Thanks to an institutional commitment to make Geneva College a great place to work and learn, as well as an increased capital budget, many renovations were undertaken during the past few months. As students and members of the faculty return for the fall semester, they will see a continuation of the campus improvements that began last year.
The football locker room inside Merriman Gym saw the most extreme improvement: at a cost of $500,000, Geneva College brought in a grout injection company to stabilize the structure. Before this summer, the room was sinking at the rate of a quarter inch each year, which caused the inside walls to crack. Once grout was injected as deep as 30 feet into the ground, in-ground drain lines were replaced, and walls and floors in the area were renovated. The football team′s facility is now like new.
The entrance to the Student Center was remodeled last year, and this summer, the same theme has been expanded through the second floor hallway: new carpeting, new lights and a "beautiful copper ceiling," in the words of Director of Purchasing Nancy Graham. "New department signage and new blinds for the existing windows gives the entire area a truly awesome finish," she adds. The appearance of the first floor has been bolstered, too, through new trash receptacles, ceiling tiles, office signs, lighting and paint color.
The wainscot in the John White Chapel hallway has been repainted and a small seating area was created outside the Chapel, but Old Main′s lobby received the largest makeover: fresh paint and oak trim on the walls surround the maple-and-walnut-wood college seal newly inlaid in the floor.
"There are future plans for bulletin boards and departmental feature boards to be located in the lobby," Graham says regarding Old Main. "The final touch to this new beautiful lobby will be two large, half-moon-shaped seating sections, which will be placed in the center area."
McCartney Library is also seeing major renovations on its exterior. "Splitting and crumbling stonework is being replaced on the front of the bell tower at McCartney Library," Director of Physical Plant Jeff Lydic states. "The capstones on the tower and the stone above the tower window are being installed. This represents part of continuing phases of work to restore and preserve the exterior of this building."
"Geneva College invested approximately $400,000 to provide a nicer looking and slightly larger paved parking lot, located to the right as you enter the campus gate," says Lydic. "This project also included paving the Fourth Avenue lot across from the campus gate. New and improved lighting was installed." A recently added sidewalk and stairs ease access to the roundabout and the stadium.
Patterson House and Kerr House rose to a new life with renovations covering a long list of accomplishments. Workers in Patterson painted interior walls and ceilings, installed new room lights, installed new carpet, power-washed and stained the front porch, stained the fire escape, installed a new roof, added new curtains and blinds, added new ceiling tile in the living room and replaced broken windows in living room. Kerr House′s four single restrooms now include new tub and shower units, new sinks, new ceilings with exhaust fans, new walls, new cabinets, new mirrors and new flooring. Kerr′s two double restrooms also have new shower stalls, sinks, blinds, ceilings with exhaust fans, walls, cabinets, mirrors and flooring, and have painted interiors, painted exterior doors with trim. Kerr′s back porch and steps were also painted.
Other additions include Young Hall′s new white polymer roof, Alexander Hall′s paint job, Schoolhouse′s new window installation, new blacktop roads near Fieldhouse, and new sidewalks near Downie House, as well as a new IT training space.
Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).
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