The Governor’s Academy Reaches Campaign Milestone

Head of School Dr. Peter H. Quimby announced today, through the generous support of alumni, parents, past parents, and friends, that we will break ground this winter on the renovation and expansion of the Peter Marshall French Student Center.

The newly imagined and greatly renovated student center will transform the experience of our students. While this building has served us well for over forty years, it no longer meets the needs of our community in both space and function. In its new state, the student center will serve as a hub of activity for all students and for campus programming. In addition to flexible activity spaces, a wellness studio, a cafe and grill, an outdoor terrace, and new humanities classrooms, the building will open in the fall of 2020 with long-awaited day student lockers and showering facilities.

When reflecting on the impact of the renovated building, Dean of Students Jed Wartman says, “The question asked on a weekend night by our students will shift from ‘what’s going on tonight?’ to ‘when should we meet at the student center?’” Wartman continued, “Our students need a comfortable and flexible place to call their own—a place for clubs to meet, a place for a game of ping pong, a place to play music, and a place to grab a bite to eat. We are really excited about this renovation and how it will transform the experience of our students.”

TMS Architects of Portsmouth, New Hampshire developed the renovation and expansion plans for the project, and Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction has been hired as the construction management company. The total project covers 16,000 square feet of which 11,000 will be renovation and 5,000 will be new. The renovated and expanded building will open in the fall of 2020.

Click here to view renderings of the renovated and expanded Student Center.

Click here to learn more about the Student Center project.

“At its core, this is a campaign about people. The Academy has been known for generations as a family school, and if we are to preserve this essential quality in the future, we have to invest in our faculty, staff, and students,” said Quimby. “The addition of this vital space at the heart of our campus will be transformative for our students and I am deeply grateful to all those who have made this possible through their generous support.”

Publicly launched in October 2017, With True Courage, The Campaign for Governor’s is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the Academy’s 257-year history. The campaign is inspired by the family motto of the school’s founder, Governor William Dummer: “With true courage, nothing is impossible.” The campaign has three focus areas: endowment, annual fund, and capital projects. The renovation and expansion of the student center is one of three capital projects included in the campaign. The other two projects include a new environmental research and classroom building along the banks of the Parker River and new faculty housing.