Penn State President Rodney Erickson was one of four speakers at the dedication of Penn State Beaver’s new Wellness Center on Sept. 6. More than 125 students, faculty, staff, donors, alumni, campus advisory board members, legislators, and University administrators gathered in the facility’s main room on Thursday afternoon to hear his remarks as well as comments from Madlyn Hanes, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses; Beaver Chancellor Gary Keefer; and Steven J. Dusicsko, a senior business major at the campus who has been part of the Wellness Center Planning Committee since his freshman year.
Prior to the dedication, President Erickson hosted a reception for a small group of Beaver campus donors and friends in the studio adjacent to the center’s main room. Following the dedication, an informal reception prepared by the campus Office of Housing and Food Services was held in the gym lobby. The state-of-the-art Wellness Center and the newly-renovated areas of the campus gym were designed by Pittsburgh-based WTW Architects for a total of $3.3 million.
The Wellness Center consists of 4,980 square feet of space and features a main floor and mezzanine with a variety of weight lifting, strength training and cardio equipment as well as a studio for smaller group activities such as yoga and aerobics.
Floor-to-ceiling windows provide an abundance of natural lighting throughout the structure and offer sweeping views of the campus from several different angles. The addition includes a new entrance to the gym. This opens into the lobby with a registration desk where members of the athletic staff greet students, faculty and staff and verify their ID. In addition, 1,500 square feet of existing gym space was renovated, including a redesigned lobby and staff offices. Adjacent to the lobby are a new classroom, newly-renovated restrooms, and a concession stand and ticket box office. The Wellness Center and gym are available for use by Beaver campus students, faculty and staff with a valid Penn State ID. Wellness Center hours are posted at the beginning of each semester.
Financial support for the addition and renovations was provided by a number of sources, including donor gifts from Beaver campus alumnus Carl Bartuch; Beaver Advisory Board member Nicholas Unis, D.M.D., and his wife, Nadine; and Jennifer Unis Sullivan, D.M.D., J.D. Other funding sources were the Beaver campus Student Facility Fee, the University Facilities Resources Committee, the Office of the Vice President of Commonwealth Campuses, the Student Related Projects Fund, the Office of Physical Plant, and Penn State Beaver.
For information about the Wellness Center, contact the Office of Campus and Community Relations at amk6@psu.edu or 724-773-3816.