TORONTO, ONTARIO, Canada - At the 2008 graduation ceremonies held May 10 by Tyndale University College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dr. Edgar J. "Rik" Lovelady was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award as professor emeritus of English, Greek, and linguistics at Grace College for thirty-six years.He was cited for his several degrees. Also mentioned were his chairmanships and the teaching of 30 courses during his tenure.
In 1974 he received the Alva J. McClain Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award, both from Grace College. Listed were a number of honors and other awards, professional memberships, study abroad at Cambridge University and the Hellenic-American Union in Athens, tour leadership abroad and publications.
In the adjunct field of music, he taught classical guitar for 25 years at Grace College, performed nationally and abroad as instrumentalist, operated a recording studio, and recorded three banjo CDs. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Fretted Instrument Guild of America, and is currently serving on the Board of the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma as archivist.
