The urge to break into song and dance was powerful, but Philip Lewis, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said he would repress it in favor of a few celebratory remarks and offerings of thanks to the alumni and friends of the university who made the "Lincoln Hall Renaissance" possible.
Lewis was the opening speaker at the official dedication ceremonies for the newly expanded and refurbished Lincoln Hall, held Oct. 27 on the building's south side under forbidding skies. Many of the more than 300 participants gathered under a tent to hear Lewis say the project owed a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Lincoln Hall Renaissance campaign committee -- in particular university trustees Ellen Adelson '58, Robert Appel '53 and Austin Kiplinger '39, the campaign co-chairs, for the remarkable $19 million project.
Lewis also praised Sidney Cox, whose contribution made possible the building's new, state-of-the-art Sidney Cox Library of Music and Dance. A handsome dedication booklet was distributed, which named supporters of the campaign -- from those who funded new pianos, music chairs and music stands to those with offices and classrooms named after them, and other "instrumental friends."
Further remarks were given during the ceremony by Sarah E. Thomas, the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian; Mark Davis Scatterday, associate professor and chair of the music department; and President Hunter Rawlings.
Rawlings also praised the campaign co-chairs and other benefactors and thanked the numerous people who helped along the way, including former Cornell provost Don M. Randel, who conceived of the expansion while he was chair of the music department and presided over the initial design and fund raising while he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Randel, now president of the University of Chicago, was among the throng of celebrants, as were Cornell presidents emeriti Frank H.T. Rhodes and Dale Corson.
Referring to the pre-renovation, pre-addition Lincoln Hall, built in 1888 to house civil engineering and architecture, Rawlings said, "At long last we have a facility worthy of the talents of our extremely distinguished faculty."
The project itself took eight years, Rawlings reminded the celebrants, and with a "remarkable outpouring of private support," Lincoln Hall went from "barely adequate to extraordinary," he said.
Others whose efforts were praised included Steven Stucky, the Given Foundation Professor of Composition, who helped oversee the project, and Lenore Coral, music librarian.
The Cornell Chorus and Glee Club sang the "Alma Mater," and as the crowd wound around to the new East Avenue entrance of the building for a ribbon-cutting and reception, the Cornell Symphonic Band performed Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." Then, as if on cue, a cloudburst, restrained throughout the ceremony, christened the dedication with a spirited gully washer.
On Saturday, the sparkling facility held a composers' symposium, featuring such notable Cornell composers as Stucky, Robert Palmer, Paul Chihara, Andrew Waggoner, Karel Husa, Roberto Sierra, Anna Weesner and Christopher Rouse, and that was followed by a musical open house.
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