Presbyterian College Reopens Bailey Gallery, Dedicates Vance Plaza During Laurens County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Event

As the host of a Laurens County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours gathering, PC held the grand reopening of the Mary Bailey Vance Suitt Rotunda and Bailey Gallery in Neville Hall and also celebrated the dedication of the renamed Robert M. and Virginia Vance Plaza, formerly the West Plaza facing South Broad Street.

Dr. Anita Gustafson President

College president Dr. Anita Gustafson noted how often the late Mr. and Mrs. Vance, both honorary alumni, were spotted walking on the plaza and throughout campus.

“In my inaugural address last April, I spoke about the memories I have of Virginia Vance, walking the campus pretty much every day,” Gustafson said. “Many of you in town here would have that same memory. She seemed to just be absorbing the beauty of our campus. I also heard from family members that Mr. Robert Vance also used to walk the West Plaza out in front of the buildings and all the parts of the campus.Apparently, what he’d do is take notes of everything that needed to be done and write them and leave a note on the president’s desk.”

Gustafson said it was only fitting to memorialize the Vance’s “transformational impact” on the college by naming PC’s “gateway” in their honor.

Gustafson also thanked the Bailey, Vance, and Suitt families for their longtime generosity to PC, including renovations to Neville Hall and construction of the Cornelson Center completed in 2017.

The Mary Bailey Vance Suitt Rotunda is named for the late Suitt, a former PC trustee from 2002-12. A distinguished member of the William Plumer Jacobs Society, Suitt’s philanthropic support included donations to the college’s arts programs, and the construction of Bailey Memorial Stadium in addition to the renovations in Neville Hall. The Bailey Gallery in Neville allows the college to share artwork with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the community inside PC’s most iconic building.

“Mary Bailey Vance Suitt was a significant supporter of the arts at Presbyterian College, and through her vision and generosity, and the generosity of the Vance family, we are able to carry out her wishes to highlight and share art here on the PC campus in a very significant way,” Gustafson said.

The current exhibit in the Bailey Gallery features the work of Jim Creal, a visual artist from Spartanburg, whose South Carolina Coastal Lithograph Project is devoted to “capturing the mood, spirit, and rich diversity of South Carolina’s coat.”

Creal said the 20 pieces on display were also 20 years in the making – and even longer in the inspiration.

“I was a boy from Upstate South Carolina, but my family every year would take me to the beach,” he said. “I fell in love with the beach, with the live oaks, with the sound of the surf, and everything else that everybody here knows about the beach and how wonderful it is.”