News Releases

The current cicada infestation in the Lakelands region was the topic when 25 to 30 Savannah Lakes Village residents gathered at the Activity Center on May 10 to hear a presentation by Dr. Mark Pilgrim, assistant professor of biology at Lander University. Pilgrim is a microbiologist and said his specialty is microbes, much smaller bugs such as bacteria and viruses. But his curiosity prompted him to learn more about cicadas, which have swarmed by the billions in parts of South Carolina and several other states.

Will Smith, a fourth-grader at Westwood Elementary in Abbeville and ball boy for the Lander University men’s basketball team, hasn’t let a difficult start in life slow him down. He became ball boy last August, after participating in his second “Shoot for the Stars” basketball camp of the summer, where he won the “Hustle Award” two times.

Lander University is accepting registrations for the annual Fuji Summer Science and Mathematics Enrichment program for junior high and high school students hosted by the university starting in June. The summer enrichment program is sponsored by a grant from Fuji Photo Film in Greenwood and offers talented students a challenging educational experience with opportunities for fun and a taste of life at Lander.

Lander University is accepting applications for its summer continuing education courses, the first of which will begin late in May and continue through August. Coordinator Shelley Grund said there are more than two dozen courses on the schedule, plus five professional development offerings and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) preparation classes for high school students. Because of their popularity, some courses have limits on enrollment.

Five students were honored recently when Lander University's William Preston Turner Department of Nursing held its annual Nursing Recognition Ceremony as a prelude to the university's May graduation.

As part of its recently announced Asia Initiative, Lander University will host a “Focus on Japan” celebration during the week of Sept. 19-23. The celebration will feature a wide range of activities, spotlighting many aspects of Japanese life, education, business and culture.

Lander University student Tim Thomas is known to his XLR Lander Radio audience as “Big Tuna,” but he might want to choose another nickname that reflects his new, trimmer self. Thomas, a senior mass communication major from Trenton, lost 66 pounds or 23 percent of his body weight in the university’s Biggest Loser competition. And as the biggest loser, he walked away the biggest winner, pocketing the $500 first prize.

Watch Lander's Spring Commencement Ceremony Online. Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina) will deliver the main address to approximately 280 degree candidates at Lander University’s spring commencement on Saturday, April 30, in the university’s Finis Horne Arena. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m.

Dr. Jonathan Bassett, associate professor of psychology at Lander University, was named recipient of the 2011 Outstanding Teacher of Psychology Award given by the South Carolina Psychological Association at its spring conference in Myrtle Beach earlier this month.

The public is invited to a reception for the Senior Art Exhibition, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 29, at Monsanto Gallery, in the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center, on the campus of Lander University