A Calgary couple has donated $1 million to the Canadian Mennonite University library.
John and Katie Penner of Calgary provided the endowment for CMU to buy books and other resources. The Penners are members of Calgary's Foothills Mennonite Church and owners of John Penner Construction Company, Ltd. in that city.
"A library is a place that fosters conversations between the generations," CMU president Gerald Gerbrandt said. "Each book opens a window into how another person views the world... such conversation is at the core of what we are."
John Penner recalled being told in the 1960s by a professor at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC), one of CMU's predecessor colleges, that "it would be nice to have more money to buy more books for the library."
"It may have taken me a while (to make the donation), but I have a good memory," he said, noting that helping CMU buy books was on his mind when the couple decided they could make a large donation to the university.
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