On Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 Illinois Governor Pat Quinn visited and toured the facilities of the Warde Academic Center, while also investing $2.2 million dollar into Saint Xavier University. The investment being made came from a grant awarded to the school from the state of Illinois’ Illinois Jobs Now! program.
The Illinois Jobs Now! program was signed into law on July 13, 2009 in order to spur job growth in Illinois. The $31 billion dollar bill signed was said to promise the creation of over 439,000 jobs from spending used on this bill. The bill’s large budget is used to fund large scale programs aimed at bettering neighborhoods and public/private institutions in the state of Illinois.
The event on Saturday 18 was held at the Center for Instructional Design and Academic Technology, also known as the CIDAT, and around the Saint Xavier University campus. The turnout for the event was a mix of administration, science department faculty, and students to see Governor Quinn speak.
The overall public address was around 30 minutes total and featured President Christine Wiseman, Provost Paul DeVito, State Senator Bill Cunningham from Illinois’ 18th district, and Governor Quinn. The remarks of each speaker were brief and praised the work being done at Saint Xavier University.
Governor Quinn remarked during his speaking portion that his aunt, Sister Mary Quinn, was actually a member of the Sisters of Mercy, and was Chair of the Biology Department at Saint Xavier University. Quinn also described growing up in the area and reminiscing about picking weeds in the nearby area as a young boy.
Quinn transitioned his rhetoric towards the expansion of Saint Xavier University and taking notice of the evolution for the campus within the last few decades. The facilities at the Warde Academic Center were later toured after the briefing by Quinn and Saint Xavier’s administration.
The $2.2 million dollar grant will be used to help construct state of the art science facilities on Saint Xavier University’s campus, replacing the more dated facilities currently on campus in the Warde Academic Center.
The new building will be used to create an advanced learning environment full of state of the art biology and chemistry equipment as stated by President Wiseman.
Grant money has already been used by the university to renovate the library on campus and create the CIDAT, now used by many students for audio and visual work.
The newly planned renovations will continue on with Saint Xavier University’s work towards improving the overall campus environment for students.
The announcement event on Saturday also featured a focus on the diversity of Saint Xavier University, as pointed out by President Wiseman.
During President Wiseman’s speaking portion there were many references to the great diversity on the campus of Saint Xavier University, and how the campus allows students from all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities to obtain a quality education.
In an official statement released by Quinn and included in an email sent to the general Saint Xavier community, Quinn said, “Saint Xavier University has a long history of producing graduates who have done great things for Illinois and the nation, and this investment will help the school stay competitive so current, and future students can continue to make a difference in the world.”
The remarks on the future for students in the state of Illinois appeared to resonate in the crowd as many audience members applauded the remarks and nodded approvingly during Quinn’s statements on Illinois’s MAP grants.
These grants are used to help fund students pursuit of higher learning in the state of Illinois.
Quinn during his brief speaking section remarked on how he has worked to protect this grant money for students in the state of Illinois in order to protect their future and help reduce their debt later in life.
As stated previously grant money from the state has helped fund projects around the campus of Saint Xavier University.
Past projects worked on include renovations to the Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library.
Renovations that took place to the library included the renovations to the entrance of the library itself and changes made to the Bishop Quarter Room.
Grants also were what helped pay for the additions to CIDAT and the technology made available there. The CIDAT currently houses state of the art editing and video equipment.
The hope is that later down the line there will be more state of the art equipment being brought into the new science wing addition to Saint Xavier University’s campus.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the beginning of preliminary work on the construction and opportunities to learn more about the intended construction plans.
There has been no official timetable set in stone yet for the proposed construction operation, however the funds secured by the school are certainly a force behind the continued purusit towards renovations.
For more information on the new science building and construction continue to read The Xavierite for the latest information and news.
Jake Alleruzzo
Senior News Editor
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