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College aficionado makes Connecticut College his 401st stop on the road to 500

Professor Abby Van Slyck, right, leads Steve Lake, left, and his wife Caroline on a tour of Connecticut College. Lake has a goal of visiting 500 colleges. Connecticut College was his 401st.

September 18, 2007

Steve Lake thinks Connecticut College has one of the most beautiful campuses he has ever seen. And he has seen a lot.

Lake, a public relations professional and casino pit boss from Las Vegas, vowed more than two decades ago to visit 500 schools. He made Connecticut College his 401st when he toured the campus on Sept. 18.

"I was very impressed with Connecticut College," Lake said after the tour, which was led by Abby Van Slyck, the Dayton Professor of Art History and director of the College´s architectural studies program. "I have never been to a school that was an arboretum - and I always like to find something different about a school. Aesthetically, this is one of most beautiful campuses I´ve ever seen."

Lake added that his one regret was he planned his trip just a few weeks too early to see the arboretum in its full fall color. "Maybe we´ll have to come back," he said.

On the tour, Van Slyck explained the history of the college through its architecture. She pointed out, for example, that the original Palmer Library, which is now the Blaustein Humanities Center, was strategically placed at the head of the college green. That central position, Van Slyck said, signified that knowledge was at the very heart of the College.

Van Slyck also took Lake and his wife, Caroline, to the Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room in the Shain Library. "My wife and I have seen a lot of Asian art, so the Charles Chu room is something that both my wife and I can really appreciate," Lake said.

While he has been on literally hundreds of tours, Lake said he had never been personally shown around a campus by an architecture expert. "Professor Van Slyck did a wonderful job of explaining the intricacies of the College," he said. "It was very interesting to see the College from this perspective."

While in Connecticut, Lake said he would also visit a number of other colleges, including Eastern Connecticut State University, the University of Connecticut, Quinnipiac University, the United States Coast Guard and Mitchell College.

For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu