Mandi Mooney
Editor-in-Chief
April 29, 2005
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The new convocation center and theater will seat approximately 350 people. Construction could begin as early as this summer. |
After four years of planning and delays, Milligan College will once again have a theater as the Board of Trustees voted unanimously last week to build a new convocation center.
“I’m very pleased to report that at last week’s spring board meeting, the
trustees eagerly voted for the college to move forward with plans to fund and
construct a theater/convocation center,” announced President Don Jeanes in a
campus-wide e-mail sent Monday afternoon.
The building will be constructed between Hardin Hall and McMahan Student Center.
It will be 24,000 square feet, house a 350-seat theater and will include
darkrooms for photography students and a workshop for theater courses.
“We were able to come up with a design that we can afford,” Jeanes said. “As you
can tell, the convo center is different from the original phase one of the
Campus Center. Though it will be used by the theater department, it also will be
used by other groups on campus - for example, the lecture hall for humanities.”
Milligan has been without a theater since Derthick Hall was renovated in 2002.
“Derthick Theater seated 168 people, when push came to shove we could add seats
and safely seat about 230,” said Associate Professor of Theater Dick Major. “A
theater with a seating capacity of 350 will be just the right size for us.”
Total costs of the construction of the building are currently set at $6 million.
According to Associate Vice President for Communications Lee Fierbaugh, the
college currently has $4.5 million raised for the theater. Last week, the board
approved financing the remaining amount.
“(The college) didn’t want to have to borrow any money to do it,” Fierbaugh
said, “But it’s come to the point where we need to move forward with the funding
even if we need to finance.”
In 2001, Milligan launched its $30 million Campaign for Christian Leadership
which would provide funding for a new Campus Center facility, set to break
ground within two years. The theater was originally to be built alongside the
center.
“We’re about five years (into the Campaign) right now,” Fierbaugh said. “The
funding at that point – the market went south, it was right after Sept. 11 –
didn’t pan out the way that we had hoped so it has taken a little longer than we
anticipated.”
Currently, $26.5 million has been raised. Because the complete funding for the
entire Campus Center is not currently available, the board moved to begin
building a separate theater. The center will then be built in phases.
“Phase two of the new design will be the student life components, but we have no
plans to begin that phase until we have money to cover it,” Jeanes said.
Construction could start as early as this summer as Burleson Construction begins
site preparation including moving water and power lines. In the next six to
eight months, the Beeson, Lusk and Street Architectural firm will finalize
building plans.
“It will be very good for our entire community to have this facility and to
finally be home again,” Major said.
The college is hoping to break ground in early 2006.
“We are estimating that the time for construction will be 18 months,” Jeanes
said.
“As we get more into (finalizing the details), all the dates are just moving
targets,” Fierbaugh said.