August 3, 2012 – Early gifts from CONNECT Campaign Executive and CMU “family” (Board, faculty, staff, etc.) exceed $4-million to start the fundraising campaign for CMU’s Library and Learning Commons and Pedestrian Bridge.
CMU’s latest capital project will significantly enhance CMU’s infrastructure for delivering quality post-secondary education and also serve as a valuable resource to the broader Manitoba community.
“Building the new CMU Library and Learning Commons, along with a pedestrian bridge linking both sides
of CMU’s Shaftesbury campus, are key next steps in building a CMU for the future,” says Elmer Hildebrand, CONNECT Campaign Chair and CEO of Golden West Radio. Hildebrand is joined in his efforts by the Campaign Executive Members.
“CMU is grateful for the dedicated fundraising leadership of the Campaign Executive. We’re looking forward to our public campaign in the coming months,” says CMU’s new President Cheryl Pauls, who begins her new role effective November 1.
Features of the New Library and Learning Commons
The Library and Learning Commons will greatly enhance the CMU learning environment for students, faculty, and the general public.
• Study carrels, worktables, and lounge seating in attractive setting will stimulate students to connect with ideas and thinkers from around the world.
• Small group rooms will invite students to work together in teams at important questions and issues.
• New computer, wireless, and peripheral technologies will support study, research, and collaboration.
• A seminar room will enable small classes to meet in proximity to necessary library resources.
• Significantly increased space with natural light and controlled temperature and humidity will allow future expansion and growth.
The Library and Learning Commons will include a prominent and welcoming entrance and gathering area (Library Centre), inviting students and the general public to make use of its resources.
• It will feature a Bookstore and Resource Centre with the most extensive selection of theological resources anywhere in the province.
• An inviting café will welcome students, faculty, staff, and members of the community to gather and discuss the issues of the day.
An attractive Pedestrian Bridge will link the two sides of CMU’s campus, currently partitioned by a busy thoroughfare, providing a safe, accessible route across Grant Avenue. It will also signal the presence of CMU in the community, serving as a symbol for an institution that connects people with ideas and each other over issues that matter.
The Campaign Executive has been actively fundraising in support of the project and expects to publicly launch the CONNECT campaign within the year. CMU anticipates beginning construction on the new facility and bridge in 2013.
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, Canadian Mennonite University, offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as two graduate degree programs. CMU has over 1,700 students at its Shaftesbury Campus, at Menno Simons College in downtown Winnipeg, and enrolled through its Outtatown discipleship program. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.
For Campaign information, contact:
CMU Director of Development Abe Bergen | agbergen@cmu.ca
Photo: Joining in the CMU CONNECT Campaign project announcement on June 15, 2012 were: (front row, l. to r.) CMU President-Elect Cheryl Pauls, CMU former President Gerald Gerbrandt, Premier of Manitoba Greg Selinger, CONNECT Campaign Chair Elmer Hildebrand, Acting Deputy Mayor Paula Havixbeck, Councillor for Charleswood Tuxedo; (back row, l to r), CMU Vice President External Terry Schellenberg, and Campaign Executive Members Tamara Roehr, Bill Fast, Jake Rempel, Bert Friesen, Charles Loewen, and Janice Filmon.
(Inset: Campaign Executive Members Philipp R. Ens, at left, and Art DeFehr)