2 minute read
Campus modernization
The physical environment impacts student engagement and success as much as the learning and living activities it enables. The campaign supported several game-changing capital projects which elicit more than just a wow factor.
Fels Student Center (2012)
The Fels Student Center convenes student services, such as the Career and Professional Development Center, Student Involvement, and the bookstore, into one spot and offers snack bars and casual seating areas. But its greatest asset is the high-tech finance classroom, now home to an array of Bloomberg terminals, which, in turn, drove the creation of new academic concentrations and a studentmanaged investment fund.
Academic Building (2015)
The academic building was designed with technology-rich collaborative classrooms, breakout areas, and a student board room to promote team-based learning. The visual media studio provides a contemporary training ground for professional presentations, and the Institute for Women’s Leadership suite is a welcoming space and resource for campus and community.
Center Road Project (2016)
Campus curb appeal has long been improved (remember diagonal street parking?), but today’s Nichols College also has presence. A state-funded Center Road reconstruction project commissioned by the Town of Dudley was enhanced with stone pillars at the college’s entrances, period lighting, and prominent crosswalks, safety and style.
Athletics and Recreation Renovations (2016)
All students, and especially studentathletes, experience a deeper sense of Bison Pride and appreciation for the new and improved athletic and recreation facilities, featuring new locker rooms, fitness center, weight room, and addition to Chalmers Field House, as well as significant upgrades to the tennis courts. Competitive success may also be a feature, given the 17 conference championships and trips to the NCAA earned by Bison teams since 2014-2015.
Lombard Dining Hall Renovations (in progress)
On-campus dining provides sustenance and socialization and is one of the most scrutinized aspects of the college experience. The multi-phase renovation of the Lombard Dining Hall launched in 2017 is already making a favorable impression with its open spacing, huge windows, cathedral ceilings and expanded service areas; coming soon is a brick oven and continued enhancements to décor and kitchen efficiencies.
When the Bicentennial Campaign had exceeded its original goal in 2017 by raising $46.1 million, Trustee Chair John Davis ’72 and Trustee Steve Davis ’80, who were so impressed by what had been accomplished, said, “Let’s keep the momentum going!” They committed $5 million on the condition that it be matched by other donors and proposed that the college raise an additional $10 million, a $20 million extension. In summer 2019, President Engelkemeyer announced that their match had been secured, and Nichols proceeded to the final phase of this historic endeavor. The matching donors: Keith Anderson ’81, Robert Kuppenheimer ’69, Peter Lynch ’74, John McClutchy Jr. ’72, Tom Niles ’63, Al Rock ’63, and Robert Stansky ’78.
