A web page has been launched that
will serve as a repository for pictures, sometimes candid, of events
at ABC and beyond. See if we caught you smiling! Visit
ABC's Photo Gallery
September 2010
ABC
Receives $100,000 Gift During the 130th Annual Session of the NBC,
USA, Inc.
Giving to success! This is what Dr. Julius R. Scruggs and his wife
Josephine Scruggs and members of the First Missionary Baptist Church
of Huntsville, Alabama are doing. They are giving to the
success American Baptist College is experiencing as it reaches new
levels of fulfilling its educational mission of preparing women and
men for moral leadership in the world. As president of the College
and as one whose life has been significantly shaped by American Baptist
College, it is my prayer that God will continue blessing
American Baptist College through the financial stewardship
of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., and the financial
support we are receiving from many churches across the country. Our
inspiration and expectations are high as many are investing in
the unfinished potential of students who come to American Baptist
College like “diamonds in the rough” but graduate
with the light of knowledge and a moral vision for Christian
leadership in the world.
Forrest E. Harris, Sr.
President, American Baptist College
Make an Investment in Moral & Christian
Leadership in the World!
Send your tax-deductible gift in the form of a check or money order
made payable to “American Baptist College” to:
Clara A. Williams, CFO
American Baptist College
1800 Baptist World Center Drive
Nashville, TN 37207
July 2010
Center for Equity, Change, and Sustainability
In response to the catastrophic flooding that took place between May 1st and May 2nd, 2010 in Middle Tennessee, leaving the area with dozens of casualties, millions of dollars in damage and an indelible mark on the city of Nashville, American Baptist College joins the effort to bring relief to those hardest hit by the flood waters.
President Forrest Harris called a press conference on May announcing the college of the newly launched Center for Change, Equity and Sustainability a coalition of churches and agencies who have come together to help guarantee that the citizens of the predominantly Black North Nashville
and other such areas, have a real and lasting opportunity to recover and thrive as a viable part of the larger Nashville community. President Harris proudly announced that American Baptist College will host the The Center for Change, Equity, and Sustainability here on the college's campus.
Appointment of Renita J. Weems, Ph.D. as VP of Academic Affairs
American Baptist College is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Renita J. Weems as Vice President of Academic Affairs. The VP of Academic Affairs administrates over the academic divisions of the college (i.e., faculty, curriculum, grants, distance learning, library, extension sites). Dr. Weems brings a wealth of accomplishments to her new position. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Weems earned her Ph.D. in Old Testament studies in 1989 from Princeton Theological Seminary making her the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in Old Testament. She was a professor of Bible at Vanderbilt University and former Cosby Visiting Professor of Humanities at Spelman College (2003-2005). An author of more than eight books and a host of journal and magazine articles, Dr. Weems was ordained by the AME church as a minister in 1984. Dr. Weems insists that her devotion to American Baptist College did not start in November 2009 when she took over as VP of Academic Affairs. Back in 2003 when she resigned her teaching post at Vanderbilt Divinity school she donated her library to American Baptist College. But even that was not the beginning of her infatuation with American Baptist College. Her affection for the school dates back nineteen years ago when she married one of the school’s 1989 graduates, Martin L. Espinosa (Pastor of Ray of Hope Community Church in Nashville and also Special Assistant to President Harris for Alumni Affairs). American Baptist College is happy to welcome Dr. Renita Weems to the campus and looks forward to the illustrious contributions she will make to the school.
March 2010
Reception Honors Achievements of Composer, Activist and Scholar
A Private Reception was held in the Scruggs Center at this year's 2010 Garnett-Nabrit Lecture Series in honor of singer, composer, activist, scholar, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon.
For more than 45 years Bernice Johnson Reagon has been a major cultural voice for freedom and justice; singing, teaching—speaking out against racism and organized inequities of all kinds. A child of Southwest Georgia, an African American woman’s voice, born in the struggle against racism in America during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s. Reagon’s life and work supports the concept of community based culture with an enlarged capacity for mutual respect: for self, for those who move among us who seem to be different than us, respect and care for our home, the environment— including the planet that sustains life as we know it. (Please visit http://www.bernicejohnsonreagon.com)
There was also a recognition of black women's creativity at this event. On display were Quilts by Zuri Quilting Guild of Nashville- turning scraps into works of art. Academic Vice President, Dr. Renita J. Weems, is a founding member of Zuri and an avid quilter.
March 14, 2010
American Baptist College Day in Milwaukee, WI
On March 14, 2010, eleven student ambassadors represented American Baptist College (ABC) at various churches in Milwaukee and Racine Wisconsin for “ABC Day in Milwaukee”.
The student ambassadors drove up to Milwaukee to preach, to talk to prospective student,s and to raise funds for the college. Each student ambassador was the guest preacher for a particular church that was assigned to them by the Milwaukee Host Committee. The ambassadors were also the guest of honor at the evening ABC rally worship service. Listed below are the ABC ambassadors and the churches where they preached. Professor Clifford A. Smith traveled with the ambassadors as the school administrator and to assist the students. The ABC Worship Rally raised over $16,000 for the college.
Special thanks to our many alumni and friends of the college there in Milwaukee area!
Milwaukee, WI
• Daryl Ballard – King Solomon Baptist Church
• Roy Ewing – Bethesda Baptist Church
• Montreal Martin – Providence Missionary Baptist Church
• Brian Cash – Tabernacle Baptist Church
• Doug Walker – Zion Hill Baptist Church
• Tyuan Card – Free Spirit Missionary Baptist Church
• Nate Dunigan – Holy Temple Baptist Church
Racine, WI
Mindy Brown – Searching Together Missionary Baptist Church
• LaTaska Nelson – St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church
• Michealangelo T. Clark – Second Missionary Baptist Church
• Gregory Givens – Greater Mount Eagle Missionary Baptist Church
ABC
Receives $100,000 Gift During the 130th Annual Session of the NBC,
USA, Inc. 
American Baptist College is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Renita J. Weems as Vice President of Academic Affairs. The VP of Academic Affairs administrates over the academic divisions of the college (i.e., faculty, curriculum, grants, distance learning, library, extension sites). Dr. Weems brings a wealth of accomplishments to her new position. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Weems earned her Ph.D. in Old Testament studies in 1989 from Princeton Theological Seminary making her the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in Old Testament. She was a professor of Bible at Vanderbilt University and former Cosby Visiting Professor of Humanities at Spelman College (2003-2005). An author of more than eight books and a host of journal and magazine articles, Dr. Weems was ordained by the AME church as a minister in 1984. Dr. Weems insists that her devotion to American Baptist College did not start in November 2009 when she took over as VP of Academic Affairs. Back in 2003 when she resigned her teaching post at Vanderbilt Divinity school she donated her library to American Baptist College. But even that was not the beginning of her infatuation with American Baptist College. Her affection for the school dates back nineteen years ago when she married one of the school’s 1989 graduates, Martin L. Espinosa (Pastor of Ray of Hope Community Church in Nashville and also Special Assistant to President Harris for Alumni Affairs). American Baptist College is happy to welcome Dr. Renita Weems to the campus and looks forward to the illustrious contributions she will make to the school. 
On March 14, 2010, eleven student ambassadors represented American Baptist College (ABC) at various churches in Milwaukee and Racine Wisconsin for “ABC Day in Milwaukee”.
The student ambassadors drove up to Milwaukee to preach, to talk to prospective student,s and to raise funds for the college. Each student ambassador was the guest preacher for a particular church that was assigned to them by the Milwaukee Host Committee. The ambassadors were also the guest of honor at the evening ABC rally worship service. Listed below are the ABC ambassadors and the churches where they preached. Professor Clifford A. Smith traveled with the ambassadors as the school administrator and to assist the students. The ABC Worship Rally raised over $16,000 for the college.