Published on September 2, 2014  

John Howard—for whom Howard College is named—was born on September 2 in 1726. He led an unremarkable life as a country squire in Bedfordshire until he was elected as the county sheriff. He was outraged to learn that some prison inmates were held captive even after they were found innocent because they couldn’t afford the jailer’s fee. 

Howard made it his life work to survey the jails of Europe in an attempt to bring public attention to the shameful treatment of prisoners.  He died in 1790 in the Ukraine during an inspection of the prisons and military hospitals in Eastern Europe. His life became a model of Christian compassion for society’s outcasts, and a statue in St. Paul’s Cathedral was raised in his honor. Fifty years after his death, a group of Alabama Baptists decided to name their new college in honor of this great humanitarian.

Today we are recognizing eighteen young men and women who will be inducted into our second class of John Howard Scholars.  These students are among the finest in the College of Arts and Sciences, and they will meet regularly with the dean in order to promote scholarship, service, and learning in the Howard tradition. 

 

Howard Scholars 2014-2015

 

Natalie Bennie                             Communication Studies

Joshua Chitwood                          Biology

Nicholas Clanton                          Bio-Chemistry 

Kristina Emmerson                       Marine Science

Claire Gaxiola                               International Relations

Logan Greenhaw                           Religion 

Samuel Hahn                                Classics / Philosophy  

Megan Hall                                    Sociology 

Hannah Holland                             Religion

Analeigh Horton                            Communication Studies

Allison (Allie) Kanne                      Journalism and Mass Communications

Emily Killen                                  English

Stephen Lavett                             Computer Science

James (Franklin) Lowe                  History

Chandler McLarren                       Communication Studies

Savannah Newman                      Math

Anna (Claire) Per-Lee                   Journalism and Mass Communications

Rebecca Womack                         Psychology  

We will also be honoring the Howard legacy with a special chapel service on October 9:  “Remember Those Who Are in Prison.”  Dean David Chapman, Dean Timothy George, and Director of the Mann Center (and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice) Drayton Nabers will speak about Christians and prison reform.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.