Groundbreaking Ceremony
At Last! - WPI Breaks Ground for Long Awaited Campus Center
by Michael W. Dorsey
Board Chairman John M. Nelson welcomes guests to the groundbreaking ceremony.
Under cloudless skies and surrounded by glorious fall colors, about 500 members of the greater WPI community--students, trustees, alumni, faculty and staff--gathered before noon on Oct. 29 for one of the most eagerly anticipated events in recent WPI history. With a ceremonial turning of earth and a burst of fireworks, the University formally kicked off the construction of a new 71,000-square-foot campus center.
Expected to be completed in early 2001, the campus center will be a place to hang out, enjoy a snack, find entertainment, mingle and make connections. It will also provide a new focus for community at WPI and become an integral element of the University's overall academic and social programs. Designed by the Boston firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, the $17 million building will be located at the geographic center of the campus, within a quick walk of the University's residence halls, academic buildings and athletic facilities.
Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included John M. Nelson, chairman of the Board of Trustees, Edward Alton Parrish, WPI President, and Janet Begin Richardson, dean of student life and chair of the Campus Center Committee. Richardson recounted the longstanding dream of a campus center at WPI, outlined the process of developing plans for the facility, and took guests on a virtual tour of the planned building.
Also speaking were Anne-Marie Chouinard '00, president of the Student Government Association, Francis J. Weber, president of the Graduate Student Organization, and Judith Nitsch '75, chairman of the Physical Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees. Chouinard talked about the interest WPI students have had in a campus center for many decades and the critical role they have played in recent years in encouraging the University to finally realize this dream. Webber noted the role that a campus center will play in WPI's vibrant graduate programs. Nitsch, whose committee has carefully watched over the development of plans for the center, gave credit to the many people who have helped--and will help--bring the facility into being, including former Physical Facilities Committee chairman and trustee emeritus James N. Heald II.
After the talks, most of the speakers, along with John Miller, director of physical plant, Patricia Graham Flaherty '75, president of the WPI Alumni Association, Elizabeth Erickson, the building's architect, and James S. Demetry, professor of electrical and computer engineering and secretary of the faculty, grabbed shovels and turned over a ceremonial spade of earth. Then, President Parrish and Chouinard took the controls of a large earthmoving machine and broke ground in more spectacular fashion. To top off of the festivities, fireworks burst into view over the athletic fields
Dean of Student Life Janet Richardson takes guests on a virtual tour of the new building.
WPI President Edward Parrish explains the importance of the new building to WPI's future success.
Parrish and Anne-Marie Chouinard '00, president of the Student Government Association, prepare to break ground in a big way.
Parrish and Chouinard pose for photographers after helping kick off the campus center construction.
The campus center groundbreaking was accomplished with shovels small--and large.
With the ground formally turned over, the 18 month process of turning the campus center dream to reality can officially begin.
Last modified: August 06, 2007 12:29:49