EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College will host its annual Founders Day Convocation on Friday, Feb. 3 beginning at 4 p.m. at Becker Auditorium inside the Donald B. Cerf Center. Dr. D. Newell Williams, President of Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, will serve as guest speaker at the event.
Eureka College was incorporated on Feb. 6, 1855, by an act of the Illinois Legislature. The founding date coincides with the birth date of the college’s most famous alumnus, Ronald Reagan, who graduated in 1932. The College was founded by members of the Christian Church and is among 17 colleges and universities affiliated with the church.
Dr. Williams has served as President and Professor of Modern and American Church History of Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University since 2003. He holds a Ph.D. (1979) and M.A. (1975) from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. from University of Tulsa (1971). He previously served Brite as Assistant Professor of Church History and as Assistant from 1978 until 1983 and later as Associate Dean from 1983 through 1984. From 1984 until 2003, Dr. Williams taught at Christian Theological Seminary, where he served as Vice President and Dean from 1992 through 1998.
Additionally, Dr. Williams is an Ordained Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is also a member of the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History, the Association of Disciples for Theological Discussion and the Stone-Campbell Dialogue.
For more information about Founders Day Convocation, email or call Chaplain Bruce Fowlkes at (309) 467-6429.