Bluefield opened East River Hall in the fall of 2009.
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Bluefield College considering a fifth dormitory. With the number of students living on campus at an all-time high, Bluefield College is considering building a fifth residence hall — only a year after opening a fourth student dormitory. Of Bluefield’s 440 traditional students, 280 live on campus and that figure is expected to grow. President David Olive predicted traditional student enrollment will surpass 500 next fall — the highest enrollment in a decade. In response, the school’s trustees have initiated a feasibility study to consider an additional dormitory. A year ago, Bluefield opened East River Hall, a $4.3 mllion residence facility.
BJC announces essay contest. The Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty, one of Virginia Baptists’ partner organizations, has announed its 6th annual Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest. The competition is open to all high school students in the 2011 and 2012 graduating classes and addresses the following topic: “The right to freely exercise your religion is guaranteed by the First Amendment, but that right is not absolute and it sometimes clashes with the rights of others. Using a single example or multiple examples, write an essay explaining how religious rights clash with other rights or laws in America and how you would determine an appropriate outcome.” Essays must be between 800-1,200 words and postmarked by March 15, 2011. The grand prize is $1,000. Additional information is available at www.BJConline.org/contest.
John Carpenter
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Portsmouth association names new director of missions. John Carpenter Jr. has been named director of missions for the Portsmouth Baptist Association, a fellowship of about 32 congregations in the cities of Portsmouth and Chesapeake. Carpenter is a former pastor of North Riverside Baptist Church in Newport News and has been an intentional interim pastor at St. John’s Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, Stevens Memorial Baptist Church in Newport News and First Baptist Church in Hopewell. He also has served on the staff of churches in Tennessee and North Carolina. He is a graduate of Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, N.C., and holds master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He and his wife have three grown children and six grandchildren.