Ohio Wesleyan University is breaking ground on several projects aimed at supporting student and faculty success.
OWU President Matt vandenBerg broke ground on the university’s new $50-million John F. Milligan Library at a campus event on Oct. 3, more than two years after closing the previous library on campus.
The university closed its nearly 60-year-old Beeghly Library just weeks before the 2023-2024 academic year due to mold growth and a laundry list of maintenance issues. That, vandenBerg previously said, was “a crucible moment for OWU.”
When it opens in early 2027, the Milligan Library will include community-building spaces, study areas, high-tech classroom spaces, art studios and galleries, and house OWU’s Department of Fine Arts.
“Today’s event is groundbreaking in so many ways, continuing Ohio Wesleyan’s laser focus on transforming higher education to meet students where they are and supporting them in their journey of self-discovery, civic engagement, and lifelong success,” vandenBerg said in a statement.
In addition to the library groundbreaking, OWU also announced the creation of two new university centers, funded by $15 million in donor gifts.
The Smith Center for Faculty Excellence and the Palmer Center for First-Generation Student Success will “exist side-by-side” inside the Milligan Library, vandenBerg said.
The new $10-million Smith Center for Faculty Excellence is named for Katherine Boles Smith, an OWU Class of 1971 alumna who funded the center with her husband, Alton Smith. According to OWU, the center will “elevate the university’s current Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, launched in 2024.”
An initial focus of the new Smith Center will be mentoring students in using generative artificial intelligence. It will eventually expand to focus on producing white papers, creating institutes and overseeing an annual showcase of faculty members’ work.
The Smith Center represents “not only a philanthropic milestone but also a historic, distinction-defining investment in the power of faculty, the liberal arts, and Ohio Wesleyan’s future,” vandenBerg said.
“The Smith Center will become a world-class asset that few, if any, other liberal arts colleges offer – a comprehensive, mission-driven center that focuses on faculty by enhancing teaching, deepening faculty support, and securing student success,” he said. “The Smith Center resets the standard.”
The Palmer Center for First-Generation Student Success is named for OWU Board of Trustees member Thomas Palmer and his wife, Susan. Their $5-million gift will expand the university’s Bishop Elevate office and program, launched in 2023, to support students who are the first in their families to attend college.
“Susan and I are grateful for the opportunity to help OWU continue to make a positive and distinctive difference in the lives of OWU students,” Palmer said in a statement. “In this instance, aiding, along with others, in supporting the evolving needs of OWU’s growing population of first-generation students, enabling them not only to succeed academically but to thrive personally and professionally throughout their college journey and beyond.”
President vandenBerg said the Palmers’ latest gift will “provide a visible, dedicated space that fosters a sense of belonging and ensures our first-generation students receive the support they need to persist and flourish.”
“The Palmer Center will serve as a national model of what is possible when philanthropic vision meets institutional purpose,” vandenBerg said. “The center is integral to OWU’s higher education rebellion to radically expand student affordability, access, and success.”
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Wesleyan University breaks ground on new $50 million library, two campus centers
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
