Three new members were elected to the Berea College Board of Trustees at the board’s October meeting. Geraldine F.R. McManus, a managing director with Goldman Sachs and Co., Dennis R. Roop, Ph.D, stem cell researcher and program director with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Rev. Lynne Blankenship Caldwell, minister and former district superintendent of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, were all elected to six-year terms beginning immediately.
Caldwell was elected as an alumni trustee. In related board action, retired trustee Martin Coyle, who served on the Berea board from 1989-2008, was named an honorary trustee.
Berea’s newest trustees bring a wealth of management expertise and leadership experience to the board. McManus is a managing director of the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, McManus spent six years at Merrill Lynch, where she was a managing director and head of the Yankee Debt Capital Markets Group. Before working at Merrill Lynch, McManus was at Salomon Brothers for six years, two years as an associate in Corporate Finance and four years as a products specialist in the Hedge Management/Derivatives Group.
McManus’ community service activities have been numerous, especially in the areas of conservation and education. She serves on the board of trustees of the Delbarton School and on the Presidential Advisory Board of her alma mater, Cornell University. McManus earned a B.S. from Cornell and a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Roop holds the Charles C. Gates Chair in Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology and is director of the Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology Program at UC’s Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. Prior to joining UC in 2006, Roop was professor of molecular and cellular biology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. In 2001, he received the Michael E. DeBakey Award for Excellence in Research, the medical school’s highest award.
Roop has led research teams whose accomplishments include identifying many of the genes required for normal skin development and discovered that defects in some of those genes cause inherited skin diseases characterized by a very fragile skin, which blisters easily and may result in neonatal death. Roop also has provided insights into the genetic defects that lead to skin cancer.
Originally from Jonesville, Va., Roop graduated from Berea College in 1969 with a degree in biology. He received his M.S. and Ph.D from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and completed post-doctoral work at Baylor College of Medicine. He is married to Betty Hollandsworth Roop, a 1970 Berea graduate.
The Rev. Caldwell, a 1978 Berea alumna, is a United Methodist Church minister and administrator who held appointments in the church’s Western North Carolina Conference for 20 years, beginning in 1988.
She served as an associate pastor and pastor at four churches and from 2002-2008 served as High Point District Superintendent in the Conference. Since Sept. 2008, Caldwell has been a visiting instructor for United Methodist Studies at the Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education and The Samuel D. Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, both in Richmond, Va.; she also serves as pastor of Brookland United Methodist Church in Richmond.
Caldwell has wide experience as a consultant and in collaborative and outreach ministries ranging from facilitating a community study on racism to educational programs for clergy and congregational development and revitalization. She also has extensive community and church board service.
A native of Black Mountain, N.C., Caldwell majored in Child Development at Berea, and was the college’s first female Student Government President. She later served a two-year internship in campus ministry at Berea. Caldwell holds a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., and a D.Min. degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D.C.
Religion and Education
Three new trustees elected to Berea College Board
- Religion and Education
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EKU tuition, dorm fees going up 5 percent
Eastern Kentucky University students will be paying 5 percent more for both tuition and residence hall rooms after the board of regents approved the rate hikes Thursday.
Full-time students are paying $3,480 per semester for tuition this spring. In the fall, that figure will rise $180 to $3,660. -
Pieces of the past
The secrets hidden in a time capsule at Union City Baptist Church saw the light of day Saturday for the first time since Dec. 13, 1953.
The time capsule was placed in the church’s marble cornerstone 50 years ago at the dedication of extensive remodeling and addition of a baptistery and a basement to the church building. -
A day of worship is a day of refreshing
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31
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EKU provost named first male president of women’s Catholic university
A long-time administrative figure at Eastern Kentucky University has made history by being named the first male president of a Baltimore Catholic women’s college.
James Conneely, EKU’s Associate Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs since 2003, will preside over Notre Dame of Maryland University beginning July 1. -
Christmas on Sunday prompts many church schedule changes
With Christmas falling on a Sunday, many local churches are planning Christmas eve services on Saturday night and altering their Sunday morning schedules.
All but one church contacted in a random sampling by the Richmond Register are canceling Sunday school on Christmas day. -
Whitlock to leave school board Dec. 31
Doug Whitlock, the Eastern Kentucky University president who currently chairs the Madison County School Board, announced Thursday evening he will be leaving the school board Dec. 31.
Whitlock said time constraints prompted his decision. His first commitment is to his contractual position at the university, attempting to do both jobs would prevent him from doing justice to either obligation, he told the school board. -
Rockin' reward rally
Martha Scarberry, vice-principal of B. Michael Caudill Middle School, crowd surfs with students Thursday morning during the school’s 1980’s rock star-themed Renaissance Reward Rally. The rally, featuring teacher skits, games, music and prize drawings, rewards students who have good grades and good attendance and have demonstrated good behavior.
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EKU uses grant to help children with autism and their families
A series of grants from the WHAS Crusade for Children has enabled Eastern Kentucky University to enhance a program designed to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families.
The University recently received $4,068.75 from the Crusade, the third consecutive year the Louisville station has assisted the ASD program, which was begun many years prior to the grants. -
Church hosts fall festival on Saturday
Rosedale Baptist Church will host a fall festival Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring a kids carnival, food and refreshments, festival sale and open house.
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District finding ways to improve student growth
After last month’s release of Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) scores and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) progress report, three Madison County Schools were labeled as NCLB Improvement Schools after falling short of their proficiency goals.
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EKU tuition, dorm fees going up 5 percent


