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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Colorado College has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Adolph Coors Foundation to help fund the renovation of 100-year-old Palmer Hall.
The grant will go toward a $4 million renovation project that will re-shape learning and collaborative spaces in historic Palmer Hall, which is Colorado College's largest classroom building. The redistribution of space will transform several classrooms for state-of-the-art audiovisual, new media, and wireless Internet use, adding ceiling- and wall-mounted equipment, appropriate lighting, and window treatments. Renovation was begun in fall 2003, and will continue in phases throughout 2004.
"This grant is very significant, coming from a major Colorado foundation as an endorsement of the Palmer Hall renovation project," said Steve Elder, Colorado College vice president for advancement. "The Adolph Coors Foundation has provided 10 percent of the project's total cost, and its timing is excellent. We are now building momentum toward the final goal."
The capital campaign for the Centennial Renovation project was launched in the fall of 2003 with a commitment of $1 million from El Pomar Foundation. Trustees have pledged $300,000, while alumni, faculty and friends of the college continue to support the renovation with individual gifts. With the Coors grant, the campaign is now more than halfway toward its goal of $4 million.
"Our foundation is delighted to be in a position to assist Colorado College in the renovation of Palmer Hall," said Sally W. Rippey, executive director of the Adolph Coors Foundation.
Palmer Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Properties, was completed in 1904 at a total cost of $284,589, with equipment valued at $42,529. The final structure, housing chemistry, physics, assaying, mineralogy, geology and biology labs plus a 160-seat demonstration hall, lecture room and botanical and zoological collections, contained 68,894 square feet.
In the early 1960s, Palmer Hall transitioned from being home to natural sciences classes and labs to housing the social sciences. In the mid 1970s, a major renovation of the building resulted in the redesign of 23 classrooms to make them more suitable for Block Plan teaching, with smaller, more intimate classes.
In 2003, the construction of the Russell T. Tutt Science Center completed a triad of science complexes, including Barnes Science Center and Olin Hall of Science. The natural sciences, except for much of geology, were moved to the new facility.
Palmer Hall currently houses Colorado College's business and economics, education, geology, history, political science and sociology departments. In addition, thousands of community members participate in lectures and other events in Palmer's Gates Common Room, and elementary school students and teachers utilize the building for Whiz Bang Summer Science camps and a gifted and talented program.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 1,900 students study one course at a time in intensive 3-and-a-half week blocks.
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