Thank you all for being here on this momentous occasion as we celebrate NEW Hall, our 10th residence hall.
Having only been on campus for the past couple months, I wanted to share my impressions of NEW Hall and how I feel it captures the essence of Scripps.
Consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, Scripps is an architectural and landscape treasure. One of the first things I noticed is how traditional it is while still being incredibly unique. It’s traditional in that it accommodates a number of facilities that you would see on most college campuses, such as places where students live, eat and learn, but what is unique about it is the way in which the growth of the campus continues to follow the founding vision of the College.
There’s a sense of purpose to the way our campus is laid out. The buildings push out to the street, which opens up the center to create a large, welcoming area for our community. You’ll notice that each building on our campus echoes this model by incorporating courtyards as the central architectural and landscape feature.
Since its founding in 1926 when Ellen Browning Scripps described the type of College she imagined by saying, “I am thinking of a college campus whose simplicity and beauty will unobtrusively seep into the student’s consciousness and quietly develop a standard of taste and judgment,” Scripps has been anchored by the concept that its physical environment is integral to its educational mission. That the backdrop of the campus creates and supports the stimulating intellectual environment.
The incredible attention to detail is also very Scripps. From the custom roof tile blend and columns, the recessed windows, the Italian panels in the browsing room, and the fire place in the living room, the details add interest to the building and make it feel like a home. This isn’t just a dormitory, a place where students sleep. It’s a residence hall where you can imagine students studying in the elegant browsing room; trading ideas in the lushly landscaped courtyards or on the picturesque balcony. This is where they will be creating those life-changing memories that they will cherish for many years to come.
NEW Hall is also the first building on campus to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s globally recognized “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” -or LEED- Gold certification standards. So not only is NEW Hall continuing the tradition of beautiful Scripps buildings, it highlights the College’s commitment to sustainability.
In just a moment I will have the privilege of cutting the ribbon to officially open NEW Hall, but as Dean mentioned, the opening took a lot more than just cutting a ribbon. NEW Hall became a reality through dedicated planning, a lot of collaboration and very generous support.
I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our anonymous donor family for their EXTRAORDINARILY generous $10 million lead gift that allowed us to begin construction on this momentous project. In addition to this transformative gift, we have also received generous gifts from The Georgia B. Ridder Foundation, trustee and alumna Chalan Colby, alumna Joan Isaacs, alumna Carol Rush, past parent Patti Widdicombe, and the family of Miyako Yamane.