President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert, who spent time with Tutu during his 2003 visit to Elon and in South Africa in 2010 during a study abroad program in the country, offers his thoughts on the passing of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist.
Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who passed away on Sunday, Dec. 26, had a longstanding relationship with Elon. He visited Elon University in 2003 and delivered a Spring Convocation address titled “No Future Without Forgiveness.”
“We are all bound up together, and God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will help God realize God’s dream, that we belong in this family in which there are no outsiders – all are insiders,” Tutu told the crowd that day.
Tutu would continue to have an impact on Elon students, faculty and staff through Elon’s study abroad programs in his home country of South Africa.
Among those impacted was President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert, who with his wife, Laurie, again spent time with Tutu during a 2010 study abroad program led by Associate Professor Prudence Layne. Layne first met Tutu as an undergraduate and was inspired by him to create Elon’s South Africa study abroad program that would connect numerous members of the Elon community with him through the years. Read a column that Layne wrote about Tutu’s legacy here.
Lambert offers his thoughts on the life and impact of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the video and remembrance below.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s visit to Elon University in April 2003 was an important catalyst for the university taking a leadership role in the United States in furthering interfaith cooperation as a vital part of the institution’s mission.
Since his visit, the University has constructed a beautiful new interfaith center, the Numen Lumen Pavilion, named for the university motto, signifying intellectual and spiritual life.
The Numen Lumen Pavilion houses the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual
Life, endowed by 1944 Elon alumna Edna Truitt Noiles, which encourages students
“to explore their faith, and the faiths of others, and then to go into the world to
lead lives of reconciliation.” We drew significant inspiration from Archbishop Tutu’s vision of making St. George’s Cathedral in Capetown, South Africa, an active place of interfaith cooperation, peace, and resistance to the forces of evil in the world.
Most of all, we remember Arch as a friend and kind soul, joyful in interacting with American college students both on our campus in the United States and in Capetown. In both settings, we celebrated the Eucharist together, enjoyed food and laughter, and were inspired by his courage and humanity.
President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert