Sewanee celebrates success of The Sewanee Call, dedicates Spencer Hall as part of Founders’ Day
A festive crowd of 500 toasted the University of the South and commemorated the success of The Sewanee Call campaign at a gala Founders’ Day celebration Oct. 7 in the Robert Dobbs Fowler Center. The dinner capped a day of campus-wide events.
In his remarks after dinner, the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr., Bishop of Alabama and Chancellor of the University, thanked the campaign donors and reminded the audience that The Sewanee Call “has a face. It is the face of the freshman student discovering the miraculous chemical intricacy of DNA in Spencer Hall, the face of the seminarian grasping the saving grace of Christ with new authenticity, the face of the faculty member enabled to do breakthrough research in her field… It is the face lit up by worship in the newly refurnished All Saints’ Chapel, by the creative experience of the visual arts in the Nabit Center, by sitting with friends on the gracious porch of Humphreys Hall.”
Earlier in the day, Vice Chancellor Joel Cunningham remembered the University’s visionary founders and recognized the dedication of the current generation of supporters and friends in his Founders’ Day Address affirming Sewanee’s purpose and value in the world. After noting that in these difficult economic times, there is a greater need than ever for the education, values, and honor abundant at Sewanee, Cunningham concluded, “The Sewanee Call campaign is finished, but Sewanee calls us still. She calls us to excellence and to serve the greater good of humankind—to make a difference in the world.”
Cunningham thanked the co-chairs of The Sewanee Call campaign, David Beecken, C’68, and William Stamler, C’56, and noted a Board of Regents resolution of appreciation for their leadership.
The traditional Founders’ Day Convocation this year included the dedication of Spencer Hall, Sewanee’s new science facility, as well as the conferral of three honorary degrees and the induction of more than 240 students into the Order of Gownsmen.
The University bestowed honorary degrees upon the Rev. Sally Grover Bingham, W. Page Faulk, M.D., C’59, and the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence.
The Convocation ceremony moved to Spencer Hall, where several hundred gathered in the soaring atrium to watch William M. Spencer, III, C’41 present to the University the 49,000-square-foot science facility named in his honor, expressing “rededication to the ideals of Sewanee and ushering in a new era in science education.” Spencer Hall, with classrooms, laboratories and offices for chemistry, biology, biochemistry and environmental science, was funded through The Sewanee Call campaign, and is expected to be the University’s first LEED-certified building.
A community luncheon followed (moved indoors by the threat of rain), continuing the day’s celebration of the success of The Sewanee Call. Tours of Spencer Hall and special presentations on the accomplishments made possible by the campaign were afternoon options for the participants, who included students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors to the campaign, and the members of the boards of Regents and Trustees.
The Sewanee Call gala celebration for leadership donors completed the day, which had begun with the dedication of a new Never-Failing Succession of Benefactors plaque honoring the newest members of this group.
Schedule at a Glance
Monday, Oct. 6
- Honorary Degree Dinner, 6:30 p.m., Cravens Hall (by invitation only)
Tuesday, Oct. 7
- Dedication of the new Never-Failing Succession of Benefactors plaque, 11 a.m., Walsh-Ellett Hall (by invitation only)
- Founders’ Day Convocation, 12:30 p.m., All Saints’ Chapel
- Community celebration, approximately 2 p.m., Spencer Hall lawn
- Special presentations about key accomplishments of The Sewanee Call campaign, 3-5 p.m.
- The Sewanee Call gala celebration, 7 p.m., Robert Dobbs Fowler Center (by invitation only)
