Photo by: Justin Edmonds
The University of Denver has kicked off a new fundraising campaign to raise more than $70 million to remodel Penrose Library and build two new buildings, one for the School of Education and the other for engineering.
University Architect Mark Rodgers estimates the extensive renovation of Penrose Library will cost between $32 and $39 million. However, attracting donors has been challenging because “it’s difficult to raise money to fix what we already have.”
Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall, which will house the new Morgridge College of Education, is being funded largely by two substantial donations.
James Berscheidt, director of news and public affairs, said DU has received a $10 million gift from Carrie and John Morgridge and a $5 million gift from Joan and Mike Ruffatto.
The building will also house the Institute for Early Learning and Literacy and the Learning Effectiveness Program. The building is named in honor of the Ruffattos’ daughter, a 2005 DU alumna.
According to a January 2007 news release, the College of Education fundraising campaign has a $35 million goal-$25 million designated to the building and $10 million to the college’s endowment.
Rodgers said the university expects to break ground next summer at the building’s location on East Evans Avenue between Race and High streets.
He estimates the building will open during winter break 2009.
The School of Engineering and Computer Science building is in the design stage and no costs estimates were available, said Berscheidt. Rodgers said the building will be located between the Newman Center and Olin Hall on East Iliff Avenue.
Rodgers hopes to transform the outdated design of Penrose Library into a state-of-the-art facility for the 21st century without neglecting the building’s heritage. When it opened in 1972, the style of Penrose Library was notable and distinguished, he said.
Rodgers believes the library is “the fundamental core of what a university is.” He said it should be a place where students can work together, but he admits, “it’s not our library now.”
“The intent is to move the focus of the building from books to people,” he said.
“We will first build an addition that has a book storage vault capable of holding most of the current collection.B The upper floors will be sufficient to operate as almost a ‘branch library’ while the existing building is then renovated,” Rodgers said.
The addition will allow most of the second and third floors to be dedicated to student studying and learning space.
“Of all the projects we’re doing, shouldn’t it be the most remarkable?”
“We’ve got better buildings than Harvard,” said Rodgers, who insists students are more important than buildings. Buildings, he said, simply “make it so that what happens in the classroom can happen.”
The next project that DU is scheduled to open is Nagel Hall. The new dormitory building is being built next to Nelson Hall, west of the Hotel Restaurant Tourism Managment building, and will look very similar to Nelson.
The dorm is scheduled to open next fall and will cost roughly $30 million. It will provide new dining options as well.
