Katharine O. Dunham Philanthropy Award Dadie and Princeton Bardwell

The Katharine O. Dunham Philanthropy Award was established to recognize donors

who have demonstrated, through direct financial support, outstanding charitable responsibility and whose generosity encourages others to take philanthropic leadership roles at The Dunham School. Motivated and dedicated to seeing The Dunham School succeed, they have championed fundraising for the school. Recipients exemplify the same heart of giving demonstrated by Mrs. Dunham, a heart of thoughtfulness and sacrifice grounded in a desire to see The Dunham School’s mission endure.

Dadie and Princeton Bardwell have been a part of The Dunham School since its founding in 1981 when they enrolled their son, Scott, in the very first class. For the past four decades, they have served as parents, trustees, advisors, prayer warriors, donors, and now grandparents. Throughout their long history with Dunham, the Bardwells have remained steadfast champions of its financial security, often giving of their own resources and working with others to secure donations to sustain the school and its mission.

“Generosity comes very naturally to my parents,” says their daughter, Emily Bardwell Guillory ’03. “I

have seen how they have looked for opportunities to help, and I know that their reach has gone far beyond even what I am aware of.” Princeton served two terms on the board of trustees, from 1982 to 1988 and from 2018 to 2021. He and Dadie have made prayer a top priority when seeking God’s guidance and wisdom on how they can best serve the school. Former trustee Dadie and Princeton Bardwell attend a school event with their Al Jones remembers children, Emily Bardwell Guillory ’03, and Scott Bardwell ’91 serving on the board with Princeton during the early years of the school. “Princeton always brought us back to the word of God,” he says. “If there was a crisis we were in or something that we were struggling with, Princeton would come with his Bible and the word of

Caroline Bardwell ’20, Michael Bardwell ’22, Anna Katherine Bardwell, Scott Bardwell ’91, Dadie Bardwell, Princeton Bardwell, Hazel Guillory ’33, Emily Bardwell Guillory ’03, Ryan Guillory, and Andrew Bardwell ’26

God, and we would be encouraged and press on.”

Al Jones recollects too the important role Dadie played in those early years, particularly in times of crisis when the board met almost every day to provide sound leadership and direction for the school. “While we were meeting and trying to figure what to do, our wives would gather and pray for us. I think that probably had more to do with our success than what we were doing.”

During his second tenure on the board, Princeton had the opportunity to work alongside his son, former board chair Scott Bardwell ’91, who describes serving with his father as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Both Princeton and Dadie have used their voices and shared their wisdom to help guide the school at critical points during its 40-year history. Most recently, they provided strong counsel in the quest to eliminate current debt.

“I understood very early on that Dadie and Princeton had a commitment to both Christian education and specifically to The Dunham School,” says Head of School Steve Eagleton. “We’ve talked a lot about where we’d be without families like the Bardwells who have not only been great examples to others in prayer, but also have given of their time and treasure to make sure that the school is sustained.”

The Bardwells’ legacy is most readily visible through the lives of their children, Scott and Emily, and their four grandchildren, Caroline ’20, Michael ’22, and Andrew Bardwell ’26, and Hazel Guillory ’33.

“We have had a child or grandchild at the school for 36 of the last 40 years,” says Princeton. “After 53 years of marriage, raising a family, and now having the joy of grandchildren, our testimony is clear. After knowing Christ and learning to walk with Him through His church, nothing has impacted our lives for good more than The Dunham School.”

2021–2022 Board Chair Scott Bardwell ’91 (from left), Princeton Bardwell, former trustee Ken Hornsby, and Head of School Steve Eagleton