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September 17, 2009

Ernest J. Arnold of Columbus, NC passed away on September 17, 2009.

A native of Sylacauga, Alabama, Arnold graduated from PC in 1936. He then earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Yale University Divinity School. PC awarded Arnold an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1958. In 2002 PC honored him and his wife, Frances, as Presbyterian College Laureates for their contributions to campus and their concern for the education of PC students.

The Arnolds served on PC's Board of Visitors while acting as two-thirds of the board of the Russell Charitable Trust. Arnold, along with his wife, was also a member of the Wiliam Plumer Jacobs Society.

Arnold served as president of the Protestant Radio and Television Center, executive secretary of the North Carolina Council of Churches, executive director of the Southeastern Office of the National Council of Churches, and executive director of the television, radio, and audiovisuals department of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He also served as assistant to the president of Davidson College.

“Ernest Arnold loved his alma mater deeply and challenged us continually to achieve excellence in several key areas of our work,” said Dr. John V. Griffith, President of PC.

Over the years, Arnold worked closely with members of the PC faculty and administration in building the Russell Program in Media, Technology, and Society to a regional recognized program of distinction.

The program includes an annual Arnold Symposium and is grounded in the thesis that Presbyterian College has the obligation and the ability to create in its students and the broader community an awareness of and sensitivity to the effects that modern communications media have on themselves and their values.

“I believe his love of history, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the academy inspired him to undertake the upgrade of the Thomason Library and the addition of the Russell – Arnold Archive, one of the finest facilities in the region for an institution of our size and mission,” Griffith said. He was a “saint of PC.”

Memorials may be directed to the Russell Program or the Russell – Arnold Archive. The mailing address for Frances Arnold is: Tryon Estates, 615 Laurel Lake Dr., Unit A302, Columbus, NC 28722.