| With shovels shining in the autumn
sunlight, Montreat College’s Board
of Trustees officially broke ground for
the Center for Christian Studies on
October 24.  "This
center will be a symbol of Montreat
College in the future," said
President William W. Hurt during the
groundbreaking ceremony. "There is
no better illustration of the
college’s mission than this new
building, dedicated exclusively to the
integration of faith and learning."
Among those wielding the ceremonial
shovels were Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Snoddy,
Sr., whose dream of providing a chapel to
the college as a tribute to their parents
sparked the Center for Christian Studies.
"It has long been my hope to have
a worship center in the heart of Montreat
as a tribute to the memory of our loving
Christian parents, Sam and Mary Snoddy
and Arthur and Irene Morris," said
Mr. Snoddy.
In appreciation of the Reverend
Matthew McGowan, former chairman of the
college’s Board of Trustees, the
board resolved to name the center the
McGowan Center for Christian Studies.
"The students who learn there could
have no finer model of servant leadership
than Matthew McGowan," the board
resolution stated.
The board also acknowledged the
contributions of Elizabeth Wilson,
longtime dean of students and trustee
emeritus, whose foresight and provision
in purchasing land and donating it to the
college provided the center’s site.
In addition to the generous donations
provided by members of the Montreat
College community, fundraising for the
center was boosted by a $500,000 grant,
the largest in the college’s
history. Provided by a foundation which
chooses anonymity, half of the gift will
go toward construction of the 220-seat
chapel, classrooms and faculty offices.
The remaining $250,000 donation will
be used to renovate laboratory facilities
and modernize mechanical systems in
Morgan Hall, the college’s science
building.
The Center for Christian Studies will
be built of stucco and native stone and
will provide an intimate, comfortable
place of worship for members of the
college community, the Montreat
community, and thousands of conference
visitors who swell the college’s
ranks each summer.
It will be built on the Wilson House
site where the Advancement, Public
Information, Alumni and Habitat for
Humanity offices are currently located.
As part of the construction project,
an expanded parking lot behind Bell
Library is already near completion. This
new paved and lighted parking area will
add 90 spaces to the campus and serve as
a staging area for construction of the
Center for Christian Studies.
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