Sports Teams Flourish One of the most prominent changes was the addition of men’s sports teams. This introduction was one of the key driver in WPU’s growing application and enrollment numbers, allowing more men to enroll at the university and extend their sports careers. In the first year alone, WPU added men’s basketball, cross country, and a golf teams. Over the next four years, men’s soccer, tennis, and baseball teams were also added. “One of the best things about the change was the opportunity to be able to cheer on my friends on the basketball and baseball games,” said Connor Davis, senior at William Peace University, who played volleyball all four years. In addition to the added sports teams, the Hermann Student Center was renovated to replace what was once a swimming pool with what is now an auxiliary gym and worttkout center. Growth Brings Construction Where 2012 was focused on athletics, 2013 was focused on accommodating the new influx of students. Construction on campus was the next step and students began to see WPU’s campus undergoing substantial visual changes. Ruffin Hall, which is located beside Belk Dining Hall, was one of the first buildings added to WPU’s campus since the name change. Ruffin Hall is now home to the WPU Bookstore, along with Student Involvement and Services Center. The Belk Hall renovation from 2013 to 2014 displaced students into the Hermann Auxiliary Gym for the duration of the year. In the spring semester of 2014, the dining area had been completely remodeled providing students with a new floor plan which included more seating options such as booths, tables, and bar-type seating. Lastly, the Belk Hall renovations added new food bars. The upstairs of Belk Hall, formerly the WPU Bookstore, has transformed into a 24-hour student lounge. After William Peace University made the transition to a coed university, they began adding men’s sports programs, which over the past four years have made their mark on campus and beyond. Men’s basketball was among the first teams added, starting in the 2012-2013 school year along with cross country and golf. The next year, baseball and men’s soccer were added, and men’s tennis started in 2014-2015. “Over the past three years men’s athletics have grown tremendously,” said Terrace Myles, a senior at WPU who played golf for the Pacers said. “Basketball has come in second in their second year of conference play and the men’s baseball team is steadily growing as well.” Coaches said the growth in men’s sports has had a positive impact on athletics overall. “The atmosphere has become very active in every sport,” said Kevin Daniels, head volleyball coach and athletic facility assistant. “Having a strong atmosphere at games really helps all of WPU athletic department.” Athletic Director Kelly Johnson, who is also the head women’s basketball coach, said the addition of men’s sports has also boosted female athletics. “Since WPU has become coed, our recruiting efforts have allowed us to recruit more potential female student athletes in my opinion,” said Johnson, who is retiring in May. “The feedback I have received from the coaching staff of our women’s sports has been they are receiving interest from more recruits.” The addition of more athletes has also led to better facilities for everyone on campus. “Renovations to the Hermann Student Center are a direct reflection of Peace deciding to go coed,” Johnson said. “These renovations have not only been good for the student athletes but the student body as well. We now have more space for our student athletes and athletic teams as well as space for intramurals and a fitness center for all students.” Student athletes agree WPU has taken a big step and will continue to grow as a university and an athletic department. “The past three years the athletics have been great,” said Nick Cole, a junior who plays baseball, “even though we have not excelled to the potential that we can be at.” The Simulation & Game Design Department (SGD), one of several majors added in the past four years to William Peace University undergraduate offerings, empowers students to design and create visual graphics, animations, moving titles, and eventually, video games and smartphone applications. The students enrolled in SGD classes, such as Motion for the Screen, use Adobe Creative Suite products, including but not limited to Photoshop and After Effects to generate stunning visuals. One of the professors who authors what goes down in the game lab, Assistant Professor Justin Johnson, said the program has seen rapid growth from only about four majors, when it began in 2012, to nearly 40 now. Johnson sees the newly created SGD lab as a tool -- preparing strong, gifted minds to graduate with a versatile background, degree and means to share their creativity, and enthusiasm, with the world. “We take a liberal arts approach to game design where we try to teach students a wide variety of skills in design, writing, and visual skills like composition and color theory,” said Johnson. “Then we add technology.” The SGD lab also provides students the opportunity to cross over into the virtual world of creativity and motion capture. Working alongside Johnson is communications professor Roger Christman. As the head of the Communications Department, Christman oversees everything from what goes on in media labs to the students who major in related fields. “Christman came up with the idea of bringing in a motion capture studio that not only expands the learning capacity for the students, but also separates [William Peace University] from other campuses that do not have this studio,” Johnson said. “After the idea was in place, we got a company to install it; we have all the cameras and the computer systems,” said Johnson. “So it sets us apart from other [universities], being able to do motion capture and then apply those animations to characters in games.” Students have performed inside “mocap” suits and launched their own creations for anybody around the world to play. WPU Junior Adrian Lethbridge has launched his first game, “Missiles,” which can be found on the website he created to host it, SwagBridgeGames.com. “Being the mastermind behind a possibly successful video game or app has its perks,” said Lethbridge.”When you have the ability to create something valuable and marketable, companies will see your creativity and will want you to represent them.” “Recent WPU graduate, Sharon Hackney, is now working for a gaming company in Durham,” Johnson said. “Students who make games from scratch send their inventions to huge platforms such as Google Play.” “We have a lot of honor students who have done a lot of great projects so far,” said Johnson, noting that the young program hasn’t had many graduates yet. Looking towards the future, Johnson is hopeful that the Simulation & Game Design Department will continue to flourish. He said he’s like to see new facilities, more technology, computer labs, and more faculty members that are willing to spread their knowledge to the new generation of students. Embracing a Tech World: The Simulation & Game Design Department by Justin Cornett ‘16 Men’s Athletics Making a Name By Tyler Klinedinst ‘17 and Aron Crumb ‘17 “ Johnson sees the newly created SGD lab as a tool -- preparing strong, gifted minds to graduate with a versatile background, degree and means to share their creativity, and enthusiasm, with the world. ” WPU Seniors Continued from front page Four Years “I have made lifelg iends, impred my aft, and gained a wealth of knledge; not ly thrgh classes, but thrgh piences. I have lened my pes and my professs alike. I have had an absute blast, and I am actually sad that it’s cing to an end. He’s to the class of 2016!” Lindsey Shin. “Class of 2016 has alted the adits of Peace as a paint alts his canvas to suit me viety of cs,” Emily Banegas. “Having faith did not make things easy, but it made them possible,” Briany Tillage. Special Editi Photo by Justin Cornett Photo courtesy of William Peace University
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Sports Teams Flourish One of the most prominent changes was the addition of men’s sports teams. This introduction was one of the key driver in WPU’s growing application and enrollment numbers, allowing more men to enroll at the university and extend their sports careers. Inthefirstyearalone,WPUaddedmen’sbasketball,crosscountry,and a golf teams. Over the next four years, men’s soccer, tennis, and baseball teams were also added. “One of the best things about the change was the opportunity to be able to cheer on my friends on the basketball and baseball games,” said Connor Davis, senior at William Peace University, who played volleyball all four years. In addition to the added sports teams, the Hermann Student Center was renovated to replace what was once a swimming pool with what is now an auxiliary gym and worttkout center.
Growth Brings Construction Where 2012 was focused on athletics, 2013 was focused on accommodatingthenewinfluxofstudents.Constructiononcampuswasthenext step and students began to see WPU’s campus undergoing substantial visual changes. RuffinHall,whichislocatedbesideBelkDiningHall,wasoneofthefirstbuildingsaddedtoWPU’scampussincethenamechange.RuffinHallisnowhometotheWPUBookstore,alongwithStudentInvolvementand Services Center. TheBelkHallrenovationfrom2013to2014displacedstudentsinto the Hermann Auxiliary Gym for the duration of the year. In the spring semesterof2014,thediningareahadbeencompletelyremodeledprovidingstudentswithanewfloorplanwhichincludedmoreseatingoptionssuchasbooths, tables, and bar-type seating. Lastly,theBelkHallrenovationsaddednewfoodbars.TheupstairsofBelkHall,formerlytheWPUBookstore,hastransformedintoa24-hourstudent lounge.
After William Peace University made the transition to a coed university, they began adding men’s sports programs, which over the past four years have made their mark on campus and beyond. Men’s basketball was amongthefirstteamsadded,startingin the 2012-2013 school year along with cross country and golf. The next year, baseball and men’s soccer were added, and men’s tennis started in2014-2015. “Over the past three years men’s athletics have grown tremendously,” said Terrace Myles, a senior at WPU who played golf forthePacerssaid.“Basketballhascome in second in their second year of conference play and the men’s baseball team is steadily growing as well.” Coaches said the growth in men’s sports has had a positive impact on athletics overall. “The atmosphere has become very active in every sport,” said Kevin Daniels, head volleyball coach and athletic facility assistant. “Having a strong atmosphere at games really helps all of WPU athletic department.” Athletic Director Kelly Johnson, who is also the head women’s basketball coach, said the addition of men’s sports has also boosted female athletics. “Since WPU has become coed, our recruiting efforts have allowed us to recruit more potential female student athletes in my opinion,” said Johnson, who is retiring in May. “The feedback I have received from the coaching staff of our women’s sports has been they are receiving interest from more recruits.” The addition of more athletes has also led to better facilities for everyone on campus.
“Renovations to the Hermann Student Center are a directreflectionofPeacedecidingto go coed,” Johnson said. “These renovations have not only been good for the student athletes but the student body as well. We now have more space for our student athletes and athletic teams as well as space forintramuralsandafitnesscenterfor all students.” Student athletes agree WPU has taken a big step and will continue to grow as a university and an athletic department. “The past three years the athletics have been great,” said Nick Cole, a junior who plays baseball, “even though we have not excelled to the potential that we can be at.”
The Simulation & Game Design Department (SGD), one of several majors added in the past four years to William Peace University undergraduate offerings, empowers students to design and create visual graphics, animations, moving titles, and eventually, video games and smartphone applications. The students enrolled in SGD classes, such as Motion for the Screen, use Adobe Creative Suite products, including but not limited to Photoshop and After Effects to generate stunning visuals. One of the professors who authors what goes down in the game lab, Assistant Professor Justin Johnson, said the program has seen rapid growth from only about four majors, when it began in 2012, to nearly40now. Johnson sees the newly created SGD lab as a tool -- preparing strong, gifted minds to graduate with a versatile background, degree and means to share their creativity, and enthusiasm, with the world. “We take a liberal arts approach to game design where we try to teach students a wide variety of skills in design, writing, and visual skills like composition and color theory,” said Johnson. “Then we add technology.” The SGD lab also provides students the opportunity to cross over into the virtual world of creativity and motion capture. Working alongside Johnson is communications professor Roger Christman. As the head of the Communications Department,
Christman oversees everything from what goes on in media labs to the students who majorinrelatedfields. “Christman came up with the idea of bringing in a motioncapture studio that not only expands the learning capacity for thestudents, but also separates [William Peace University] from other campuses that do not have
this studio,” Johnson said. “After the idea was in place, we got a company to install it; we have all the cameras and the computer systems,” said Johnson. “So it sets us apart from other [universities], being able to do motion capture and then apply those animations to characters in games.” Students have performed inside “mocap” suits and launched their own creations for anybody around the world to play. WPU Junior Adrian Lethbridgehaslaunchedhisfirstgame, “Missiles,” which can be found on the website he created to hostit,SwagBridgeGames.com. “Beingthemastermindbehind a possibly successful video game or app has its perks,” said Lethbridge.”When you have the ability to create something valuable and marketable, companies will see your creativity and will want you to represent them.” “Recent WPU graduate, Sharon Hackney, is now working for a gaming company in Durham,” Johnson said. “Students who make games from scratch send their inventions to huge platforms such as Google Play.” “We have a lot of honor students who have done a lot of great projects so far,” said Johnson, noting that the young program
hasn’t had many graduates yet. Looking towards the future, Johnson is hopeful that the Simulation & Game Design Department will continue to flourish.Hesaidhe’sliketoseenew facilities, more technology, computer labs, and more faculty members that are willing to spread their knowledge to the new generation of students.
Embracinga Tech World: TheSimulation & Game Design Departmentby Justin Cornett ‘16
Men’s Athletics Making a NameBy Tyler Klinedinst ‘17 andAron Crumb ‘17
“Johnson sees the newly created SGD lab as a tool -- preparing strong, gifted minds to graduate with a
versatile background, degree and means to share their creativity, and enthusiasm, with the world.”
WPU Seniors Continued from front page
Four Years in Review
“I have made lifelong friends, improved my craft, and gained a wealth of knowledge; not only through classes, but through experiences. I have learned from my peers and
my professors alike. I have had an absolute blast, and I am actually sad that it’s coming to an end. Here’s to the class of 2016!” Lindsey Sherrin.
“Class of 2016 has altered the traditons of Peace as a painteralters his canvas to suit more variety of colors,” Emily Banegas.
“Having faith did not make things easy, but it made them possible,” Brittany Tillage.
Special Edition
Photo by Justin Cornett
Photo courtesy ofWilliam Peace University
Students Growth Brings New Housing Options Due to the growth in the student body, in early 2013 the university struck a deal with Wolf Creek - Vie at Raleigh apartment partnership, an affordableapartmentcomplexjust15minutesfromcampus.Thedealallowed students to continue to pay campus housing for an off-campus living arrangement. Junior Holly Kauls, who used to reside on campus, was one of the firstgroupsofstudentstomoveintoWolfCreekafterthechangewasmade. “Living at Wolf Creek has been an easy transition from living on campus because you have your own personal space and are still able to stay involved with campus activities,” said Kauls.
A Look at the Future Mostrecently,theuniversitynameditsfirstnewpresident,BrianRalph, Ph. D. Soon enough this year’s graduating seniors will walk across the stage knowing that they were part of a time of growth and endless opportunities at Peace. Nick Corey, class of 2017, witnessed the continued growth and potential of the university. “I see the school growing right in front of me through my college years and I’m extremely curious as to how Peace will appear years from now,” said Corey.
Four Years in Review
“I have been given all the opportunities to become beyond great. A quote that is fitting for Peace is, ‘Most look up and admire the stars. A champion climbs a
mountain and grabs one.’ What will you be because the opportunities are there?” Myles Owens.
When Peace College announced that the school was going to change from an all women’s college to a coed institution named William Peace University in 2010, it sent shockwaves not only through the administration and current students, but also through the entire alumnae community. Butsincethen,manyof these fears have been softened by the time and recent efforts to incorporate alumnae back into Peace’s culture. “My gut reaction was sadness...and not fully understanding why the changes were happening so quickly,” said JaneBondurant,classof1971.“ButlookingaroundIsawthesamechanges were happening at other
women’s colleges and universities; therefore, I knew that Peace College had to make those changes to survive and thrive.” One of the reasons alumnaeflockedtoPeaceCollegewas the “warm fuzzies” it instilled in them. “Peace is a little nugget of southern hospitality in downtown Raleighanditstuckoutthefirsttime I visited campus as someone held the door,” said Megan Hoffner, class of 2011. “Peace took the time to remember who I was. I struggled with the idea of losing the sisterhood of Peace.” Many alumnae worried that beloved traditions such as throwing the rose into the fountain at graduation and trading gifts on Peanut Day would suffer, but they have survived despite the change. “It is funny to me that everyone is such a stickler for traditions since everyone has different traditions when they
were at Peace,” said Alli Leggett-Woolard, class of 2001. “I do not know if there is a tradition that has survived throughout the years. The traditions had to change because we grew.” Moving forward our alumnae have one goal in mind. “Our goal is to preserve Peace and make it a reputable university,” said Sara Jo Manning, classof1960,whoalsoisagraduate of the Peace High School and holds an honorary doctorate. “We have the right administration at the right time and I feel positive about what the future holds for Peace.” Overall there is overwhelming excitement outpouring from the alumnae community about William Peace University’s present, especially in the reengagement of the alumnae community. “Moving forward, I hope Peace’s students now and in the
future only get the positive side of [Peace] and have the opportunity to meet and build relationships with Peace’s alumni like I did,” said ChristianneNewell,classof2015. One area of growth many alumnae would like to see in the coming years is including graduate programs. “I have wanted to continue my education, and I would love to do so at my alma mater, along with seeing the future partnership of Seaboard Station and William Peace University,” said Janna Joyner, class of 2012. Alumnae who were taken off guard by changes at Peace are now reaching back to the place they once called home as they see the potential for growth is exponential. AsPresidentBrianRalphputit:Peace is starting a new chapter and this is really exciting because we can write anything we want.
Alumnae Adjust to Changing Timesby Alex Van Meir ‘17
William Peace University 4-Year Timeline
Photo byCatherine Hewitt
“Christman was right,” Sierra Diers.
“I have wanted to continue my education,
and I would love to do so at my alma mater.”Janna Joyner, Class of 2012
“I challenged myself, and my friends, to be better students, better people, and to make a difference in the world.” Terrace Myles.
“During my time at Peace...”
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