Vol. 17, No. 33May 28, 1998

Longwood Foundation's $10M opens way for new face on Mall

This computer-generated image shows the proposed new
face of a renovated and expanded Du Pont Hall, with
Wolf Hall to the left and Evans Hall connecting on the right.

A$10 million gift from the Longwood Foundation, whose assets originally came from the estate of the great Delaware benefactor Pierre S. du Pont, is the first and very important step in a major renovation and expansion of the building on the Mall that shares his name.

President David Roselle announced the gift at the semiannual Board of Trustees meeting May 26, noting that Mr. du Pont was one of the most important individuals in the history of the University. His numerous gifts to UD included that land where the Mall and Pierre S. du Pont Hall now sit.

"This gift from the Longwood Foundation puts us half-way toward the total anticipated cost of $20 million for this project, which will fill the last site for a building on our Mall," Roselle said.

The University commissioned Allan Greenberg, the architect of the recently completed Gore Hall, to analyze the feasibility of expanding Du Pont Hall, home of the College of Engineering. The planned project will expand the west side of the building, giving it a new face on the Mall, bringing its entrance in line with the front of its neighbor, Wolf Hall, and mirroring its companion across the Mall, Gore Hall.

As Greenberg wrote in his study, "The Du Pont Hall expansion would be the final chapter in a continuing legacy of benefactors and architectural heritage on the historic Mall."

At the trustee meeting, Roselle also said that private gifts to the University for the current academic year have already surpassed by approximately 20 percent last year's record-high figure of $25 million.