When walking into Newark Academy’s Rose Auditorium, alumni from 1965 through the present are flooded with memories. “Oh. . . . I remember this smell” . . . “that was my seat” . . . “it seemed so much bigger when I was a kid.” In the lives of many NA students, the auditorium is a place of FIRSTS. It is the first place that a young student stands before an audience, the first time a student advocates for an idea or a cause, perhaps the first time that a student experiences his/her own ideas challenged. Truly the heart of the NA campus, the auditorium is also a place of final bows – Middle School graduation, the final curtain in the Winter Musical and now, the final capital project to be undertaken in the
Rise & Flourish
Campaign.
Likely a $4.5 to $5 million renovation and expansion project, the auditorium project will bring this distinctive facility into the 21
st
century with seating for 750, updated acoustics, significantly improved lighting, and much-needed storage spaces. According to Walter Kneis of NK Architects, the firm selected to partner with Newark Academy on the project, “the design will reflect the pivotal role that the space plays in the life of the school and the quality of the Academy’s students and programs.”
A preview of these inspiring plans took place on April 11 at a gathering of NA parents, alumni, faculty and Trustees. Noting that enthusiastic support for the auditorium project will be essential, Board of Trustees’ Chairman David McGraw ’77 and Trustee Advancement Chair Marika Alzadon ’89 used the evening’s gathering to announce to the community the
Board of Trustees Gift Challenge
. “Every member of the Board of Trustees has already made a generous gift to
Rise & Flourish
,” David said, “and those gifts went to one or more of the previous capital projects. To ensure that our entire community understands the importance of the auditorium project, Trustees are leading the way by making additional gifts earmarked for the auditorium.”
Collectively,
gifts from the NA Trustees will provide a fund of $1 million that will be used to match every new gift and pledge to the auditorium project through December 31, 2018
. According to Marika, she and her fellow members of the Board hope that the Trustee Gift Challenge will inspire the community to join the auditorium effort. “In order to continue our fiscal discipline of beginning construction when gifts and pledges to the project reach 50 percent of the total cost, we are going to need $2.5 million to put a shovel in the ground on the auditorium. We really believe the Trustee Challenge can jump-start this effort.”
In addition to Marika and David’s exciting announcement, the April 11 event included remarks by NA alumnus and former Upper School president Kyle Ostroff ’09 who reminded the audience of the importance of the auditorium in student leadership development. Arts Department Chair Elaine Brodie then spoke, proudly describing the myriad accomplishments of NA performers and sharing her dream of how the new facility will allow for more robust demonstrations of students’ talents.
Click here
to make a gift or pledge to
Rise & Flourish
in support of the auditorium project or contact Lisa Grider at
[email protected]
or 973-992-7000, ext. 320.
Launched in 2010,
Rise & Flourish
: The Campaign for Newark Academy is the catalyst for a generational transformation of the Academy. Thus far, gifts to
Rise & Flourish
provided 24 new classrooms (Middle and Upper School), three new science labs (Middle School), welcoming commons spaces and complete renovation of Minuteman Athletics outdoor facilities. Beyond capital projects, donors to
Rise & Flourish
added $8 million to the Newark Academy endowment, including $5 million to fully endow the Newark Scholars Program.
