There is no tiptoeing around the construction on Wofford College’s campus as of late. No matter your major or the location of your classes, it’s hard to miss the projects that line our campus.  These include the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, located between the Daniel Building and Milliken Science Center, as well as the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, which is taking form beside the football stadium. The new Greek Village was recently completed and dedicated on Sept. 17^th at the first home football game of the season.

The Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts will host a variety of academic programs including theatre, visual and studio arts. It will also become the home of the art history department.  Sixty-five thousand square feet with indoor and outdoor accessibility, the Center for the Arts offers art studios, a black box theatre, a 300-seat performance hall, galleries with the opportunity to display student work, a courtyard and educational space. Energy efficienct and high performance technology will equip the center.

Laura H. Corbin, director of news services, and Jason Burr, associate vice president for facilities and capital projects, are enthusiastic about progress. Corbin says, “The center for the arts has a lot of things going on. The progress is undeniable.” A “topping out” celebration was held on Tuesday, Sept. 13^th to mark the construction of the building’s highest point. The ceremony honored crew members who have worked on the structure thus far and those who will continue to do so until the scheduled completion in the spring of 2017. “As far as the schedule, we’ve been fortunate over the summer to have great weather,” says Burr. The building will open fully for student and recreational use in the fall of 2017.

Burr outlined specific unique features to the center including rehearsal and dressing rooms and “office spaces that contain studios,” of which there are three. This creates a space for professors to complete administrative work and also “create art”. The center will feature two sculptures from Dale Chihuly, one in the main lobby and one hanging in a monumental staircase. Rosalind Richardson herself had a hand in the plans for these custom-made blown glass sculptures. Inspiration for other aspects of the building has been modeled from the sculptures as well, which Laura Corbin hopes will “draw outside visitors” to Wofford, while also “enhancing Wofford’s appearance for perspective students.”

The anticipated opening of the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium is later; however, construction persists in this area. “The most impressive thing that’s about to happen right now is that we’ve got what we’re calling super tresses, which have come in two pieces, currently laying beside the stadium… they will be the tress or beam that spans the entire indoor arena. So you’ll begin to see those being put together and then lifted up,” says Burr. A “topping out” ceremony for the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium will take place on September 27^th, which will take place partly inside the construction zone.

In front of both facilities there are pop up samples of finishes and paints should a passer-by be interested in the details of these construction projects.

Logistically, the construction plays into many factors of student life. One of much conversation is limited parking on our campus. Jason Burr says, “There is more parking available than registered vehicles; however, it is perhaps less convenient. Throughout the day, much of the Cummings Street and Calvary Baptist church lots always have available spots.”

The funding for construction of both the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium and the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts was provided solely by Jerry Richardson, a 1959 Wofford graduate and member of the Wofford Board of Trustees. Laura Corbin says, “These buildings provide so much academic space and certainly the athletic space that we’ve never had. We’ve grown and we need that for basketball games and for volley ball games and henceforth. It’s a gift that keeps giving to us and we’re so grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Richardson for doing this for Wofford.”