Reinhardt Announces Recipients of the Dr. Bob Driscoll Awards for Regional Studies and Service

Driscoll Award recipients are: (l-r) Wyatt Dean, Brandi Allen, Alex Bryant, Jasmine Simmons and Marlea Martin.

During his many years of leadership at Reinhardt University, the late Dr. Bob Driscoll, former vice president for academic affairs, frequently emphasized the value of our unique region as an opportunity for Reinhardt students to expand their intellectual horizons and their sense of community responsibility. In support of his idea, the Reinhardt faculty created a fund in Dr. Driscoll’s name to reward and support student engagement with the Etowah River Valley region consisting of Cherokee, Pickens, Bartow and Gordon counties.

Award Recipients

Each academic semester, a select group of students are honored for their regional studies or regional service with the Dr. Bob Driscoll Award scholarship. Students eligible for the award must be nominated and supported by a Reinhardt faculty member. The spring semester 2014 recipients included: Brandi Allen, a junior English major; Alex Bryant, a senior marketing major.; Wyatt Dean, a sophomore history major; Marlea Martin, a junior healthcare administration major; and Jasmine Simmons, a senior interdisciplinary studies major.

“… a testament to the value Reinhardt University places on the study of and service to North Georgia.”

“The Dr. Bob Driscoll Awards for Regional Studies and Service, supported by faculty and presented to deserving students each semester, is a testament to the value Reinhardt University places on the study of and service to North Georgia,” said Dr. Mark Roberts, vice president and dean for academic affairs. “We believe that the strength of our community lies within our collective service to its history and to its progress. This award is one tangible and scholastic way the University enriches the region in which we live.”

Honored for their regional studies were: Allen, a resident of Talking Rock, Ga., for her paper “North Georgia Baptist Churches”; Bryant, a resident of Canton, Ga.; for his paper “Post-Rush Gold in Cherokee County”; Dean, a resident of Ball Ground, Ga., for his paper “The Franklin Gold Mine;” and Simmons, a resident of Dallas, Ga., for her paper “Farm and Food at Reinhardt University.” The students wrote their papers during Professor of History Dr. Ken Wheeler’s course “Town and Gown: Local History and Culture.” Recognized for regional service was Marlea Martin, a resident of Acworth, Ga., who served as a volunteer at the Bethesda Community Clinic in Holly Springs, Ga.