Alumni

Coming Soon:
The New Mohr Student Center and Stuart Commons

By Cara Jepsen ’86

In September 2004, 15 Lake Forest College students and three staff members met for dinner at the home of architect Stephen Wright. But they weren’t there for a class on architecture. Rather, they had assembled to give input on the design of Lake Forest College’s new $4.5 million Mohr Student Center; ground-breaking is scheduled for April 27.

Wright says of the meeting, “[The students] really wanted the center to be separated from things that have more to do with class work or daily necessity; they wanted to have a space that is dedicated to socializing.” He adds that the students also voiced a strong desire for the design to allow personal interaction on a variety of levels.

A student body survey last year resulted in a wish list for a center that includes everything from a sandwich shop with comfortable couches and chairs to a dance floor, big-screen TV, and pool tables—all of which will be part of the new facility.

The 14,000-square-foot Mohr Student Center will be attached to the east end of Commons, which also will undergo renovation. The fan-shaped annex will feature a dining area, a stage, a snack bar with an eclectic menu as well as wine and beer for those of legal age, and an outdoor terrace with seating.
 It’s no secret that the campus has needed a new student center for some time. Last fall, over 400 students crowded into Southside, a temporary center that has been established at the former Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Although attendance at Southside eventually leveled off, the large turnout at the center’s opening event demonstrated the need for a permanent student center on campus.

“I like Lake Forest because it’s a small school, and we all know one another,” says outgoing student body president Julien M. Sanson ’05, who has lobbied for a new facility since 2002. “The problem is that Lake Forest is not a college town. And students who stay on campus don’t have a central place where they can check in and see if something is going on.”

Stephen C. Strelsin, chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees, agrees with Sanson’s assessment. “I spent a lot of time over the last four years talking to students and hearing that this is an issue for them,” he says. “The College needs activities and locations where large groups of students can congregate and build communities.”

The initial plan was simply to renovate the existing Commons, but the plan grew to include the new Mohr Student Center when longtime College Trustee Jean W. Mohr ’52 and her husband, Frank T. Mohr Jr. ’52, who met at the College, were major contributors to the fund for the new space. “We’ve needed a student center for at least 25 years,” Jean Mohr says. “We talked about it many times, but there were other priorities,” such as renovating Deerpath and Nollen dormitories and reconfiguring Young Hall, North Gym, and the Donnelley and Lee Library.

“There are a lot of alumni out there who are very generous,” she continues. “They have a good feeling about the school and have enabled us to make this happen. We’re blessed to be able to share and have [the center] finally become a reality.”

Another longtime trustee and Lake Forest resident, Margaret Hart, along with her brother, Ambassador of Norway and former Quaker Oats chairman Robert D. Stuart Jr., also made significant gifts to the project. In honor of their generous support, the existing Commons will be renamed  Stuart Commons. Their grandfather, the Reverend James G. K. McClure, was College president at the end of the 19th century, and the siblings have fond memories of walking through campus on their way to school.

“It’s a part of my life,” says Hart, a trustee whose late husband also served on the Board (and whose son-in-law, Robert T. E. Lansing, serves now). “I’ve known many professors and students, and I think it’s a wonderful institution. I feel very strongly that people should help support their local institutions, and the College is a very positive force in the community.”

Stuart’s granddaughter, Wendy E. Pillsbury ’96, met her husband, Christopher B. Eichmann ’96, at the College. “We have a feeling of dedication to the College,” Stuart says. “It’s a great institution, and it’s an important cause. We would like to see students spend more of their free time on campus, and providing a nice place to gather will go a long way toward that goal.”

Two other College Trustees, John and Paula Polk Lillard, provided the final substantial gift required to complete funding for the project. “John and Paula have been champions of the student center from the start,” says President Stephen D. Schutt. “They clearly recognized its strategic importance to the College, and they stepped forward at the right time, and with great generosity, to make it possible. The College is deeply grateful, as we are to Jean, Frank, Margie, and Bob.”

President Schutt attests to the importance of the new center. “With the exception of the Donnelley and Lee Library, this is the most exciting project at the College in my time here,” he says. “It’s a hangout space that we’ve really needed for a long time, and it will be the new social and recreational gathering center for the entire College.”

The renovation of Stuart Commons will result in a more open floor plan. The current snack shop, Outta Here, will move to the new Mohr Student Center to allow more space for the administrative offices needed to support a student body that is 46 percent larger than it was ten years ago. The Office of Intercultural Relations may move from Young Hall to Stuart Commons, where it could be conveniently located next door to the Office of Leadership and Community Involvement, which has primary responsibility for New Student Orientation, Student Activities, and Community Service on- and off-campus. Stuart Commons will also get an attractive new front entrance, signifying its key position at the center of campus.

Open spaces will allow for multipurpose functionality, such as areas for games, smaller group activities, and a dance floor. “We have tried to address all of the different possibilities and at the same time keep it flexible so it can adapt to a change in mood from Wednesday night to Saturday night,” says architect Wright, who also designed the new Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and the Lake Forest Country Day School’s Early Childhood Center. “We are trying to create a canvas for students to work with. What you see as a result is the direct outgrowth of our dialogue with students about how all the different spaces would function.”

Mallori C. Thomas ’06, who sits on the Student Center Advisory Committee, predicts that the new facility will offer something for everyone. “I think the new space will provide a balance between having the freedom of doing anything you want to do and the luxury of not having to stay in your room. You don’t necessarily have to be a partier or a student who is really socially interactive; you can watch TV or play billiards, whatever is to your liking.”

The center’s stage can be employed for small theater, performance art, and musical performances. Communications Department Assistant Professor Linda Horwitz plans to use the stage as part of the annual student symposium, which has previously been held in several locations scattered across campus. “This is a place where we can make it enticing for people to come and to participate,” she says. “I’m hoping the space will also allow for casual communication between faculty and students.”

The brick, limestone, and glass materials used for the exterior of the Mohr Student Center were chosen to complement the existing architecture of Stuart Commons and the library. “We have taken great care to make sure it is integrated into the campus architecture and infrastructure,” says Facilities Management Director Dave Siebert. “It is situated so that it creates a walkway through an arcade that can lead you to the rest of campus or to the library, which is next door. It fits into the site very nicely.”

The new café plans to offer soups, hot and cold sandwiches, pre-made salads, breakfast sandwiches, a smoothie bar, nachos, and prepackaged sushi. “Apart from having replacement meal alternatives for when the cafeteria isn’t open, we’re trying to provide more options for commuters,” says Meredith Provance, head of food services at the College.

Like other schools in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest that offer beer and wines in their lounges, Lake Forest will only serve individuals who are 21 or older. “We should educate students about alcohol’s place in our culture instead of pretending it doesn’t exist and pushing it further into the closet,” says Dean of Students Beth Tyler, “We’re not going into this with rose-colored lenses,” she adds. “There will be bracelets and IDs—we have a good system.”

Lake Forest College students are most excited about the Mohr Student Center for its ability to bring students closer together. “Having seen what the architects have done and the amount of planning and thought that has gone into it, and having visited other locations, it definitely has the potential to do everything,” says Ellery R. Fisher ’08, a member of the Student Center Advisory Committee. “It will very much change the whole social scene on campus.” 

Cara Jepsen ’86 is a Chicago writer whose essays occasionally air on the WBEZ radio program 848. During her tenure at the College, she spent many hours in Commons as a DJ at WMXM.