DBU Report Winter 2020-2021 - Page 17

WINTER 2020–2021 17 Jane and Robert Gunn Hall, named in gratitude for a generous lead gift toward Phase II, continues the expansion of DBU’s first-ever Residential College. Robert and Jane Gunn, Austin area residents and members of Hyde Park Baptist Church, have been faithful friends of the University for several years. Robert currently serves on the DBU Board of Trustees, and Jane is an active member of the DBU Women’s Auxiliary Board. DBU Alumni Eric Martinez, with J&A Masonry, and Josh Causey of C&B Electric contributed to the construction of Gunn Hall. The Gunn Hall Global Scholars Program was established to equip students in leadership development, faith integration, and global vision. As an integral part of Ford Village, the main goal is servant leadership development, but the program is specifically geared towards knowledge and appreciation of global cultures. “The vision of this program is that students would not only take their vocations internationally, whether business, medicine, education, or missions, but would also engage diverse cultures here in America,” says Shelby Weatherly, who serves as the Director of Gunn Hall. Similar to Pedersen Residential College, residents participate in weekly meal times, monthly speaker nights, and one-on-one mentorship. Under the supervision of Weatherly, each house discusses a curriculum together, and additionally, house mentors and residents go through a book together if desired. Unique to this program, Gunn Hall also partners each house with an international student organization each semester to engage in cross-cultural experiences through sharing of a fellowship meal and a time of discussion and reflection. “I know countless amounts of prayer have gone into Gunn Hall,” says Weatherly. “On our first Ford Village event of the year, Dr. Wright led the residents in prayer. He mentioned how around that time last year, they were praying for the funds for the next phase of Ford Village and who would lead it. I was in Spain at the time, teaching English and serving as a missionary. No one at the time knew what would come to be, but the Lord knew and He was working. It gives me so much hope in the Lord’s sovereignty and makes me so excited to think of all that the Lord is going to do through the residents in this program. I’m humbled to be a part of it all.” A GLOBAL VISION AT GUNN HALL Jane and Robert Gunn