert Porterfield,
Montgomery County Board of Education representative for District 6.
"We want everyone to know we are creating unity in the community,"
said Hall as he opened the news conference, which was held in the
Carver High School lobby. Symbolic of the partnership, a sign with
the words, "Huntingdon College and Carver High School: Creating
Unity in the Community," was displayed at the news conference. Hall
thanked Huntingdon senior vice president for planning and
administration Jay Dorman for creating the partnership, working with
the Huntingdon Department of Athletics under Athletic Director Buzz
Phillips and with Carver leadership, including Activities Director
Joyce Johnson.
"Huntingdon, in its 159th year, is as committed as ever to the core
of our mission, which is outreach—mainly to the people of Alabama,"
said West. We are grateful to Principal Hall and to all in the
Carver High School Wolverine Nation who made this partnership
possible. Huntingdon and Carver are located on the same corridor in
the community, and working together for the good of our students
will improve our institutions as it improves our students' lives."
Huntingdon fielded its first team in women's track and field last
year and added a men's team this academic year. A track circling
Charles Lee Field, where the Hawks football team practices and
plays, is planned as part of the College's Huntingdon Tomorrow
Campaign, which began last year.
According to Phillips, the athletic departments at Huntingdon and
Carver have a history of working together, and this new partnership
simply formalizes a practice that was already in place. Last year
when the Carver field was flooded because of rain the team practiced
at Huntingdon's W. James Samford Jr. Stadium, and many Carver
basketball players have attended camps at Huntingdon. "I look
forward to Huntingdon athletes working with Carver students and to
giving our track athletes the opportunity to use Carver's
state-of-the-art track facilities," said Phillips.
Noting the close proximity of Huntingdon and Carver, Thompson
reiterated the importance of Montgomery schools working with
Montgomery colleges and universities to provide links for higher
education for younger students.
Mayor Todd Strange, Montgomery County Commissioner Elton Dean, and
Porterfield offered remarks at the news conference. Strange said
city leaders had recently completed a survey of Montgomery
residents, with 71 percent of respondents stating that the city is
moving in the right direction. "This [partnership] could not be
more of a win-win-win scenario for everyone involved."
A former Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation speaker at Huntingdon,
Dean said, "Huntingdon is known for reaching out and making things
better in the community."
"Unity brings strength," said Porterfield. "Montgomery Public
Schools are on the move for children and preparing them for life.
Education is the cornerstone for all of our hopes and dreams and for
the future."
Huntingdon College, grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition of the
United Methodist Church, is committed to nurturing growth in faith,
wisdom, and service and to graduating individuals prepared to
succeed in a rapidly changing world. Founded in 1854, Huntingdon is
a coeducational liberal arts college. The College motto, "Enter to
grow in wisdom; go forth to apply wisdom in service," is inscribed
in stone above the front door of John Jefferson Flowers Hall.
Ranked in the top tier of regional colleges by U.S. News and
World Report and consistently listed in the Princeton
Review's "The Best Colleges: Region by Region," Huntingdon has
for two years been recognized on the President's Higher Education
Community Service Honor Roll and is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. The College fields 18 NCAA-Division III
intercollegiate athletic teams and will begin participation in the
USA South Athletic Conference in the fall of 2013.
Pictured, left to right: Ms. Barbara Thompson, Mr. Robert Porterfield, Huntingdon Head Track Coach Howard Johnson, Mr. Hall, President West, Carver Head Track Coach and Athletic Director Yvonne Simmons
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