While there are many dimensions to a Christ-centered university experience, there are few elements, outside of relationships with faculty, that are as crucial to the overall success of the venture as life in the residence hall. Engage in a conversation with any of the pioneers that came to Lubbock Christian University in the early days, and they will regale you with stories about the old army barracks converted into dormitories. The same is true about those who came a few years later and lived in Katie Rogers Hall or Johnson Hall. When I think back over 40 years to my experience as a freshman on a Christian college campus, the time in the residence hall clearly stands out. Whether it was spent studying, playing cards, or pondering some genuinely deep philosophical topic, those moments in the dorm are still treasured.
Legendary faculty member Dr. Don “Doc” Williams has similar memories. Before he was college-aged, he stayed in the two-story converted barracks known as “Unit 10” while attending a band camp in the summer. He recalls that he was “touched by the experience because I stayed in there with current Lubbock Christian students who talked about the wonderful times they would have in a Christian environment, and that really influenced me to attend the young college, because I was looking for that spiritual atmosphere and those kinds of Christian relationships. When I came as a student, the experience lived up to the expectations, and we were all great friends.” Doc said that he later moved to Harris Hall, so named because of Ma Harris who directed the facility. Williams recalls being involved in more than his fair share of hijinks, but he also recalls that Ma Harris employed a former Marine Seargent-turned-college-student named Nelson Pierce to serve as an RA and enforce discipline. Doc remembers that Pierce was very likable, but that, “when you heard his boots coming down the hall you could get quiet in a hurry.”
The feature story for this issue of Reflections is about the much-anticipated opening of Gullo Hall—a state of the art residential facility where new relationships and new memories will be formed. Because of the generosity of Tony and Dolly Gullo, and so many people like you who believe in our mission and what happens in these sacred spaces, we have been able to raise more than $10M for this 172-bed facility. We recognize what an incredible blessing this is and pledge to use this place to continue to make good on our brand promise of walking with our students to help them discover who it is that God has created them to be.
You will also read about the important work in which our faculty and alumni are involved. You will hear about Dr. Patti Patterson Joiner’s amazing career, about Dr. Laurie Doyle serving as the inaugural Helen Jones Endowed Chair for Fine Arts, and about how Craig Allen’s real world police experience is paying dividends in the classroom for our criminal justice students. In addition, you will read about a landmark $3M gift from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation to name our Honors College.
God is at work on the campus of Lubbock Christian University. I hope you enjoy reading about these exciting events in this edition of Reflections, and I hope you will come back home to LCU very soon.
Blessings,
Scott McDowell, Ed.D.
President, Lubbock Christian University