Written by Steven Chandler
In order to help cover the cost of refurbishing the Benson Auditorium this summer, Harding has developed a new program to provide people with a way to sponsor a piece of the university for themselves. Similar to the campaign to pave campus with personalized bricks, chapel seat sponsorships are now being sold.
Refurbishing the Benson will cost around $380,000. All current seats will be reupholstered, and approximately 150 seats will be added. A personalized placard for any single seat will cost $100 to purchase. Selling every seat would nearly cover the projected cost to refurbish the Benson. According to Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Liz Howell, Dr. David Burks said he would like to sell every seat.
A gold plaque with black lettering will be placed on top of the purchased seat. Those who buy chapel seats will be able to choose what they want their plaque to say. Each plaque will contain three lines. The first line has space for 25 characters to inscribe lead-ins such as “In honor of” or “In memory of.” However, it is not limited to these phrases; any sentiment can be placed there. The second and third lines allow 21 and 25 characters, respectively. This allows for complete customization on each plaque.
“It’s always good to have an opportunity for people to recognize teachers and family members for their contribution to their college experience, so I feel like it is going to be very successful for us,” Liz Howell said.
Even though this project is just starting up and was developed to help defray the cost of the Benson renovations, the project has no end date. This will be an ongoing project, similar to the brick project. Currently, however, the price to buy a brick is $125, just a little more than the cost of a chapel seat.
Chapel seats are available for purchase now. Contact Liz Howell atlhowell@harding.eduto find out more about purchasing a chapel seat.
“The Benson is going to look so much better with the black and gold, getting rid of the orange,” Howell said. “It will be a nice facelift for the facility.”
