BOILING SPRINGS, NC - Business, political, and community leaders joined with Gardner-Webb students, faculty and staff today for the ceremonial shoveling of dirt, marking the groundbreaking for Frank Nanney Hall.

This 12,000 square foot building will be the new home for the Noel Program for Students with Disabilities as well as additional programs or departments yet to be determined. The building will consist of classroom space, production labs, testing centers and office space and will be located near the Lake Hollifield Complex and is expected to be finished by Summer 2008. This project was made possible by many generous donations including a substantial lead gift from Frank R. Nanney. “I think that helping people is one of the things God wants me to do and I think the Noel Program is truly about helping people,” said Nanney. “That is what I want to be remembered for at the University and in the community … assisting students with difficulties to get an education.”

Additional donors include the Dover Foundation, Cannon Foundation, ME Foundation and the Nanney Foundation. Contributions from Mailon and Ella Mae Nichols, Ray and Sara Starnes, and a major anonymous donor were also designated for this new facility. “It has been such an honor to be associated with all of the individuals who made this project possible. From hearing President Bonner's plan and passion for this concept to every donor's sacrificial and generous giving, I have witnessed the spirit of 'For God and Humanity' in a very real way,” noted Steve Varley, vice president for Development at Gardner-Webb.

Gardner-Webb has had a long history of reaching out to students with disabilities. In the 1950’s, Martha Mason attended Gardner-Webb (then a junior college) despite being confined to an iron lung. Many accommodations were made for Mason, including an intercom system that enabled Mason to be an active part of each class even though she was not physically in the classroom. Because of this opportunity provided to Mason, she was able to complete her degree at Gardner-Webb with high honors, and then go on to graduate with honors from Wake Forest University.

Since the 1950’s, Gardner-Webb’s disability services program has grown into the Noel Program for Students with Disabilities, which provides educational accommodations to more than 100 students with a full-time staff of nine disability specialists. The Noel Program now serves students with limitations ranging from partial to total blindness or deafness, to orthopedic challenges, to social or learning disabilities. “We ought to let people who have disabilities know that Gardner-Webb has a program like this and that Gardner-Webb wants people to come and further their education in spite of their difficulties,” added Nanney.

Frank R. Nanney is a Rutherford County native who spent nearly 50 years with Stonecutter Mills Corporation in Spindale, NC. He attends the Round Hill Baptist Church in Union Mills, NC where he has served as deacon, music leader, and Sunday school teacher and Church Trustee. Nanney has also served Gardner-Webb as a two-term trustee.

Gardner-Webb is still raising funds to assist with technology improvements for the Noel Program and naming opportunities are also available within the new building. More information on assisting with this project is available by contacting Steve Varley at 704-406-3251. For more information on the history of the Noel program, contact Cheryl Potter at 704-406-4271.