Community guests, YU trustees, faculty, staff and students gathered outside of York University’s McGehee Hall on May 1, to celebrate the groundbreaking for an expansion of the 115-year-old facility. The new construction will house the Smith and Mary Kite Center for Ministry. Groundbreaking participants included Terry, Sydney and David Kite, three of the four children of the new center's namesake.
The new center for ministry was founded in 2025 when York was selected as a key collaborator with Pepperdine University for a Lilly Endowment grant. It was named for Smith and Mary Kite earlier this year at the request of the donor funding the new facility.
During the ceremony, YU President Timothy Westbrook focused on Smith and Mary Kite’s deep connections to the school and long-time service to churches of Christ throughout the mid-section of the country. He noted that, “Although they would certainly object to the center being named in their honor, it is so appropriate that we name this space for a couple who simply wanted to serve.”
Dr. Terence (Terry) Kite, Smith and Mary’s eldest son and a longtime member of YU’s Math-Science Department, responded for the family. He gave a brief summary of the family’s connections with the school, summarizing with, “My three brothers came here. Several cousins, nieces, nephews and others of my family came here, and some found their spouses here. I did not come here, but I did sit in on Alex Humphrey’s Hebrews course — I did not take any exams. You can tell from all this that the Smith Kite family has supported and will continue supporting the mission of YU.”
Kite concluded by saying, “Dad would have appreciated this honor, but mostly he just wanted to be a common, every day minister of Christ, trying to help more people change their lives and begin following close to Jesus.”
Terry Kite responds for Kite Family.
The mission of the Smith and Mary Kite Center for Ministry is to equip and empower men and women for ministry and leadership in local churches, making disciples through supporting and encouraging congregations. The center is currently led by co-directors, Drs. Anessa Westbrook and Scott Laird.
In her remarks at the groundbreaking, Dr. Anessa Westbrook reflected on the increased potential for the Kite Center thanks to the expansion. Highlighting the purpose for the new building, she shared, “The Kite Center for Ministry exists to support and encourage the work of churches throughout this region. We are providing conferences and seminars to equip and empower leaders, coaching, ministry cohorts, retreats, mini-grants, and we serve as connectors to needed resources. Many of these congregations were shaped and strengthened by the ministry of Smith and Mary Kite, and it is a privilege to carry that legacy forward. This new space allows that work to grow.”
The 7,600 square-foot addition was made possible by an anonymous $2 million donation that will fully fund the expansion portion of the project. Along with housing the Smith and Mary Kite Center for Ministry, the addition will provide new classrooms, offices and other meeting spaces. The façade of the new construction will align with the original 1911 structure. Fundraising toward the additional $2.1 million needed to renovate the original structure is ongoing.
Dr. Steve Eckman, YU chancellor, will serve as project manager for both the expansion and renovation portions of the project. JLC Construction, led by Drew Jensen, is the general contractor.
The anticipated completion date for new construction is summer 2027.
