Plans to erect new buildings on the Colby Green took a giant leap forward in May, when Robert E. Diamond Jr. '73 announced one of the largest individual gifts Colby has ever received - $6 million toward construction of the social sciences and interdisciplinary studies building that will stand next to the Lunder House (admissions).
Diamond, head of investment banking and asset management at Barclays Bank in London and a Colby trustee, gave the naming gift for the new building, which will house several social science departments, the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights and the Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement, an innovative new interdisciplinary program that will capitalize on the College's strengths in policy matters and in civic participation at the local, state and national levels. The project budget for the building is $12 million, including endowment to cover upkeep of the property in the future.
"This gift is remarkable both in its magnitude and its capacity to change Colby for the better," President William D. Adams said when he announced the gift. "Not only will the new building create tremendous opportunities for our students and the community, but Bob's gift coming when it does lays the groundwork for a broader campaign that will underwrite other ambitious aspirations in our strategic plan."
Construction of the social sciences and interdisciplinary studies building will begin in 2005 or 2006, after groundwork and fund raising are completed. The building, which is being designed by the award-winning architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson of Philadelphia, will be located in or near the current Lunder parking lot, across the road from Eustis.
On the other flank of the Lunder House, construction of an alumni and development center is expected to begin in April 2004. Trustees gave project approval to the alumni building at their May meeting, clearing the way for that $7.9-million project, including endowment. Facing the Colby Green, the 27,000-square-foot building will include a large function room that will be used for alumni events and trustee meetings as well as for programs during the academic year. Offices for alumni relations, development and communications departments will be on the second floor and in two two-story wings.
The new offices in the alumni center address a severe office-space crunch on campus. By moving administrative functions to the new building the College will, through a series of other moves, free up offices in Lovejoy and elsewhere for faculty. Ann Beha Architects of Boston is designing the building. The alumni center, which will use geothermal wells for heating and cooling, was the first academic building in Maine proposed for certification through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
