Spring 2004

Campus abuzz with accreditation, developmentactivity

By FatherRobert J. Spitzer, S.J.
Gonzaga University President

(Originallypublished in the Spring 2004 edition of

You may have becomeoverwhelmed by my somewhat academic approach to the distinctivemission areas of Jesuit Education (faith, ethics, socialresponsibility, justice, service, and leadership) so I thought Iwould give you a little "break" to update you on some of thedirections we are taking at Gonzaga.

Many of you haveheard about the process of renewing our Northwest accreditation.The self-study steering committee has been working overtime toprepare a voluminous self-study report, and to prepare for thethree-day visit in April of the evaluation team. I believe that ourre-accreditation efforts will be successful. Thayne McCullohorganized 13 subcommittees that authored the self-study (directlyinvolving more than 120 Gonzaga community members). They havewritten what I believe will be one of the finest reports theCommission has received.

You may beinterested in the progress of our capital campaign. We are verynear the completion of our $119 million goal, but still have a fewprojects requiring additional funding. We will continue to work onraising funds for these projects until they are complete. Ourefforts to significantly increase endowments for need-based,merit-based, diversity, and opportunity scholarships have goneexceedingly well, and thanks to your generosity, they will continueto do so through the end of the campaign (July 2005).

Several of ourbuilding goals also have gone well. Fund raising for the McCartheyAthletic Center (the arena), the Hogan Business Wing, the newFlorence building, the Kermit M. Rudolf Fitness Center, theaddition to the Herak engineering building (phase 1), and the newresidence halls has gone very well, and we are working to completepledging to these facilities. We also have received significantpledges for the new science building ($7 million) and the newperforming arts center ($10 million). We hope to begin constructionon the performing arts center may begin by late 2005 (or sometimethereafter)early 2006.

We are fueling upour initiatives in three areas: the natural sciences, the liberalarts, and the performing arts. In October we will launch a specialcampaign for the arts and sciences. With respect to the campaignfor the natural sciences, we have sent out materials to all of ourscience alumni regarding the new science building and greenhouse,and the renovation of the Hughes building. We also will initiatethe Gonzaga University Society for the Natural Sciences inSeptember 2004, and will use the funds raised from this Society andthe science campaign to pay for the remainder. The new effort willenable us to work with our alumni and friends to complete thefunding for the new building and to initiate an endowment forscience faculty and enrichment and scholarship.

We will start ourcampaign for the liberal arts (humanities, social sciences andother arts) in October 2004, which will include the initiation ofthe College Society. Funds raised from the College Society andcampaign will be used to continue payment for much-neededrenovations in the Administration Building and to establish anendowment for liberal arts faculty enrichment and scholarship. Wemay even consider giving the Administration Building a new name(for example, "College Hall") to give the College an officialhome.

The liberal artsand natural sciences campaign will bring benefactors and alumni tocampus, create an ethos around these two central academic areas,and hopefully boost continuing fund-raising efforts in theseareas.

With respect to thecampaign for the performing arts, one of our benefactors, Jim andJoann Jundt have made a very generous contribution to theconstruction of a new 350-seat theater that will be located to thenorth of the Jundt Art Center and Museum. We hope to begin work onthis project in late 2005. When the theatre program moves into thisnew facility, the Russell Theatre will be vacated, at which time wewill be able to build a 550-seat auditorium in that space. Ifacoustics permit, we may be able to use that auditorium asGonzaga's concert hall for symphony and perhaps even choralproductions. We have begun the initial stages of planning for thesetwo projects. In order to secure the $5 million in additional fundsneeded for these two efforts, we will work with both foundationsand individual benefactors.

The capitalcampaign also includes two areas of Student Life: the completerenovation of Cataldo Hall, and the renovation of residence halls.We have completed the first phase of the renovation to Cataldo Hall(tripling the square footage in the Globe Room). We will take athree-month break from renovating the Captain's Room so thatstudents and faculty can make use of this facility this semester.In May, the Captain's Room will become Pandinis (an Italianbistro).

Our plans torenovate DeSmet Hall will be part of a campaign to improve thehistorical center of Gonzaga University (the AdministrationBuilding, DeSmet Hall, and the Johnston Mall). Funds are beingraised to renovate other residence halls. Unfortunately, we werenot able to include a new student center in the current capitalcampaign. However, in the next campaign, beginning in 2007, we willraise the funds for this much-needed facility.

Thanks to all ofyou, Gonzaga is in a state of metamorphosis. Our students are trulybenefiting from our new facilities and endowments, and the spirithere is higher than ever. Stay tuned next quarter for a tour of ournew strategic planning process (arising out of our accreditationself-study and the fact that we completed the goals of our laststrategic plan- Momentum 2007- four years early). I might thenreturn to the more academic theme of ethics, social responsibility,and Jesuit education.