Bonner Center for Service and Vocation is dedicated
by Anna McCormally
In celebration of the $4.8 million endowment to Earlham’s program from the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation, Earlham held a lunch in the Wellness Center and a dedication ceremony in the newly named Bonner Center for Service and Vocation including Bonner scholars, faculty, administration, community members, and students alike.
“I thought it was a really good opportunity to meet people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” said Bonner scholar sophomore Meg Duff, who sat with a trustee of the board and the President of Richmond’s Palladium-Item.
The dedication ceremony included speeches from students, community members, Earlham President Doug Bennett and Bonner President Wayne Meisel.
“His (Meisel’s) was a very inspiring and well delivered speech that went to the idea of needing to go back to local and global communities,” said first-year Bonner Mary Jones.
Seeing all the community members and how the program has affected them resonated with Duff.
“I thought it was really inspiring to see that the work Bonners do in the community really does make a difference and just that there’s a variety of different ways to use the Bonner program to make change,” she said.
Jana Schroeder, who worked hard to organize the dedication ceremony, felt a sense of pride in receiving the endowment.
“It feels really like an honor to us. We have a long history of service and commitment to social justice,” said Schroeder.
Since 1989, Earlham has had 60 Bonner scholars each year (15 per class) who dedicate 140 hours to community service during the school year and 280 hours during the summer in exchange for tuition funding. They work at numerous sites throughout Richmond and Wayne County in order to promote the community’s well-being.
Bonner scholars also had the opportunity to talk to Meisel one-on-one about what they thought of the program and how they could make it work even better.
“It’s really awesome and it means that we have to take a lot more responsibility with our program and how we review what Bonner means and what service means because they’ve got a lot of faith in us and we owe it to them to step it up,” said Jones.
Although funding is usually on a year-to-year basis, the endowment will allow the program to continue indefinitely.
Duff did stress, however, that she never felt the program was in danger without the large endowment.
“It’s been a very strong program for a very long time…but this is very affirming both for Bonner scholars and for all the people who administer the program,” said Duff.
The college is also helping to raise $2.3 million in order to secure their endowment and permanently secure the Bonner program at Earlham.
“I know the foundation wouldn’t have started this program if Earlham wasn’t already doing good work in the area of service and social justice,” said Schroeder.
Schroeder, like many others, wanted to stress that this endowment was not given just for Bonner scholars, but also for other Earlham students interested in engaging the community.
“Even though this place has been named The Bonner Center for Service and Vocation, it doesn’t mean only Bonners can connect with this place. It means everybody has an opportunity to do well,” she said.
The feeling seemed mutual with the other Bonner scholars as well.
“There’s a lot of discussion about how we can promote the program at Earlham, but what I think is the most impressive is the fact that it’s not just for Bonner scholars,” said Duff. “They’re not the only ones out volunteering in the community. You can still connect with Richmond and Wayne County and learn a lot through that experience and just get a lot out of that volunteering in general.”
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