After a year of extensive renovation, remodeling and upgrading, the Cazenovia College’s Jephson Campus building A on Albany Street was officially opened with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony recently. The building, which houses the college’s arts and design program, was completely gutted and renovated inside, a new atrium was built, security was improved, the grounds were changed to have more green space and sidewalks and less pavement, all while preserving the exterior facade of the historic building, which dates to the late 1800s.
The renovated building is “a refreshing, and welcoming space,” said Sharon Dettmer, the college’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, during the Sept. 24 ribbon cutting ceremony. “It was designed with great care and a character functioning that is fitting for all of our art programs.”
The Jephson renovation was the final project of the college’s five-year “Building Futures One at a Time” campaign. The $10 million fundraising campaign included two $1 million contributions specifically for the Jephson renovations, as well as a 66 percent employee participation rate and donations from area businesses such as Stickley, Audi & Co., which donated all the furniture for the building, said campaign co-chair Albert J. Budney. “We did it. Together. Thank you all,” he said.
Village Deputy Mayor Amy Mann, who also spoke during the ribbon cutting ceremony, said the renovated building is a “magnificent upgrade” that adds to the “theme of progress” in the community that will benefit both the college and the village. She said the project was a “great example of forward thinking.”
More than 100 people from both the campus and village communities attend the event, which included speeches, an official ribbon cutting and tours of the renovated building.
The Jephson A building renovations were completed at the end of this past summer, with the building ready for use when the fall semester began at the end of August. New and returning students who use the building found a new atrium entrance with niches for studying and relaxing in new Stickley furniture and improved wall and hallway spaces for exhibiting artwork. The second floor atrium also includes a new senior exhibit space. A student monitoring station shows camera feeds throughout the entire building to make for a safer environment. The first floor studio spaces and second floor classrooms all were renovated and modernized.
This is like a dream come true really,” said Kim Waale, professor of art and design and interim chair of the art and design department. “the faculty was very engaged in the project” and the students “feel so special because they were working [before the rnovation] in really jerry-rigged facilities.”
College senior Marie Veschusio, a studio art major, said the upgrades to the building “made a world of difference for everyone who uses it.” She said it makes art and design students want to use the building more by creating such an “enabling” environment. “The building matches the caliber of our student art program,” she said.
