New Facility to Be Named for Madigans

A new $13 million library to be constructed on the campus of Pennsylvania College of Technology will be named the Roger and Peggy Madigan Learning Resources Center, in honor of the state senator and his late wife.

It was announced earlier Thursday that $7 million in capital budget redevelopment assistance will be provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to support the project. Education Secretary Charles Zogby made the announcement from Harrisburg on behalf of Gov. Mark Schweiker.

At the same time Zogby's announcement was released to the public, Rep. Brett O. Feese, a member of the Penn College Board of Directors, announced during a regular meeting of the directors at the College that the funding had been approved and the facility would be named in honor of the Madigans.

Madigan, of Bradford County, represents the 23rd Senatorial District. He was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving from 1977-84, then elected to the Senate in 1985. He is chair of the Transportation Committee, vice chair of the Game and Fisheries Committee and a member of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Appropriations, and Labor and Industry committees in the Senate. He also is a Trustee Emeritus of The Pennsylvania State University, as well as a member of the Penn College Board of Directors.

Peggy Madigan passed away unexpectedly in January, following a brief illness. She had a long and distinguished career of service to the Republican Party at the local, state and national level. She served as president of the Pennsylvania Council of Republican Women in 1989-91 and, in 1998, was chosen "Woman of the Year" by the organization.

The new facility to be named in honor of the couple will be constructed in vacant land near the College's Main Campus entrance. It will be situated to the east of College Avenue, across from the Alvin C. Bush Campus Center.

The project design and construction will be overseen by the Commonwealth's Department of General Services in Harrisburg. In addition to the $7 million provided by the Commonwealth, Penn College anticipates contributing another $7 million to design, construct and equip the facility.

Penn College President Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour said the new facility will be approximately 84,000 square feet, with enough space to seat approximately 1,000 students in order to match American Library Association standards for college libraries.

According to the president, the building specifications provide sufficient space for a growing text and electronic collection that is required to meet current and future needs. It also will accommodate space for computer laboratories, areas for individual and group study, a cafe and gallery space. It will be designed to take advantage of advancing computer, communication and information technologies to provide the most appropriate learning resources center for Pennsylvania's premier technical college.

"The Roger and Peggy Madigan Learning Resources Center will be student-focused and responsive to all instructional needs," Dr. Gilmour remarked at today's meeting of the College's Board of Directors. "Its design will take into consideration the diverse needs of our student body, as well as the needs of the modern world of work and our local community."

"The library is integral to the education mission of Penn College and it is central to the learning process for all students, who must learn how to recognize when information is needed and how to locate, evaluate and use information effectively and ethically. The ability to seek information and gain knowledge will empower these men and women to continue learning throughout their lives."

The current Penn College Library is housed in the Learning Resources Center, constructed in 1980, along West Third Street next to Bardo Gymnasium. The current library has seating for only 288 students in 28,155 square feet.

The ALA Standards for College Libraries recommends that a four-year college with a student population of 3,000-5,000 full-time students have a library of at least 53,700 square feet with room for 1,000 students and 187,000 volumes.

"To meet and to exceed these standards must be our goal, as our enrollment continues to climb above the 5,000 mark," Dr. Gilmour added. This fall, the College's enrollment was 5,963.

In addition to space for the text and electronic collections, plans are to include computer laboratories, areas for individual and group study, cafe and gallery space in the new facility.

Construction is expected to begin in 2003, with an opening anticipated in 2005.