Local supporters and alumni celebrate renovation of Kauke Hall

Specially invited guests of the surrounding Wooster communities tour the newly renovated Kauke Hall on Thursday, Sept. 7.

WOOSTER, Ohio - More than 300 community members and Wooster alumni from Wayne and Holmes counties turned out Thursday night to celebrate completion of the renovation of Kauke Hall, the college's largest academic building and a campus icon since 1902.

"This is indeed a glorious celebration," said Wooster President R. Stanton Hales as he welcomed the crowd.

Campus administrators and members of the Wooster Leadership Group, who spearheaded local fund-raising efforts for the $18 million project, led building tours throughout the evening. Though the exterior appeared unchanged, inside the transformation was dramatic. Dropped ceilings have been removed to reveal windows covered for 45 years. Corridors have been widened, skylights added, and every square inch of interior space has been reconfigured. The new ground-floor coffee shop, the guides said, has already become a favorite gathering spot for students and faculty.

Albert L. Filoni, principal in the Pittsburgh firm of MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, and lead architect on the project, told the crowd that the project "became a labor of love for everyone involved."

The Kauke renovation was the largest capital project in the college's history. An $8 million challenge grant from the Walton Family Foundation provided the nucleus of the fund-raising effort. The Wooster and Wayne County community raised more than $3 million. In all, more than 2,000 individuals, foundations and corporations contributed to the project.

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally recognized for an innovative curriculum that emphasizes independent learning. Each Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty mentor to create an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 1,800 students.