$127.7 million project will establish social science hub in heart of University Park campus
YORK, Pa. – Final plans for the construction of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building on the University Park campus advanced today (July 21) through the Penn State Board of Trustees on Finance, Business and Capital Planning. This may interest you : Summit Arts Showcase has become an east side arts festival. The project will go to the full board for review on July 22.
The full board of trustees previously approved naming the building in honor of Susan Welch, who served as president of the College of Art from 1991 until 2019. Welch died on March 28, 2022.
After the expected completion of 2024, the 143,000-square-foot building will house several academic units in the College of Liberal Arts – the School of Public Policy and the departments of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology and Criminology – and the School of International Affairs and country under one roof. The main purpose of classrooms and other modern learning spaces, with the relocation of the Matson Museum of Anthropology, the Center for Population Studies, the McCourtney Center for Democracy, the Center for Criminal Justice Research, and a number of other labs, institutions. and facilities to the new location will help quickly establish the Welch Building as a new center for social science teaching, research and outreach at the heart of campus.
“Building the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building is an important part of our efforts to provide a liberal arts education that prepares students for all walks of life, and to recruit and retain top performing arts professionals. communities that continue to address the most pressing social, political and cultural issues facing us today,” said Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “I am grateful to The Board of Trustees approves of this investment that elevates Penn State’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading public technology institutions.”
The Welch Building will be located between the Ford and Mateer buildings and directly across Fischer Street from the Moore Building. The architects of the project, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, were able to create a design that takes into account the complexities of the site – such as height restrictions, large tree areas, connections to sidewalk networks and service requests – with. with a desire to design a connection with the surrounding buildings.
The total cost of the project is estimated at 127.7 million US dollars, and the majority of the expenses came from loans, state funds and capital reserves. The project includes funding to demolish the Oswald Building (where many of the units moving to the Welch Building are currently located), which currently carries a maintenance record of $14.9 million.
The College of Liberal Arts plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building on August 12.
