2008 Woodie Awards
Westmorelands move to Vestavia
Danielle Cloyd
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
|
This new home, which resembles the architecture around Samford's campus, is located in Vestavia on top of Shades Mountain and is nestled between an expansive landscape of greenery and the Birmingham First Church of the Nazarene.
The home was built in1955 by Wallace and Kit Boothby, founders of Boothby Realty, and is modeled after an antebellum home in Natchez, Mississippi called Monteigne.
It is tradition that the president of the university reside in official Samford housing, according to Harry Brock, vice president for business affairs.
"It is the policy of the university, as designated by the trustees, that the president reside in university housing because of the expectation of hosting official functions in the residence," Brock said.
Thanks to the unique vantage point offered by the location, which is on top of a mountain, visitors to the home are afforded an almost unrivaled view of the valley below and a bird's eye view of Samford's campus.
Currently the Westmorelands live in a home in Greystone.
"Since moving to Birmingham last year, Jeanna, Riley and I have been privileged to live in a beautiful home in Greystone, given to Samford in late 2005 by friends of the institution," President Andrew Westmoreland said.
"We have enjoyed hosting several thousand guests in the house over the past 18 months. It is our intent to use the president's home to promote the larger purposes of the institution and to nurture a strong sense of community," he said.
The Greystone house was never meant to be the permanent residence of the Samford president. It was for sale when Westmoreland arrived at Samford, and the trustees were in the process of searching for a new home for the president.
To help facilitate a quick and easy transition before the fall semester began, Westmoreland, with approval from the board of trustees, chose to move temporarily into the Greystone house.
The Samford board of trustees continued looking for a permanent home during this time. The Greystone property is located on Highway 280, which is not conducive to the many guests of the president because of the heavy traffic and long distance from campus. The board of trustees wanted a house and location to meet certain criteria, which include closer proximity to the university, ample room for entertaining and receiving guests and plenty of room for parking.