The newly constructed Donnell Hall, which will house the
Center
for Study of the Life and Work of William Carey, will be dedicated
with an official ceremony Wednesday, May 3 at 3 p.m. on the
Hattiesburg campus of William Carey College.
The 2,412 square
foot building, designed by Landry and Lewis Architects, P.A., will
house a museum and research collection of artifacts from and about
the British cobbler, botanist and linguist who became known and the
“father of modern missions” for his work in India.
Donnell
Hall is named after Hattiesburg residents Dr. Linda and Robert
Donnell, owners of Vital Care Compounder. “We feel totally humbled
and a bit unworthy of such distinction,” said Linda Donnell. “It is
quite an honor. We will take great pride in having our name
associated with such an outstanding missionary and scholar as
William Carey and are very excited about the opportunities of study
that the center will provide.”
Dr. Bennie Crockett,
co-director of the Center, said, “In a compelling and unique way,
the Donnells' gift highlights the interrelation of William Carey,
the Baptist missionary, Bible translator, educator and social
reformer in India, with the College’s identity as a Baptist
institution of higher learning.”
The building is equipped
with temperature and humidity control, a fireproof vault, a reading
room, and state of the art German manufactured display cases in two
exhibition galleries.
“Faculty, staff, students, scholars,
and people from every corner of the world now have a place to
celebrate, study, and find inspiration for a holistic perspective of
Christian mission, intellect, and socialization,” said Crockett.
“For the large part that Robert and Linda Donnell have in the
telling of Carey’s remarkable life and story, the Carey Center is
grateful and we are eager to share the ideals of its
namesake.”
“We have always felt that Christian education for
young people is a very worthwhile cause since it is an investment in
our future,” said Robert Donnell. “We feel that the college does a
great job in placing the emphasis on the development of its students
and we feel that the administration serves as good stewards of their
financial assets.”
Donnell Hall will house an impressive
collection. Dr. Myron Noonkester, co-director of the Center, said,
“Highlights that will be featured in the premier exhibition include
original letters from William Carey, Carey’s childhood spelling
dictionary, rare Indian botanical prints, coins, medals and stamps
associated with Carey, and an extensive collection of Serampore
Bibles, dictionaries and grammars.”
The Center has already
received local, national and international acclaim. After the public
release of the Center’s web site in March 2001, the Australian-based
Asian Studies Monitor, a clearinghouse for academic study of
Asian-related materials, awarded the Center a “Five-Star, Essential”
rating. The Center’s website receives an average of over three
hundred unique international visits per day and since its inception
more than half a million people have visited the
site.
Initiated in the summer of 2000, the purpose of the
Carey Center is to promote an understanding of the accomplishments
of William Carey and to enhance appreciation of the religious,
cultural, scientific, and historical contexts in which Carey worked
in Britain and India.
The Donnells, both active members of
University Baptist Church and supporters of missions work around the
world, participate in Baptist Medical and Dental Mission
International, Christian Women’s Job Corps, and many other community
helping agencies. “It is truly an honor to be a part of the William
Carey family,” said Linda Donnell.
Linda serves on the WCC
Board of Trustees and Robert was the second recipient of the Small
Business Leadership Award given by the Area Development Partnership
and WCC for excellent business practice. Both are natives of Morton.
The Center will continue to provide primary and secondary
source materials for local churches, Christian mission enthusiasts,
students of all ages, scholars, and international researchers. The
Donnells feel that they are a part of that teaching tradition and
understand its importance. “We feel that WCC is an excellent
Christian educational institution,” said Robert Donnell. “It is
college that gives attention to the total development of its
students and a school where students receive personal attention from
its faculty and staff.”
“The Carey Center now has an impressive,
Serampore, India style, home in Donnell Hall from which, as William
Carey would say, ‘to enlarge the tent’ of Christian identity,
scholarship and a Christian missionary understanding of the world,”
said Crockett.
The public is invited to the May 3 dedication
at 3 p.m. For more information call 601-318-6192. |