Rev. Warren E. Covell
(Second planned gift)
Warren E. Covell is a retired United Methodist pastor in the Upper New York Annual Conference (formerly the North Central New York Annual Conference) of The United Methodist Church. He currently resides in the Syracuse, NY area.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut and Hartford Seminary (CT), he served churches primarily in central New York over a period of 50 years before retiring.
It was while Warren was chair of the Conference Board of Global Ministries that the 2000 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church challenged each annual conference in the jurisdiction to endow a full scholarship at Africa University. Warren became acquainted with and inspired by the story of Africa University's beginnings and early growth. The Conference Board of Global Ministries and the 2001 Annual Conference accepted the Northeastern Jurisdiction's challenge, and three years later nearly $70,000 was raised to create the North Central New York Annual Conference Endowed Scholarship Fund. Warren and his now late wife, Phyllis Storrs Covell, made their first financial commitments to Africa University during this campaign.
In time, Warren began receiving information about the scholarship recipients, and this information furthered his interest in and enthusiasm for Africa University.
It was during the Upper New York Annual Conference's more recent campaign to raise $1 million for scholarships at Africa University that Warren made his first planned gift in 2011 by designating Africa University the beneficiary of a portion of his investments. Late last year, Warren made additional assets available in the same manner. When asked why did he make the second gift, he replied, "I would like to see United Methodist-related Africa University become a great institution making a strong contribution to the leadership pool on the African continent."