Jerry and Evon Jordan Hall Dedicated
The Administration Building on Pfeiffer鈥檚 Misenheimer campus was renamed Jerry and Evon Jordan Hall and dedicated during an outdoor ceremony on Nov. 4th. The ceremony, which was attended by the Jordans, their children, and University faculty, staff and students, honored the Jordan鈥檚 generosity to Pfeiffer.
鈥淲e appreciate all the people here today who took their time to come here on a Friday and be with us,鈥� Jerry Jordan said at the ceremony. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e all very special to us. We see a lot of faces out there that have meant so much to us over the years. We thank you for coming. We thank you for being here and sharing in what is truthfully a very, very special time.鈥�
Residents of Stanly County, Jerry and Evon Jordan care deeply about education and the local community. The Jerry and Evon Jordan School of Occupational Therapy Studies, in Albemarle, NC, honors their support in 2019 of Pfeiffer’s Center for Health Sciences.
The dedication鈥檚 speakers thanked the Jordans for their generosity and emphasized the many positives about the Pfeiffer experience that it has helped sustain.
Dr. Scott Bullard, University President, told several stories about how Jerry and Evon Jordan Hall is the site of many interactions at Pfeiffer that make a difference in the lives of its students. Bullard recalled that in the early days of his presidency, an alumnus of the early 1980s asked how he might help the university with a significant donation. The alumnus shared that Dr. Cameron West had stopped in the hallway, asked how he was faring, invited him into the president鈥檚 office, and ultimately made a phone call to lobby for his law school admittance.
鈥淚 said, 鈥楶hil, why do you want to make a gift?鈥欌�� Bullard said. 鈥淎nd he said, 鈥楤ecause someone stopped what they were doing for 10 minutes and changed the entire course of my life.鈥欌�� Bullard reminded the Jordan family and guests that these sorts of transformational moments happened long before the 1980s and that they continue to happen frequently.
Dr. Christopher Bramlett, Pfeiffer trustee emeritus and owner of Starnes Bramlett Jewelers, who spoke at the ceremony, is a long-time friend of Jerry Jordan.
鈥淛erry has been successful in everything he鈥檚 done,鈥� Bramlett said. 鈥淒uring all those years, though, I wasn鈥檛 really aware of his great generosity.鈥�
When Bramlett became part of a group tasked with raising money for building Pfeiffer鈥檚 Center for Health Sciences in downtown Albemarle, one of the first people he called was Jordan.
鈥淭he next day he brought me a check,鈥� Bramlett said. 鈥淎 couple of weeks later, Jerry Jordan brought a check for much more than the first one.鈥� The Jordans also gave Pfeiffer the property that serves as the University president’s home, as well as other gifts of real estate.
Roger Dick, a Pfeiffer trustee who is President and CEO of Uwharrie Capital Corporation, invoked Emily Prudden (1832-1917), who founded several schools in western North Carolina, including Oberlin Home and School, which eventually became Pfeiffer College. He said that the Jordans share and support Prudden鈥檚 鈥渉ope and vision that her schools would teach and develop students that would lead lives of useful service,鈥� an ideal upheld today by Pfeiffer. The University 鈥渋s continuing to fulfill her vision and mission by preparing our students for a lifetime of achievement, scholarship, spirituality and service, creating leaders for our future that are driven by worthy purpose, motivated to be servant leaders,鈥� Dick said.