Grace College & Seminary is pleased to honor Dr. William Male’s numerous accomplishments as a faculty member and administrator at Grace, as well as for his recent, significant financial gift toward the purchase of the seminary building, by renaming the building the William Male Center for Seminary and Graduate Studies.

The building was formally named after Male during the Grace board meeting, held Friday, March 21.

The Males believe charitable giving should be a part of everyone’s life. Their varied interests and their desire to financially support some of those interests led them to the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, where the flexibility of their fund allows them to contribute to a wide range of organizations.

They became familiar with the Foundation early on, gradually increasing their involvement as the Foundation grew and its services expanded. The Males also wanted the joys of charitable giving to be more than just a part of their own lives and set up an advised fund so that upon their deaths, their daughters can continue the family tradition of donating money to worthy causes.

“We are proud to name our seminary building after Dr. Male,” said Bill Katip, president of Grace College & Seminary. “We have greatly benefited from his work here at Grace as well as his generous giving over many years.”

“Dr. and Mrs. Male have used the Community Foundation to accomplish their charitable giving since 1996,” said Suzie Light, executive director of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. “The grants they have advised from The Bill and Ella Male Charitable Fund have represented the values the Males hold dear. We are thrilled to help facilitate the most recent grant from their advised fund to Grace College for the purchase of a building to further Grace’s mission.”

In the 34 years he served Grace Schools, Dr. Male held a variety of teaching and administrative positions in the college and seminary, including twelve years as academic dean of the college, eleven years as dean of the seminary, and two years as the acting dean of the seminary’s west campus. For eight years, while serving as academic dean of the college, he worked on a Ph.D. degree at Indiana University, which was awarded in 1968. In 1971 he founded the first of the annual institutes for Christian school administrators and teachers, for which Grace has become internationally known in the Christian school movement.

After his retirement from his academic ministries at Grace, he served as a part-time planned giving officer for the school from 1989 through 1993.

During his years of service at Grace College and Seminary, Male also served as an interim pastor of a number of churches, including Grace Bible Church of Berne (which he helped establish), the Community Grace Brethren Church of Warsaw, the Grace Brethren Church of Fort Wayne, the Grace Brethren Church of Goshen, the Bethel Brethren Church of Berne, and the Milwood Chapel.

Dr. Male was a board member of the Brethren Missionary Herald Company from 1957 to 1996, served on the board of the Warsaw Christian School from 1960 to 1978, the Lakeland Christian Academy board from 1974 to 1983, and was one of the founding board members of the Association of Christian Schools International in 1978. In 1983, the ACSI board granted him the title of Board Member Emeritus.

At the annual meeting of the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers in July, 2009, he was honored with their “Lifetime Achievement” award.

Dr. Male and his wife, Ella, are currently full-time residents of Grace Village in Winona Lake. They prefer spending time with their scattered but close-knit family, including 17 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. The Males also enjoy good music and have fond memories of international travel, flying (Bill had a private pilot’s license), and living in Florida part-time after Male’s retirement from Grace in 1993.

“The world is a better place with people like William and Ella Male in it,” said Jeff Gill, vice president and dean of the seminary and the school of ministry studies.

Since 1968, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Inc. has brought caring people and charitable endeavors together for the good of the community. The Community Foundation is a public charity, and gifts made to the Foundation are tax-deductible. For more information about the Community Foundation, visit www.kcfoundation.org, call 574-267-1901, or visit the office at 102 E. Market St., Warsaw.