Saint Martin’s University breaks ground on new recreation
center
Winning Spirit Campaign exceeds 70 percent mark with over $5
million raised to date
September 30, 2008
Lacey, Washington—On Wednesday, October 8, 2008, Saint Martin’s
University will break ground on its new student recreation and fitness
center and will celebrate reaching a significant milestone in its A
Winning Spirit Campaign for new recreation and athletic facilities.
The official ceremony starts at 12:30 p.m. on the University’s Lacey
campus.
The new 39,000 square foot center will provide students with space
and equipment to recreate and maintain their physical fitness, a
critical component of today’s college experience. The facility will
include three indoor basketball courts, a four-lane indoor track, cardio
equipment, free weights and circuit training areas. In addition, it will
house a dance-aerobic studio, a multi-purpose classroom and a juice bar.
“This recreation and fitness facility is part of Saint Martin’s
strategic plan to increase the number of its main campus students,” said
David Spangler, Ph. D., interim president. “It is a wonderful complement
to our new residence building, Parsons Hall, and it will help Saint
Martin’s provide a more vibrant on-campus living environment for its
students.”
This is the first facility dedicated to student fitness that Saint
Martin’s has built since the Marcus Pavilion in the 1960s.
“This generation of students understands the importance of physical
fitness,” commented Melanie Richardson, dean of students. “They want to
attend colleges and universities that have the facilities to help them
maintain their health and interact with other students.”
After a competitive evaluation process, the University selected the
team of Helix Design and Mountain Construction to design and build the
new facility. Construction on the building will start immediately and is
expected to be completed in time for the start of the 2009-2010 academic
year.
In conjunction with the groundbreaking event, the University will
celebrate its fundraising success on A Winning Spirit Campaign
that is financing the recreation and fitness center, a new track
facility, and an artificial turf soccer field. The school has now raised
$5.36 million, 70 percent of the campaign’s $7.65 million goal.
“Saint Martin’s is very grateful to its many alumni and friends who
have supported this effort,” Spangler commented. “Clearly they recognize
the importance of these projects to Saint Martin’s and its students.”
The new track and field complex is nearly completed. The University’s
teams will be able to use the new facility when the outdoor track season
starts early next year. The track’s natural turf infield will be
available for use by the soccer team in the fall of 2009.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, Catholic,
coeducational university located on a 320-acre wooded campus in Lacey,
Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict,
the University is one of 18 Benedictine colleges and universities in the
United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains.
Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through
its 21 majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts,
business, education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250
student from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main campus,
and 650 more to its five extension campuses located at Fort Lewis Army
Post, McChord Air Force Base, Olympic College, Centralia College and
Tacoma Community College.
For additional information:
Stephen C. McGlone
Vice president for institutional advancement
360-438-4586
smcglone@stmartin.edu