At noon today, members of the development staff (left to right: Mary Clare Monahan, Billy Joe Jayne, Andi Lippincott, and Kathy Dean) led by Executive Vice President Carolanne Marquis (below, center) rang the Ball Hall bell in celebration of the College receiving the Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant.
We did it!
The College has met the requirements set by the Kresge Foundation to receive a $600,000 challenge grant for The Campaign to Save Ball Hall.
Counting the Kresge funds, the campaign total stands at $10,492,838. The goal was $10 million.
“The Kresge Challenge was all about increasing participation in the campaign and we certainly did that,” said College President Joseph G. Burke.
The Office of Development reports that 2,466 gifts have been made to the campaign.
Faculty and staff came through in a big way; 215 of them contributed $106,110, nearly double the projection for dollars raised.
“I want to thank all of our supporters—alumni, faculty, staff, parents, trustees, foundations, corporations, and friends—for helping us meet the Kresge Challenge,” said the president, “and I hope everyone will come out and help us celebrate the completion of the campaign and renovation June 14.”
The impact of meeting the Kresge Challenge could be felt long after Reunion Weekend, however.
“We have positioned ourselves well to receive future grants from the Kresge Foundation and because we have added to our giving base, we will be better able to take advantage of opportunities to help the College in the years ahead,” said Burke.
Meet Jen Shoemaker ‘08, an organizational communication major from Apalachin, NY. Those of you who were at reunion this summer may remember her; she was driving folks around in golf carts (and also owning the dance floor with a few of our more rhythmically talented alumni).
Many of you have asked what the new dorm rooms in Ball look like, and Jen was kind enough to put her room in the spotlight for us.
And now for an interview with Jen, our wonderful hostess:
Jen, your room seems so clean; do you actually live in it? Is this typical of college students in the 21st century?
Well, yeah I live in it. I’m just very organized, I like it clean … a clean room is a happy room, you know. I would say it’s definitely not typical of other students.
How many other people do you share your room with? Is the new space cramped at all?
I share it with two of my friends, and our room is pretty well spaced out, I’d say. The new closet space is really nice. When I lived in Ball before, it was dirty–which drove me nuts–the furniture didn’t match, and each room was a completely different size. Some people were in a room that was literally the size of a closet; I was lucky to be in a room that was the size of the alumni lounge … it didn’t make much sense or seem fair. The new rooms are a breath of fresh air.
There’s still some construction going on around Ball. How much of that do you hear in your room?
They’re still working on landscaping outside and laying down the new sidewalks, so there’s a lot of noise — especially when they’re breaking the sidewalks up. As far as the noise in the morning, it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be — we can at least sleep until 6:30 or 7, ha-ha.
Anything else you’d like to share with the world? This is going on the Internet, you know. The world may be reading … but hey, no pressure.
I definitely feel lucky to live in Ball Hall, especially during the construction while history is being made. In the summer, it’s really great because of the air conditioning; it’s been nice and warm in there this fall, too. The heaters are brand new, so they work.
Okay, last question: Halloween was a few days ago. Any run-ins with George?
I haven’t had any run-ins with the alleged Ball Hall ghost, but my dad has. He was alone in the elevator and heard a male voice say “go for it” three times. To this day, he still won’t go in the elevator.
The folks over at our Accelerated Studies for Adults Program had a pumpkin carving contest today. My vote goes to this one, crafted by Anne Killen, director of administrative services and Gail Roberts, director/associate professor of Social Work. They call it The Ghost of George Harvey Ball.
- Pete
When I was a student here in the late 90s, the Ball Hall “pit” (three rows of chorale-style, wooden risers—a bit warped and painted green—situated below ground) was a feature I thought cute, but not something very often utilized from my vantage point. I recall maybe having spent one class period seated there on a nice day when our professor decided to take us out for a little fresh air. After I started working here, I realized that the pit was a popular place for taking photos… where else could you corral a large group and arrange them in such a way that you could see everyone’s face? I think a lot of wedding parties utilized the space for the same purposes (submissions I have received for the “Class Notes” section of Keuka magazine tell me so). But, beyond that, it was a hole in the ground—literally—that you had to walk around to get to your destination. I don’t mean to offend anyone who has positive sentiments about the pit. I really don’t know how it came to be or what it might have been like in its heyday (if it had one). If you’ve got stories to share about the pit, please do so. What I’m sharing here is a photo of the new lakeside Ball Hall entrance, complete with the President Joseph G. Burke Plaza. Previously, there was a set of stairs leading up to the door, and a staircase inside the door leading to the first floor lobby. Now, the door, on the same level as the pavement, leads to ground floor. While the Ball Hall pit might have been characterized as whimsical, the plaza is inarguably sophisticated.
-Tanya
That’s how one student described the transformation of the student rooms in Ball. I recently had the opportunity to take a tour of the second, third and fourth floors with the building’s resident director, Mike Gentile. I got to see a double room and quadruple room — both had plenty of room to roam. The former hardwood floors are carpeted, so that saves students from having to buy area rugs (unless, of course, they want to). The residents I spoke with are most happy, as was I, with the central air conditioning (this has been a pretty warm September here in Keuka Park); the only other residence hall with central air is Harrington. The doors on the rooms were also changed; metal ones replace the old wooden ones. “It’s a better feeling of security,” said Gentile. “They swing close automatically.” If you lived in Ball Hall pre-renovation, you had to do your laundry in the basement. Now, there are laundry facilities on every floor — two washers and four dryers, as a matter of fact. The lounge areas feature flat-screen televisions mounted to the walls and the kitchenettes are both practical and pretty. The building is also better handicap accessible, something about which Gentile is glad: “The doors are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and there is a handicap-accessible shower in each bathroom.”
-Tanya
A guest entry from Gretchen Parsells, manager of communications:
As the last couple of days of summer give way to fall, I have mixed emotions. I love summer at Keuka College, and the freedom it gives me to eat my lunch on top of the boathouse, or picnic-style on the chapel lawn. The lake is so pretty when it is blue, and the trees are a flurry of activity as the squirrels and birds vie for nest space. The smell of freshly mown grass mixes with a hint of rain, and we furiously click the “save” icon on our computers as we hear the first rumblings of thunder. But fall at Keuka brings its own beauty, as the leaves turn from green to brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. The crisp, cool mornings make me look forward to a hot cup of Dark Magic Espresso coffee from the Terrace Café, while the warm, sunny afternoons encourage me to be outside as long as it stays light. Fall also brings families near and far to campus for Family Weekend. A weekend bustling with activities, beginning tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 21, there are events and activities for all members of the family. While most of the weekends’ activities occur Saturday, other events will be tomorrow and Sunday. Some of the events include Keuka’s cheerleaders, dance and step teams showcasing their skills tomorrow night, while Saturday, President Burke will update parents and students alike with projects and activities on campus, and the Viking Spirit will head out for tours of Keuka Lake twice. Family Weekend also bring out friendly competition as students, families, alumni, faculty and staff climb into the College’s canoes for the annual Shively Cup canoe and kayak races. Two athletes and a former coach will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame, the volleyball team will triumph over visiting Morrisville College (my prediction), and there will be activities geared toward children ages 5-12 sponsored by the Education Club. Sunday features men’s and women’s alumni soccer games, and First Annual Ed Purcell Alumni Classic (lacrosse). I will be here all day Saturday to document events photographically, as well as assist in any way I am able. I look forward to meeting the families who come this weekend, and invite those of you who have not seen the renovations in Ball Hall to stop in, say hello, and take a tour of the ground and first floors.
Unfortunately, I didn’t capture it on camera, but it was quite a sight here last week when the new beds, dressers, desks and wardrobes arrived for the student residences in Ball Hall. There were metal frames stacked by the dozens and covered in shrink-wrap resembling a virtual maze outside of the door. At Community Day on Monday, General Manager of Facilities LaMont Schiers informed the faculty and staff that more than 2,000 pieces were distributed and set up in their respective rooms. Considering there’s only one elevator in the building, that must have amounted to a lot of manpower! I’m so happy for the students living in Ball who get to enjoy brand new furniture in their refurbished rooms. How nice it must be to know that you are the first student to sleep on that mattress… now that’s peace of mind.
-Tanya
I had the pleasure of driving a golf cart during reunion weekend, picking up reunion attendees — alumni and their family members — and dropping them off at their destinations. Not only was driving the cart for the first time a hoot, but I enjoyed hearing about the Keuka College of days gone by from my passengers and fellow alumni. Stories about Ball Hall were of great interest since I work in the building. Two women, graduates from the ’70s or ’80s, I’m guessing, said they used to watch soap operas in the basement, where the communications office is now located. I believe they also mentioned something about smoking, too, but their words started to trail off…
Visiting the memory room set up on the first floor in Ball was also a delight. That’s where Inez Potwin Brumm ‘52 shared with me her photos and memories of living in Ball Hall. She resided in a second floor room with two roommates. The room had a single bed and bunk beds and the young women agreed to switch beds every 10 weeks, providing each of them some time in the single bed. How great that they were able to reach such a compromise.
Reading through the Ball Hall memories that other alumni jotted down in the memory room provided a glimpse of the building throughout the decades. Judy Hart Bode’s ‘ 62 entry recounting “sliding down the main stairway on an old mattress” made me realize that students back then could be just as inventive with their entertainment as students today. Sandy Kirkpatrick Rozek’s ‘62 furthers that notion. “Can you get in trouble for ‘borrowing’ pitchers of ice from the kitchen in the middle of the night?” she asks. “Just another of those quirky things in Ball Hall — access to anywhere, anytime — just so long as we didn’t go through the outside doors!” Jill Martin ‘77 recalls taking a sailing class from Mrs. Africa. “We had to keep a record of the wind and the waves on the Beaumont Scale and we would do it by looking out the windows at the lake,” she writes. Laura David Chaba ‘82 wonders if “George” was responsible for standing a pencil upright and “moving it across a sheet of paper” while she was visiting some friends on the third floor. Good question.
Thanks to everyone who shared her or his Keuka memories during reunion. Don’t forget you can also relate those recollections here, in the “Ball Hall Memories” section. I enjoyed meeting so many of you over the weekend.
-Tanya
Summer hasn’t officially started yet, but already we’ve had some beautiful, warm weather in Keuka Park. And warm is good, if you ask me. But, when you’re cooped up in a building that is being renovated and therefore are not able to open windows because brick work is being done on the exterior, it helps to have air conditioning. Ball Hall now has central air! When the renovation was going on last summer, the window air conditioning units had to be removed and the windows had to remain shut. I will confess that at times the air is a bit too cold for me, but faced with the alternative of no cool breezes at all, I’d opt for the air conditioning any day.
-Tanya
