M. Lisa Carlton '86

A ninth-generation Floridian, whose roots go deep into Stetson and Florida history, Lisa Carlton serves as state senator from District 24. Co-manager of the Mabry Carlton Ranch, a Sarasota County cattle and citrus operation owned by her family for four generations, she is the daughter of the late Mabry Carlton Jr., Stetson class of '57, and grand-daughter of the late Mabry Carlton Sr., class of '29, both of whom served as Stetson trustees.

She and her husband, Robert Robinson, have two daughters, Carlton Elaine Robinson and Savell Louise Robinson, and a son, Mabry Robert Robinson. Carlton received her bachelor's degree in sociology in 1986 from Stetson, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and earned a law degree from Mercer University. She has practiced law in Sarasota County and served as a legislative aide in both the Florida House and Senate.

In 1994, she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from District 70, which she served for four years. Her Florida Senate responsibilities include chairing the Committee on Finance and Tax; and serving on the committees overseeing banking and insurance, comprehensive planning, local and military affairs, and ethics and elections. She also heads the Reapportionment Subcommittee on Congressional Apportionment and Redistricting.

Elizabeth Bergin Johns '62

Putting her scientific background to work with environmental theory, Dr. Bunny Johns serves as chief executive officer of the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina, the Southeast's largest outdoor recreation and education outfitter. A 1962 Stetson graduate, with a bachelor's degree in biology, she earned a master's degree from the University of Richmond, and a doctorate in plant physiology from North Carolina State University. She worked as an educator and researcher from 1968 to 1973, then earned a degree in nursing.

An avid outdoorswoman, Johns worked part time as an instructor and guide at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, while continuing to work as a nurse, and by 1977 headed Nantahala's instructional programs. She became president of the company in 1991 and was later named CEO. Specializing in whitewater rafting, mountain biking, adventure travel and corporate and youth team building, the Nantahala Outdoor Center has grown from an outfitter on two rivers with a few guides, to a $16 million firm with 100 full-time and 500 seasonal employees.

Blending her grounding in science with an ability to work with others to solve difficult natural resource issues, she has served as president of America Outdoors, a trade association for outfitters; and on the board of directors for American Rivers, the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Pigeon River Fund and the Swain Country Economic Development Commission.

Richard W. Pearce JD '50, '55, MA '57

A triple Stetson alumnus, Richard Pearce earned a law degree in 1950, bachelor's degree in history in 1955 and master's degree in American studies in 1957. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1950, he spent 12 years practicing law, but his interest in education led him back to the classroom.

While practicing law part-time, he taught business, finance and business law at Stetson for 25 years, interrupting his teaching career to serve for 15 years as an administrator at two other colleges: Florida Southern College, Lakeland, where he was vice president, academic dean and dean of the college; and Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C., where he was president. He returned to the Stetson faculty in 1984 and retired as professor of finance emeritus in 1999. His publications include Law and Society, written with Dr. Carey K. Ganong (Irwin, 1965).

Active in state circles of the United Methodist Church, both in Florida and North Carolina; Pearce was also an advisor to Bethune-Cookman College and headed Stetson's School of Business Foundation. He served for 10 years as Pierson town attorney, six years as vice chairman of the Volusia County Board of Public Instruction and eight years as secretary/treasurer of the Central Florida League of Small Municipalities.

He provided Stetson with many years of legal representation in real estate contracts and estate planning. In 1991, he and his wife established the Richard and Neva Pearce Scholarship Program to provide merit scholarships to well-rounded, leadership-oriented Stetson students with high academic achievements.

Nancy Naylor Rue '73

A prolific writer whose historical novels offer young people a deeper understanding of the United States, its values and the role faith has played in its development, Nancy Naylor Rue earned a bachelor's degree in English from Stetson in 1973. She later received a master's degree in education in 1978 from the College of William and Mary and a bachelor's degree in theater in 1988 from the University of Nevada. She taught high school English and theater for several years, and has also directed children's theater, given creative dramatic workshops for children and taught and directed college-level theater.

Author of 18 novels for children examining American history 1690 to 1861, Rue is working to bring the series up to the 1970s. She has also written several children's plays, that have been produced by theaters around the country. Her young adult fiction is popular in Europe as well as in the United States, with several books translated into French, German or Swedish.

Her work for adults includes two novels, Retreat to Love and Melding the Circle, as well as two non-fiction books. She won first place in the National Short Fiction Competition of the Evangelical Press Association in 1996, 1991 and 1988. In addition, her young adult novel The Janis Project, won the C.S. Lewis Honor Book Award in 1991, and Row This Boat Ashore won the Campus Life Book of the Year Competition Award of Merit in 1986.