Donor and government fund centre for learning
by Patty Pitts
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| Craig Mearns, left, and Chong with a sketch of the new learning centre. |
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The provincial government and the family of one of UVic’s earliest supporters have each pledged $5 million to expand and renovate the university’s library and increase online access to its resources.
The complex, which will include new seminar and tutorial facilities and classrooms and encompass the existing McPherson Library, will be named the William C. Mearns Centre for Learning.
“This $5 million gift from the Mearns family and $5 million from the provincial government allow us to complete the fundraising for the Mearns Centre for Learning,” said UVic President Dr. David Turpin at the March 7 ceremony announcing the donations. “Students and faculty from every academic discipline will benefit from the centre’s expanded and improved collection and study space.”
The $20-million project includes a $5-million investment from UVic and an additional $5 million from other donors. Components of the centre include an information commons with workstations and a single access point for all library resources; a media commons integrating all formats of the library’s music, audio and video collections; improved facilities and resources for students with a disability; and an Internet café.
“We’re providing some of the capital funding needed to build a modern learning centre that reflects the needs of UVic students,” says Minister of Advanced Education Ida Chong. “The new facility will comprise so much more than rows of books on shelves. This centre will foster learning and will enable students to connect to infomation sources around the world.”
Mearns was a Victoria native who attended Victoria College, UVic’s predecessor. In 1956, he urged those leading the drive to establish a university in Victoria to acquire the land that is now the Gordon Head campus. He was awarded an honorary degree from UVic in 1991 in recognition of a lifetime of service and achievement.
Mearns’s children, Craig, Lindsay and Marily, and his widow Loula made the $5-million gift to UVic in his name. The donation is one of the most significant gifts in UVic’s history.
Craig Mearns spoke on behalf of his family at the ceremony, calling on other affluent Victorians to follow in his father’s footsteps and contribute to their community by giving their time and money. “My father was a great booster of B.C., but especially Victoria,” said Mearns. “It’s time for Victorians to get behind community projects.”
The state-of-the-art Mearns Centre for Learning also includes study areas with electronic information access for faculty members and graduate students, a renovated special collections and archives area with appropriate environmental controls, and a 24-hour student study area.
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