Future brightens for completion of Plex

Photo: Camille Vickers / A bird’s eye view of the Plex. Harris refectory, center, is surrounded by residence halls.

Renovating the last two Plex residence halls and updating another 12 to 24 classrooms will be among the CC’s fundraising priorities during the next fiscal year, President Norman Fainstein told alumni during Reunion 2005.

Fainstein said his goal is “to finish some unfinished business” before he steps down as President next June.

The Plex, which includes six residence halls and Harris refectory, was built in 1960-62. Harris and four of the halls (Wright, Morrisson, Lambdin and Park) were rebuilt in the late 1990s. Because of a budget crunch, Marshall and Hamilton were not renovated.

If fundraising targets are met, work on those two halls will begin next summer and be completed a year later. Together they currently house about 150 students.

Classrooms also are a priority for the College, Fainstein said. Four or five have already been remodeled with new furniture, lighting and the latest technology — including Fanning 306, financed this year with a 50th reunion gift from the Class of 1955. Fainstein has set his sights on securing fundraising commitments for an additional 12 to 24 of CC’s 45 classrooms.