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Campus Improvements

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Through the $25 million Pritzker Challenge, St. John’s is preparing our two beautiful campuses for future generations of seekers. The Jay Pritzker Foundation will contribute $1 for every $2 gift that alumni and friends offer in support of St. John’s physical infrastructure needs, setting the stage for a $75 million investment in campus improvement projects over the next ten years. Many of these projects are already underway and many more are now possible with the Pritzker Challenge—and your support.

Explore Santa Fe Improvements
Explore Annapolis Improvements

Santa Fe Campus Improvements

Our students want a campus that fulfills their environmental objectives and their need for community. Your gifts are giving them both.

In Santa Fe, sustainability initiatives aim to bring St. John’s closer to a carbon-neutral future. By the end of 2023, the campus will operate off 100 percent solar energy.

First we outfitted our campus buildings with longer-lasting, energy-efficient LED lighting—a much greener alternative to fluorescent tube lighting.

Solar panels will harness the power of Santa Fe’s sunny skies and absorb the entire energy burden of the Santa Fe campus.

The solar power conversion, which includes ground and carport-mounted arrays as well as solar-powered phone-charging stations, is expected to be operational in 2023.

Our campus improvement plans will also re-energize community life by drawing students out of their dorms, away from digital devices, and into a revitalized Pritzker Student Center.

Our plans for the student center will not only restore the midcentury masterpieces of designer Alexander Girard, but will also expand his signature style throughout the building.

We will both preserve and revitalize the exterior Territorial Revival style of the building—which is on the National Register of Historic Places—while undertaking building expansion.

We will add two new student lounges to provide additional study and social spaces while also upgrading the Great Hall and the student-run Cave.

We will expand the Bookstore and create a pass-through between it and the Coffee Shop, encouraging flow between the two spaces.

As part of our overall sustainability initiatives, we will replace and upgrade the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and lighting systems, all with an eye towards energy efficiency, conservation, and carbon neutrality.

Santa Fe: shrinking our carbon footprint and building community

How is the solar power project being funded?

An anonymous alumni couple funded the new LED lighting and the solar power project with a combined $3.2 million gift to Freeing Minds. Those same two donors also made a gift to outfit the Randall Hall dorms in Annapolis with energy-efficient air conditioning units.

Are other sustainability projects underway?

Yes. St. John’s intends to lead the way with green initiatives on both campuses. Learn how the college is moving toward a more sustainable future in Santa Fe and Annapolis.

What is happening with the Pritzker Student Center?

Our plans will transform this building into the social heart of the Santa Fe campus. Students will enjoy safe, comfortable, flexible, and inspiring spaces that draw them out of their dorms and into conversation with one another. Everything that makes this building special, from the masterpieces of designer Alexander Girard to our scenic outdoor spaces, will be wonderfully renewed—and joined by new, inviting, and comfortable shared spaces. Groundbreaking is planned for Summer 2023.

Read more about our Pritzker Student Center renovation plans.

How can I be a part of the excitement?

The most straightforward and immediate way to make a difference is through a gift of support for campus improvements. You can make your gift or pledge today, and when you do so, the Jay Pritzker Foundation will match every $2 with an additional $1.

If you prefer to have a conversation about your options, please reach out to us. We can work together to ensure your vision is part of our blueprint for the future.

Can I link my or a loved one’s name to these projects?

St. John’s may offer a limited number of opportunities to personalize your gift by naming select areas of the campus. Such a gift can benefit from a deeper discussion with a member of our development team, who can help you understand what is required and what you can expect.

Please reach out to us at development(at)sjc.edu or visit our contact page. We would love to talk with you.

Annapolis Campus Improvements

Annapolis Campus Improvements

From lively gathering areas to cozy dorm rooms—our campus improvement plans will give students the space to dream.

In keeping with architect Richard Neutra’s original vision, a transformation is underway that will reestablish Mellon Hall as a welcoming hub of conversation and creativity.

Highlights of the renovation—the first in two decades--include an inviting lobby and a warm, welcoming living room that feels like home.

The area affectionately known as “the Fishbowl” will become cozier and more intimate, with new furniture, a fireplace, and “snack and go” vending options. Artist’s rendering of the Fishbowl.

Backstage space behind the Francis Scott Key Auditorium will become a dance recital studio and a black box theater, giving performers access to better lighting and acoustics. Artist’s rendering of black box theater.

Multi-purpose areas, including a music rehearsal space, will provide flexible space for other performing arts. Artist’s rendering of music rehearsal space.

Through the Pritzker Challenge, students will enjoy the benefits of 21st-century housing on the grounds of a 300-year-old campus.

We’re developing a roadmap to improved sustainability and a smaller carbon footprint.

Annapolis: transforming the student experience

What will the Mellon Hall renovation mean for St. John’s?

Anyone who has attended a St. John’s seminar knows that the conversations continue beyond the seminar table. They flow onto our benches and into stairwells; they linger in our dorms and in our dining hall; and they are reignited over cups of coffee with a tutor and a nearby chalkboard. Architect Richard Neutra intended for Mellon Hall to meet that need, but after decades of use, it had reached the limits of what it could provide.

After an extensive, multi-year renovation, Mellon Hall is better positioned to serve as the hub of creativity and conversation that Neutra dreamed it would be. Beginning in Spring 2023, students, staff, tutors, guests, and visitors to the Mitchell Gallery will enjoy comfortable and expansive gathering lounges, a cozy fireplace, space for music rehearsal, and even a black box theatre.

Read more about our Mellon Hall renovation.

How is the Mellon Hall renovation being funded?

Gifts from alumni and friends to the Freeing Minds campaign will fund the project in combination with a $5 million matching grant from the Maryland Independent College and University Association (MICUA).

Every four years, schools can apply to MICUA for money to support capital improvements. For example, the last grant St. John’s received went toward the renovation of McDowell Hall. The current grant, however, stipulates that St. John’s raise matching funds to support the project.

Our portion of the match will come from alumni and friends, who support the Freeing Minds campaign, and from bond investors, who will have to be paid back. The more that our alumni and friends invest, the less likely it is that future students will wind up paying the bill.

In keeping with our commitment to investing campaign gifts wisely, these plans are not overly grand. Indeed, our peers might call them modest. Compared with what is taking place on other college campuses, they are.

What is the college doing to improve the residential experience?

Our beautiful, 300-year-old campus is an appropriate setting for an education that integrates the best of the past with the evolving perspectives of the present. That setting, however, requires continual care. Our residence halls, which are as important to the undergraduate experience as the seminar table, are of particular concern. The years have taken their toll, and much of our student housing needs to be repaired, refreshed, and brought into line with 21st century standards.

Through the Pritzker Challenge, the college is crafting a comprehensive plan to renew our residence halls, beginning in 2023 with Campbell Hall.

How can I get involved?

The most profound way to leave your mark on the residential student experience is through a gift of support. Please reach out to us at development(at)sjc.edu or visit our contact page. Our development team can share a variety of options that will help you achieve the impact you desire.

You can also make a gift today and see your generosity go to work right away.

Regardless of how you choose to give, the Jay Pritzker Foundation will match every $2 of your gift or pledge with another $1, immediately magnifying your impact on our students.

How do I link my name to these projects?

St. John’s will offer a limited number of opportunities to personalize your gift by naming select areas of the campus, including the lobby and other gathering areas in Mellon Hall.

Such a gift can benefit from a deeper discussion with a member of our development team, who can help you understand what is required and what you can expect.

Please reach out to us at development(at)sjc.edu or visit our contact page. We would love to talk with you.

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Alumni and Friends are Making a Difference

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St. John's College

Annapolis

60 College Avenue

Annapolis, MD 21401

410-263-2371

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1160 Camino de Cruz Blanca

Santa Fe, NM 87505

505-984-6000

To send gifts to the college via mail:
St. John’s College, PO Box 715905, Philadelphia, PA 19171-5905

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