Endowments
Henry and Ruth Baron Family Endowment
Henry and Ruth Baron both fell in love with words shortly after they began to read. Henry remembers reading the whole meager library of his small elementary school; Ruth, too, enjoyed books as frequent companions. The Barons have found the weaving of words into magical constructions that excite and shape the creative and moral imagination deeply nourishing. The projection of our multiple selves in literature and the challenge of rendering them artfully and truthfully continued to fascinate them through their subsequent years of schooling and reading.
In the late 1980s, while teaching in the Calvin English Department, Henry increasingly felt the need for a gathering of like-minded writers and readers, eventually prompting him to propose a conference to the department. With departmental and college-wide support, the first Writers Conference took place in 1990. Participants and conferees enthusiastically encouraged its continuation, and over the succeeding years it has grown into the nationally recognized Festival of Faith and Writing, drawing thousands who love writing and enjoy reading from all over the country. Through this endowment the Barons want to support the Festival’s continuation for many years to come as an important means of nurturing the humane artist, critic, and Christian in us all.