Amherst College Donates $1 Million to Jones Library Expansion.
Photo: amherst.edu
Additional Gifts Pledged to the Drake and Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Source: Amherst College News
Amherst College has committed an initial $1.325 million to the local community, it was announced today by Amherst College President Michael A. Elliott. The donation includes a $1 million gift to the Jones Library for its renovation and expansion project, as well as donations of $250,000 to the Cooley Dickinson Hospital for its emergency department renovation and $75,000 to the Drake arts and cultural performance venue for sustained programming.
These donations to the Jones Library and the Drake follow a $100,000 gift to each as part of the institution’s Bicentennial celebrations in 2021. The College also expects to increase its support of the Amherst schools and Amherst Fire Department as part of a strategic partnership agreement currently being discussed with the town.
“The Town of Amherst is our home and a vital part of the fabric of the College,” said Elliott. “The town’s vibrant culture is an important part of the package that attracts talented people to our campus—and we are committed to continuing to invest in our shared future as neighbors.”
Under Elliott’s leadership, the College is actively working to make the campus more welcoming for local residents and to support activities that connect students with the place they call home while they are studying in Amherst. To that end, support will also be directed to specific partnership projects in the areas of public education, sustainability, economic development, housing, and equity and inclusion in the coming years.
Long considered a major community landmark, Jones Library has had a deep connection with the College since the library’s founding in 1919. The bequest establishing the library named then-College President George Harris and a faculty member as two of the original trustees of the organization. Since then, many faculty and staff members have volunteered their time and expertise in various capacities, and the College’s Emily Dickinson Museum and Mead Art Museums remain frequent collaborators.
“In addition to providing free access to information and resources to the public, libraries, like institutions of higher education, are the engines of democracy and social justice,” Elliott said. “The Jones Library has long been a shining example of this role in our community and an anchor for the town. We are thrilled to support the renovation and expansion of such an important part of Amherst.”
“This gift comes at a crucial time in our efforts to renovate and expand the Jones Library and affirms the efforts of everyone working to make this project happen,” remarked Sharon Sharry, director of the Jones Library. Sharry explained that because the donation also counts toward a $1 million National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant the library received in May, it unlocks additional funds for the renovation and expansion. “This gift is a wonderful demonstration of the College’s commitment to the town and helps ensure the Jones Library will continue to serve as the heart and hub of Amherst for decades to come.”
Lynn Griesemer, president and District 2 councilor of the Amherst Town Council, seconded Sharry’s comment that the donations will contribute to the library’s staying power. “The College’s significant gift to the Jones Library–one of the centerpieces of our downtown–recognizes the importance to the entire community of making this historic structure available and sustainable for many years in the future,” she said. “The ongoing support for our schools is also greatly appreciated,” Griesemer added. “We look forward to the completion of a strategic agreement identifying the full partnership of Amherst College with the Town of Amherst.”
Lynnette Watkins, president and chief operating officer of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, offered her appreciation as well. “We are so grateful to Amherst College for this incredibly generous gift that will help strengthen emergency care–care that is provided to local students, patients and our shared community every day,” she said. “Amherst College’s support of Transforming Emergency Care: Campaign for the Cooley Dickinson Hospital Emergency Department will ensure that every patient receives high quality, compassionate care in a newly renovated, expanded space. Together, we are making the Pioneer Valley a healthier place to learn, work and live.”
“Under Elliott’s leadership, the College is actively working to make the campus more welcoming for local residents and to support activities that connect students with the place they call home while they are studying in Amherst. To that end, support will also be directed to specific partnership projects in the areas of public education, sustainability, economic development, housing, and equity and inclusion in the coming years.”
I hope there will be support for public education soon- not just for the elementary building project but also for the operating budgets of the elementary and regional schools as they face more threats of cuts. I believe the College is a great resource for the schools- recently the Mead Art Museum brought their programming into my son’s first grade class. these partnerships are so important, Additionally, I imagine supporting thriving public schools where faculty and staff could send their children would be a draw prospective employees of the College.
I’m starting to get the distinct feeling that I am watching shells being moved around, and the more I watch, the more confused I get.
In 2020, the Jones was approved for $1 million in CPA (taxpayer) money to help fund the construction of a new Special Collections quarters. In April of 2023, I was surprised to read that Special Collections was now just one component of a $5 million “Humanities Center,” which had just received a $1 million “challenge grant” from the NEH.
This is all well and good, but given the fact that I had never heard of the “Humanities Center,” it raises a number of questions as to where this all fits into the context of funding for the project.
1. Was the $5 million Humanities Center part of the original funding plan approved by the Town Council in 2021, or was it developed later? Documents submitted as part of the NEH application are all dated in the fall of 2022; a quick search of the Jones Library building-project website shows no mention of a “Humanities Center” before the announcement of the grant in 2023, leading one to believe that this may be a project that was not yet envisioned when funding was approved in 2021.
2. If that is the case, is this $5 million part of the original cost estimates, or will it need to be added to them? And since this is a challenge grant, will the $4 million that will need to be raised by the Jones be in addition to the original amount specified (now at about $14 million, I believe), or will it need to be added to that figure?
3. If the challenge is not met, how will this affect construction of the “Humanities Center,” and of the overall renovation and expansion?
And finally, on a related note, the question of interest: While the taxpayers of Amherst will not pay the entire amount for this project, the town must borrow the entire amount, which will result in interest payments totaling somewhere in the area of at least $8 or $9 million. This amount is rarely mentioned when costs of the project are given, yet it is an unavoidable reality that has the potential to have a significant impact on taxpayers. Has there been any discussion as to where this money will come from? How will it affect other needs in town, such as road repair?
Asking these questions is not being partisan; it is being realistic. Money, alas, does not grow on trees, and to be overly optimistic about one’s chances of raising needed funds, or to not have — or be willing to present — an impartial analysis of a project’s total costs shows a degree of disrespect toward taxpayers.
Borrowing costs, which were estimated to total $9.16 million before the project budget went up by $10 million, are like Voldemort. To Town leaders committed to pushing the library expansion through whatever it takes, it is “the number that shall not be named.”