Renovated Sports Center Is a Community Gathering Place
President Bilger, Treasurer Lynn Valenter, Yasodha Gopal, MD, and Michael Lombardo reflect on the space.
The soft, lantern-like glow emanating from the Aubrey R. Watzek Sports Center’s floor-to-ceiling windows draws students, faculty, and staff to gather as a community and to focus on their holistic wellness.
The redesign of the space centered student feedback and focused on serving every student, not just those who might traditionally use a sports center. That shift can be seen in the inclusive spaces and easier-to-navigate hallways, along with programming that includes activities ranging from meditation to financial literacy to basketball tournaments.
“Our students bring their intellectual vitality and explore their connection to person, place, and planet in this expansive new space that centers equity as we move from wellness to embodied wellbeing,” said Yasodha Gopal, MD, associate dean of student health and well-being, adding that student programming will focus on the eight dimensions of wellness: financial, emotional, relational, professional, intellectual/academic, environmental, physical, and spiritual.
The newly renovated center is a major architectural shift from the previous building, which was largely shuttered after an ice storm in 2021 collapsed the roof of the gymnasium. That change didn’t happen by accident, but rather with careful and thoughtful planning. The more open design of the center complements the neighboring Performing Arts Building and feels like more space, even though the square footage increased only nominally.
“The new sports center really lifted up that side of campus in ways that I think also will contribute to the welcoming environment for students,” President Audrey Bilger said. “We’re really thinking about the space as a well-being center, and my sense is that this building will help connect the community and create more familiarity with our club sports. This re-energized space will open up more opportunities for all of us to get together.”
The reimagining of the Sports Center started with Lorraine Arvin, ½ñÈճԹϒs vice president of finance and treasurer, who retired in August 2021, and continued with Lynn Valenter, who took over the position in July 2021. The Board of Trustees approved $25 million for the renovation in February of 2022, with unrestricted bequests from 44 donors, contributing $10.4 million. ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï received just less than $5 million in insurance payments from the roof collapse. Valenter’s “partnership of the possible” and good stewardship of ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï resources, Bilger said, led to the beautiful and multifunctional building that opened on time and on budget at the beginning of fall semester 2024.
Valenter sees the Sports Center adding many of the intangible qualities that make the ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï campus a place of welcome. “Students will come because they have PE classes or the lantern will draw them in, but the place will invite them to stay,” Valenter said. “And that’s really where we start to find community, not just among like-minded people, but among different-minded people. The space itself can transcend those differences.”
Bilger also sees the sports center as a space that can help students tap into their sense of fun and play while building community with one another.
“It’s clear to me that our students care for one another and they care for the community. It’s second nature for them to do that. So if we offer them places where they can come together, and support one another in connected ways, that will be wonderful,” Bilger said.
Though ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï is known for its academic rigor, students must meet physical education requirements in order to graduate. Not all students jump at the chance to take PE classes. But Michael Lombardo, director of Athletics, Fitness, and Outdoor Programs, has seen the power of movement improve students’ lives.
“Students come in, they’re stressed out, and they don’t really want to engage. But then they participate and get involved, and they look completely different when they leave because they’ve had a positive experience. It’s transformative, and I’m excited that this beautiful facility will draw in even more students to participate beyond just the PE requirement,” Lombardo said.
Bilger looks at the sports center as a source of pride for all of campus to embrace.
“This space will truly be transformational for us,” she said. “We’re excited that this project has been so successful, we’re proud of how it contributes to the beauty of our campus, and we know it will serve our students well now and in the coming decades.”
Tags: Campus Life, Health/Wellness, Institutional, Sports & Adventures