It was a sunny, warm day in February, and students were visible all over the cricket field at the center of campus. They played volleyball, sat in circles talking, some crossed from one building to another. Inside the red brick, multi-level classroom centers, hallways were jammed as students made their way to classes during the first week of the Spring semester. The campus was teeming with students, and Forman’s growth was apparent to me and the visitors I had brought with me from the US. “We have nowhere to study on this campus,” students told us in small informal gatherings. A faculty office building has recently opened, and it is full too. Ten percent per year enrollment growth is hard to keep up with. The need for the campus center is so great. It will house a new library, a cafeteria and coffee shop, an auditorium, and spaces for Student Life staff and student clubs. It can’t be built fast enough.
Fortunately, it is being built carefully with expert supervision. I was able to tour the ground floor of the 180,000 square foot building, currently ahead of schedule and set to open in the fall of 2021. Some of today’s students will graduate before the campus center opens, yet they celebrate the addition of this first-in-the-nation type of center. Who knows, maybe some of those graduates will be working for Forman and see it then!
Grateful for your partnership,