This calendar year, Colgate will break ground on two important projects — a pair of facilities that will simultaneously enhance the academic enterprise, help to unify campus, attract outstanding students and faculty, and strengthen the University’s position as a national leader in higher education.
The Robert H.N. Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative will serve as an intellectual bridge between disciplines — in keeping with the Third-Century Plan priority of pushing pedagogical frontiers.
Thanks to a generous leadership gift from Robert Hung Ngai Ho ’56, H’11, the renovation and expansion of Olin Hall will create a home for the initiative, which is already connecting faculty in psychological and brain sciences, neuroscience, biology, philosophy, and linguistics. An expanded and redesigned Olin Hall also creates the potential for future growth and encourages the interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching that promises to propel Colgate to the forefront of discovery and research.
The Benton Center for Creativity and Innovation, a 36,800-square-foot complex made possible by a leadership gift from Dan Benton ’80, H’10, P’10, will house Colgate’s computer science, film and media studies, theater, and dance programs.
The Benton Center represents just the first step in the University’s ambitious and visionary plan to reimagine Middle Campus. In better integrating the arts and creativity into life and learning at Colgate and rethinking the campus itself, we can create opportunities for collaboration and innovation that will benefit all aspects of the undergraduate experience.