BLUEFIELD—Bluefield College paid tribute to former president Daniel G. MacMillan and demonstrated its continued commitment to service learning with the dedication of the new MacMillan Center for Service, Mission and Ministry on campus Oct. 19.
BC faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees and community friends joined in the celebration of the completion of the newest facility on campus, designed to be the focal point of BC's civic engagement, personal outreach, impact teams, music and drama ministries, and service learning projects.
“This is the dedication of a very special place in honor of a very special person,” said current BC president David Olive. “In what little time I've had to get to know Dr. MacMillan, I have come to understand his love and loyalty for Bluefield College and his dedication to service and missions. We're thankful for the opportunity to recognize that loyalty and to dedicate this facility in his honor.”
Bluefield College dedicated its MacMillan Center for Service, Mission and Ministry in honor of former president Dan MacMillan (center), pictured with his wife, Sandy, and center project coordinator and BC campus minister David Taylor.
The MacMillan Center for Service, Mission and Ministry was approved by the BC board of trustees in April 2007 and developed the past six months under the direction of campus minister David Taylor. Funded by the Virginia Baptist Foundation, the construction of the building involved the renovation of an existing house on campus into an eight-room facility that will now serve as the center where BC will coordinate, focus and effectively present its multi-faceted commitment to developing and graduating servant leaders.
“I can't describe how excited we are to have a facility like this available to us,” said senior Derek Bostic, president of BC's Baptist Collegiate Ministries, who also spoke during the program. “We are thankful for the vision Dr. MacMillan had for service, missions and ministry that was the beginning of this building.”
During his nine-year tenure as president of Bluefield College from 1997 to 2006, BC expanded its missions programs, implemented a service learning requirement for students, joined the Bonner Leaders service program, and completed more than 14,000 hours of community service during Dr. MacMillan's last year alone.
“My accomplishments as president of Bluefield College were not individual accomplishments, but a collective effort of a group of dedicated faculty, staff and students,” Dr. MacMillan said during the dedication ceremony. “No one does anything by themselves. The trustees, the faculty, the staff, and the students, they supported me. It was a team effort.”
Despite his humility, Ruth Blankenship, BC's associate vice president for institutional advancement, said MacMillan's passion for service learning was “undeniable.” He “encouraged and prayerfully and financially supported” students in mission and service activity, Blankenship said.
As part of the dedication ceremony, Taylor, who will manage the new center, also led guests in the reading of a dedication covenant.
David Dockery of First Baptist Church in Princeton, W.Va., offered a prayer of dedication, while Charles Paschall shared remarks on behalf of the board of trustees.
“I am so thankful that we are dedicating this center as the MacMillan Center, because its purpose accurately reflects the vision Dan MacMillan had for Bluefield College,” Paschall said. “He is the epitome of servant leadership. That is why it is so appropriate to dedicate this facility in his name.”
Dr. MacMillan served as Bluefield College's eighth president for nine years before departing the school in July 2006 for a position with Dallas Baptist University. He said he is thankful for his time with the BC family and for the relationship between the college and Virginia Baptists.
“I want to thank the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Baptist Foundation for their very gracious gift that provided the funds for the development of this facility,” MacMillan said. “Without our partnership with the BGAV and the generosity of the Virginia Baptist Foundation, this center would not be a reality.”