Future from foundations: construction on campus
Whitman is a constantly changing community. The influx of the student body is not even the half of it. For seniors, their four-year life at Whitman College has undergone some major changes in terms of building development and renovation.
This constant restructuring of the campus, according to Vice President for Development and College Relations John Bogley, is essential for Whitman College.
“New facilities and investing in present facilities to make sure the buildings meet the current needs of students is an ongoing process at Whitman College,” said Bogley, regarding the importance of new building projects for students at Whitman.
Bogley’s responsibilities as Vice President include starting fund-raising activities such as soliciting funds from alumni and other college benefactors, alongside the governing board.
The graduating class of 2009 has witnessed the construction and opening of some of our campus’ most important and popular buildings.
The Baker Ferguson Fitness Center and Paul Harvey Pool, a $10.5 million project, expanded the former fitness space by about 80 percent, giving students, faculty and staff members spacious rooms for weight training and cardiovascular exercise, as well as an attractive eight-lane, 30-meter pool. It opened in the fall of 2006.
The Welty Counseling and Student Health Center, which provides for the physical and mental health of Whitman students, opened in fall of 2006.
The Student Health Center provides 24 hour a day health services for everything from students suffering from the common cold, stress or more serious cases such as students in need of the morning after pill or pregnancy testing. The Counseling Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with one “open hour” each day for students who need immediate aid.
The Fouts Center for Visual Arts opened in fall of 2008, offering visual art students 38,000 square feet of classrooms and hallways to display and create their works. The project was also constructed in order to insure “current esthetic, technological, health and safety standards in the arts,” said Associate Professor of Art Charles Timm-Ballard on the Fouts Center’s informational Web site.
The combined cost of both the Welty Counseling and Student Health Center and the Fouts Center for Visual Arts was about $15.2 million.
Ongoing projects that the seniors have witnessed but will not see completed include the new Sherwood Athletic Center and the renovation of the vacated studio arts space in Olin Hall.
The $15 million Sherwood Center project includes the addition of a second gymnasium, locker space, new training and athletic rooms, a team audiovisual room, office space and a larger indoor climbing wall. It will be completed by the start of fall of 2009.
The Olin Hall renovation includes the transformation of said vacated space into classrooms and office space for students in the humanities. The project will be finished by the start of next semester.
Future projects for Whitman College include the renovation of Maxey Hall and the possible renovation of Harper Joy Theatre.
The Maxey Hall renovation will include an enlargement of various classrooms as well as the addition of new offices and classrooms. Bogley hopes the project will occur this summer. The cost of the project is unknown at this time.
The renovation of Harper Joy Theatre is not predicted to occur for a few years, according to Bogley. However, the project will hopefully include the addition of new offices and classrooms. The plan also includes the replacement of Alexander Stage chairs and a larger “black box” theater. Finally, the plan hopes to enlarge the costume and scene shop, the lobby and the green room. The projected cost, if the new “Black Box” is included, runs around $7 million.
The cost of these facilities, according to Bogley, is not determined either by a need to be thrifty or a need to be flashy.
“We want to provide facilities that reflect a high quality and sustainability rather than how cheaply we can do it or how grandiose we can make it,” said Bogley. “We expect high quality, long lasting facilities that meet the expectations of a college like Whitman.”
Above all, the constantly changing expectations and face of the Whitman community help shape the college’s future building and renovation projects.
“There will always be future projects. That’s kind of the life of a college,” said Bogley. “You’re always looking to provide the facilities necessary to educate students in an environment conducive to learning.”
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