Trevecca to honor former professors during Homecoming 2018
Dr. H. Ray Dunning and Dr. Mildred Bangs Wynkoop left an indelible mark on Trevecca, and the University will honor their contributions by permanently renaming a street after Dunning and a sidewalk after Wynkoop.
On Nov. 2, the University will officially dedicate Dunning Drive and Wynkoop Way. Dunning Drive, formerly known as North Drive, runs between Lester Avenue and Alumni Drive. Wynkoop Way is the sidewalk that runs from North Drive toward Hart Street, providing access to Greathouse Science Building and the McClurkan Building.
The dedication will take place in Wakefield Auditorium, located in the Wakefield Fine Arts Building.
For Dr. Dan Boone, Trevecca president, the renaming of the streets is a way to honor theologians who played a role in shaping and forming him as a pastor and leader. The dedication, he says, is a “personal joy.”
“I was Dr. Wynkoop’s reading/grading assistant as a student at Trevecca. Her teaching delivered me from a sore legalism and enabled me to embrace holiness as love,” Boone said. “Dr. Dunning still lives in the back of my mind in each theological decision I make. I often tell friends that I owe the framework of my theology to him—and I am not alone in these experiences. I speak for a generation of students and pastors who have deep gratitude for these two mentors. I invite this generation to join us on the campus for Homecoming as we honor two great professors who shaped the rich theological tradition of Trevecca.”
Dr. Steve Hoskins, an associate professor or religion in Trevecca’s Millard Reed School of Theology and Christian Ministry, is also excited for the dedication, a move he says honors two “theological giants.”
“Dr. Dunning and Dr. Wynkoop were theological giants who accomplished much in their careers,” Hoskins said. “Dr. Dunning wrote more than 20 books which have been published in a number of languages are used in theology courses around the world. He served on the denominational book committee and helped to craft the article of faith on The Church that is still in [the Church of the Nazarene] Manual. [Dr. Wynkoop] was the first woman to teach theology in a Nazarene college and was the founding president of our seminary in Japan.
“Both of them served as president of the Wesleyan Theological Society,” he continued, “and their accomplishments are an important part of the Trevecca story.”
Dunning served as a professor of theology at Trevecca from 1964-1995. His systematic theology, Grace, Faith and Holiness, published in 1988, was the first Church of the Nazarene sanctioned text since H. Orton Wiley’s three volume set published in the 1940s. An event celebrating the book’s 30th anniversary is planned for Trevecca’s 2018 Homecoming celebration. Featuring Dunning and Trevecca religion professor Dr. Tim Gaines, the event is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Nov. 2 in Wakefield Auditorium. Trevecca’s Ray and C.R. Thrasher Archives is sponsoring the event.
Wynkoop spent a decade teaching at Trevecca, serving as a professor of theology and director of the department of missions from 1966-1976. Prior to teaching at Trevecca, Wynkoop served as a professor of theology at Western Evangelical Seminary (now George Fox Evangelical Seminary) and was the founding president of Japan Nazarene Theological Seminary. Her book, A Theology of Love, was published in 1972 and is often credited with reinterpreting Wesleyan theology for a new generation.
“Dr. Wynkoop’s major work, A Theology of Love, started a revolution in Wesleyan-Holiness theology when it was published in 1972,” Hoskins said. “Her reinterpretation of the dynamics of theology reinvigorated the meaning of John Wesley’s ideal of perfect love and her book continues to inspire new generations of Wesleyan-Holiness thinkers.”
Wynkoop passed away in 1997. Dunning, now in his 90s, will attend the dedication and participate in an author talk and book signing.
Both Wynkoop Way and Dunning Drive will be dedicated in a ceremony on Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. in Wakefield Auditorium. Learn more about this year’s Homecoming schedule at www.trevecca.edu/homecoming.
Media contact: Mandy Crow, mmcrow@trevecca.edu, 615-248-1695