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9/22/11
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Rev. Ira Andrews III '59 |
Rev. Ira Andrews III ’59 has received the John Wesley Award of the Virginia Annual Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry. The award was presented on September 18, 2011, in Ashland’s Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church.
The John Wesley award is presented to a United Methodist who has made a distinguished contribution to higher education. The award was presented to Andrews by W. Samuel Sadler, retired vice president for student affairs at College of William and Mary, and D. Michael Meloy, minister of congregational care at Williamsburg United Methodist Church. Sadler and Meloy lauded Andrews’ presence in the classroom, his caring demeanor, the role model he has been as a man who “cherishes the life of the mind as well as of faith,” his commitment to the spiritual development of young people, and his service to the Church.
Andrews’ collective experience at Randolph-Macon College spans more than 50 years. As a student, he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society and was a member of Clericus and the Glee Club. After graduating, Andrews earned a master of divinity degree from Emory University. He returned to R-MC as a professor of
religious studies and was later appointed to serve as dean of students. He is also an ordained Methodist minister.
In 2002, Andrews received the Francis Asbury Award from the Virginia Annual Conference Board of Higher Education. The award is presented to someone whose work heightens awareness of the significance of the Church’s higher education ministry and who distinguishes himself in promoting and strengthening the Church’s work in higher education. “In the history of the Virginia Conference, no one has ever received both of these two awards – until today,” said Sadler before he and Meloy presented Andrews with the John Wesley award.