Samford University’s newest residence facility bears the name of the late First Baptist Church, Jasper, member Barbara Drummond Thorne.
Construction of Thorne Hall, which was dedicated Feb. 13, was made possible in part by a generous bequest from the Barbara Drummond Thorne estate. In appreciation of Thorne’s service and generosity, the Samford board of trustees voted in 2012 to give her name to the first building completed in the West Village project.
Calling all residence halls a kind of monument to life, learning and friendship, Samford President Andrew Westmoreland noted that the new building is “also a memorial to a wonderful friend of Samford.”
Thorne was a member of Samford’s board from 2001 until her death in 2009.
“Think of the strangers who will meet here and become lifelong friends,” Westmoreland said. “Think of the food and the coffee and midnight conversations about God, human nature and the nature of the universe, free will and predestination, politics and poetry.
“[Thorne Hall] is a perfect reflection of Barbara’s concern for students and her work on the trustee committees on student life and university advancement,” he said.
Thorne’s daughter, Beth Stukes, a member of First, Jasper, and current Samford board of trustees member, gave the family’s response on behalf of her siblings: Larry Thorne and Becky Thorne Carroll, both of Auburn, and Babs Thorne Anderson of Tuscaloosa. Two grandsons, Jacob Thorne and Samford junior Patrick Carroll, pulled the cord that revealed their grandmother’s nameplate above the front entrance.
“We are grateful for the many relationships she had at Samford,” Stukes said of her mother, whose life, she said “exemplified the core values of Samford. This is a fitting tribute.”
Thorne, a Walker County native and a graduate of Auburn University, was devoted to helping young people excel. A member of the Alabama 4-H Foundation board of directors and an active community and church volunteer, she was an owner and member of the board of directors of Drummond Company, Inc.
Thorne Hall has about 34,600 square feet and can house up to 100 students in apartment-style living quarters. Each apartment has four private, single-person bedrooms, two bathrooms and a common living/kitchen area. One wing of the building is designated for men and the other wing for women.
The first new residence facility to open on the Samford campus since the early 1990s, it is part of a residential complex called West Village that eventually will include five buildings. Two other buildings are under construction and will open for the fall 2013 semester.
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