Long Time Supporter of Milligan College Donates Money for Art on Campus

MILLIGAN COLLEGE - In December 2008, Mary Hulton Phillips, a long time supporter of Milligan College, donated money with the specific purpose to have art placed on campus.

            Mrs. Phillips, the aunt to Milligan’s first lady, Clarinda Jeanes, has had a long family history of supporting Milligan College. Vice President for Institutional Advancement Bill Greer, Ph.D. said, “The Phillips family of Butler, Pennsylvania, has had a long relationship with the college going back many decades.  They have supported the college financially for many years.”

            Greer also added, “She donated money for art because it was in keeping with her wishes to support Milligan as well as the arts.  She very much appreciated art and the way it can enhance buildings and landscapes.”

            The piece that stands in front of Derthick, “Milligan College Celtic Cross,” was commissioned in March 2010 and was completed by the Fourth of July.  The cross stands almost 18 feet tall and weighs about 8,000.  The artist chose the location himself.

            The Celtic cross was chosen because it coincides with the theme that Milligan has chosen for their logo.

            Mrs. Phillips passed away in January 2009, just six weeks after she donated the money for art. She was a generous supporter of the arts in Butler where she resided at the time of her death and had a large personal art collection.

            Stefan Bonitz, the sculpture who created the large steel cross, is from Ashville, NC.  President Jeanes discovered him while he was visiting Ashville.  “We [President Jeanes and his wife Clarinda] found him in Ashville where he had a booth set up and saw that he had done a cross before, just not quite as large as what we had in mind.” 

            Bonitz also completed the art piece that stands in front of the Wellness center.  The piece is called “Thick Geometric Stack” and was placed in front of the Wellness Center in memory of Tom Hornsby by his friends and family.  Hornsby was an adjunct professor of leadership at Milligan and a retiree from Eastman.

            Mrs. Phillips donation will also be used for more art on campus in the next few months.

This article was written for Multimedia Journalism