Asbury University has begun construction of its 53,000-square-foot Collaborative Learning Center that the university calls “a 21st century academic facility that will facilitate collaborative activity across all academic programs.”
Asbury held an event on Nov. 11 to celebrate the start of construction. Students were asked to show up to the event in white or purple “AU” gear to showcase the university’s optimistic spirit toward the endeavor.
Provost Timothy Wooster shared a prayer with the students and faculty present at the event, and the university’s President, Kevin Brown, gave a brief speech commemorating the project.
Purple confetti cannons were fired at the end of the event, and Chick-fil-A was handed out to the first 200 students that came to support the university.
The two-story building will house the Howard and Beverly Dayton School of Business and the School of Science, Health, and Mathematics. It will also hold various conference rooms, classrooms, labs, an atrium, an auditorium and more for the students and faculty.
“The Howard Dayton School of Business has not had a space of their own on campus. The Science & Health Department’s Hamann-Ray building is now 60 years old and several generations of scientists were trained there,” said the dean of the School of Science, Health, and Mathematics, Dr. Vinson H. Sutlive.
Back in 2019, Asbury moved “forward in faith” and announced that it would soon be breaking ground for the center, although funding had not been fully completed.
Funding for the CLC came from Asbury’s Ignited campaign, a six-year fundraising campaign that spanned from July 2014 to June 2020. The campaign raised $83 million toward facilities, scholarships and student experience.
The funding is complete and debt-free construction was solidified back in September by a record-breaking $10 million-dollar gift from Dr. Walt ’63 and Rowena Phillips ’63 Shaw.
“The Collaborative Learning Center will be a tremendous blessing to both the business and science program,” said Sutlive.
The CLC building is expected to be available for Asbury students and faculty in the fall of 2022.
