On Nov. 10, Temple’s Ambler campus became home to the footprints of a $17 million project which will be known as the Ambler Learning Center.
The facility is the first major construction undertaking on Ambler’s campus since 1983, and will eventually house classrooms, a math and writing center, a video conferencing classroom and a visual arts center.
Presiding over the groundbreaking was University President David Adamany, who issued a statement indicating his satisfaction with the project.
“The University is committed to providing the best possible educational experience for our students at every campus,” said Adamany, adding that the facility would “be a world-class teaching facility and a central hub for campus life for students and faculty.”
Also present at the ceremonial event was Temple Ambler Dean Dr. Sophia Wisniewska, who described the event as “a long-awaited ceremony…I think the new building will change the way teachers teach and the way students learn.”
Construction of the Center is being funded largely by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is expected to carry on until spring of 2006.
The building’s auditorium will seat 300 with an 800-square-foot stage created with a resurrection of Ambler’s Temple University Music Festival and Institute in mind. The festival was discontinued in 1980, but with a suitable locale being erected, there is hope that it will return to the campus.
“Our students are extremely excited about the prospect of having a modern facility, with proper lighting and sound system, in which to enjoy these presentations,” said Assistant Dean for Student Life Wanda Lewis-Campbell. “Depending on scheduling and availability, the surrounding community may make use of the facility for speakers and events as well.”
Wisniewska agreed.
“It will have solved a big space crunch, and we really have for the first time a very technologically advanced building on campus,” she said, noting that the groundbreaking had “a good turn-out from the university and the community.”
The new building is located between the Dining Center and the Library and Computing Centers Building; actual construction following this ceremonial groundbreaking will begin before the first of the year.
Leah Blewett can be reached at lblewett@temple.edu.
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