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For Immediate Release | |||||
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Campaign Surpasses its $65 Million Goal Lake Forest, Ill.- On Friday, October 10, 2003 at 4 p.m. Lake Forest College will hold a traditional “topping-out” ceremony for the College’s new Donnelley and Lee Library, an $18 million expansion and renovation project. The state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2004. The topping-out ceremony marks not only a major milestone in the construction phase of the project but also coincides with the College’s celebration and official close of its five-year comprehensive fundraising Campaign. The construction of this facility is just one of the many strategic goals being realized by the College as a result of its fundraising efforts. During the topping-out ceremony, participants will sign a steel beam, which will later be raised, along with the ceremonial evergreen tree and flag, to the highest point on the structure. Lake Bluff residents, Barbara and Laurence Lee, for whom the library is named, will be presented with a model of the new facility during the ceremony. The Lees provided the largest private donation to the project. Laurence Lee is a trustee of the College and retired vice president and general counsel of Abbott Laboratories. Designed by Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, with much input from faculty, students, staff, and trustees, the new facility will be on the cutting edge of technology –yet will be flexible enough to accommodate change. The Donnelley and Lee Library will be the intellectual and geographical heart of the College; the renovation and expansion will increase its size from 45,000 to 72,000 square feet. Turner Construction Company is managing the project. The College marked the official close of the Campaign during festivities at Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, on October 4, 2003, when President Stephen Schutt enthusiastically announced to the College community that the College had not only met its original Campaign goal of $65 million dollars but surpassed it by more than $4 million, with the final total at $69.6 million. “It’s a tremendous achievement for a campaign to succeed as well as this one in these tough economic times,” said President Schutt. “Our success in fundraising has really set the College on a strong course for the future, and we are extremely pleased with the outcome of this Campaign.” The topping-out ceremony—a tradition in the construction industry—stems from ancient times. The ceremony is carried out when the final beam, to which a flag and evergreen tree are attached, is ready for installation on the highest point of the structure. Historically the ceremony was a symbolic ritual to appease the spirits, honoring the forest god and thanking him for his wood and blessing. The topping-out tradition remains an important symbol of teamwork, quality, craftsmanship and luck for the future. Lake Forest College is a private, liberal arts institution located 30 miles north of downtown Chicago. The College has 1,300 students representing 46 states and 50 other countries.
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