Marsha Rivers (left), director of Alumni Relations at Roberts Wesleyan College in North Chili talks with students in front of the college's new dorm.

SWBR Architect's rendering of the B. Thomas Golisano Library and Information Resource Center, to be constructed on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College and Northeastern Seminary.

If, after his retirement this year, Roberts Wesleyan President William Crothers decides to write a book about the college's success during his tenure, there's a good chance it would be housed in the school's soon-to-be-built Golisano Library.

The Golisano Library, along with a new eight-lane, Olympic-quality track and lighted soccer stadium, will be the crowning jewels in what has been a treasured decade for the local college. The library is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2003; the athletic complex is slated for completion in August 2002.

During Roberts' Faith in Our Future capital campaign, the college has built an addition onto its dining commons, constructed a new administration building, renovated the old administrative building to house the Northeastern Seminary and added a 200-bed dormitory.

The campaign was originally slated to be $31 million. However, a $5 million gift from Rochester businessman B. Thomas Golisano, allowed school officials to raise the mark to $41 million. The college approached Golisano for help with the campaign, several years after he had visited the college to deliver the 1994 Commencement speech. At that time, Golisano gave the school a gift of 2,000 shares of Paychex stock.

When they came back to him this time, Peter McCown, vice president for Development, said Golisano's answer was intriguing.

"He told us that he knew three things," McCown said, "One, Roberts Wesleyan was worthy of his support. Two, he was not interested in anything on our current campaign. Three, if we found the right project he would like to do something significant."

With that in mind, McCown and his co-workers went back to work. When they examined the college's master plan, the construction of a new library slated for much later stood out. They set up a meeting with Golisano and made sure they could provide him with the most intriguing presentation possible. When the time had come to meet with Golisano, the development team at Roberts Wesleyan was armed with a half hour CD-Rom presentation and a serious sales pitch.

"He (Golisano) said he was sorry but he was running late. He said he knew we were going to talk to him about the library project and that he wanted to help, so he asked us, 'Would $5 million be okay,' " said McCown. "I thought we were going to have to pick Dr. Crothers up off the floor."

Golisano's gift was by far the largest in the institution's 135-year history. Golisano said the gift was his show of support for the "strong social values" he witnessed while visiting the college.

McCown said what Golisano saw was no fluke.

"The kinds of students who choose to come here are a cut above," said McCown. McCown also said the character of the school, especially its Christian distinctive, is responsible for the college's recent prosperity and growth. The student population at Roberts has tripled since Crothers began in 1981.

"I think the reason we have grown is because we have a special niche," said McCown. "We're clearly different than most other institutions."

The new athletic complex and 50,000 square foot library should continue to go a long way toward brining in new students. Roberts intends to grow to a school of 4,000 students.

The library, while in the early stages of planning, will be designed to combine the most modern technology in a warm, inviting atmosphere.

"Knowing that in many cases books are becoming aesthetic, we've had to consider what does the idea of a library mean in the next 25 - if not 50 years," said McCown.

Some of the features considered for the Golisano library are:

• Spacious and comfortable reading and work areas that encourage Roberts Wesleyan students and community members to spend time gathering and assimilating information;
• Classrooms for instruction in information literacy and retrieval;
• A tutoring and learning center including specialized equipment for disabled patrons;
• A variety of computer labs;
• Space for archival materials and a historical display highlighting Rochester's heritage and the development of Roberts Wesleyan College; and
• A state-of-the-art multimedia center for the production and viewing of projects and presentations.

The current library, Keating Hall, which houses the Ora A. Sprague collection, will be renovated to serve as a much needed facility for classrooms and faculty offices.

The stadium will seat 1,200 with the track enclosing the main natural grass soccer field. A second soccer field will be synthetic turf. The stadium will include full-bank lighting, locker and training rooms, concession services, an overlook patio and wrought iron gating.

Rich Greer, director of facilities, said the college is also working with the county, and towns of Chili and Ogden to improve the stretch of Westside Drive near the college. The length between Nelson Morton Lane and Morton Street will be made into a boulevard by adding a median with trees, crosswalks and streetlights. Monroe County is expected to start work on this project in the spring.

Greer said these improvements should improve safety and be aesthetically appealing. "It will give you the knowledge when you're driving down Westside Drive that you've entered the campus area," Greer said.