By Jonathan Meilaender
The effects of Saint Vincent’s “Forward, Always Forward” comprehensive fundraising campaign continue, not only with the highly visible library renovation, but also with a number of aesthetic changes to campus. In addition to the new Saint Vincent College sign completed last year, a pair of brick pillars have sprung up at the main entrance.
These changes are the result of a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, according to David Hollenbaugh, vice president of Institutional Advancement.
The grant was provided through the DOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund, and amounts to exactly $274, 448. There’s a reason for this precision: since it’s a government grant, the college and the DOT work together to determine what exactly will be covered, and how much it will cost.
“That particular grant is specific to those projects, and we would not have been able to make an application for that grant for anything else,” Hollenbaugh said.
Sometimes, he explained, the college receives donor-directed funding—that is, someone, or some corporation or governmental department, as in this case, will donate on the condition that the funds be used for a specific purpose. This mandate means less flexibility, of course, but also that Institutional Advancement is always looking for relevant grants and programs that will fit within the overall scope of the comprehensive campaign.
As to the pillars themselves, their placement might seem a bit random, but, in fact, they are meant to reflect the history of Saint Vincent College.
“At the end of Wimmer Lane, near [Wimmer Hall], there are the pillars on either side of the road, and they have an iron arch with Saint Vincent written in it, but then there’s a smaller pillar off to the side of the walkway,” Hollenbaugh said. “That’s a traditional way of an entrance […] there’s also one of those on the entrance to the walkway by the monastery.”
Hollenbaugh also said that the new pillars will have a smaller pillar on the other side of the sidewalk to reflect the entrances Saint Vincent already has.
The grant includes funding for a number of other enterprises. In addition to the pillars, the sign was covered under the same funds. Lighting along Wimmer Lane and new security cameras and sidewalks are also included.
The campaign as a whole is still proceeding as scheduled, Hollenbaugh noted.
“We’re very pleased with the progress, and all of that progress is the result of the response of our alumni and friends. We have them to thank,” he said.