Howard makes gift toward construction of Campbell Chapel

     A significant number of friends and benefactors of Campbell University made generous gifts to the Robert and Anna Butler Chapel capital campaign. The $6.8 million edifice will be part of the Divinity School campus, providing a spiritual sanctuary for the Campbell community and an exceptional worship and teaching facility for divinity students. The campaign reached its silent goal of 60 percent before declaring a public phase to raise an additional $1.7 million.

     Among the chapel’s many donors is Ester Holder Howard, a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. A Campbell graduate, Howard’s career as an educator spans over 40 years and includes serving as a classroom teacher and supervisor of elementary education for Harnett County. Howard is a generous benefactor who has established numerous academic scholarships. The Ester Holder Howard Meditation Area adjacent to the Folwell Fountain on campus is dedicated in her honor.

     Included in the Butler Chapel complex will be a sanctuary, bell tower, the tallest point on campus, and a Prayer Room for quiet contemplation, reflection and individual prayer. Also planned are numerous sites in the surrounding gardens for study, fellowship and meditation.

     “With the construction of the chapel, ministry students will soon have a ‘laboratory’ to practice their ministerial and other professional skills,” said Dr. Michael G. Cogdill, dean of the Divinity School. “The presence of a new chapel will greatly advance the opportunities for worship, teaching and service our faculty is able to provide to our students.”

     The chapel will be the capstone of the university, said Campbell President Jerry M. Wallace, “a permanent statement to all of this university’s unashamed commitment to Christ and to the mission of Christian higher education.”

     For additional information on how to assist Campbell as it seeks to raise the final $1.7 million in funds for the chapel construction, call the university Advancement Office at 910.893.1215.

     Photo Copy: Campbell University trustee, Ester Holder Howard.