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September 30: One Extraordinary Day
Changing Lives, Building Futures is a campaign – one that begins with but goes beyond raising funds. Its broader goal is to establish a stronger culture of giving that affords opportunity and recognition for many types of contributions that make Susquehanna University a better and more valuable institution for the students it serves. Each and every graduate – numbering more than 15,000, along with thousands more parents, current students and members of the campus community, all have contributions to make that can help advance Susquehanna. As donors, mentors, recruiters, employers or teachers, there is room for all to have impact. “We had some important goals in bringing together so many members of the Susquehanna family on September 30,” said Ron Cohen, vice president for university relations. “At the top of the list, we wanted people, especially alumni, to reach the end of the day with the thought: ‘I can find a place in this program. I can help change lives and build futures. And I want to be involved.'” Susquehanna University President L. Jay Lemons encouraged the September 30 audience to tell their stories on the Web site http://changinglives.susquehanna.edu. “There are stories in the stands today that will convince tomorrow's students that Susquehanna is the right place for them to spend four years. So please share your story. It can be a meaningful contribution to changing a life and building a future,” Lemons said. The financial goal of the campaign is to secure $70 million in private gift support, to fund critical building construction and renovations, and support student scholarships and aspects of the strategic plan through endowment and the Susquehanna University Fund.
The centerpiece of the campaign will be construction of a new science building on the site of North Hall parking lot across University Avenue from Seibert Hall. Successful fundraising will allow the building to be completed by fall 2010. Major renovations to Fisher Science Hall will be completed a year later, providing needed space for other academic departments and programs. The Fisher renovation will also yield critically-needed new classrooms. Envisioned as an 81,000-square-foot facility, the new science building will house Susquehanna's “wet sciences” – biology, chemistry, and earth and environmental sciences. Conceptual design emphasizes public and teaching spaces that promote interaction between all members of the campus community. The concepts also reinforce the fact that, at Susquehanna, science is for everyone, not just science majors. Amy Fortier '98, one of five founding members of the Biology Alumni Association, said the open space areas will foster greater collaboration. “In the biology department, and really all the sciences, it's kind of a family, and I think the openness will encourage that. It's very interactive and communal, and I think that's one of the best things about the department and SU as a whole. It builds community. It looks like the building is going to contribute to that as well,” Fortier said.
Integrated learning laboratories will support the teaching method of learning science by doing science. Divisions between lecture and lab are erased in these spaces, allowing students and faculty to more easily move between presentation, data collection, analysis, and discussion. Collaborative research laboratories will provide students with more opportunities to perform one-on-one research with faculty mentors. “This will be the most important capital project for us to complete in this decade, and it represents what in many respects is the most ambitious project in the history of the university,” Lemons said of the new science building. “Not only is science at the heart of a liberal arts education, it is central to so many issues that challenge and confront our world. As we think about our primary goal of preparing students to be responsible and contributing citizens, it is clear that their need to grasp and analyze concepts connected to science will only grow.” Objectives connected to the strategic plan will also be funded through campaign gifts: strengthening the first-year program for students, connecting the classroom and the world, supporting a more diverse community, and investing in university faculty and staff. Gifts will support such things as development and enhancement of first-year orientation programs; creating study abroad, internship and service-learning opportunities; and funding collaborative research between faculty and students. Campaign objectives also call for increasing scholarship support through either endowment or the SUF. Scholarship support gives deserving students, regardless of their economic status, the opportunity of a Susquehanna education. James Summers '64, a member of the Board of Trustees and chair of Changing Lives, Building Futures, describes Susquehanna as a place where professors are passionate about teaching and staff understand that student learning is the institution's first priority. “In so many ways, our students find they are at the heart of a community committed to their success by providing the right balance of challenge and support that builds futures,” Summers said. “For many men and women who spend their undergraduate years at Susquehanna University, the very core of their experience is captured with these four small words: ‘It changed my life,'” Summers added. “To change a life is a powerful thing, to build a future equally so. Our ability to continue providing that experience requires significant gifts of time, talent, and resources. Going forward, the high demand for additional contributions of all sizes must be met if we are to deliver on the promise of an exemplary undergraduate education in the years to come.” –Victoria Kidd |
