I began teaching in Samford University’s Department of Religion and Philosophy in 1999. Six years later, as I prepared to teach a senior seminar on “sacred space,” I dived into the history and experience of Samford’s celebrated 1957 Georgian Colonial campus on Lakeshore Drive in Homewood, Alabama. Bill Nunnelley, Mary Wimberly, and others on the staff of Samford’s quarterly Seasons magazine graciously featured my thoughts in an article that fall. You can access it here.

I am preparing to speak on this topic at Homecoming on October 27, 2023 at 4 p.m. in Chapman 214 and again in an online forum as part of the Parents’ Program in February 2024. Much has changed about the campus, the scholarship on Shades Valley, and my own relationship to campus over the past 18 years. I’m eager to hear the opinions of anyone and everyoneabout Samford’s campus! Please comment on this post, email me directly at drbains@samford.edu, or complete this survey, to let me know your views and experiences of Samford’s campus architecture!

Many thanks,

David Bains