Generosity of Westminster Alumnus Ensures Future of Annual Westminster Symposium

Westminster College President Dr. Barney Forsythe announced a substantial gift from alumnus David Hancock of Kansas City, MO today at the opening of the Westminster Symposium that will ensure the future of this prestigious Westminster event for generations of students to come.

Watch the entire announcement on our YouTube page here.

“I want to thank David Hancock on behalf of all of us who believe so strongly in this unique Westminster program for his level of financial commitment.  This gift will not only perpetuate our symposia but help us raise the standard for what the Symposium offers,” said President Forsythe.  “The Symposium embodies Westminster’s approach to integrative learning, focusing on topics of global significance.”

Generously involved in the support of the Westminster Symposium since its inception eight years ago, Hancock, Class of ’67, wants future Westminster students to be able to experience the high quality and focused global discussions that are the cornerstone of the Symposium.

“I have been extremely pleased to watch the way the Symposium has evolved and grown since it was first established and have been impressed with the international themes and interdisciplinary approach that has been taken,” says Hancock.  “I wanted to give back to the College in a way that would impact future Westminster students in a significant way and I believe making future Symposiums possible is the one of the best ways I could make that happen.”

Every year the entire Westminster community-faculty, staff and students-joins together for the Symposium.  Regular classes and work activity are suspended as the community shares two days of lectures, panel discussions and presentations by noted experts on one particular subject of global interest.  The public and media are also invited to attend.

Earnings from Hancock’s endowment will be used to support the operating expenses of the annual Symposium, which will now be known as the Hancock Symposium at Westminster College.

This year’s Symposium, “Global Sport: A Common Language in a Diverse World?” seeks to understand why global sport can be both a force for greatness and a cause for concern and how it impacts entire societies the world over.

The 2014 Hancock Symposium at Westminster, themed “You Say You Want a Revolution:  The Arts and Youth Culture,” will be held September 16-17, 2014.

Past Symposium global topics have included health, the environment, technology, religion, citizenship, global conflict and the Middle East.

Hancock serves as the Board Chairman of North American Savings Bank and Nor-Am Service Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of North American.

Hancock is a former Board of Trustee member for Westminster College and was an economics major and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity.  He also holds an MBA from the University of Missouri-Columbia.