 |
Brite
prez inaugurated in ceremony
By
Julia Mae Jorgensen
D.
Newell Williams was inaugurated as the second president
of Brite Divinity School Thursday night in a ceremony
at University Christian Church.
“I promise to lead Brite Divinity School women and
men in the world with all its complexities and ever changing
challenges,” he told the audience in his inaugural
address.
Williams, a former professor of church history at Christian
Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, said the experience
was humbling.
“This is a school that wants to serve the world,”
Williams said. “We need to live the bigger vision
that we already have.”
David J. Gouwens, professor of theology and interim dean
of Brite, said the inauguration was a special occasion.
“It is a solemn and joyous event in the life of Brite
Divinity School,” Gouwens said.
The ceremony was the final in a series of events celebrating
Brite’s new president. An afternoon church service
was held at UCC followed by a reception and buffet in
honor of the Williams family.
Williams is an ordained minister of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and was both associate and assistant
dean at Brite between 1978 and 1984.
“He has a number of credentials that moved us,”
said Larry J. Smith, chair of the presidential search
committee.
The search for a new Brite president lasted 15 months
and over 70 candidates were considered, Smith said. Williams
was chosen as president by a unanimous vote.
Williams and his wife, Rev. Sue McDougal, moved back to
Fort Worth this summer with their children, Mac, Coert
and Errett. |
|
|
|
|
Ty
Halasz/Staff Photographer
|
| D.
Newell Williams is officially installed Thursday
as the president of Brite Divinity School by Terry
Simmons, secretary of the Board of Trustees. |
|
|
