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The William W.
Fincher, Jr. Chair of the Visual Arts—Reinhardt’s first Endowed
Chair—has been awarded to Mr. T. Brett Mullinix. “I am extremely
honored to be awarded the position of Endowed Chair,” said
Mullinix. “On a personal level, it is very rewarding to have
this bestowed upon me, and it is definitely a peak
accomplishment. I have been teaching for over 15 years, and I
see the selection as a great endorsement of the work that is
being done here and a positive indicator that even better work
is to come in the future.”
“The William W.
Fincher, Jr. Chair of the Visual Arts is the first endowed
faculty chair at Reinhardt College,” explained Dr. J. Thomas
Isherwood. “The creation of this prestigious honor is a
testament to the quality of Reinhardt College and the generosity
of the Fincher family.”
Establishing Endowed Chair
In 1997, the late Senator William W. Fincher, Jr. – a
Cherokee County native – and his wife, Eunice, set up a
Charitable Remainder Unitrust, payable to Reinhardt following
their deaths. The Finchers’ daughters – Mary Jane Peterson,
Phyllis Parsons and Frances Hansford – decided to use the
trust’s earnings to establish the Fincher Chair. In addition,
the trust provides maintenance funds for the Fincher Visual Arts
Center, for which Mr. Fincher and his wife gave the naming gift
in 1997.
“Reinhardt was always a very important school for my father,”
said Peterson, the Finchers’ oldest of three daughters. “He
admired its goals as a Christian-based institution, and because
it’s a Methodist school – that was a very important part of his
love for Reinhardt. Father’s love of Reinhardt grew out of his
family’s involvement with the school over several generations.”
Long History Supporting Reinhardt
The ties between the Fincher family and the College are long
and strong. Mr. Fincher’s parents both attended Reinhardt. In
the late 1800s, Mr. Fincher’s paternal grandparents lived in the
area and all nine of their children received their education at
Reinhardt. During that time, Mr. Fincher’s maternal
grandparents, the Chambers, moved to Waleska so their 10
children could attend Reinhardt. In those days, Reinhardt taught
students from first grade through two years of college. Over the
years, many Fincher and Chambers descendants have attended
Reinhardt.
In the early
1970s, Mr. and Mrs. Fincher initiated another milestone for
Reinhardt – its first off-campus center. They asked that classes
be offered in Chatsworth, Ga., because they felt their community
would benefit from students earning their degrees close to home.
The College’s Chatsworth Center operated from 1975 though 1996
with many of its alumni becoming business, civic and educational
leaders.
“This College
has a wonderful history of families who have come forward with
support – the Finchers are such a family,” Reinhardt President
Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood said. “They have brought a legacy of
service and generosity to this College, and we are most
grateful. They understood what the Reinhardt experience meant to
our young people, and they chose to further it by supporting the
arts.”
Mullinix Background
Mullinix has been an art professor at the College for more
than nine years. He previously taught at High Point University,
Guilford College, Rowan Cabarrus Community College and the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Mullinix received
his Bachelor of Fine Arts and his Master of Fine Arts from UNC-
Greensboro. He resides in Canton, Ga., with his wife, Brenda.
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