Alumni, Students, and Parents Celebrate Homecoming 2015 and Parent’s Weekend

NEW YORK CITY – October 12, 2015 – On October 2-4, The King’s College community hosted two concurrent events: Homecoming and Parents Weekend. During the weekend, members of the King’s community took part in events and activities including the presentation of alumni awards, the annual fall picnic, and the crowning of a Homecoming King and Queen. Students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to visit the campus, reconnect with one another, and rejoice in God’s continuing goodness to the College.

The Parents Weekend schedule included a reception with Student Development staff, a presidential address, a High Tea luncheon, and the annual Fall Picnic, at which the annual Powderpuff Football tournament took place with the House of Corrie ten Boom claiming the championship. Fisher Derderian (PPE ’16) was crowned Homecoming King, and Maxine Fileta (BUS ’16) was crowned Homecoming Queen.

Homecoming attendees began their weekend with an Alumni Welcome Reception. Saturday’s events included a Presidential Address, an Awards Luncheon, a Broadway show, and the Fall Picnic. On Saturday morning, both alumni and parents were invited to attend one of four lectures given by a member of the King’s faculty. Dr. Dru Johnson, Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, lectured on “Sex in the City: Misreading and Re-reading Sodom and Gomorrah.” Dr. David Talcott, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, spoke about “Why Christians Should Study Philosophy: A Brief Riposte to Arguments Against Philosophy.” Professor Chris Cragin-Day, Assistant Professor of Writing and Theater, led a session entitled “What Does It Mean To Be A Human, Now?”, which included a theatrical performance by students. Assistant Professor of Business and Economics Brian Brenberg, who also serves as Chair of the Program in Business and Finance, gave a lecture entitled “The Economics of a Broken Heart.”

During Saturday’s awards luncheon for alumni, the Distinguished Service Award was presented to Wayne and Betty Frair. The Distinguished Service Award is for the alumna or alumnus who has given outstanding service to the College or to the Alumni Association to benefit the College. Dr. Wayne Frair, who passed away on January 29, 2015, was a professor of biology and chairman of the Biology Department at The King’s College for forty years at its Briarcliff Manor campus. He held a B.A. in zoology from Houghton College, a B.S. in zoology from Wheaton College, an M.A. in embryology from the University of Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. in biochemical taxonomy from Rutgers. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts in 1955, he accepted a position as an instructor in biology at King’s. In 1962, he became the chairman of the Department of Biology, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1994.

Frair was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and, from 1986 to 1993, served as president of the Creation Research Society. He sat on the board of that organization until 2004. He wrote a number of papers on turtles and on topics relating to creation and evolution, as well as the book A Case for Creation. During his forty years at King’s, he impacted the lives of thousands of students. He was the only faculty member to have served under all three Briarcliff presidents, and in 2004 he was named an Honorary Alumnus of The King’s College.

Betty and Wayne met in 1978 when Betty, who had been recently widowed, joined the College as Assistant Dean of Students, a position she held until 1985, when she became Director of Development and Public Relations. She continued in that position until her retirement in the early 1990s, after which she volunteered her time to assist the Academic Dean until the campus clothes. She served the students, faculty, and administration at King’s for twenty years. At Homecoming last weekend, she was awarded the status of Honorary Alumna.

The Charles W. Anderson Award, named for Northeastern Bible College’s founding president, was presented to Bruce Wolff ’81. (Northeastern Bible College was acquired by The King’s College in 1999, and the sale of the college helped secure space for the reopening of The King’s College in the Empire State Building that same year.)

Wolff is the Founder and Executive Director of Brigade Air. He served as a missionary pilot and mechanic for six years, assisting evangelical church-planting missionaries in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. Wolff developed the Brigade Air curriculum and established the Brigade Air Mission Aviation Adventure Camp program in 2000, which has hosted over 3,000 Brigade Air campers at 140 week-long youth aviation camps in twenty states, two Canadian provinces, and four foreign countries.

Larry Moody ’70 was named Alumnus of the Year. Moody is the President of Search Ministries and has been involved with professional athletes since 1978. He has served as Chaplain for the Baltimore Colts (1978-1983) and to PGA Tour players (1981-present). Moody currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Regents of Dallas Theological Seminary and an EMF (K-LOVE and Air 1) board member. For fifty years, Moody has examined the evidences and arguments for and against Jesus Christ and the Bible, and co-authored the book I’m Glad You Asked with Ken Boa. Today, Search Ministries serves men and women in 26 cities across the United States, Latin America, and China.