Thomas Commons Renovation > News & Updates

Thomas Commons Renovation News & Updates

Thomas Commons services relocated for summer

Beginning Tuesday, May 14, a number of offices and services will be temporarily moved from the Thomas Commons to accommodate summer construction. Read More

Posted May 14, 2013

December update on the Thomas Commons project

Cornell College’s largest ongoing initiative to improve campus life is the Thomas Commons renovation and construction project. Read More

Posted Dec 19, 2012

An update on summer improvements

Cornell College had several major renovation projects happening this summer. In the video below, John Harp, vice president for Student Affairs, talks about what students returning to Cornell can expect when they arrive on campus. Read More

Posted Aug 30, 2012

Thomas Commons north entrance open

The north (Thomas Commons circle) entrance has opened and the Ped Mall is available for use again in preparation for the start of the school year. Please keep in mind the building will remain under construction throughout the academic year. Therefore, be cognizant of the construction equipment and vehicles accessing this space throughout the year [...] Read More

Posted Aug 10, 2012

Thomas Commons construction update

Joel Miller, director of facility services at Cornell College, gives a short update on the progress of the Thomas Commons project. Read More

Posted Jun 25, 2012

Thomas Commons elevator closing

Due to the work being done in the kitchen of the Thomas Commons, the elevators will be shut down beginning Monday, June 25, and will remain closed through the month of July. As a reminder, individuals wanting to access Thomas Commons are encouraged to use the entrance to the west of the building, between Thomas Commons [...] Read More

Posted Jun 25, 2012

Thomas Commons Fitness Center closed

Due to the electric work happening in the building, the electricity to many of the machines in the Thomas Commons Fitness Center has been turned off. Additionally, the fitness center equipment is scheduled to be moved from the Thomas Commons in the next two weeks. As a result of power outages and construction work, we [...] Read More

Posted Jun 13, 2012

Thomas Commons entrance closing

Due to the deep foundation work being done and the anticipation of the north addition to the Thomas Commons, the north (Circle) entrance is closed beginning this morning. The east (Ped Mall) entrance is expected to close tomorrow. Individuals wanting to access Thomas Commons are encouraged to use the entrance to the west of the [...] Read More

Posted Jun 11, 2012

Thomas Commons groundbreaking May 19

Cornell held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Thomas Commons on May 19 as part of the spring Board of Trustees meeting. Work is set to begin in June on the $14 million renovation and expansion project. Read More

Posted May 10, 2012

New dining services provider for Cornell College

Cornell's food service will be provided by Bon Appétit, a nationally-renowned company that serves more than two-dozen top-tier colleges starting July 1. Read More

Posted Apr 26, 2012

$500,000 in gifts for the Thomas Commons

Three gifts from Cornell College alumni totaling $500,000 will move the Thomas Commons renovation project closer to completion. The gifts, $375,000 from an anonymous member of the class of 1962, $100,000 from Lon Mishler ’69 and Carol Fair Mishler ’70, and $25,000 from Andrew Buchmeyer ’86 and Gretchen Liebenow Buchmeyer ’88, are all to help [...] Read More

Posted Oct 17, 2011

$5.6 million gift to help fund Thomas Commons renovation

A gift of $5.6 million from the estate of a Cornell College parent—one of the largest outright gifts in the history of the college—will go toward renovations of the Thomas Commons and endow a scholarship in his daughter’s name. The gift came from the estate of James Russell, father of Dr. Jean Russell ’65. James [...] Read More

Posted Sep 07, 2011

Gift of $500,000 for The Commons

A $500,000 gift from Cornell parents Peter Paul and Betsy Luce will help with plans to expand and renovate The Commons. Peter and Betsy Luce, of Englewood, Colo., connected with Cornell when their daughter Lynn was drawn to the college’s One Course At A Time calendar. Luce served Cornell as a trustee when Lynn began [...] Read More

Posted Sep 27, 2010

$25,000 gift for The Commons

Sydney Smith Hicks ’69 has pledged $25,000 for the Career Center in The Commons, in honor of her parents, David W. and Elizabeth A. Smith. The Commons opened during the spring of Hicks’ freshman year at Cornell College. Before that, students ate in one of two residence halls, separating the student body in half. Once [...] Read More

Posted Jun 09, 2010

Trustee donates $200,000 to Cornell College to fund Commons project, Pre-Law

MOUNT VERNON – Cornell College trustee and alumna Sheryl Atkinson Stoll ’70 says she owes much of her success to her alma mater. Now, Cornell students can say they owe much of their success to Sheryl Stoll. Stoll and her husband William have donated $200,000 to Cornell in support of the Pre-Law Program she helped create and [...] Read More

Posted Jul 21, 2009

Durhams donate $250,000 to Commons project

MOUNT VERNON — A $250,000 gift from Tom and the Rev. Martha Hemenway Durham will help provide a much-needed face-lift to the center point of Cornell College, The Commons. The Durhams are both Cornell graduates of the late 1970s, just over 10 years after The Commons opened. Now, 30 years later, the couple saw a [...] Read More

Posted Mar 31, 2009

Cornell receives $3 million from Hall-Perrine

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College will receive a $3 million award from The Hall-Perrine Foundation of Cedar Rapids after raising the matching funds 12-months ahead of schedule. The funds will help Cornell College expand and remodel The Commons, its student center. Hall-Perrine provided the $3 million challenge grant in 2005 on the condition that Cornell [...] Read More

Posted Dec 21, 2007

Armstrong Trust commits $250,000 to Cornell bookstore renovation

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College has received a $250,000 pledge from the Esther and Robert Armstrong Charitable Trust to fund a new campus bookstore in The Commons, Cornell’s student union that was built during Esther Armstrong’s tenure on the college’s board of trustees. Esther Armstrong was an honorary alumna of Cornell and life trustee on [...] Read More

Posted Sep 28, 2007