Dan and Ruth Ellen Stone have always been interested in Africa, missionaries, and mission projects of the church. Ruth Ellen was associate council director of the former North Indiana Annual Conference when she first learned of the denomination's plan to build a university on the continent of Africa. She was a member of the Conference delegation that traveled to the university in 1994 for its official opening. Seeing the first buildings on the campus confirmed all that she believed and encouraged her interest in supporting the university and its students.
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| Rev. Daniel R. Stone and Mrs. Ruth Ellen Prevo Stone. |
Ruth Ellen returned to the university in 1999 with Dan, who was then serving as district superintendent, for the dedication of two dormitories built by the North Indiana Annual Conference and for the groundbreaking for two additional dormitories to be built by the former South Indiana Annual Conference. After having spoken with faculty, staff, and students while on-site, Dan was given a clearer vision of the importance of the university and its transformative impact on the lives of the students, their families, and their home countries.
In retirement, Dan and Ruth Ellen have continued working to strengthen support for Africa University in the newly created Indiana Annual Conference as well as in other annual conferences. Dan and Ruth Ellen served on the Conference steering committee for the recent successful campaign to raise $1.6M to endow a chair in agriculture in the College of Health, Agriculture and Natural Sciences and to endow several scholarships. They have also continued their interests in many local mission projects. They enjoy traveling, reading, spending time at the lake in the summer, volunteering, and telling the AU story at every given opportunity.
Ruth Ellen has been a member of the Africa University Advisory Development Committee since 1999.
Dan and Ruth Ellen have four adult children and eight grandchildren.
Africa University website
A World Service Special Gift is a designated financial contribution made by an individual, local church, organization, district or annual conference to a project authorized as such by the Connectional Table. Current World Service Special Gifts projects include the Africa University Endowment Fund, the Leonard Perryman Communications Scholarship for Ethnic Minority Students, the Methodist Global Education Fund, the National Anti-Gambling Project and the Lay Missionary Planting Network.
