Women of Vision - Jumping in June

The Women of Vision Leadership Council met June 4 with lots of exciting events and projects to discuss.  Here is a look at a recently completed project:

Swann Bluebird Windows

Do you see the bluebird?

Stained glass artist Susan Watson delivered the finished windows to Carson-Newman recently and the wonderful campus maintenance crew installed them at Swann.  They are beautiful, but you must see them for yourself! Be sure to go by Swann next time you're on campus to see the way the light forms beautiful patterns on both sides of the windows. Thanks to the many donors who remember fondly their days at Swann and those fun days as Bluebirds (see February blog post) who made these windows possible.  

View from the Swann Lobby

Upcoming Events

Please be sure to mark your calendars for these upcoming events. Our next event will be Back to the Creek, a work day for all WOV members.  This day is always a great way to spend time with other Women of Vision working on a campus project.  Susan Fendley and Debbie Bean are planning a variety of ways you can be involved in projects at the Nursing Building, Science Building, Alumni Hall, or the Baker Building. Get some of your Carson-Newman girlfriends to come and have a fun day together helping Carson-Newman. If you are planning to come, or for more information,  please email Leah Smith, WOV campus liaison, at lsmith@cn.edu.  We all know how much work a group of women can get done in one day, so come be a part of the fun! There will be something for everyone to do. The day will start at Swann on Saturday, July 11, at 9:00a.m.

Back to the Creek, 2014

A Look at the Women of Vision Leadership Council

The Leadership Council is a group of fifteen women who are different ages, from different places, but who have one thing in common:  a love for Carson-Newman and a desire to make the university even better. Here's a closer look at one of these women.

Kay O'Brien

Kay O'Brien with Grandsons Moses and Alyosha

You may know Kay as the First Lady of Carson-Newman and the wife of President Randall O'Brien.  But did you know that Women of Vision was Kay's brainchild? She started WOV in 2010 with the help of advancement officer Vickie Butler and five leadership volunteers. She knew that the power of women was something that could be channeled to support Carson-Newman in unique and wonderful ways. A quick look around campus is all it takes to see that her leadership has resulted in the completion of fifteen renovation projects, with many more underway, and contributions totaling more than $500,000 given by donors for these projects. Kay serves as President of Women of Vision and continues to inspire all those who know her.

Kay and Randall have been married almost 40 years, have three adult children, and two wonderful grandchildren. Kay and Randall have lived in six states during their marriage, and came to Carson-Newman in 2008.  Kay's professional background is social work and she has worked in a variety of settings helping others. She believes in building community through relationships, and that is more evident than ever in her work at Carson-Newman. 

When asked about her hopes and dreams for Women of Vision, Kay said, 

"I truly believe the sky is the limit! our purpose is to help build the Kingdom of God through Christian higher education and I truly believe God is with us, empowering us to accomplish great things.  Seeing what women working together have made happen in the last five years has been just plain fun and we've only just begun! My hope is that we can find a way to engage every woman who loves this place in a meaningful way. When we do that--oh my, it will be amazing to see what God does with "what is in our hand!"

Stay tuned to future blog posts to learn more about other Leadership Council members.

Questions or Comments about Women of Vision? You can leave them on the blog, or email me:

Amy Stover, Women of Vision Membership Chair, amystover49@gmail.com.