MVNU dedicates Fairbanks Center for Global Engagement in honor of former president and first lady

Mount Vernon Nazarene University celebrated the ribbon-cutting of the Fairbanks Center for Global Engagement on Friday, Oct. 17, honoring President Emeritus Dr. E. LeBron Fairbanks and former First Lady Dr. Anne Fairbanks, who served the university from 1989 to 2007.

The center serves as a hub for cross-cultural understanding and global service opportunities, advancing MVNU’s mission to shape lives through educating the whole person and cultivating Christlikeness for lifelong learning and service.

“This center stands as both a tribute and a testimony: a tribute to the Fairbanks’ faithful leadership, and a testimony to God’s ongoing faithfulness in shaping this community for His mission in the world,” said MVNU President Dr. Carson Castleman during the dedication.

Since its launch, the center has achieved remarkable impact. Over 200 students have been deployed alongside 44 faculty and staff leaders on 23 trips to 18 destinations. The center has secured $1,130,092 in endowment support from more than 100 donors and placed nearly 250 students in community-engaged learning initiatives with 22-plus partner organizations. Of participating students, 80 percent reported their service made meaningful contributions, while 90 percent gained better understanding of community needs.

The Fairbanks Center currently supports eight active collaboratory projects, with partnerships spanning from Knox County, Ohio, to Milange, Mozambique. The Collaboratory continues to grow as a hub of innovation — linking classrooms to communities and producing creative, sustainable solutions with global reach. The center recently awarded its first Bridge Scholarship; developed new on-location courses, including one in Morocco; and is planning a historic first FaithWorks trip to Spain.

Vision Realized

During his presidency, Fairbanks pioneered MVNU’s first international study trip to Southeast Asia, expanded global mission opportunities, and helped launch the Church of the Nazarene’s work in Hungary. The Fairbanks also championed greater diversity on campus, establishing what is now the Office of Intercultural Life.

“Anne and I were elated when we heard the plans for Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Center for Global Engagement,” Fairbanks said at the dedication. “We shifted our MVNU endowment giving to support the development, sustainability, and global reach of the center. It was a dream come true.”

Reflecting on that legacy, Dr. Brenita Nicholas-Edwards, director of the Fairbanks Center, shared, “The Fairbanks Center for Global Engagement creates and facilitates transformative global learning and service opportunities that enhance both student growth and the public good. … We are putting academics into action as we work with and learn from local experts to tackle significant issues in our own community and around the globe.”

The center’s mission reflects Fairbanks’ 1989 vision to enable the campus community to “think more globally, live more simply, love more deeply, and give more generously.”

Three Strategic Pillars

The center operates through on-campus engagement, off-campus engagement, and the Vazquez Family Collaboratory. Monthly Global Spotlight events have shown remarkable impact, with 86 percent of participants reporting increased interest in global learning. At September’s Latin America Spotlight, which drew over 300 attendees, 92 percent tried new foods and 85 percent learned something new about the region.

Off-campus programs include on-location courses, study abroad opportunities, and FaithWorks service trips, with over 80 percent of participating students reporting growth in their faith and calling.

The Fairbanks Center collaborates with the Global Church of the Nazarene in Mozambique, Kenya, the Philippines, and Guatemala, as well as the Appalachia Reach-Out Community Initiative in Eastern Kentucky and Nazarene Global Missions partners worldwide.

Looking ahead, MVNU is planning Phases Two and Three of the center’s expansion, including an “Academy for Global Learning and Praxis.” The center also recently launched a second vocation-focused general education course, further integrating service-learning into the curriculum.

The Fairbanks Center for Global Engagement embodies MVNU’s motto, established by founding president Dr. Stephen Nease in 1969: “To Seek to Learn Is to Seek to Serve,” ensuring students engage their heads, hearts, and hands in ways that honor Christ and serve the common good.

For more about the Fairbanks Center, visit http://mvnu.edu/fcge.