To see the original master list of the time capsule\u2019s contents, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gwinn Kneeland \u201989 introduces Greg Haselden \u201994, a former Student Alumni Council member who was part of the group that buried a time capsule in 1993 on Furman\u2019s campus. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n Former Furman President John Johns<\/a> headed the university in 1993. In a letter buried among its contents, he addressed Furman\u2019s future president, remarking on the unimaginable future we now live in.<\/p>\n \u201cJust as students of today cannot imagine what it was like to attend college in the days before photocopying and computers, you will probably find our educational facilities somewhat primitive,\u201d Johns wrote. But the buildings and classrooms aren\u2019t what makes Furman great, it\u2019s the people. The bonds forged at Furman last a lifetime, and Johns trusted that this foundation would still empower Paladins to tackle the challenges of 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident John Johns and the Board chose academic freedom even though it cost us financially and relationally. They did the hard thing because it was right,\u201d said President Elizabeth Davis, reflecting on the events of three decades ago. \u201cFurman has chosen courage for 200 years. Now it\u2019s our turn.\u201d<\/p>\n Before Greg Haselden \u201994 was the vice president for finance and CFO of Thornwell Home & School for Children and an adjunct accounting professor at Furman, he was a member of the student alumni council that buried the capsule outside the James B. Duke Library.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all a part of Furman,\u201d he said to the crowd gathered at the library steps. \u201cWhatever may happen in our lives as individuals, we are all part of something bigger here for a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Students, faculty and staff gather outside the James B. Duke Library on Feb. 12, 2026, to celebrate the opening of a time capsule buried by the university in 1993. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n Furman\u2019s legacy is an inheritance and a responsibility to Hannah Butlak \u201926, earth and environmental sciences major and senior class representative. Students today are facing a world wrestling with the consequences of climate change, political division and rapid technological shifts.<\/p>\n \u201cLuckily for us, we\u2019ve all inherited 200 years of values, academic rigor and a legacy of service\u201d that enable them not just to engage with the past but imagine a brighter future, she said.<\/p>\n Students, alumni and friends of the university crowded around display cases inside the library showing the items unearthed from the capsule. Melanie Armstrong \u201994, associate director of networking and student connections, was taken aback seeing the old student ID\u2019s and a T-shirt advertising \u201cThe Furman Advantage,\u201d a familiar phrase that showed Furman\u2019s longstanding dedication to engaged learning and mentoring.<\/p>\n Susan Patterson Robbins \u201973 saw a VHS tape recording of the Students for Women\u2019s Awareness. VHS tapes may have been common in 1993, but when she was a student there was a single television available in the campus student center they would gather around. Robbins had two children who went to Furman as well, and these items reminded her that Furman has maintained its integrity, independence and student focus all these years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s lovely to see so many alumni and current students connecting over these items,\u201d said Jeffrey Makala<\/a>, associate director for special collections and university archivist. \u201cWe see change over the decades, of course, but we also see continuity.<\/p>\n Rimes McElveen ’96 looks at a class photo he was in that was unearthed among other items in a time capsule buried on campus in 1993. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n Rimes McElveen \u201996 didn\u2019t expect to see himself in the time capsule\u2019s contents, but inside the library he spotted his smiling face in a photograph, right beside a letter written by four of his friends on the Student Alumni Council.<\/p>\n His son, Luke McElveen \u201926, was beside him, seeing his dad\u2019s old college stories come to life in a display case. When Luke moved into Poteat Hall his room was two doors down from where his father stayed three decades earlier. They both worked as lifeguards on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see Luke and his class flourishing in a different era and in a different way, but enjoying experiences like international study, internships and research,\u201d Rimes said.<\/p>\n The students of today stand on the shoulders of past alumni, and Luke said future Paladins will build off of the legacy he and his classmates will leave behind.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t just get to look back longingly at our history, but we get to take these examples forward,\u201d Luke said.<\/p>\n The contents of the time capsule are on display at the Duke Library, alongside a Bicentennial exhibition showing documents and artifacts of the university\u2019s first 100 years. To learn more about Furman\u2019s Bicentennial celebration and upcoming events, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alumni and current students connected over their shared history Thursday at the time capsule\u2019s unveiling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":41039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,3404,3492],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-bicentennial","category-campus-events"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41055"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41062,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41055\/revisions\/41062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A conversation between two presidents<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2026\/02\/Bic_13-768x561.jpg\")
Building a strong foundation<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2026\/02\/Bic_14-768x513.jpg\")
Memories on display<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2026\/02\/Bic_16-768x549.jpg\")
Like father, like son<\/h3>\n