Seminary of the Southwest has announced the the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting event for the Bishop Dena A. Harrison Library and New Learning Complex will occur on September 13, 2023. In attendance will be many of the Forming Leaders at The Frontier: Campaign for Southwest supporters and leadership, including the Honorary Campaign Chair, the Most Rev. Michael Curry. Bishop Curry will preach at a service in Christ Chapel immediately following the ribbon cutting events.

“We are excited to gather to celebrate formally the opening of the Bishop Dena Harrison Library and new Teaching complex,” said the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Dean and President. “It is a great honor to welcome Bishop Curry and to give thanks for all those who made this extraordinary accomplishment possible.”

The new library and classroom buildings are the culmination of work that began in 2016 with the creation of a comprehensive Campus Master Plan. This work informed a feasibility study and subsequent capital campaign that raised the funds to build the $22.3 million dollar project. The visionary and indefatigable work of the Southwest leadership, faculty, and staff – much of it amidst the pandemic – has culminated in the unveiling of a new transformational facility which will begin hosting classes at the beginning of the Fall, 2023, semester.

Attendees at the Ribbon Cutting will include the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, the Rt. Rev. Kathryn Ryan, and the Rt. Rev. Dena Harrison for whom the library is named following a leadership gift to the building campaign from the Episcopal Foundation of Texas.

“Bishop Harrison is what I call ‘a go to bishop,’ someone you go to to get the job done, to navigate complex situations, to do it all as a follower of Jesus,” said Bishop Curry upon the announcement of the naming. “She embodies both deep faithfulness and real competence. I thank God for Bishop Dena Harrison!”

In addition to the ribbon cutting and service, a portrait of Bishop Harrison that will hang in the foyer of the new library will be unveiled, as well as self-guided tours of the building.

For more information, visit ssw.edu/grand-opening-for-harrison-library-and-new-learning-complex-set-for-fall/