Predated by a Heritage Room established in 1996 under library director Randy Butler, Southwestern’s Adventist Heritage Center (AHC), formally opened March 26, 2004. The acquisition of research materials from the Ellen White Estate accorded Southwestern’s new center designation as a self-funded Ellen White (EGW) Research Center. Under the energetic guidance of director Mary Ann Hadley, the AHC acquired several private collections of local significance, developed a network of supporters, and conducted a variety of outreach activities in addition to providing access to the mediated EGW research materials.
From 2010 to 2016, Librarian Alfredo Vergel helped the AHC expand its physical and digital footprint to better accommodate growing research collections and to improve access to archival records on the web.
Librarian and Archivist Teresa Pritchett assumed responsibility for the Adventist Heritage Center in 2018, focusing on expanding manuscript and institutional collections, providing regular, scheduled access to the physical collections, engaging with stakeholders and interested members of the community, and extending access through an active digitization program.
Although Southwestern no longer maintains an EGW Research Center, we continue to work with the White Estate, the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews, the Heritage Research Center at Loma Linda and others to provide comprehensive access to research materials associated with Ellen White and other Adventist pioneers.
