Eleanor F. Terry:
A Legacy of Leadership 
by Noel Forlini

Leadership is not about a certain set of characteristics, but rather a certain kind of character. These leaders of character come in all shapes and sizes. Some are born with intrinsic qualities that all but cry for them to lead. For others, the simple idea of leadership takes some coaxing. Running from every flicker of spotlight, these leaders must develop their skills over a long period of time and gradually slip into leadership roles. Whatever the process, every successful leader has character and passion that enables their success. And for Eleanor Foster Terry, Christian women's leadership was entirely about character.

Born and reared in rural Mississippi, Eleanor's leadership began in the church. It was there that she honed important skills that would serve her in later life. One of those was her passion for the work that she did. Translating that passion into both a bachelor's and master's degree in English, Eleanor received the highest academic honor from Mississippi College. She also earned a doctor of philosophy degree in higher and adult education administration from the University of Missouri at Columbia. These experiences with higher education only furthered the passion she had for leadership. This passion found its expression most eloquently in the leadership she modeled for young women she met along the way.

At her core, Eleanor was a teacher, one who left traces of leadership within the women she mentored. Daughter Jean Terry Cullen recalled, "My earliest memories of my mother in the church are of her in leadership positions. She taught Sunday School, led conferences at Baptist retreats, spoke around the state in which we lived, and served as outreach director. She went on to develop leadership programs such as the Freshman Emerging Leaders program at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. My mom stood for the best and brightest of what a Christian woman should be."

In each of these positions, Eleanor expressed her heart for Christian women's leadership. "The essence of my mother's heart was her faith in Christ and the church, and she rejoiced in Christian women's leadership. Whether my mother was working in the church or serving in a secular position, she always turned her tasks into ministry, always being a Christian woman in leadership," Cullen said.

For Eleanor, part of being a Christian woman in leadership was using feminine qualities that enhanced leadership. During the latter years of her professional life, she showed by her dress, demeanor, and decor that it was OK to be a woman in the professional world. Eleanor also utilized feminine gifts such as relationship building in her work as well as her home. It was important to Eleanor that people felt comfortable in her home and around her table, which is why she cooked traditional southern food, an invitation to comfort and familiarity. Her home was also a place of shelter, modeled in her favorite verse: "I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help" (Psalm 121:1). This is also Cullen's favorite Bible verse, a shared jewel she discovered long after her mother's untimely death in 1998.

While Eleanor and husband, Bob, were attending a meeting of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) in South Africa, an oncoming car ran a red light and struck the Terrys' taxi three blocks from their hotel. Both were thrown from the car, and on July 20, 1998, Eleanor died from complications sustained in the accident. The tragedy sent an outpouring of sympathy and gratitude from the women whose lives she touched.

"One of my great treasures is the stack of letters I have received from her former students and co-workers not only expressing their condolences, but also articulating how my mother truly touched their lives by extending a hand of mercy and love by ministering to them," Cullen stated. This tangible expression of her mother's place in the world carried with it a weight Cullen never thought possible. Serving as a catalyst for sustained Christian women's leadership, Eleanor's life reflected her hope for future generations. After she died, Bob seized an opportunity to carry that hope into the future by later making a major contribution in her honor to a new program that was beginning to take shape. That program was what is now called the Christian Women's Leadership Center (CWLC).

During that time, WMU had already been talking to Samford University about starting a new program called Christianity, Women, and Leadership Studies #40CWLS). The program was to combine the best teachings, both spiritual and academic, to an emerging generation of female leaders. Through study and training, the program hoped to prepare women in a Christian context for their roles in vocation, churches, denominational positions, social institutions, government, and the general marketplace. Before her death, Eleanor had talked about the program and was excited to see the possibilities and the weight it would one day bring to many Christian women across the spectrum.

"A 'graduate' of GA and Acteens and a former missions volunteer, my mother both appreciated and admired Woman's Missionary Union. As an educator, she believed and modeled how education was the door to opportunity and growth and how continued education was possible in every season of life. The combination of Woman's Missionary Union and a higher education institution the quality of Samford University was exciting for her. She saw so much potential and even spoke of ideas she had for the program," Cullen said. Eleanor's passion for Christian women's leadership, coupled with this exciting new endeavor, convinced Bob Terry, editor of The Alabama Baptist, that an endowment to support the program would be fitting. His generous contribution, when combined with 85 additional gifts, established the Dr. Eleanor Foster Terry Endowment and set the CWLC in motion.

When thinking about the program, Terry noted, "The Christian Women's Leadership Center combines the two emphases that were so much a part of Eleanor. She would be honored and pleased to be associated with helping women prepare for Christian leadership through education and training. She would be equally pleased to be associated with the creative partnership of two outstanding institutions, Woman's Missionary Union and Samford University, in accomplishing these goals."

Once funding was in place, WMU and Samford began conducting a search to find a director for the program. They found that person in Carol Ann Vaughn, professor at Judson College and Huntsville native. Vaughn, whose background is in history, saw the transition to Samford as a chance to transform the thinking and leadership skills of young women for their good, as well as the good of the community as a whole. In the fall of 2000, she began work as the director of the CWLC. Five years later, the program continues to flourish. "People across the campus have worked very hard and very collegially in the past five years to create a new entity from scratch, so to speak, that is interdisciplinary and unique," Vaughn explained. "I focus on our mission statement to determine and measure our success. Growth is not always something measured quantitatively when we're discussing individuals' lives. But as far as numbers go, we're actually doing quite well in terms of new students, a steadily increasing endowment, increased numbers of supporters and donors on record, etc. But I measure our success by how well we're serving our constituents—students and community."

Currently the CWLC supports its constituents by offering a complete 20-credit academic minor that spans many different areas of study. The CWLC has offered several small-group discussions in the past called cadres, all geared to deepen understanding issues affecting women and spirituality. The center also provides outside lectureship opportunities that expand and engage thinking more fully in matters of intellectual, spiritual, and social interest. This spring the CWLC hosted an Eating Disorders Awareness Forum (EDAW) in conjunction with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, where students could share past struggles and triumphs with accepting their bodies. This year also marked the beginning of the Marie NeSmith Fowler Lectureship, an endowment that brings noted guest speakers to Samford to discuss women's issues. Stephanie Paulsell, professor at Harvard Divinity School and author of the book, Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice, was the inaugural lecturer. "It is appropriate that the inaugural lecture bearing [Fowler's] name [addressed] issues of health and wholeness in leadership and that the lecturer is an outstanding scholar on the subject," Vaughn said. Paulsell's lecture was delivered to a chapel filled with supporters from WMU, the Samford community, and others.

And while opportunities for growth and visibility continue to increase, Vaughn's passion, like Eleanor's, is still focused on her students. When asked what her personal highlights of developing the center were, Vaughn responded, "Students, students, students. Witnessing the original thinking and productive discussions of these students as they work through and work out various issues intellectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually is very rewarding." Through Vaughn and her students, Eleanor's original vision and hope for the center stays alive. These words of appreciation, uttered by various CWLS students past and present, represent Eleanor's heart through generations to come.

I have found that I've become much more confident in the leadership position due to a better understanding of what leadership encompasses. In addition, I've gained a higher degree of my own self-worth, much of which is due to the inclusive, supportive network of women.

I find myself thinking on my own and embracing my own opinions rather than just leaving it up to someone else. The minor is giving me a deeper understanding of who I am as a woman, and more importantly, who I am as a leader in the eyes of God.

The CWLC is unlike any other organization on campus. Its true benefit to Samford is in the unseen changes that are wrought within the women involved. I can say without hesitation that my involvement in the CWLC has been the most consistent, constant form of support and affirmation I have ever had.

These simple expressions of gratitude model the importance of the CWLC, as well as Eleanor Terry, whose life reflected so many of its ideals. "Years and years from now, very few people will know who Eleanor Terry was. However, her values and goals find life and breath in the dream, planning, and implementation of this program," Cullen said gratefully. "To have a program dedicated to the development of Christian women's leadership is to validate that Christian women have both the calling and the character to lead."

Eleanor Terry, whose own life transformed the lives of so many others, would have agreed.