Page 78 - UB Church and Shen Univ
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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
personnel on the staff that led to more litigation, and trustee concerns with direction and leadership of
the program offerings caused a major shift in the foundation’s operation.
A compromise solution among trustees brought about a major gift to an Ohio institution and a
major gift to Shenandoah University to create an endowed chair in Monetary Studies and a scholarship
program as part of the University’s Durell Institute. The Foundation ceased operating actual programs
but decided to make grants to achieve the purposes outlined in the estate documents. The gift to the
University for this work totaled more than $7 million over a designated period of time. In the meantime,
the careful investment of Foundation funds with William Blair, Inc., had grown the initial corpus to
more than $30 million while making grants annually that exceeded $1.5 million. With the retirement of
Elizabeth Racer from the Foundation and the debilitating stroke that led to the death of Al Smith, the
new trustees voted to move the Foundation to Ohio and ended the involvement of the university
president and any philanthropy by the Institute in Virginia. The Durell funds have benefitted many
students with scholarships and helped to educate many audiences with programs on the monetary
system, and Shenandoah University continues to hold an endowed chair and scholarships that are related
to the Durell endowment and has portraits and furniture from the former Institute in the library
conference room named for Mr. Durell.
Local History Project and McCormick Civil War Institute. The Civil War has always held a
prominent place in the hearts and minds of people in the Shenandoah Valley. Early in the 1980s the
president and Dr. Brandon Beck, a historian at the University, worked together to highlight the
importance of the battlefields and war heritage in the region. The president had completed a study of a
Civil War regiment throughout the war years as part of his master’s degree work, and the study had been
published as a book. Dr. Beck and a psychologist, Dr. Charles Grunder, published articles on the battles
in the Winchester/Frederick County/Shenandoah County area. For 20 years Dr. Beck taught a summer
Civil War Seminar that provided educational tours to actual battlefield sites. A local citizen and
attorney, Hugh McCormick, became interested in the program and provided endowment funds to help
support the initiative. The McCormick Institute faded as Dr. Beck retired and Mr. McCormick passed
away, but this work was important among the many initiatives that helped to preserve local battlefields
such as for the three Battles of Winchester, two Battles of Kernstown, and the Battle of Cedar Creek.
Also, Dr. Beck’s work was helpful in the creation of the University’s History and Tourism program that
now operates in the Davis Building on Pleasant Valley Road, in the formation of the new National Civil
War Park in the Shenandoah Valley, and the formation of the Battlefield Foundation.
Blue Ridge Institute on Environmental Studies. The University created the Blue Ridge
Institute on Environmental Studies as an outgrowth of scholarship by Dr. Woody Bousquet in
environmental studies. He received several grants that funded his professional and student research on
field biology, stream cleanups, and water quality on the Shenandoah River. Dr. John Jacobs created the
Willa Cather Institute as a way to honor the tradition found in the writing of Willa Cather. This famous
writer had her roots in Frederick County, and annually Dr. Jacobs did programming that allowed
scholars and local citizens to learn of her literary works. Dr. Warren Hofstra worked for more than
30 years to create the Local History Project that provided scholarship, books, seminars, and student
projects on local history of the Shenandoah Valley. His advisory group worked diligently each year to
honor local history advocates and scholars in the region. His own published works are recognized
nationally, and the support of Stewart Bell, former mayor and local historian, furthered Dr. Hofstra’s
work with financial support, including the creation of the Stewart Bell Chair in History.
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 68
personnel on the staff that led to more litigation, and trustee concerns with direction and leadership of
the program offerings caused a major shift in the foundation’s operation.
A compromise solution among trustees brought about a major gift to an Ohio institution and a
major gift to Shenandoah University to create an endowed chair in Monetary Studies and a scholarship
program as part of the University’s Durell Institute. The Foundation ceased operating actual programs
but decided to make grants to achieve the purposes outlined in the estate documents. The gift to the
University for this work totaled more than $7 million over a designated period of time. In the meantime,
the careful investment of Foundation funds with William Blair, Inc., had grown the initial corpus to
more than $30 million while making grants annually that exceeded $1.5 million. With the retirement of
Elizabeth Racer from the Foundation and the debilitating stroke that led to the death of Al Smith, the
new trustees voted to move the Foundation to Ohio and ended the involvement of the university
president and any philanthropy by the Institute in Virginia. The Durell funds have benefitted many
students with scholarships and helped to educate many audiences with programs on the monetary
system, and Shenandoah University continues to hold an endowed chair and scholarships that are related
to the Durell endowment and has portraits and furniture from the former Institute in the library
conference room named for Mr. Durell.
Local History Project and McCormick Civil War Institute. The Civil War has always held a
prominent place in the hearts and minds of people in the Shenandoah Valley. Early in the 1980s the
president and Dr. Brandon Beck, a historian at the University, worked together to highlight the
importance of the battlefields and war heritage in the region. The president had completed a study of a
Civil War regiment throughout the war years as part of his master’s degree work, and the study had been
published as a book. Dr. Beck and a psychologist, Dr. Charles Grunder, published articles on the battles
in the Winchester/Frederick County/Shenandoah County area. For 20 years Dr. Beck taught a summer
Civil War Seminar that provided educational tours to actual battlefield sites. A local citizen and
attorney, Hugh McCormick, became interested in the program and provided endowment funds to help
support the initiative. The McCormick Institute faded as Dr. Beck retired and Mr. McCormick passed
away, but this work was important among the many initiatives that helped to preserve local battlefields
such as for the three Battles of Winchester, two Battles of Kernstown, and the Battle of Cedar Creek.
Also, Dr. Beck’s work was helpful in the creation of the University’s History and Tourism program that
now operates in the Davis Building on Pleasant Valley Road, in the formation of the new National Civil
War Park in the Shenandoah Valley, and the formation of the Battlefield Foundation.
Blue Ridge Institute on Environmental Studies. The University created the Blue Ridge
Institute on Environmental Studies as an outgrowth of scholarship by Dr. Woody Bousquet in
environmental studies. He received several grants that funded his professional and student research on
field biology, stream cleanups, and water quality on the Shenandoah River. Dr. John Jacobs created the
Willa Cather Institute as a way to honor the tradition found in the writing of Willa Cather. This famous
writer had her roots in Frederick County, and annually Dr. Jacobs did programming that allowed
scholars and local citizens to learn of her literary works. Dr. Warren Hofstra worked for more than
30 years to create the Local History Project that provided scholarship, books, seminars, and student
projects on local history of the Shenandoah Valley. His advisory group worked diligently each year to
honor local history advocates and scholars in the region. His own published works are recognized
nationally, and the support of Stewart Bell, former mayor and local historian, furthered Dr. Hofstra’s
work with financial support, including the creation of the Stewart Bell Chair in History.
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 68
