The Simon Student Center A T
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As a fundamental component of The Mercersburg Plan, the Academy’s vibrant Residential Life Program will find its boldest expression in the new Simon Student Center at Ford Hall. The re-design, renovation, and expansion of Lower Ford Hall will provide students with a place that is truly their own, filled with programs and activities of our students’ own making.
“ The student center renovation is a key component of The Mercersburg Plan. It will also provide an important
Debbie Rutherford Associate Head of School
learning environment where they can practice their social skills in a variety of settings and group activities. It will be a spectacular gathering place between the classroom and the dorm, where students can relax and have fun.”
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To counter the basement-like feel of the present facility, the Simon Center will be dramatically opened to natural light. Students may enter from three sides of the building: through glass doors on the patio; through a new entry set in a wall of glass facing the residential quad where fully half of Mercersburg’s boarding population lives; or through a grand staircase leading down from the Dining Hall. The main foyer, and the Jane Ford and Jimmy Walker lounges will also be renovated and enlarged with new window fronts.
IN IN
“ The Simon Center will be the place where student leadership is
Petrina Hoffman
most evident every day – through student-run organizations and
Student Activities Director
the enormous variety of initiatives and projects that Mercersburg students undertake.�
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Students at Mercersburg are assigned classes, dorm rooms, room mates, even their places at the table in the dining hall. The new Simon Student Center, on the other hand, will be the place of their choosing. How they use the facility is theirs to determine, and, in deciding, they become responsible members of this community. They will learn how to manage this bit of freedom, space, and time and use it to their best advantage.
Bess and Mel Simon
“ The Student Center will be dedicated to my mom and
Deborah Simon ’74 Board of Regents
dad, who are both deceased, and to all the parents out there who have the courage to send their kids to boarding school where they can experience independence and learn such important life skills.”
Photo courtesy of The Indianapolis Star
Deborah Simon ’74
300 East Seminary Street, Mercersburg, PA 17236 800-588-2550 www.mercersburg.edu