The P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library and Milligan College Archives and Special Collections is especially pleased during this 2014 Homecoming season to present an exhibit entitled Celebrating Robert Milligan’s 200th Year. Robert Milligan, whose name graces our college, was born on July 25, 1814. He was a preacher, author, teacher and professor, influencing many with his scholarship on Christian reform.
Josephus Hopwood (1843-1935) was a student at the College of the Bible in Lexington, Kentucky, where he studied under Professor Robert Milligan. In 1875, Josephus and his wife, Sarah, served as administrators at the Buffalo Male and Female Institute. In 1881, Hopwood chose to rename the school Milligan College, after his beloved professor.
The exhibit, displaying photographs, manuscripts, and publications of Robert Milligan’s personal and professional life, has been curated by Lindsay Kenderes, Information Resources Librarian and College Archivist. The exhibit can be viewed at the back of the main floor of the Library during open hours. Many of the items in the exhibit are from the Robert Milligan Research Collection, donated by Clinton J. (Class of 1995) and Adele M. (Class of 1996) Holloway.
Accompanying the Robert Milligan exhibit is a book reading and signing by Clint Holloway, author of He Still Speaks: A Literary Biography of Robert Milligan (2014). Clint wrote his book out of a sense that there was a need for people to know more about this man. “Who was this person of whom it was said he was the ‘best and purist man I have ever known,’ and who so clearly exemplified the Christian liberal arts?”
Holloway identifies four themes in which he believes Robert Milligan “still speaks” to us today: He was a ‘servant leader’ long before that term entered into common parlance; he was a champion of the Bible; he was irenic (a peacemaker) in the face of many large egos in the movement; and he was a defender of the under-represented in the church.
Clint will be reading from his book in the Library (main floor) on Saturday, October 25 at 2:30 p.m. Following, he will be making his book available for sale ($10, $5 for students) and he will be on hand to autograph copies. Light refreshments will be served.