Saturday morning brought a dazzling blue sky to Chewonki Neck and set the stage for a much-anticipated event: the formal dedication of our new faculty housing building, formerly codenamed “Farmview 1”.
Chewonki President Willard Morgan welcomed the assembled crowd of faculty and staff, alumni, and board members and invited them to gather around a shrouded dedication sign in front of the recently completed building.
“I am proud and grateful to announce the names chosen for these two new faculty apartments, honoring Sue West and Scott Andrews,” said Morgan. “Sue and Scott have lived a professional and personal life completely committed to the craft of teaching and supporting students. Their example is one that we hold up proudly.”
The two new apartments, now named “West” and “Andrews,” are built to passive-haus standards with an emphasis on energy efficiency, comfort, and long-term, low-cost sustainability.
“Sue and Scott were with us at the very beginning of Maine Coast Semester, at a time when options for faculty housing were limited,” says Morgan. “They made a point of ensuring the needs of students and other faculty came first, even when that required squeezing into the least-desirable housing. That commitment and willingness to put others first is an important part of their story, and with this dedication, we ensure that their story is a lasting part of Chewonki’s story. “
Fay and Bill Schutzer, longtime Chewonki friends and the parents of early Maine Coast Semester alumni, helped Morgan reveal the dedication sign to the happy applause of the crowd.
“I am so grateful to Fay and Bill, and the other generous donors who supported this project,” said Morgan. “It is gratifying to know that the Chewonki community shares our commitment to excellence in education, which requires providing educators with an excellent place to live, work, and support their own families.”
The dedication plaques for the new apartments read:
West
In honor of Sue West
Esteemed teacher of Art and the Natural World and Environmental Issues and Ethics for Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki since its founding in 1988
Andrews
In honor of Scott Andrews
Founding director of Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki and esteemed teacher of United States history for 26 years
We give thanks for the leadership, generosity, and vision of the following Chewonki friends, who understand the importance of supporting faculty and staff:
Fay and Bill Shutzer
and
Jackie and Julius Alexander
Candice and Michael Frankel
Jay and Jenn Gudebski
Richard Krantz and Kathryn Deane
Victoria and James P. Macmillan
Suzanne and Neil McGinn
Susan Rodriguez, Charles Lowrey, and Jamie Lowrey
The Saalfield Family
The Hal and John Smith Family Foundation
John Warren and Laura Appell-Warren
The new building is only a chapter in a long-range plan to renew aging buildings and add several more housing units. West and Andrews are two units in a duplex that establishes a basic building form that will be repeated and adapted for future building projects.
Saalfield, listen as OPAL Management Partner Timothy Lock describes some of the key sustainability design elements of the new building.
For more information about the concepts behind passive-haus construction or the design firm OPAL, please visit their website.
