April 12, 2018

Dear Members of the Connecticut College Community,

Today, at a campus gathering in the Charles Chu Room at Shain Library, we announced the exciting news that Connecticut College has received $20 million for the renovation of Palmer Auditorium and Castle Court into a new and revitalized center for performance and creative research.

The Sherman Fairchild Foundation provided the impetus, with a generous grant of $10 million, which was followed by another extraordinary gift of $10 million from Nancy Marshall Athey ’72 and Preston Athey, longtime supporters of the College and its arts programs. The president of the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, Bonnie Himmelman ’66, is a former trustee of the College. Nancy Athey, who served as a trustee from 2014-16, was a strong proponent of the Palmer project in the strategic plan.

The historically informed renovation represents just the beginning of a much larger vision to renew and revitalize the campus. It also adds great momentum to our efforts in support of research, teaching, and learning, as we prepare for the largest campaign in the College’s history.

I hope you will read more about the project in the website story here.

In the meantime, please join me in expressing our profound thanks to the Sherman Fairchild Foundation and to Preston and Nancy Athey for their amazing generosity, vision, and commitment to Connecticut College.

Yours,
 
Katherine Bergeron
President