Vermont Business MagazineSouthern Vermont College (SVC) in Bennington has received a $1.35 million pledge from the James Hand Irene MHunter Charitable Trust as the lead gift to support the construction of a new Center for Student Success and Wellness. The pledge includes a gift of $1 million and a $350,000 challenge grant to match additional gifts of $.50 to the dollar up to $700,000. SVC has begun a fundraising campaign to fully fund the construction costs of the building and will announce a groundbreaking ceremony when targets have been met.
“The Hunter Trust has been a wonderful supporter of SVC for years,” said SVC President Dr. David R. Evans. “We are deeply grateful for the Trust’s ongoing confidence in the College and faith in our mission to help every student achieve his or her potential. The Trust’s generosity in enhancing the College’s ability to serve its mission has and will continue to make a real difference for our students. We are particularly grateful to James and Irene Hunter’s daughter, Susie Hunter, who sits on our board of trustees, for her stalwart and generous advocacy for SVC’s needs.”
The planned Center for Student Success and Wellness, developed in collaboration with the Bennington architectural firm Centerline Architects and located near the southwest entrance to the Mountaineer Athletic Center (MAC) parking lot, includes a total area of about 5,000 square feet. It features office and support space for student health and counseling, student affairs offices, and offices and resource areas for career and internship staff and student support, informal gathering space, and a state-of-the-art multi-purpose meeting room. In addition, the Center will include a showcase exercise facility dedicated to serving students who are not in-season varsity athletes.
“This exercise space is by far the most common campus improvement students request,” said Evans,“ as our weight room in the MAC is always busy with team activities and individual athletes’ workouts, and is not especially suitable to other fitness purposes. The space, as conceived in our initial planning, will take great advantage of the beautiful view across the valley, and will provide a comfortable and welcoming facility for all members of the SVC community.” The office and gathering spaces will greatly enhance SVC’s ability to support students in their career exploration, provide significant improvements to health and counseling facilities, and consolidate student affairs offices in a welcoming, comfortable environment that supports personal development and co-curricular learning.
Gifts to support the Center for Success and Wellness can come in many forms, from the naming of various spaces including the exercise facility or meeting room, to furnishings, and building endowment. To make a gift, or for more information, please contact the Advancement Office at802-447-4046orwww.svc.edu/online-giving.
Founded in 1974 but with roots extending to 1926, Southern Vermont College is a small, liberal arts college located on a 371-acre campus overlooking the Green Mountains. The College is a model of an enlightened educational community: diverse, supportive, environmentally respectful and socially responsible. Through its career-focused, liberal arts curriculum, SVC transforms students into engaged citizens with a broad perspective of an ever-changing society. Classroom learning is combined with real-life, real-world experiences in the study of business, humanities, nursing, science and technology and the social sciences. SVC’s athletic teams are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III and the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). The College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and has been designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Community-Engagement Classification Institution. For more information, visitsvc.edu.
Source:(BENNINGTON, Vt.) - Southern Vermont College 7.26.2017