Mount Vernon Nazarene University celebrated the ribbon-cutting of the Fairbanks Center for Global Engagement on Friday, 17 October 2025, honoring President Emeritus E. LeBron Fairbanks and former First Lady Anne Fairbanks, who served the University from 1989 to 2007.
The center serves as a hub for cross-cultural understanding and global service opportunities, advancing MVNU’s mission to shape lives through educating the whole person and cultivating Christlikeness for lifelong learning and service.
“This center stands as both a tribute and a testimony: a tribute to the Fairbanks’ faithful leadership, and a testimony to God’s ongoing faithfulness in shaping this community for His mission in the world,” said current MVNU President Carson Castleman during the dedication.
The center has achieved remarkable impact. Over 200 students have been deployed on 23 trips to 18 destinations. The center has secured $1,130,092 in endowment support from more than 100 donors.
The Fairbanks Center currently supports eight active Collaboratory projects, with partnerships spanning from Knox County, Ohio, to Milange, Mozambique. The Collaboratory continues to grow as a hub of innovation — linking classrooms to communities and producing creative, sustainable solutions with global reach.
During his presidency, Fairbanks pioneered MVNU’s first international study trip to Southeast Asia, expanded global missions opportunities, and helped launch the Church of the Nazarene’s work in Hungary. The Fairbanks’ also championed greater diversity on campus, establishing what is now the Office of Intercultural Life.
“Anne and I were elated when we heard the plans for Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Center for Global Engagement,” Fairbanks said at the dedication. “We shifted our MVNU endowment giving to support the development, sustainability, and global reach of the center. It was a dream come true.”
“The Fairbanks Center for Global Engagement creates and facilitates transformative global learning and service opportunities that enhance both student growth and the public good,” said Brenita Nicholas-Edwards, Director of the Fairbanks Center. “We are putting academics into action as we work with and learn from local experts to tackle significant issues in our own community and around the globe.”