Cowin Center Work Proceeds
An answer to an old TC problem: Where to hold a really big conference? Anything under 200 people fits nicely in Milbank Chapel. Smaller events can be accommodated in Grace Dodge 179. But for major events, the only option at TC has long been Horace Mann Auditorium, where-- among other drawbacks-- people seated in the rear of the balcony were unable to see the stage.
Not for much longer. The auditorium is being renovated and will become part of a state-of-the-art facility to be known as the Cowin Center, which will also include a suite of classrooms, seminar rooms, breakout rooms and even improved restrooms.
The Center is being named for longtime TC Trustee Joyce Cowin, who with her mother, the late Sylvia J. Berger, is the project 's lead donor.
"Arthur Levine said to me, 'What we really need is a large scale meeting space,'" says Cowin, a TC alumna, who has also been a major supporter of the Heritage School, founded by the College eight years ago. "I looked at the space and saw how fabulous it is and what dynamic potential it has. And it's given me great pleasure to enable Teachers College to meet this need."
Construction of the Cowin Center began this past summer. Phase I--which is actively advancing-- focuses on the auditorium and will comprise a complete change in structure; expanded lighting capacity; a new sound system and audiovisual capacity; air conditioning and heating systems; and access ramps for the disabled. Phase II will involve moving offices of admissions, registrar, financial aid, and other functions to a new location. No timeline has been set for that work.
Published Thursday, Apr. 13, 2006