For over eight years the resident hall sitting at the bottom of the hill on the north side of campus has been filled with busy and energetic students. Traditions have formed, community has been fostered and the building has evoked a love in many students who spend time there.
Although the memories of the building are life-long, the name “North Hall” has always been temporary.
This summer, North Hall was given a new name in order to better honor longtime donors and friends of the John Brown University community.
Bill Hutcheson served as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees from 1996 to 2008, and was then named a Trustee Emeritus.
“Bill and Dede [Hutcheson] have never sought the spot light or recognition for their service to JBU,” said Andre Broquard, director of Resident Life. “They are sincerely humble, wanting only to celebrate the lives of JBU students. This summer the Advancement office asked Bill and Dede if JBU could honor them by putting their name on the building and they graciously accepted.”
Broquard hopes that the generosity and gracious spirit of the Hutchesons become a hallmark of the building and for the students who live there.
During the “All Hall” welcome back meeting on Wednesday, President Pollard told the residents of Hutcheson Hall that Bill and Dede Hutcheson wanted the building to be a place that students could call a home away from home.
The dorm then celebrated Bill and Dede’s generosity to campus and the name change of the building with cake and ice cream.
The staff of Hutcheson Hall adopted 2 Corinthians 5:17 as the theme verse for the building this year.
“Being careful to not take the verse out of context, it is a call to live a new life ‘in Christ.’ The grace that comes through Christ is available for us,” Broquard said. “The newness comes at the point of salvation, but it is also new every morning as we are continually renewed and refined to be more like Christ. I hope that those living in Hutcheson this year will live ‘in Christ’ and continue their transformation into Christ’s likeness.”