Students, faculty, staff and alumni are already benefiting from the fundraising campaign that concludes this summer.
The science test was particularly long and difficult. Tammy Slenn, ’07, filled 19 pages answering questions about proteins.
Tammy Slenn, ’07, conducts research in the Gottwald Center for the Sciences.
“I’m just glad to be done with it,” she says wearily. “I haven’t slept enough in the past two days. … Now I have to finish writing my honors thesis.”
She also needs to make a final decision about graduate school. She is considering offers from Duke, Pennsylvania and Harvard. The deadline looms, but she can’t imagine leaving the friendly confines of Richmond’s Gottwald Center for the Sciences.
Slenn is among the many beneficiaries of the Transforming Bright Minds campaign, which concludes on June 30, 2007—one year and six months ahead of schedule. As of mid-May, the campaign had received more than 84,000 contributions and pledges from over 29,500 individuals and organizations. Together they have given more than $208 million.
“Through their generous contributions to the University, Richmond’s alumni and other supporters are helping to fulfill the campaign’s promise of ‘transforming bright minds into great achievers,’” says University Rector George Wellde Jr., B’74. “Our students, faculty, staff and alumni are already benefiting from the new facilities and programs made possible by the campaign, and we are deeply grateful for everyone’s commitment to this important effort.”
The science portion of the campaign has helped transform Slenn from a promising high school student into a budding research scientist. For the past three years, she has conducted research with Dr. Valerie Kish, professor of biology. Kish and her undergraduate assistants are investigating the activation of MMP-2, a protein that plays a prominent role in the development of brain tumors.
Slenn remembers seeing worn-out science equipment during her first year at Richmond, but Kish’s lab was among the first to be finished during the Gottwald Center’s $37 million renovation and expansion. The facility is part of a 10-year plan to reinvigorate science instruction and research at the University. The initiative also allowed Richmond to hire more science professors and upgrade equipment.
During graduate school interviews, Slenn gained a new appreciation for the Gottwald Center. Its labs were superior to facilities at several other universities. She also noted that Richmond’s science curriculum was more advanced. “From what I have been told, the upper-level courses here are more like graduate courses at other universities,” says Slenn, who is majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology.
“I didn’t fully appreciate the access to professors here until I talked to people from other schools. Everyone is here,” she says, glancing around the Gottwald Center’s atrium. “You can usually find faculty members at any reasonable hour.”
The campaign has enabled the University to invest in people, programs and facilities “that touch the daily lives of each of our students,” says President William E. Cooper. In addition to the Gottwald Center, other examples include Weinstein Hall, University Forum, Wilton Way, and the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness.
Transforming minds and bodies
The transformation of Jared Husch, ’08, seems obvious. He started lifting weights when he arrived on campus in 2004 and has developed broad shoulders, rippling abs and bulging biceps.
Jared Husch, ’08, focuses on fitness at the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness.
His metamorphosis, however, goes beyond physicality. He is less stressed and more confident. He also has become more focused on his economics major and his environmental studies minor.
“The mental focus I have coming out of the gym is great. I feel good about myself, and that feeling spreads to everything else in my everyday life,” Husch says, as he warms up in the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness.
“I really enjoy working out,” he says between sets. “While staying healthy and in shape is important, it’s also about challenging yourself … and accomplishing goals.”
Husch exercises about 12 hours every week at the Weinstein Center, which was funded by the Transforming Bright Minds campaign and other sources. He is joined there by faculty, staff, alumni and many of his fellow students.
“The Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness has dramatically increased the livability and the marketability of this University,” says Seth Hickerson, assistant director for fitness and wellness. “It was the missing link in Richmond’s ability to promote recreation and wellness among our students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
The facility opened in January on the south side of the Robins Center. It features a two-level fitness center, three-court gym, elevated jogging track and direct access to the Robin Center’s swimming pool. Other amenities include locker rooms, saunas and a game room.
At the height of the spring semester, the Weinstein Center served more than 1,000 people per day.
Transforming Facilities
Richmond’s new Speech Center transforms everyone who uses the facility, according to Andrew Ryan, ’06, who worked as a speech consultant while he was a student.
Campaign at a Glance
- Amount Raised
- $208 million+
- Total Gifts
- 84,000+
- Individual Contributors
- 29,500+
- Use of Funds
- Endowed scholarships: $36.9 million
- Endowed professorships: $15.4 million
- Program support, including athletics and annual fund: $52.3 million
- New buildings and renovations: $89.4 million
- Undesignated: $14.2 million
As of May 18, 2007
“Student speech consultants now have a state-of-the-art center in which to work, increasing their morale and providing a truly professional environment,” Ryan says. “This environment transformed speech consultants like me by increasing their confidence and their ability to serve those who visit the Speech Center.”
Ryan majored in political science and rhetoric and communications studies, and he currently works as a public affairs assistant at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
In 2003, the Speech Center moved to Weinstein Hall, a new academic building that houses Richmond’s social science programs. “The upgrade was truly miraculous,” Ryan says. “Although it had its own charm, the old Speech Center was a cramped space that often forced speech consultants and students to use Mrs. Hobgood’s office when the Speech Center was busy, which was usually the case.”
Linda Hobgood, director of the program, has reclaimed her office in the new Speech Center, which includes three practice rooms, an editing room and a spacious lobby.
Like many facilities funded by the campaign, the Speech Center is a tremendous resource for everyone on campus, Ryan says. “It is a brilliant example of how gifts to the Transforming Bright Minds campaign … will continue to positively impact the University of Richmond for years to come.”
Transforming the future
Even though the Transforming Bright Minds campaign is almost over, the University will continue to raise money for important future improvements.
“This campaign should provide considerable momentum as the University continues to seek funding in support of key projects,” says Cooper. “Fundraising will continue for new student scholarships and endowed professorships as well as capital projects, including expansions of the library, business school and law school as well as construction of the Westhampton Center and on-campus stadium.”
The stadium project got a boost in December from Earl Dickinson Jr., R’75, who pledged $2 million to honor the memory of his father, Earl Dickinson Sr., R’48, who died last summer. The University will name the playing surface Dickinson Field.
Dickinson’s transforming experiences at Richmond began at age five, when he attended his first Richmond football game with his father. It was a tradition they enjoyed for decades.
“Dad went to every Richmond-William and Mary game from 1946 to 2005,” Dickinson recalls. “One year Richmond played William and Mary on Thanksgiving Day at City Stadium. While all the other kids were eating turkey, I was having a corndog with my Dad. And I think I had the better deal.”
Let us know what you think about this story. Send e-mail to krhodes@richmond.edu.
