Middlebury College Update

Not long ago, Middlebury College announced a $200

million goal for its Bicentennial Campaign. Approximately $50

million of that total will be allocated to help fund $210 million

in physical improvements to the campus. Some of these improvements

are already underway.

Bicentennial Hall, for which construction started

last spring, is the most ambitious building project the College

has ever undertaken. This 108,000-square-foot, $47.5 million science

facility progressed quickly due to the fine weather we enjoyed

during the fall. Foundations are in place and pre-cast concrete

wall sections are currently being put into place, giving the building

more definition. The facility will eventually rise six stories

above its lower level entryway on the west side of the building.

Bicentennial Way, a new street that starts at Route 125 west of

the campus and ends in a parking lot near the building, will provide

automobile access. From the campus, the building will be entered

at the third-floor level, traveling through a “great hall”

which affords a spectacular view of the Adirondack Mountains framed

within the extensive western window. Bicentennial Hall is scheduled

for completion in the year 2000, the year of the College’s 200th

anniversary.

Another building project started in late summer will

complete the second phase of the College’s athletic master plan.

At some point during their 1998-99 seasons, the Middlebury men’s

and women’s hockey teams will take the ice in a magnificent new

arena that will seat about 2300 spectators. The rink will be entered

through a spacious entryway that will also serve as a gallery

where artifacts from Middlebury’s sports history will be on display.

Part of this space will also serve as a common area linking the

hockey arena with the recently completed natatorium, a swimming

and diving facility that was completed about a year ago.

Three new student residences located in the wooded

area at the western edge of the campus are nearly completed. The

new housing units, each capable of housing 30 students, are expected

to be ready for occupancy during the winter term. A fourth facility

is planned for completion in the spring.

Two more projects should be mentioned as well: a

recently completed women’s softball field located off South Street,

which will be the home field for Middlebury’s newest intercollegiate

sports team; and a renovation project to convert the former swimming

pool area in the McCullough student center to a “grille”

where a variety of food and beverage items will be available during

evening and late-night hours. This project also provides space

under one roof for a game room, juice bar, a small stage for cabaret-type

performances, a television viewing room, a convenience store,

and a billiard pavilion.

And finally, the changes to College Street, which

required Route 125 commuters to negotiate a slalom course of sorts

last summer has improved the safety of pedestrians crossing College

Street in the vicinity of the campus. Several “neck-downs”

and crosswalks were created to slow down motorists and provide

obvious points for students and others to cross the street. Lighting

was significantly improved along the street and a sidewalk bordered

by a stone wall was constructed to improve pedestrian access to

the student parking lot at the western edge of campus.