Student Center Renovation Update: October 25, 2012

Amazing progress is being made on Randolph's $6 million Student Center renovation. Check out this week's photo slideshow here: http://web.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter/slideshow/oct25/index.html.

Take a look back at all of the coverage of the renovation project at www.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter.



Student Center Renovation Update: April 6, 2012

Progress continues on the main areas of the Student Center facility, but more visible work is now occurring on the back section of the building. Scaffolding covers one side of the building as workers tediously remove bricks to enlarge window spaces. The stunning views from these oversized windows will help make Randolph’s new Student Center a campus showpiece.

Inside, framing has begun in this section of the renovation, and work is continuing in all other areas, including the third floor of the facility. This area will house the new theatre and conference areas.

The Student Center addition, which is located on the side of the current building, is also quickly taking shape.

See all of our updates at www.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter

The second floor of the Student Center will house the new WWRM office, which will overlook the first floor through the opening in the floor seen here.

This is the view facing the WWRM deejay booth. The floor below will feature seating and social areas, but the furniture will be removable for events and College parties.



This area used to house three floors of student organization offices, attic storage space, and other rooms. It will soon be transformed into a multi-level cardio center with floor-to-ceiling windows.



The views from the newly renovated Student Center are breathtaking.

The third floor of the main area of the Student Center used to be a very segmented level, with much wasted space. Once the renovation is completed, this floor will house a theatre and conference room area.

The arched beams in the Student Center will add warmth, beauty, and history to the new facility.

Progress is continuing on the addition to the building, which is housed to the side and back of the current facility.

Existing elements of the architecture on the third floor are being incorporated into the new design.

Workers are removing bricks and enlarging windows on the back wall of the facility.

The opening in the floor at the bottom right provides a glimpse of what used to be the Skeller.

Randolph College Annual Spring Dance Concert Dedicated to the Memory of Visiting Artist Rebecca Jung

The Randolph College Annual Spring Dance Concert kicks off a weekend of performances today. This longstanding tradition features choreography from Randolph students and visiting artists.

The performances will take place at 8 p.m. March 29-31 in Smith Hall Theatre in Smith Memorial Building. Admission is $8 for general admission, $4 for students, and children 12 and under are free.

This year’s concert is dedicated to the memory of visiting artist Rebecca Jung. Jung passed away on September 6, 2011, less than two weeks before her Randolph College residency was to begin. Jung was a frequent visiting artist at Randolph, and was scheduled to stage a work for this year’s Annual Concert. Her death from advanced cancer was devastating and shocking to the entire dance community, and Randolph’s students and faculty members wanted to honor her creativity, talent, and “exuberant zaniness.” The dances included in this year’s Concert celebrate life—its joys, moments of humor, fleeting images of strength, beauty, and pathos.

The 2012 Annual Spring Dance Concert will also feature a special tribute to Jung. The dancers will perform Takehiro Ueyama’s “Footsteps in the Snow,” a stunningly beautiful requiem that Ueyama says reflects on the poignant reality that “nothing is permanent, nothing’s immortal, but we are going to leave something behind.”

photo by Keith Thieneman



Randolph College's 2012 Science Festival doubles attendance

More than 1,400 people of all ages got a taste of the magic of science March 23-25 during Randolph College’s 2012 Science Festival.

The Science Festival is in its fourth year and is designed to spark an interest in science in people of all ages by making science fun and accessible. The festival revolves around interactive exhibits and kid-friendly activities while also including lectures with leaders in the science community. Randolph’s Society of Physics Students runs the event each year with the help of more than 90 student volunteers.

“The student volunteers did an amazing job making all the events happen, and making them happen well,” said Peter Sheldon, a Randolph College physics professor and director of the Science Festival. “We grew Science Festival significantly this year, with more activities and more attendance, and we could not have done it without the huge community support.”

Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic magazine, kicked off the event with a classroom demonstration and public lecture on Thursday, March 23. Other events included a poetry contest for students in K-12, the popular Science Day for third through sixth graders, a drop-in event featuring hands-on science activities, the opportunity to view and critique the movie Twister with a scientist, the regional Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, and much more.

Randolph College provides Science Fest free to the community with the help of generous individual and corporate sponsors: Lead Sponsor: The News & Advance, AREVA, Edison2, Frito-Lay, Future Focus Foundation, Dominion Electric Vehicles, Greater Lynchburg Community Trust, High Peak Sportswear, Meriwether Godsey, Stewart Langley Properties, Pepsi, Marge Dillard ’4848, and The Honorable Elliot S. and Rosel H. Schewel.

2006 Alumna Profiled by the University of California, Berkeley after receiving an American Association of University Women's American Fellowship

Naomi Hollifield Ondrasek, a 2006 alumna, was recently profiled by the University of California, Berkeley after earning an American Association of University Women’s American Fellowship. The fellowship will provide funding while she completes her dissertation.

Ondrasek is an integrative biology doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley.

While at Randolph College, Ondrasek also earned the prestigious Udall Scholarship. She graduated with a biology major.
To see the piece, which was written by Richard Corten, a senior writer and editor for the University's graduate division, please go to http://grad.berkeley.edu/news/headlines/honors-awards/fellowship-winners/.

Photo by Thomas Ondrasek

Read another article about Ondrasek in Randolph magazine here http://www.randolphcollege.edu/x17438.xml

Student Center Renovation Update: January 11, 2012

When Randolph community members left campus in December for the winter break, construction crews were still installing steel beams in the Student Center facility, and floor work was only in the beginning stages. The work completed during the past few weeks has significantly changed views in the interior of the facility. Steel framing is in place along with new flooring, and crews have now moved to the upper floors to begin the rebuilding process in those areas. On the exterior, workers continue the brick work required to install windows in what is now just a large opening into the facility. Renovations also continue in other areas of the facility, including the rear, which previously housed the Skeller.

Keep checking back for more updates weekly!

Main Hall corridor receives updated look

A group of students is putting a fresh face on Main Hall, painting the hallways that lead away from the lobby.

The corridor walls have been blue for approximately 30 years, but the student workers are painting them a pale yellow.

The work should be completed by the time classes start next week, said Bob Hefner, a painter in the College's Building and Ground's department.

The College regularly hires students to help with painting projects between semesters. It is a win-win situation for all involved, as it gives students a place to live, some income, and helps freshen the look on campus, Hefner said.

Students working on the paint job include Mimi Joshi ’14, Samantha Lawrence ’15, Ben See ’13, Julia Kim ’14, Shreya Sharma ’14.

Some of the College's longest serving employees remember the walls being blue for as long as they have worked here.

They were painted blue in the late 1970s or early 1980s, when Sarah Tomerlin Lee ’32, a former College trustee, and her design firm completed a renovation and redesign.

The lobby was painted yellow in 1999, according to Heather Ayers Garnett ’86, director of alumnae and alumni.

This new look is just one major change to Main Hall. The College also is making progress on the $6 million renovation of the student center on the back of Main Hall. That renovation is creating features including gathering spaces, a theatre, a fitness center overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.