04 Jun 2012 CBC meets Mabee Challenge Grant

Central Baptist College President Terry Kimbrow announced this week that the college has met and exceeded the $8.6 million challenge goal presented by The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, Inc. of Tulsa, qualifying CBC for a $750,000 grant from the Foundation.

The deadline for meeting the challenge was July 13. CBC met the goal six weeks early as it was officially announced to the CBC Board of Directors at their June 1 meeting.

“We are thrilled to have met this challenge,” said Kimbrow. “This grant, along with the additional funds raised, will allow us to continue to expand the campus for future growth. We are deeply grateful to the Mabee Foundation for their continued investment in CBC’s future.”

The challenge grant will be used to help fund the construction of the 38,000-square-foot David T. Watkins Academic Building and to renovate and expand the administration building and J.E. Cobb Library. These two projects are the first of 10 major construction projects in Vision 2020:  A Miracle in the Making – a plan to complete 10 major projects in the next 10 years to accommodate an enrollment of 2020 students.

Though not required by the Mabee Foundation, the second floor of the David T. Watkins Academic Building will be named in recognition of the Foundation’s continued support. Central Baptist College has received three other grants from the Mabee Foundation, the last one for $250,000 in 1996 during the successful capital campaign that raised money to build the Mabee Student Services Complex. “We have long enjoyed a great partnership with the Foundation,” said Kimbrow. “Their continued financial support through this challenge grant is a great encouragement to our other financial donors.”

The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, Inc. was formed in 1948 by John E. Mabee and his wife, Lottie E. Mabee, with its office in Tulsa. The purposes of the Foundation are to aid Christian religious organizations, charitable organizations, institutions of higher learning, hospitals and other organizations of a general charitable nature.

Construction on the David T. Watkins Academic Building is under way and is expected to be completed in time for the fall 2012 semester. The library renovation and expansion will follow immediately and will more than double the library floor space.

Central Baptist College is a four-year, private, liberal arts college founded in 1952 by the Baptist Missionary Association of Arkansas. CBC set a record enrollment last fall with 858 students and enjoyed the highest percentage of enrollment growth of all the institutions of higher education in the state of Arkansas, public or private.

For information about the college, visit cbc.edu.