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Grand celebration kicks off Campus Center Project

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The cotton candy spun and so did the cheerleaders. The popcorn and party poppers popped. The music flowed, as did the current of optimism.

It was a party atmosphere April 12 as a crowd of more than 300 University of La Verne students, faculty, staff and supporters gathered to officially launch the construction phase of the Campus Center Project.

When it came to christening the structure formerly known as the Super Tents, the university asked its biggest Campus Center Project donors to do the heavy lifting. Sara and Michael Abraham, Barbara and Ben Harris, and Nadine Johnson -- whose three pledges could very well tally $6 million of the $20 million goal of the Campus Center Project -- were summoned to a platform near the stage and asked to unveil a sign with a new title: Sports Science & Athletics Pavilion.

Under the renovation plan for the Pavilion -- the first of three components of the Campus Center Project -- the interior will undergo many improvements during the transformation process.

When the first phase of renovation is complete in Fall 2005, the facility will feature a better use of available space. Eventually, improvements to the structural makeup and aesthetics will enhance the Pavilion's appearance and utilize a design providing additional natural lighting and energy-efficient environmental controls.

This is the first of three components of the Campus Center Project, in which a new Campus Center building and an outdoor Plaza will also be constructed.

First opened in 1973 as a student center and athletic facility, the Super Tents have served the university as an important campus structure and a distinctive icon. Under the design of Mark von Wodtke of Claremont Environmental Design Group, the unique profile of the Super Tents will remain intact.

But movement inside the Super Tents is already under way, with athletic and recreational equipment, dining facilities and some organizational offices temporarily relocated. That provides room for construction of new offices, locker rooms, athletic training rooms and fitness facilities, as well as structural and material enhancements.

This initial step in what may prove a four- to five-year overall process will be followed by construction of the Plaza, an open, three-tiered, central gathering place of circular pads that will be the spectacular hub of the Campus Center. Initial shaping and framework for the Plaza is scheduled to be wrapped up by the end of 2005, though the entire Plaza will not be finished until after work on the Campus Center building has been completed.

The final component of the Campus Center Project is the Sara and Michael Abraham Campus Center building. It will be named after the Board of Trustees member and his wife for their historic $4 million pledge toward its construction. The Board of Trustees recently approved the hiring of Pasadena-based Gonzalez|Goodale Architects to draw up the plans for the building.

The private fundraising campaign for the project is unprecedented in school history.

On Saturday, Jan. 29, during the 10th annual President's Dinner Gala at the Ontario Convention Center, ULV President Steve Morgan publicly unveiled plans for the $20 million capital project, the most ambitious in university history. Commitments to the Project now approach $11 million, and Morgan revealed at the April 12 event that $736,000 had been pledged by University of La Verne's current and former employees.

"Now well into its second century and the new millennium, the University of La Verne faces a very real need to revitalize itself," Morgan said. "The Campus Center Project will allow us to remain competitive in attracting students, faculty and staff. It will provide a fresh look to the campus, and it will rejuvenate the atmosphere that helps make La Verne special."

The goal is to establish a new crossroads for the university and provide an identifiable locale where the campus community, alumni and visitors alike can meet and interact. A financial challenge has been issued by Michael Abraham to accelerate the process.

The Abrahams' $4 million-pledge comes with provisions that challenge the remainder of the Board of Trustees to match that amount and also challenges to the university to raise an additional $8 million. The deadline for both challenges -- a total of $16 million -- is the November 2005 Trustees meeting. According to Michael Abraham, president and principal of MKA Capital Group, Inc., of Newport Beach, the purpose behind the challenge is a personal desire to see the project completed within his lifetime.

Board of Trustees chair Ben Harris and his wife, Barbara, responded to the Abraham Challenge with their own $1 million pledge.