MACON — Millard Fuller, founder and former president of Habitat for Humanity International, and president of the Fuller Center for Housing, will speak at Mercer on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Mercer’s chapel service in Newton Hall on the Macon campus.
Fuller, a lifelong advocate for affordable housing, will address the theme of this year’s Chapel program, “Life Together: Building and Sustaining Community.”
“Millard Fuller is an ideal speaker for our chapel series this year,” said Dr. Craig McMahan, university minister and dean of the chapel. “His life’s work has been about building and sustaining community with his efforts to build affordable housing around the world through both Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing.”
After the Chapel service, Fuller will be signing his books in the Connell Student Center lobby and then address a Christianity class in the Fresh Food Company in Connell.
Under Fuller’s 29-year leadership, beginning in 1976, forged Habitat into a worldwide Christian housing ministry, building 200,000 homes with projects in 100 countries.
Fuller travels and speaks worldwide and has earned international recognition for his work advocating decent, affordable housing for all. In September 1996, former President Bill Clinton awarded Fuller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
In January of 2005, Fuller was forced out of Habitat. Rather than dwelling on the end of a career, Fuller immediately began planning for the next phase of his life’s work. In April 2005, he and his wife Linda and a group of like-minded partners founded the Fuller Center for Housing. This new organization provides a vehicle for Fuller to continue striving towards the goal of eliminating poverty housing.
Millard and Linda Fuller have been honored time and again by presidents, universities and civic organizations. Fuller holds more than 50 honorary doctorates for his leadership and progress toward eliminating poverty housing worldwide.
Fuller has written ten books about his life’s work. His most recent book, Building Materials for Life, Volume III, is a collection of inspirational essays.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has more than 7,500 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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