Grimes to Lead Annual Larry E. Grimes Lecture Series During Homecoming 2022

BETHANY, W.Va. – Each year, during homecoming weekend, Bethany College hosts its annual Grimes Lecture Series. This year, Bethanians everywhere are elated as Rev. Dr. Larry E. Grimes ‘64 returns to host the lecture himself—something he hasn’t done since the inaugural lecture in 2014.

The annual lecture honors Grimes—a longtime Bethany English professor and renowned Hemingway Scholar. Grimes holds degrees from Bethany College, Yale Divinity School, and Emory University in English, theology, culture, and literature. He spent four decades teaching students at Bethany College to learn from and love literature, while serving as dean of arts and sciences, director of church relations, and vice president and dean of the faculty. He also served as an interim minister at several Disciples of Christ (DOC) churches in the tri-state area.

Grimes retired and now lives in Colo., but he still maintains a strong relationship with the Christian Church in W.Va., serving on the Regional Board and on the Commission of the Ministry. Grimes’ poetic collection, “Upon a Slender Stalk,” was published in 2022— which he will ode to in this year’s lecture.

“Those of us who had Dr. Grimes for class experienced firsthand his outstanding, inspirational teaching style, and we are delighted that he will be teaching again during his lecture, ‘Upon a Slender Stalk,’” says Bethany College Alumni Association President Angie Bado ‘77. “We are thrilled to have him back to punctuate the impact he had on the students, who are now alumni, during his tenure at Bethany.”

Past guest lecturers have included former Director of the National Security, National Intelligence, and Central Intelligence Agencies General Michael Hayden, Social Impact Strategist Ashley Spillane, and New York Times bestselling author Wiley Cash.

The Grimes Lecture Series will take place both on Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. at the Academic Parlour, and on Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. at Wailes Theatre, in Steinman Hall. The Oct. 1 lecture will be livestreamed.

About Bethany College

Bethany College, founded in 1840, is the oldest private college in West Virginia. The Bethany experience focuses on academic excellence in the area of liberal arts and prepares students for a lifetime of work and a life of significance.