Through A Commitment to National Leadership,
Hendrix revolutionized its academic program into a national model of innovation
in higher education. As a result, the College experienced a record enrollment of
students from Arkansas, across the country, and around the world.
With the support of $45 million in capital gifts and
pledges from alumni, friends, and philanthropic organizations during this campaign,
the Hendrix campus too was transformed with more than 200,000 square feet of new
facilities completed during this campaign.
In 2004, a three-building Art Center was completed
with studio space for ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture,
along with welding and wood shops and an auditorium for art history.
In 2007, the College completed a new Wellness and Athletics
Center, which includes space for aquatics, intercollegiate basketball and volleyball,
intramural and recreational sports, personal health and wellness, and classrooms
for kinesiology. The Wellness and Athletics Center also serves as the gateway to
a new athletics complex featuring an eight-lane track with artificial surface infield
for men’s lacrosse and women’s field hockey, and new lighted fields for baseball,
soccer, and softball.
In 2010, Hendrix opened a $26 million Student Life
and Technology Center, the largest capital project in the history of the College.
Among its many amenities, the SLTC is the home of Your Hendrix Odyssey; the
Oathout Technology Center; the Hendrix-Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling;
the Crain-Maling Center of Jewish Culture; and offices for Academic Support Services,
International Programs, Student Affairs, and Student Activities. The SLTC also includes
a beautiful main dining hall. The SLTC was certified LEED-Gold by the Green Building
Certification Institute, making Hendrix the first college in Arkansas to receive
this environmentally-friendly distinction, according to the Arkansas chapter of
the U.S. Green Building Council.
Marshall Oathout ’65 and his wife Edie provided a significant
gift to the SLTC through his estate. The Oathouts estate gift was used to support
a state-of-the-art environment for students and faculty to work collaboratively
using the most advanced academic and social technology available.
"Our careers focused on science, technology, and education,
so we felt that the SLTC and the Technology Center would be a good fit for us,"
Oathout said.
To honor their commitment, Hendrix was pleased to name
the Oathout Technology Center in their honor.
Garth Martin ’52 and his wife, Joann ’55, supported
the construction of the Wellness and Athletics Center through a charitable gift
annuity.
New buildings are
much more than bricks and mortar, Martin said.
"The new Wellness and Athletics Center is such a great
improvement over what was there when I was a student," he said. "I’m just delighted
to see the College upgrade their facilities, and I count it a privilege to help
them continue to develop."