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The Hasty family and their many friends
joined Reinhardt College trustees, faculty and staff to dedicate
the College’s new Hasty Student Life Center on May 22, 2007. A
standing-room-only crowd was moved by heartfelt comments from
William G. “Billy” Hasty Jr. ’67, chair of the College’s Board
of Trustees and a prominent local attorney. He, along with his
mother, Hazel Wyatt Hasty, and his wife, Linda Nichols Hasty
’90, all from Canton, Ga., gave the $1.5-million naming gift for
the center. Additional support was received from other
individuals and foundations.
“We simply had a dream, a vision … to show
our appreciation and to acknowledge all the remarkable things
that Reinhardt College has done for the Hasty family,” Mr. Hasty
said. “We never dreamed that this concept or this hope we had
would materialize to what it has in this beautiful student
center. We are extremely grateful and humbled to have been
included in this project.
“This facility will provide an attractive
and comfortable place for the students to gather. They deserve
no less. Hopefully, this facility will service and survive to
instill pride for their College as they do all they can do to
make the Reinhardt experience ‘the way college should be.’”
Reinhardt Student Government President
William “Billy” Jones of Cumming, Ga., spoke for the students
during the event. “This building will definitely help provide
the venue of socializing, student organization meetings, and
much more,” he said. “On behalf of the Student Government
Association for 2007 and 2008, and especially the students of
Reinhardt College, I express my appreciation to the Hasty family
and to the rest of those who have helped build this building and
further it along.”
After reading a proclamation about the
building from Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, Reinhardt President Dr.
J. Thomas Isherwood also thanked the Hastys for their
commitment, generosity and kindness. “It is truly an honor for
the College to be so connected with the Hasty family,” he said.
“Today is a wonderful day for Reinhardt. I never tire of letting
people know what a special place this College is. This is a
campus of a beautiful spirit, and this building captures that
spirit. When I say that this building is inviting, warm, open
and purposeful, I not only describe this building but the spirit
of this entire campus.”
Dr. Roger R. Lee, vice president for
student affairs and dean of students at Reinhardt, described the
central role the new center will play in campus life. “Along
with our students, we intend to bring this building to life so
that it lives, breathes, eats and sleeps. But, most of all, we
want to develop it as the heart of this campus.”
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From top: An outside view of the Hasty Student Life Center; An
outdoor look at the center's "greenhouse" room; An emotional
Billy Hasty spoke on behalf of the Hasty family at the
dedication service; Reinhardt SGA President William "Billy"
Jones spoke for the student body during the dedication ceremony.
For a look at the
building since the groundbreaking |
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Christopher E. Dupree, chair of the
College’s Student Development Committee and a member of the
Board of Trustees, and M. Garland Reynolds Jr., president of
Reynolds Architects, PC, also spoke while the dedication service
was led by the Rev. Dr. C.R. Hill, another trustee and the
Hastys’ pastor at Canton First United Methodist Church. The
festivities concluded with lunch and tours of the building.
The Hasty Student Life Center is a
17,000-square-foot structure in the heart of Reinhardt’s Waleska,
Ga., campus. Its overall design reflects the Georgian
architecture of the adjacent W. Frank and Evelyn J. Gordy
Center, but the dramatic “greenhouse” room features a
picturesque fireplace and two stories of windows that frame a
panoramic view of central campus.
Designed with student needs in mind, the
$4.5-million center includes a recreation room and
television/movie lounge, a large bookstore serviced by Barnes &
Noble, and an information kiosk. Offices for student government,
residence life, counseling and career services, campus ministry,
and student affairs also will be housed in this new facility. |
