A special donation to the University of South Alabama will honor Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the French physician who devoted his life to serving humanity and was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.
The University has received an anonymous gift of $100,000 in the memory of Schweitzer.
The gift will be used to establish an endowed scholarship of $50,000 to be awarded annually to a USA College of Arts and Sciences major who exemplifies Schweitzer’s ideals of community service to the underserved. Additionally, $50,000 will go to the creation of an Albert Schweitzer Center and Group Study Room in the University Library.
“The University of South Alabama is pleased to have been chosen for this honor,” Dr. Joseph F. Busta Jr., vice president for development and alumni relations at USA, said. “We believe this gift will extend the philosophy and good work of Dr. Schweitzer through our ability to attract quality students and build a collection of scholarly works about his life, philosophy and times in which he lived.”
“We hope to acquire available first editions by and about Schweitzer in his many areas of expertise, such as philosophy, the humanities, music and, of course, medicine,” Dr. Richard Wood, senior librarian and dean of University Libraries, said. “And this is the first of what we hope are many such dedications in our library.”
The Schweitzer Center and Group Study Room will be located in the new $9 million renovation and expansion of the University Library, which is scheduled to be completed in early 2003.
Schweitzer, at the age of 30, aware of the desperate need of Africans for medical care, decided to become a medical doctor and dedicated his life to serving the African people and all humanity, being guided by his principle of “reverence for life.” In his last years, Schweitzer campaigned against nuclear energy and testing, and the nuclear arms race between the superpowers. Meanwhile, he continued to oversee the hospital he established in Lambarene, Gabon, Africa, until his death in 1965 at the age of 90.
For additional information on USA’s Albert Schweitzer Endowed Scholarship or Albert Schweitzer Center and Group Study Room, contact the USA Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (251) 460-7616.
