Six to be Inducted into Union College Hall of Fame
Ceremony will be held during Homecoming 2000 festivities

A Pulitzer Prize nominee, a local professor and historian, one of the organizers of the first Daniel Boone Festival, a high school football and basketball coach, a championship swimmer, and a former Cincinnati Reds player will be inducted into the Union College Hall of Fame on October 14. The ceremony will be held during the Homecoming alumni banquet, scheduled for 6 p.m. in Minton Cafeteria.

Author will sign copies of her Pulitzer Prize nominated book
Author Mary Stanton, a 1973 graduate of Union, will sign copies of From Selma to Sorrow: The Life and Death of Viola Liuzzo on Saturday, October 14 at 2 p.m. in the Bulldog Bookstore, and on Sunday, October 15, at 12:30 p.m. in the lower level of the Patridge Campus Center.

The book is the first full-length biography of the white Detroit housewife and mother who was murdered in Alabama by the Ku Klux Klan during the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March. From Selma to Sorrow was nominated for both a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The book was optioned by Columbia Tri-Star pictures, and a movie is currently being prepared for Lifetime Television. Forrest Whittaker is scheduled to direct the film, which will air in the spring of 2001.

After graduating from Union with a bachelor’s degree in English and psychology, Stanton earned a master’s degree in English literature from Queens College, and a master’s degree in public administration from John Jay College of the City University in New York. She has taught English at the University of Idaho at Moscow, the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, New Jersey, and at Rutgers University. Before taking time off to write her acclaimed book, she had spent 20 years as a human resources and labor relations administrator for social service agencies and health care institutions.

"Mary Stanton is a fine writer, but there are many fine writers," said Donna Perry, professor of English at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. "What makes her special is her social conscience and her dedication to keeping the activist spirit alive, nearly 40 years after the Civil Rights era."

Well-known teacher and historian to receive honor posthumously
Best remembered as a history teacher for over 40 years in Knox County, William Sherman Oxendine was a powerful influence in the establishing of the Knox Historical Museum. His master’s thesis, "A History of Barbourville, Kentucky," is the basis of the Knox Museum’s book, Knox County, Kentucky: History and Families, which was written and dedicated to Oxendine following his death in 1994.

After attending Union for two years, Oxendine was granted a provisional teaching certificate in 1939 and taught at Cannon until joining the army in November 1940. After his military service ended in 1945, he returned to Union to complete his bachelor’s degree. In 1948, he began his teaching career at Knox Central High School, where he taught history, political science and government. He earned his master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1955. In 1964, Oxendine began teaching history at Union, where he stayed until 1984. While at Union, he helped establish the Appalachian Semester program, which he directed for several years.

Oxendine introduced oral history classes to Union College students in 1974. The Oxendine oral history tape collection dates from 1971 to 1978 and was perhaps the largest Knox County collection when he donated it to the Knox Historical Museum in 1991.

"Few educators have done more to demonstrate the significance of Union’s southeastern Kentucky location and people than William Sherman Oxendine," said Charles Reed Mitchell, vice president of Knox Historical Museum. "His contributions to the study of Appalachian history will never be forgotten by thousands of students, readers and colleagues. He gave generations of Knox Countians a reason to be proud of their heritage."

Oxendine was one of the most frequent contributors to The Knox Countian, the quarterly magazine of the Knox County Historical Museum. He also contributed essays to The Kentucky Encyclopedia and the Barbourville Mountain Advocate.

First Daniel Boone returns to campus
In 1948, the senior class at Union College, sponsored by biology professor Karl Bleye, organized the first Daniel Boone Festival, and senior class president Jack Early portrayed the pioneer legend. Fifty three years later, Early will return to Union to be inducted into the College’s Hall of Fame.

While still in graduate school at the age of 26, Early was elected state representative from Whitley County and served as the assistant minority leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives. At the age of 32, he became the youngest college president in the U.S. when he took office at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. He also served as president of Pfeiffer College in North Carolina and Limestone College in South Carolina.

Early is recognized as an international seminar leader, having conducted motivational programs in 15 countries around the world. Since July 1993, he has been president of the W. Clement Stone PMA Communications, Inc., and director of education of the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Early is also an active member of several lineage societies, including the Sons of the American Revolution, the Huguenot Society, and the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims in Kentucky.

"Jack’s accomplishments are legion," said William Buckway Jr., a Louisville attorney who has known Early for over 20 years. "If there ever was an overachiever, Jack would fit that definition. He is an inspirational speaker and has a talent for motivating others."

Early has received many honors, including being elected to the University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He has also been recognized by the American Indians with the Chief Iron Eyes Cody Medal of Peace. In 1990, he was selected as the Outstanding Kentuckian by the O’Tucks. He is listed in 19 Who’s Who publications, including Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.

Football stand-out honored for his commitment to education
A 1941 graduate of Union College, Needham Saylor spent five years as part of the Bulldog football team, four as a running back and linebacker and one as a graduate assistant. In addition, he wore a Bulldog uniform on the basketball court for one season.

After graduation, Saylor joined the United States Army and fought in World War II. Upon being honorably discharged in 1944, he returned to Kentucky to begin his coaching career at Wallins High School in Harlan County. During his seven-year tenure at Wallins, he led the school the Cumberland Valley Conference championship in basketball. The conference was the largest league in Kentucky with 16 members including schools such as Corbin, Lynn Camp, Barbourville, Knox Central, Middlesboro, Harlan and Bell County.

For the next ten years, Saylor was the head football and basketball coach at Loyall High School, where he won the 52nd District basketball championship. At the end of the 1960-61 academic year, Saylor was called upon to be the football coach at Cumberland High School, leading to the 1963 Class 2A semifinal game where they lost to powerhouse Ft. Thomas Highlands. Saylor also guided Cumberland to three consecutive wins over rival Lynch High School, a team Cumberland only defeated three times in the previous 25 years.

During Needham Saylor’s 25-year coaching career, his fellow coaches honored him by naming him "Coach of the Year" ten times. In 1969, his years of coaching and teaching came to an end when he became the assistant principal at Evarts High School. He remained at Evarts until 1972 when he assumed the duties of principal at Wallins High School. Saylor ended his career in education in 1984 after serving five years as the Superintendent of Harlan County Schools.

Championship swimmer honored for success in the pool
To say Ray "Bucky" Colclough helped put the Union College swim team on the map would be an understatement. Although known for being a hurdler in track and field in high school, Colclough swam and lettered all four of college years, serving as team captain in 1961 and 1962.

During the late 1950s and 1960s, Union competed in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and was arguably the smallest college in the league as the Bulldogs went up against the likes of the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, Vanderbilt University, Morehead State University and Tennessee A & I. Despite the stiff competition from the much large universities, Colclough always found a way to come out on top.

"It was truly a pleasure to see him swim the backstroke – so slick and so smooth. He competed against the very best at that time in the state of Kentucky and surrounding states and came out on top," said Pete Moore, former Union College men’s basketball coach and former vice president of academic affairs.

Colclough owned the state record for the 200-yard backstroke for two years. In addition to the 200 backstroke, he swam the 200 individual medley, the freestyle relay and medley relay. He swam in the National AAU meet at Fort Knox, Ky., and made it to the finals. Also, Colclough competed in the United States Olympic trials and qualified for the semifinal round. But his biggest accomplishment was more than likely going undefeated in the 200 backstroke for two years.

Colclough is currently the vice president of national accounts and systems contracts for Vallen Corp. in Tennessee. He is also a member of the Union College Board of Trustees.

Former Cincinnati Reds player honored for contributions to education
Whether on the playing field or in the classroom, success has always surrounded the career of Amiel "Lefty" Solomon. From signing a professional baseball contract to having papers published, Solomon has seemingly done it all.

A 1956 graduate of Union College, Solomon played baseball and basketball for the Bulldogs for three seasons each. He was unable to play for Union during his senior year since he had signed to play baseball with the Cincinnati Reds. Although he made his mark in athletics having been the head baseball and men’s basketball coach at Cumberland University and the head baseball coach at Middle Tennessee State University, Solomon made his biggest contributions in the field of academics.

From 1960-69, Solomon taught at various institutions of higher learning such as Cumberland University, Westminster College and Vanderbilt University. But since the fall of 1969, he has served a variety of roles at Middle Tennessee State. He has been an associate professor, head baseball coach, department chairperson and professor during his 30-plus years at MTSU. In 1994, Solomon received the Outstanding Teacher Award by the MTSU Foundation.

In establishing himself as an outstanding scholar, Solomon has had his work published over 100 times and has given several presentations in his field. He shared his research skills with graduate students and directed or served as second reader for 47 doctoral dissertations.

"Dr. Solomon has contributed so much to our profession," said Dr. Jon MacBeth, a professor at Middle Tennessee State. "These outstanding accomplishments are only a few and can only begin to describe the caliber of person he is."

For more information about the Hall of Fame ceremony or any of the upcoming Homecoming activities, please contact the Union College Office of Alumni Relations at 546-1619.

October 2, 2000

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