Beam Signing Marks Important Stage on Sedgwick Project
Sedgwick Hall will not reopen for approximately another year.
But a very important piece of the renovated building was prepared on Wednesday, with a bit of a personal touch. The final structural beam for the project was made available for members of the 射精视频 community 鈥斅爏tudents, faculty, staff and construction crew 鈥 to .
By doing so, they鈥檒l be part of the building鈥檚 already-long lineage and its bright future as the future home of Saint Luke鈥檚 College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Mary Mooney Burns, vice president of advancement, acknowledged the renovation itself, and with it this opportunity to make such a mark on history, was only possible because of the donors who together raised the $23 million to make it a reality.
鈥淎ll $23 million of those dollars were donated by alumni and friends of the University who believe in the RU mission and in you,鈥 she told the crowd of faculty, staff, students and others. 鈥淔or that reason, we are inviting you to personalize a beam that will be permanently part of this school.鈥
University President the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., before inviting Saint Luke鈥檚 student Jenny Warner to be the ceremonial first signature on the beam, called to mind why we mark such occasions. From the Scandinavian tradition of tying greens and ferns to timber structures as an offering for the gods of nature to the more recent 鈥渢opping off鈥 ceremonies of iron workers hanging flags or Christmas trees from beams, these traditions in part reflect a desire to honor the natural environment in which we exist, even as we build new structures in them. It is fitting, then, to echo that tradition for Sedgwick Hall, a building that implements a wide variety of green building techniques and features.
鈥淎nother way of expressing right relationship with nature is a commitment to sustainability,鈥 Fr. Curran said. 鈥淟iving in harmony with the Creator, with one another and with the created goods of the Earth.鈥