Asbury University

Former Salvation Army Commissioner Andrew S. Miller — who attended Asbury University in the early 1940s and was a long-time member of the institution’s board of trustees — died Wednesday, Jan. 19. He was surrounded by family and friends in Lawrenceville, Ga. when he was promoted to glory. Miller, born in 1923 and a fourth-generation Salvationist, held many positions during his 47-year career in the Salvation Army and served as national commander from 1986-1989.

A pioneer of the Asbury University athletics program, Dr. Rita Pritchett, passed away Aug. 26 following a three-year battle with brain cancer. Pritchett's career at Asbury spanned 40 years, including 27 years coaching volleyball, softball, women's tennis and women's track and field. She was named athletic director in 1989 - the first-ever female athletic director in Kentucky - and served in that role for 10 years. In 2004, Pritchett was one of seven Asburians inducted into the inaugural class of the athletics program's Asbury Hall of Fame, according to the university's website.

About 200 people gathered for Asbury University's annual Jessamine County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Tuesday morning in the school's cafeteria. Speaker Sandra Gray, president of the university, gave an overview of the school's programs, pointing out growth since her arrival in 2007 that includes a 27.5-percent jump in enrollment and a 300-percent gain in athletic participation. Gray also announced several changes coming for Asbury in the next few years. On the athletics front, a new baseball complex with lights is slated for completion in November 2013, and the school will add a lacrosse program in 2014.

Before baseball season was under way, West Jessamine pitcher Zach Settle made his college choice official. The senior signed with Asbury University on Feb. 23. “It's a big relief (to be signed),” Settle said. “You don't have to worry about how you throw one day if a scout's there ... you just go out there and play baseball. It just takes a lot of pressure off of you.” West's baseball program has been on the upswing the past few years as the Colts have won 85 games in Settle's first three seasons.

Dwarves, elves and wizards wandered the hallways of the Kinlaw Library at Asbury University on Saturday night, towering over a few halflings scampering around the shelves. The campus had been invaded by a variety of characters from J.R.R. Tolkein's fictional land of Middle Earth as part of the Hobbit Night event. The night featured a multimedia presentation in the Hughes Auditorium that culminated with a viewing of the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Tolkein's “The Hobbit.” Refreshments followed in the library with a costume contest shortly afterward.

Each year, a group of Asbury University students jump, flip  and dance as a way to help others. They are the school's tumbling team, which, in addition to performing at schools and other organizations across the country free of charge, performs two shows each April at the university. The team performed this year's shows, called “Jym Jamboree,” last Friday and Saturday. The stands at the university's Luce Center were packed Saturday to watch the team's performance, a combination of gymnastics, cheerleading, and even modern dance.

The halls of Asbury University were shaken Saturday when Jeff McMillan, 24, experienced difficulty breathing during a intramural rugby game, collapsed on the field and died. “It's a very tender time for the Asbury community,” Asbury University President Sandra C. Gray said. “But what we've seen after this is a coming together of the students and those around the university, which we really appreciate.” McMillan, a senior sports-management major from Florence, was expected to graduate in December.

Sitting less than 1 mile from the main stage of Christian music's oldest festival, Asbury University takes the opportunity each year to minister and serve at Ichthus as well as let the thousands of teenagers know what it has to offer as a college option. The university has between 50 and 80 volunteers who have worked all year to prepare for their roles in this June's four-day festival - half of whom are students working during their summers. “We bring students back to help with the production and cameras, and we also bring students back to help us in the admissions area; we have a tent out there and are meeting students who may be interested in coming to Asbury,” said Asbury vice president of enrollment Mark Troyer, who coordinates the school's efforts at Ichthus.

When Asbury professors Greg Bandy and Jeff Day started the Highbridge Film Festival in 2005, they were worried about getting enough people to show up to fill a 300-seat theater. But six years later, they have to worry about finding enough seats for everyone in 1,500-seat Hughes Auditorium. The festival started because Bandy saw a large amount of potential and talent among the students at Asbury and he wanted to give them a big opportunity to showcase their work, he said. The film festival is a big event for Asbury students, the community of Wilmore and many more outside the county limits, Bandy said.

Asbury University, in partnership with the University of Kentucky, will host the fourth annual Draft Horse Day on Saturday, Sept. 15, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The free event will be held again at the Asbury University Equine Center, with the main attraction being a draft horse demonstration. The day will start at 10:30 a.m. with the parade of teams and continue with events through the afternoon. This year four teams of horses are expected to participate, with potential for several more.

The so called “West Way” broadened in meaning Wednesday with a trio of softball talent taking their skills and friendship to Asbury University. From the West Jessamine High School library, senior pitcher Ashley Brunty, catcher Kendall Anderson and outfielder Jessica Baker announced their intentions to take head coach Michelle Baker's 200 feet of defense to Wilmore. “Getting all three of them is going to be good for that program,” coach Baker said. The girls' signing came together just recently after the three took their visit to the Asbury campus, where they were quickly offered a scholarship by Eagles softball coach Samantha DeMartine.

Jessamine County athletes continue to flock to Asbury University as the Eagles girls' soccer program gained the commitments of two Lady Colts on Tuesday. In the West Jessamine library, seniors Toria Howard and Maddye Hahn signed their letters of intent to Asbury in the presence of friends and family after school. West girls' soccer head coach Kevin Wright told the crowd how vital the two were to the success of the Lady Colts during their high-school careers. “Being a winner and just being a leader like they are just doesn't happen by chance,” Wright said.

Certain thoughts don't always come to be when confronted with a decision, and that was just the case for East Jessamine's Jarod Rocco on Monday. Rocco, a four-year starter for the Jaguars' soccer team, signed with Asbury University with high school teammates and friends, Timmy Bradshaw and Taylor Harper. Despite family ties to the Eagles' program, Rocco couldn't see himself ending up so close to home. Growing up, I had always told myself I wasn't going to end up at Asbury because I lived about five minutes away,” Rocco said, “but I went to one of their fall training sessions and recruiting trips and the bond the team shares as a family just brought me in.” East soccer head coach Tom Morgan called him “a rock for our team.” His comments were backed up with Rocco's performance as goalkeeper on the pitch, which helped lead the team to a 28-8-7 record in his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Each year, a group of Asbury University students jump, flip  and dance as a way to help others. They are the school's tumbling team, which, in addition to performing at schools and other organizations across the country free of charge, performs two shows each April at the university. The team performed this year's shows, called “Jym Jamboree,” last Friday and Saturday. The stands at the university's Luce Center were packed Saturday to watch the team's performance, a combination of gymnastics, cheerleading, and even modern dance.

The baseball and softball fields at Asbury University are getting a face lift thanks to an anonymous donation in honor of a man who played baseball for the institution 65 years ago before Asbury even knew it had a team. The $1.5 million gift was announced Monday night at an Asbury baseball game at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington. The four-phase project will add lighting to both fields along with new stadium features, an indoor batting facility and new concession stand, locker rooms and press box. The work will begin May 1 and is expected to be complete by Dec. 1, in time for next season.

Harry L. Kidd Jr., age 87, of Lexington, Ky., departed this life on Feb. 19, 2013, at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was born in Vienna, Va., on Oct. 8, 1925, to the late Harry L. Kidd Sr. and Maude Alford Kidd of Fairfax County. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving during World War II. He graduated from Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky. in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He married Christine Beulah Hahn, a classmate, at Asbury on May 27, 1951. He felt a call to ministry, earning a Bachelor in Ministry degree from Westminster Seminary on May 22, 1956, while serving several churches.

A Lincoln County High School graduate who was active in the drama department is getting his feet in college theater just 30 miles away. Eric Sanders, currently a junior at Asbury University in Wilmore, is the producer of the school's production of “Our Town,” a Thornton Wilder play about mundane life in an early 1900s New Hampshire town. The play went on stage at Asbury's Miller Center for Communication Arts on Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will go on one final time Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5. Sanders worked with Asbury grad and “Our Town” director Janelle Gore on the low-budget film “Friggin' Aliens” over Christmas break, and that connection led to the film major's opportunity to work in theater.

You have the chance to leave your regular day-to-day life and go sit inside the day-to-day life of another place in another time this weekend. Asbury University is presenting “Our Town” Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Greathouse Theatre. The Thornton Wilder play focuses on the typical activities of a small town in New Hampshire in the early 20th century. “We take a look at their day-to-day life, but in reality, 'Our Town' is about every town - it's about your town, my town, and it's about every person in every time,” said director Janelle Gore, a 2011 Asbury graduate who is now an adjunct professor as she works on her master's degree.

The quiet of summer after commencement at Asbury University won't last long - the school is launching a program of eight residential camps for high-schoolers in early June. Asbury piloted the idea last year with a couple film camps. This year, it has added a broad sampling of other offerings and branded the program “ImpactU.” “We want to serve the community and then also give high-school students an opportunity to experience Asbury in a residential setting and get a little taste of different majors and focuses,” said Mark Troyer, Asbury's vice president for enrollment management.

Asbury University Athletics Director Mark Perdue announced Thursday that the school will be adding men's and women's lacrosse as intercollegiate teams for the 2014-'15 season. The University has begun a national search for coaches and expects to hire those positions by this spring. That timing will allow the coaches an entire year to recruit before bringing in a full roster for the 2014-15 school year. Asbury becomes just the sixth university in Kentucky to add lacrosse as a varsity sport, joining Bellarmine (men's only)