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Construction of the faculty center progresses steadily toward completion, which is scheduled for early summer. Soon the College will have an official front door for the campus, unified workspace for its faculty and staff, and a center for important student services such as mail and the bookstore. Like the other campus buildings, it will feature a number of common areas, most notably a spacious rotunda beyond the entry lobby where visitors will be welcomed to the campus and College personnel will come and go throughout the day. Throughout its 35-year history, Thomas Aquinas College has sought to nurture an intimate intellectual and social environment—a genuine community of learners and friends. As it has constructed its permanent buildings, care has been taken, therefore, to include in their designs certain common areas to promote informal meetings and conversations that in turn help strengthen the community. Perhaps ironically, the temporary trailers that served as dormitories for more than 25 years were a model in one respect for the College’s permanent residence halls. Due to the long and narrow shape of each 12’ x 60’ trailer (a number of which were joined together to form a single dormitory), rooms in these temporary structures could be located only on the ends, resulting in large public areas in the centers of the buildings onto which private dorm rooms opened. Thus situated, the “common rooms” proved to be effective locations for promoting friendship among the students; even the shyest students came into daily contact with fellow students of all classes. The six permanent residence halls called for by the College’s Master Plan (three for men and three for women) have now been completed. Comfortable lounges, centrally-located in each of these halls, help promote camaraderie and collegiality among the students. On occasion, these also serve as inviting venues for receptions with Board members, benefactors, and friends of the College. St. Bernardine of Siena Library and Albertus Magnus Science Hall also feature unique common areas. Though generally a place of quiet, the library houses a nave-like common space beyond its entrance that welcomes both visitors and students for occasional events. It is given added ambience by the wood-carved, 17th-century Spanish ceiling donated to the College by the Honorable and Mrs. William P. Clark. Co-chairman of the College’s Comprehensive Campaign and National Security Adviser in the Reagan Administration, Bill Clark and his wife, Joan, obtained the ceiling from the estate of William Randolph Hearst, and the building was designed to showcase it. Now, underneath this relic of a glorious past, students, faculty, and friends of the College meet for public events such as choir recitals, Schubertiades, and even, on occasion, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Burns Atrium situated at the entrance to Albertus Magnus Science Hall is another common area on campus that both welcomes visitors and encourages conversation among students and faculty in the course of the school day. Named in honor of a major contributor to the science hall, the Fritz B. Burns Foundation of Los Angeles, this bright, two-story space houses a Foucault pendulum that swings in a plane which appears to rotate continuously due to the daily rotation of the earth. A graceful, curved staircase rises from it to the second floor, alongside of which, in a spotlighted alcove, stands a hand-carved crucifix from Oberammergau, Germany. These two symbols, so closely displayed to one another—one of religion and the other of natural science—speak to all who enter of the complementarity of faith and reason, the foundation on which the curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College has been built. Now with its very design uniting under one roof the administration and the faculty of the College, the faculty center will reinforce a sense of common purpose between what are too often disparate elements in institutions of higher learning. It will also greatly reduce the amount of time spent each day by faculty and staff in going between temporary buildings and other office spaces spread across the campus throughout the day. As President Dillon says, “The faculty center’s design will not only foster unity on our campus, it will greatly improve our efficiency.” As for common areas in this latest structure, there are a number of them. Guests will find a warm welcome in the 42-foot high rotunda beyond the entrance lobby of the faculty center, off of which is a parlor for small meetings and receptions. On the upper level of the building, a large faculty lounge opens up to an exterior terrace which, when furnished with umbrella tables, will afford privacy and a communal atmosphere. Other outside terraces will allow the faculty and staff to have lunches together in the open air. They will also serve as special venues for fundraising events and receptions for visiting dignitaries. The College is deeply grateful to the Fritz B. Burns Foundation, the Samuel XL. Noble Foundation, and the Fletcher Jones Foundation, all of which have contributed generously to the construction of the faculty center. To date the College has raised approximately $5 million of the needed $7.1 million to complete this project, so even as construction approaches completion, there remain gift opportunities. If you would like to contribute to this building that both improves the campus and strengthens the Thomas Aquinas College community, please contact Mr. John Q. Masteller at 800-634-9797, ext. 327.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Winter 2007 |
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