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My word for Willamette is...

  • Community--WU provided me with many opportunities to be involved in worthwhile and fulfilling community projects. For example, I enjoyed helping other students as a member of residence hall government. Student government also allowed me to participate in significant projects that helped people outside of Willamette. 
  • —Vincent Pontier '01, M'03
  • Balancing--Regardless of the set of skills and lacks one owns when arriving at Willamette, the balance with which a graduate departs, and the tools to re-balance as needed in the face of accelerating change, are a unique gift of the WU experience. 
  • —Steven Fullmer '78
  • Continuation--Great education, inspiring and continuing into later life. Continuing into marriage with a WU athlete (later to become a NY Yankee minor leaguer). Continuing with son's marriage to another WU student. Son to continue as a college prof and Dr. of Criminology--author and scholar. So the WU tradition continues! 
  • —Esther Manning '36

Facilities 

Facilities

Two major facilities projects have engaged the majority of undergraduates now on campus.

Ford Hall

Ford Hall, the $19.6 million academic building that opened this fall, welcomes an unusual mix of disciplines not routinely found under one roof.

Facilities

Designed to last 100 years, this new structure holds rhetoric & media Studies, computer science, mathematics, digital art, film studies and music technology. This 42,000- square foot building reflects in its architecture, sustainability, flexibility and technology, all that we have come to understand about how people use space and how that space enhances creativity and collaboration.

The late Hallie Ford, a Willamette University Life Trustee and a beloved benefactor, donated $8 million toward the building that is named in her honor. Willamette Trustees have pledged an additional $2 million.

View archived progress of this project:

Construction Cam: Ford Hall (East)

Construction Cam: Ford Hall (West)

Kresge Theatre

Built in 1923 to replace a gymnasium which had been destroyed by fire, the campus playhouse became the home of the Theatre Department in 1974 and was remodeled in 1978. At the ripe old age of 85, Kresge Theatre and its related support areas now need to be rebuilt from the inside out.

Phase I

Its initial stage involved an overhaul of classrooms, shops, labs and studios…basically everything except the performance space and the technology needed to support it. It also included seismic upgrades. The estimated cost for Phase 1 is between $2 million and $3 million.

Phase II

Phase II brings upgrades to the performance space and the front section of the playhouse which includes the lobby, department offices and restrooms. The outside of the theatre will also be upgraded with a new entrance on the north side. Estimated to cost approximately $2 million, Phase II will began in May 2009.

Benefactors for both projects are still being sought.  If you are interested in supporting either of these tremendous new facilities, please contact University Relations at 866-777-8122.