Dear Faculty and Staff:
When the Board of Trustees was on campus in April, a number of Trustees noticed that a house had come on the market at 131 West Broadway. An idea arose from the Board of Trustees of purchasing the house and making it the President’s residence. The college is in the process of purchasing the home. Funds for the purchase are coming from current and former trustees and other donors. I want to thank the donors who are making this possible. We will be transforming Monomoy into the Monomoy Alumni House. It will function as much needed space for visiting alumni groups and a reception area for the Eisner Center, among other functions.
Why Purchase 131 Broadway? - As Columbus grows out our way, real estate in Granville will become more expensive and harder to purchase. Many colleges who have undergone this transformation have regrets about not purchasing real estate adjacent to their campus when they could have done so. The house is beautiful and requires little to no renovations. It will be a good investment for the college.
Reception Space for the Eisner Center - When the Eisner Center opens, we anticipate using the first floor of Monomoy as the reception area for the Eisner Center and other campus events. While the new building has fantastic public spaces, it does not have a more formal reception area for small dinners or more intimate receptions before or after performances. The landscaping will tie the two buildings together so that Henderson Gardens can also be used for recitals, performances of various kinds, and receptions. We anticipate extensive use of these spaces.
Space to Host Alumni Gatherings - As part of the Strategic Plan, we launched a new Alumni and Family Engagement Office. Due to the work of that office, we regularly have more groups of alumni on campus and expect more in the future. Currently, we have a regular list of alumni gatherings, from 50th Reunion Planning Committees, to Alumni Council and the new Ohio Regional Board of Advisors. Monomoy will be a great space for those alumni groups to gather and do their work.
The 2nd and 3rd Floors - Over the next year, Adam is going to engage members of the campus community on the ways we might use the second and third floors of Monomoy. A number of ideas have been raised. There will be more to come on this in the fall. I do know that Adam has interest in freeing up space on the Academic Quad that we need for academic programs who have space needs.
President’s House - 131 Broadway will make a good President’s House. Adam and Anne will continue to host many events at the new house. This is something they enjoy and believe is important. It is also something that the new house lends itself to doing. The second and third floors will be a nice family space for Adam, Anne and Abigail.
Sincerely,
John Faraci
Chair
Board of Trustees