Cutting the ribbon at the dedication of the Lockie and Augustus Chinworth Center are (second and third from left)
Mary Schallert and Jim Chinworth, two children of the late Herb ’42 and Arlene Chinworth. At far left is Dave Haist ’73
and at far right are President Dave McFadden ’82 and Princess Graham, president of MU’s Student Senate.
Herb Chinworth ’42c named the Lockie and Augustus Chinworth Center to honor his parents. It was Lockie, though, who took center stage in remarks by her grandson, Jim Chinworth, at the building’s dedication Oct. 11.
“Her name is first on the building,” he said, “not in deference to the chivalrous practice of ‘ladies first,’ but because it was she who most embodied the liberal arts spirit.”
Lockie Chinworth was a 37-year-old teacher when she enrolled at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa. She earned her post-graduate degree at age 40 and opened a practice in Kosciusko County in 1923. She continued that work for 47 years, said Jim, “because she wanted to help people the way she had been helped."
“With an eye on the larger community,” he added, “(Lockie) paid attention to her own experience, to her ability and her convictions, and with more than a little courage, acted on them.”
The Arthur L. Gilbert College of Business is housed on the second floor of the new Chinworth Center. “For Art, it was always about students first,” said Dave Haist ’73, trustee emeritus and retired chief operating officer of Do It Best Corp.
“Art took hours and hours to mentor me, to challenge me, to motivate me, to encourage me,” Haist said of the professor emeritus, who died in June. “Any success I’ve had is the direct result of the teaching and the commitment of Professor Gilbert, Dr. (Richard) Harshbarger and many other Manchester teachers that graciously gave to me,” Haist said.
Gilbert, a 1953 Manchester graduate who taught accounting at Manchester from 1958 to 1998, “instilled in us faith, humility and he encouraged us day after day,” added Haist. “He really changed our lives.”
President Dave McFadden ’82 reminded those at the ceremony that Herb Chinworth’s generous gift of more than $5 million not only honored Lockie and Augustus Chinworth but also “reflected his commitment to Manchester and to learning. We have worked hard to breathe life into his gift and his vision.”
Jim Chinworth, retired associate pastor of Manchester Church of the Brethren, concurred. “May God bless Manchester University in its continued pursuit of serving here in northeast Indiana, carrying out the high calling of educating students, shaping students and, maybe more importantly, inspiring students to a life of integrity and service to the greater good.”
By Melinda Lantz ’81