Through a generous bequest, David Bryn-Jones and Marian Bryn-Jones '23 have ensured that their legacy will live on. According to Carleton historians, David Bryn-Jones was one of the most intelligent and versatile professors at the College when he arrived in 1920. Splitting his time as a professor at Carleton and a minister at a Baptist church in Minneapolis for years, Bryn-Jones spoke engagingly on issues as diverse as theology, economics, and relations among world powers. Thanks to his work, Carleton even created a new department—government and international relations—that he chaired from 1947 until his retirement in 1951. Marian Adams Bryn-Jones '23 was similarly active at Carleton, working first as an assistant librarian, then as head of the library between 1946 and 1951.

The two were well known figures during their time on campus, and their support has ensured that the work they started here will remain important long into the future. Carleton received a bequest from the couple's estate totaling $1.4 million. Following a lifetime tradition of giving, the couple designated their gift to three areas: continued support of the Bryn-Jones Distinguished Teaching Professorship in the Humanities, the Bryn-Jones Professional Librarian Development Fund, and unrestricted endowment.

The goal of the professorship is to encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue on campus to promote teaching and learning in the humanities. It was funded by a challenge grant from the NEH and a gift from Marion Adams Bryn-Jones. During the three-year term, chair holders are asked to lead a faculty seminar on a topic of choice, mentor younger faculty members in the humanities, and facilitate humanistic conversations in other ways that would involve faculty and/or students.