Psychology/Neuroscience
Alumni Memorial Gymnasium is currently being transformed into a state-of-the-art home for Lafayette's programs in psychology and neuroscience. It will be named for Walter Oechsle '57 and Christa Oechsle in recognition of their commitment of $10 million.

The new facility will provide 45,000 square feet of space on five levels including teaching laboratories, faculty research laboratories, shared faculty-student research laboratories, and faculty offices. Completion is expected to be sometime in early 2002.

Walter Oechsle, a Lafayette trustee, is recognized as one of the premier international investment managers. He is founding principal of Oechsle International Advisors, Boston. For five years he wrote "Overseas Commentary," a column on international investing, for Forbes magazine.

Engineering Complex
Lafayette will completely renovate and modernize its entire 90,000-square-foot engineering complex by August 2003 and name it the Acopian Engineering Center in recognition of a major gift from Easton, Pa.,businessman Sarkis Acopian'51 and his wife, Bobbye. Acopian is the founder of Acopian Technical Company, Palmer Township, Pa. The amount of the Acopians' gift was undisclosed, in accordance with the donors' wishes.

Each program will have its own student learning center or computer lab (or both), open 24 hours a day, in close proximity to that program's dedicated joint student/faculty research laboratories, faculty offices, teaching laboratories, and research laboratories. New wired classrooms will better serve today's learning and teaching methods and have the flexibility to adapt to future needs.

Alumni Hall of Engineering, Charles A. Dana Hall, and the Eleanor Dana Engineering Laboratory will all undergo a thorough renovation.

David Bishop Skillman Library
The top priority during the campaign's final months is completing the funding for a $15 million expansion and modernization of Skillman Library. Plans call for enlarging the library by 30,000 square feet, more than doubling the space devoted to information technology and addressing a pressing need for increased shelf space for printed materials. Work is expected to begin in early 2002 and be completed in 2003.

"Skillman Library is the very heart of academic life at Lafayette," President Arthur J. Rothkopf says. "Our plan is to transform it into a learning and information center that will fulfill our promise to offer high-achieving undergraduates in the 21st century the very best possible environment for academic success. It will be the leading symbol on our campus of Lafayette's commitment to academic excellence."

A glass façade will face Pardee Hall and Farinon College Center. The rear will be redesigned with glass towers and a garden to provide a physical and psychological link to the science and engineering buildings close by. The library will be expanded or altered on three sides. The seam between the new and old will be shifted to the west, more in line with Farinon. A terraced platform at the front will take advantage of the site's natural topography to create an attractive space for gatherings and events.

South College-Jesser Hall
The renovated east wing of South College opened in spring 2001. The renovated west wing, named Jesser Hall, opened in fall 2001.

The hall now features two living units on each floor, each with a living room and kitchen area, creating a friendly living-learning environment for special-interest "houses," groups of students who share academic or cocurricular interests. Student rooms and living/kitchen areas have multiple connections to the new high-speed campus network.

The hall houses approximately 230 residents, resident advisers, and a faculty resident. About half of the residents are first-year students.

Pfenning Alumni Center
The Robert E. '32 and Hazel E. Pfenning Alumni Center, currently under construction at the north end of Alumni Gymnasium, is set to open sometime in 2002. Named in tribute to Robert Pfenning's service as Alumni Association president and the Pfenning family's exceptional loyalty and financial support, the center will give alumni a central, convenient home on campus, with ample space for Alumni Association activities, says James Dicker '85, director of development.

The center will feature an assembly room for meetings, pregame luncheons, committee sessions, and alumni banquets and forums. With a capacity of 150 people for seated dining, the room can also be partitioned into three separate areas.The great room will be named for Trustee Emeritus Ty Wilson '53 in recognition of his $500,000 donation to the campaign.

Other features of the center include small meeting rooms, Alumni Association staff offices, a central gallery with displays, and an outdoor plaza overlooking Fisher Field.