The
College of New Rochelle to Build $25 Million Interdisciplinary Center
Dedicated to Wellness Education for Students
and the Community
New Building Will Be
Unique in Greater New York Metro Area
New Rochelle, NY (May 10, 2005) – The College of New
Rochelle (CNR),
the first college in the nation to offer a master’s program in holistic
nursing, announced today that it will again break new ground in
education by building a $25 million, 60,000-square-foot holistic
Wellness Center. The Center, a critical academic facility, will
be
unique in the greater New York metropolitan area to bring together and
integrate multiple disciplines to help students understand and practice
the principles of healthy living and wellness throughout their lives.
“Through the Wellness Center, the College will expand
our commitment to
education for health and well-being, and bring that knowledge into the
community,” said Dr. Stephen J. Sweeny, President of The College of New
Rochelle. “We’re not just constructing a building. We are drawing
on
our strength as a women-centered, faith-based, liberal arts institution
and matching it with the critical need to build a healthier society.”
Dr. Sweeny noted, “The Center is consistent with the way
we’ve always
done things throughout our 100-year history. We are breaking new ground
in what will truly be an interdisciplinary approach to equipping
students for lifelong healthful living.”
Groundbreaking for the Wellness Center is anticipated in
late
summer/early fall 2005, followed by an 18-month period of construction.
Although several buildings have been renovated, the
60,000-square-foot
state-of-the-art Wellness Center will be the first new building to be
constructed on campus in 40 years. The Center will consist of several
technologically equipped learning spaces for conferences, seminars and
classroom instruction. It will allow faculty and students to
develop
health and wellness education modules that address the specific
curricular needs of the CNR communities as well as further the larger
national goals of preventing major chronic illnesses, injuries and
infectious diseases. Healthy lifestyle habits will be taught to
students at all CNR campuses, and they will be encouraged to become
models of wellness.
The Wellness Center will be built at the southwest
corner of the CNR
campus along Liberty Avenue and Meadow Lane. It will serve as a
gateway for the College when seen from Pelham Road and anchors the
campus when approached from the northeast along the promenade known as
Maura Lawn.
A significant section of the Wellness Center will be
built into the
ground to take advantage of the area’s sloping topography and to
minimize the visual impact on the neighbors of the Residence Park
Association. The building’s two most unique features will be its
Contemplation Roof Garden, which will be created on top of the
below-ground pool enclosure, and the Meditation Room that will extend
from the corner of the building as if suspended in midair among a grove
of gingko and oak trees.
The Wellness Center makes good on the College’s promise
to its students
to provide a state-of-the-art fitness center. It includes a gymnasium
equipped with arena-style bleachers for 1,500 people, competition-size
basketball court and volleyball court; an interior running track
suspended above the gym floor; and a six-lane NCAA competition swimming
pool, lockers and showers. The 3,500-square-foot fitness center
includes a weight and equipment room, aerobics and dance studio,
Meditation Room and Contemplation Roof Garden.
The former sports building—torn down six years ago—was
constructed in
the 1920s. The inclusion of fitness and swimming in the program was
unusual for its time at a women’s college. CNR believed that
fitness
was integral to educating the whole person and that women were just as
entitled to it as men. Despite the lack of a sports building, the
CNR
Physical Education Department has continued to offer a diverse array of
classes for students from cross-country running to boxing. CNR
has
also continued its intercollegiate competition programs and NCAA
Division III affiliation by utilizing space at facilities and
neighboring schools.
Incorporated into the first floor of the new building
will be the
College’s Student Health Services Department. Health Services offers
health programs, provides preventive health care, treats acute health
problems and makes referrals. The School of Nursing will be a vital
component of many Wellness Center programs.
Marie Serina, Director of College Health Services, said,
“The Wellness
Center will give us a base where we can bring together the community
and educate them on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.” Health
Services,
which is now located in a small house that will be replaced to make way
for the newly expanded Center, will provide opportunities for
conferences, classrooms, and seminar activities for students and the
community-at-large.
Designed by Ikon.5 Architects of Princeton, NJ, the
architecture of the
Wellness Center is itself a metaphor—“a metaphor for wellness that
reflects the philosophical underpinnings of the project,” said Joe
Tattoni, Design Principal.
The fact that the Wellness Center will be a “Green”
building, eligible
for a silver level certificate by the U.S. Green Business Council under
its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building
Rating System®, presented challenges for the architect,
particularly
its recreation component. Mr. Tattoni explained, “Natural
daylight is
the enemy of competition swimming and basketball—that’s why gymnasiums
are windowless boxes.” The architect solved the problem by using
skylights in the Contemplation Roof Garden and variegated glass to help
diffuse the light in the gym. To take advantage of one of the
area’s
natural resources, the Wellness Center will be built almost entirely
out of Westchester granite like much of the CNR campus.
The $25 million funding for the Wellness Center is part
of the
College’s Capital Campaign. By the end of the Campaign, the
College
will have raised $70 million, which also supported the renovation of
the Mother Irene Gill Library and the refurbishment of the Holy Family
Chapel. The renovated Mother Irene Gill Library dramatically
improves
academic life at CNR with expanded access to technology for faculty and
students on all campuses while the refurbishment of the Holy Family
Chapel provides students with a beautiful spiritual center.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
The first Catholic
college for women in New York State,
The
College of New Rochelle was founded in 1904 by the Ursuline Order.
Today,
it comprises the all-women School of Arts & Sciences, and three
schools
which admit women and men: the School of New Resources (for adult
learners),
the School of Nursing and the Graduate School. The main campus of
the College is located in lower Westchester County, 16 miles north of
New York City. The College maintains six other campus locations
in New York
City. Visit the College’s website at www.cnr.edu
