Shortly after it opened on April 19, a student worker at Dartmouth's dazzling new fitness center said, "When patrons walk in for the first time, their faces really do light up."
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So, apparently, do the blue screens on those ubiquitous folding gadgets few college students would be without.
"It's unbelievable," says Mary Gorman, Dartmouth's associate provost and executive officer of the provost's division, who oversees facilities planning. "Students have been whipping out their cell phones and calling their friends to say, 'You've got to get over here and see this.' It's that stunning."
The 14,000-square-foot fitness center, with its 64 cardio machines—including Cybex Arc Trainers, Nautilus Treadclimbers (scheduled to arrive summer 2006), and Star Trac bikes—its mirrored walls and free weights, and bright, airy feel is a brick and steel and glass testament to the College's longstanding commitment to the health and well-being of its students.
"A survey....indicated that Dartmouth students are one of the most physically active student populations in the entire country," President James Wright said at the ribbon cutting for the center. "You are drawn naturally to the outdoors when you come to Dartmouth—to exercise and participate in a huge range of recreational and creative activities.
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"We recognize the importance of such a facility. We recognize the importance of the health and joy of physical movement. Beyond any doubt, this new fitness center is a quintessentially Dartmouth space."
Work on that space began in April of 2005 as part of a renovation of the 97-year-old Alumni Gym. A project that was spurred by the need to install a dehumidification system for Karl Michael Pool has resulted in one of the largest centralized fitness centers in the Ivy League and the creation of two much-needed multipurpose recreational spaces looking out over the dramatically refurbished pool area. Still more fitness areas will be opening soon in the Alumni Gym wing that housed the old squash courts and the Carla and John Manley Varsity Training Center.
The project included gently grading one of the sidewalks used to gain entry to the gym to eliminate a set of steps and the installation of an elevator at the front of the building to make the facility fully accessible.
"The students were very clear that what they would like more than anything would be to have a fitness center that would be something they could not only use, but be proud of," says Director of Athletics Josie Harper.
Wright is confident they got just that in the reborn Alumni Gym.
"This old building is a new building now," he told the gathering at the dedication. "And this old building that met the needs of so many generations of Dartmouth students is now ready for new generations.
"In a nutshell, that is the Dartmouth story. We respect our past as we build our future."
By BRUCE WOOD
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