Auto industry leader makes gift to Campbell chapel

     Harold Wells, Sr., of Whiteville, N.C., has made a significant gift to the Robert and Anna Butler Chapel capital campaign. The $6.8 million chapel 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 founder and president of Wells Oldsmobile, Inc., in Whiteville, Wells established his first auto dealership in the mid-1950s. He was named 1988 Quality Dealer of the Year by “Time Magazine” and served as president of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Wells is chairman of Campbell University’s Board of Trustees.

     Included in the Butler Chapel complex will be a sanctuary, gathering place, bell tower and Prayer Room for quiet contemplation. 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 the chapel campaign, call the Institutional Advancement Office at 910.893.1215 or 800.334.4111, ext. 1215.

     Photo Copy: Harold Wells, Sr., right, with Dr. Jerry M. Wallace, president of Campbell University.