The George I. Alden Trust (Worcester, MA) has awarded Vassar a major grant toward the ambitious Learning Commons project, which will establish a nexus of new space and revitalized resource access for students and faculty in a flexible and inclusive environment. When complete, the Learning Commons will encompass 11,150 renovated square feet in Main Library, the heart of the Vassar Libraries system. This expansive project is a major investment in Vassar’s physical plant, one of several transformational capital ventures that will mark the campus in context of the Fearlessly Consequential comprehensive campaign.

The Learning Commons centers on a portion of the Main Library’s first floor, located throughout the north wing of the complex’s Lockwood and Ingram additions, and promises to advance the Library as a center for intellectual life on campus, supporting and reflecting the diverse and complex modes of teaching and learning that students and faculty pursue in their work. Importantly, the Learning Commons will substantially reimagine the Library’s northside entrance way, adding light-filled spaces, seating areas, and workspaces, as well as enhanced security and 24-hour access, and improved ADA-accessibility for all visitors. In a sense, the project is an expansion of the 2017 Reserves Room renovation, which—with the support of the Alden Trust—turned a vacant storage area (Main Library Rm. 153) into “The Studio,” one of the Library’s most popular collaborative workspaces.

The Trust’s new grant follows a major bequest and mobilizes intramural funds critical to making this expansive renovation project possible. Since 1912, The George I. Alden Trust has pursued “the maintenance of some charitable or philanthropic enterprises” with specific interest in “the promotion of education in schools, colleges, or other educational institutions.” Funding eligible organizations throughout the northeast, the Trust is a longtime friend to Vassar College, supporting academic and laboratory spaces over the years, and awarding the College its coveted Award for Excellence in Career Education in 2013.