Faculty Inspire Leadership and Arts Philanthropy 

Reverend Leonard Buxton ’52

Rev. Leonard Buxton ’52, known as “Len” by family and friends, cites Albright College as being pivotal in developing him into the man he is today. “The faculty were truly dedicated to making leaders out of every student,” said Len. “I fondly recall Dr. Duddy, a part-time director of music who commuted from Norristown to Reading and allowed me to be an assistant conductor. Then there was the time when Professor Annadora Vesper Shirk gave me the lead role of Lachie in the play, The Hasty Heart.”

Len’s fond memories of music and theater productions at Albright as a member of the former Domino Club (which is now the Domino Players, Albright College’s resident theater company) are just two reasons why Len became the newest member of the College’s 1856 Legacy Society and made Albright’s Center for the Arts a beneficiary in his estate plan. When asked which professor inspired his work the most, Len replied without hesitation that Rev. Eugene Howard Barth had done the most to help shape the man he is today more than anyone. Len remembers Rev. Eugene Barth changed his life forever when he invited him to speak at a student event, calling on Len to exhibit a combination of his theater, public speaking, and leadership skills he acquired over the years.

Len recalls Rev. Barth speaking to the pre-ministerial fraternity on the differences between ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ in the social, political, and religious debates raging at the time. When Gene Barth observed that liberal comes from the Latin “liber,” “to free” or “to be free,” while conservative is rooted in “preserving,” “holding fast,” or “refusing to change,” he vowed on the spot to be a liberal and not a conservative.

“At that time,” Len said, “the country and the religious community passionately debated issues, in newspapers as well as in my living room, using these labels. That night at Albright changed my life—never to look back.”

Len recently released the second volume of his memoirs. Volume one he titled This Is My Story, This Is My Song and volume two Sing Along with Me. With gripping detail, he describes the struggle with his preacher father as he found his path of life as a clergyman, full of successes, betrayals, and a generous dose of serendipity. “Through it all one thing has been constant,” said Len, “that I’m grateful for what Albright’s faculty taught me.”