Rendering of Lemieux Library addition
Lemieux Library Learning Commons: Academic Heart Comes to Life
Lemieux Library and Learning Commons
The largest gifts in Seattle University's history have moved the quest to renovate and expand Seattle University's Lemieux Library closer to its $35.5 million fundraising target.
With more than $24 million in contributions, the Lemieux Library and Learning Commons project should be funded by December 2008. The project will enhance one of the city's great public assets, and result in a revitalized intellectual center of learning for the campus and the community.
Grand reading room and lobby
“Libraries are the 'academic heart' of a college campus and provide a vital link to the community, as well,” said Father Sundborg. “Redesigning and rebuilding Lemieux Library is a top strategic priority as we strive toward a new level of academic excellence and service.”
Anne Farrell, chair of the library campaign, calls Seattle University's library “a regional resource whose benefits extend well beyond the campus and its students. Visiting scholars and members of the community will all reap the rewards of this project.”
Under her guidance, the campaign swiftly gained momentum in the past year, fueled by a $10 million challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Next came a $9 million commitment from Harold and Rita Daubenspeck—the largest gift from individuals in Seattle University's history. The Daubenspeck's gift includes $8 million for the library project and $1 million for a new scholarship endowment. Harold Daubenspeck is a 1937 graduate who throughout his life has admired the Jesuit professors who taught him. In tribute to one of his Jesuit teachers, the new Library Commons will be named for Father James McGoldrick, one of the university's legendary figures. Rita Daubenspeck is a graduate of Holy Names Academy in Seattle, and the scholarship endowment will fund the Rita Daubenspeck Scholarship for Holy Names graduates who attend Seattle University.
“We were excited and stunned by such a wonderful gift,” said Mary Kay McFadden, vice president for University Advancement. “Thanks to such generosity, the library project is becoming a reality.”
Other recent contributions include a $2 million pledge from anonymous donors and a $1 million grant from the Murdock Trust—the full amount requested.
Visionary plans for a Learning Commons equipped with high-tech educational and communication tools are at the heart of the future library complex.
This “library of the future” will add 40,000 square feet to the existing 81,000-square-foot facility originally built in 1966. But the impact will be far greater than additional space.
In getting a 21st century makeover, the library will be re-imagined as a campus hub, a place where scholarly research, collaborative learning and social interaction occur in a modern, light-filled structure. Included in this vision is the creation of an Academic Support Center within the Learning Commons, bringing together a range of student academic support and advising services currently dispersed throughout the campus.
University Librarian John Popko said the enhanced technological capabilities included in the future library and Learning Commons are perhaps the project's most exciting feature. “Our future building will be flexible enough to respond to technological and media developments of the coming decade,” Popko said.
From the Fall 2007 issue of the Campaign Newsletter