Faculty Center Groundbreaking To Celebrate New Baylor Community Space

May 10, 2007
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Baylor University will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the McMullen-Connally Faculty Center at 2 p.m. Friday, May 11, at the construction site on South Fifth Street between Speight and Bagby Avenues. A reception will follow immediately in the Ed Crenshaw Student Foundation Center.

Program participants in the groundbreaking ceremony will include the McMullen family of Bellaire, Texas; Baylor President John M. Lilley; Karin Gilliam, director of Baylor's Martin Museum of Art; John McClanahan, chair of Baylor's fine arts department and a member of the faculty planning committee; and Dianna Vitanza, associate professor of English and chair of the Faculty Senate.

The McMullen-Connally Faculty Center will provide faculty with a much-needed place to dine, host prospective faculty candidates and visiting speakers and accommodate faculty events. This on-campus facility will allow faculty members to network with one another while rejuvenating their energy and spirits so they can offer Baylor students the best possible education.

The two-story facility will offer daily dining services for up to 120 faculty in the main dining room and provide three small banquet rooms on the second floor for dinners or meetings. The facility also will include a faculty lounge area, library and full-service kitchen. The McMullen-Connally Family Collection, featuring significant artists from the California School of Watercolor, will further inspire visitors to the new 10,900-square-foot facility.

A generous gift from Faber McMullen and Roxanna Connally McMullen makes possible the construction of the new center. Faber received his bachelor of science degree in 1953 and his medical doctor degree in 1956 from Baylor, and Roxanna attended Baylor from 1950 until 1952. After enjoying Faber's successful career as a recognized cardiologist, the McMullens, whose lives were particularly touched by Dr. Cornelia Marschall Smith, wanted to honor Baylor's great teaching legacy by supporting current faculty.

Longtime supporters of the university, the McMullens also have contributed to the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professorship in Biology, Armstrong Browning Library and the Dr. and Mrs. Faber F. McMullen Endowment Fund.

The McMullens' philanthropy will advance Baylor 2012 imperatives such as attracting a world-class faculty and constructing aesthetically pleasing physical spaces on campus and will promote a stronger Baylor community among faculty members.

The event is open to the public. Parking will be available in the Speight Avenue Parking Garage. For more information on the event, please contact Kara Sikes at (254) 710-8418.