On August 28, 2007, Seton Hill University (SHU) celebrated the start of the arts center’s construction. The ceremony included an opening with a welcoming by Joanne Boyle, president of SHU. Many of the university’s downtown businesses, and partners from the city, county and state arrived. Bishop Lawrence E. Brant was also present to help in blessing the construction site.
Numerous SHU students came as well, in character as notable entertainment figures through history. The ceremony was also notable because of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s birthday celebration.
This celebration was named, “Act 1: Let the Construction Begin.” The idea was to differentiate this ceremony from the groundbreaking last fall, where actual dirt and shovels were used. It was an event to mark the building of the center. This time, the ceremony was conducted in the parking lot next to the site.
By Andrea Perkins,
Senior Staff Writer
On August 28, 2007, Seton Hill University (SHU) celebrated the start of the arts center’s construction. The ceremony included an opening with a welcoming by Joanne Boyle, president of SHU. Many of the university’s downtown businesses, and partners from the city, county and state arrived. Bishop Lawrence E. Brant was also present to help in blessing the construction site.
Numerous SHU students came as well, in character as notable entertainment figures through history. The ceremony was also notable because of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s birthday celebration.
This celebration was named, “Act 1: Let the Construction Begin.” The idea was to differentiate this ceremony from the groundbreaking last fall, where actual dirt and shovels were used. It was an event to mark the building of the center. This time, the ceremony was conducted in the parking lot next to the site.
“We broke ground as we were sure that this project was going to move forward and we were still in the midst of raising money for the project,” said Curt Scheib, chair of the Division of Visual and Performing Arts.
When SHU broke ground last fall, all the construction documents had not been finished and a contractor had not yet been chosen. According to Scheib, a contractor was chosen over the summer, and the construction papers were completed. The groundbreaking last year started the reality of the project’s existence.
The construction ceremony was also a way to keep the university’s partners in the community aware that the center was on its way to being built.
“This was now about drawing further attention to the project and allowing people to know that we are about to begin the actual building process,” said Mary Ross Cox, director of Regional Alumni Relations.
Senior musical theatre major Laura Stracko helped out with the event and came in character as Janis Joplin.
“We milled around the crowd and passed out keychains. It was exciting to see everyone involved all fired up about it,” Stracko said.
“The overall feeling that day during the event was really very uplifting and the attendees were very excited to see the students in their roles and participating and excited to hear that things were going to get started with the project,” said Cox.
The event was designed so that it did not look like a repeat of last year.
“It was a bigger celebration and actually provided some demonstration of what does go on in that division,” said Cox.
According to the current timetable, if construction stays on schedule, the project is slated to be completed 18 months after groundbreaking.
“It could conceivably be done by Thanksgiving 2008. It’s likely that some portion of the program – either both music and theatre, or perhaps just theatre might move in – by the spring semester of 09,” said Scheib.
A Thanksgiving 2008 completion is an estimate that is only possible after the rest of the money is raised for the center. SHU is about $2 million short of its goal of $21 million, according to Scheib.