SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College has announced plans to construct a new 150-bed student residence hall in a prime location in the heart of campus. Construction on Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall, named in honor of the donor for the project, is expected to begin this spring.
The residence hall, which also will house a variety of student activities facilities on its main floor, will be built where Andrews Field House now sits and will overlook the college’s Russell King Field at Switzer Stadium, where the Terriers play baseball, and Snyder Field, the college’s soccer field. Completion is expected by fall 2020.
“We are excited about the new Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall and appreciate the extraordinary generosity of Mr. Richardson in providing funding for this much-needed facility,” says President Nayef Samhat. “One of the pillars of our ‘For Wofford’ fundraising campaign is improving the physical campus to create dynamic learning and living spaces that encourage discovery and collaboration and that make Wofford College distinctive. This new residence hall will be a major step in that area.
“The facility not only will change the face of the college in many positive ways, it will provide beautiful living quarters for our students and create new spaces for student activities,” Samhat continues.
Richardson, a 1959 graduate of Wofford and a star football player for the Terriers, and his family have been generous supporters of the college for decades, supporting dozens of academic and athletics scholarships and endowed professorships. The Richardson Family Scholarship, the highest honor awarded to an entering first-year student at Wofford, provides full tuition, fees, room and board; a stipend for books and other expenses; a laptop computer; summer internships with one involving an opportunity for overseas study-travel; and a January Interim travel experience. The scholarship provides other enrichment opportunities for the student, both on and off campus, to enhance their educational experience. Richardson also has provided support for campus building renovations, including residence halls, the Campus Life Building and the Roger Milliken Science Center as well as for the construction of the Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village, the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, which opened in the spring of 2017, and the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, which opened in the fall of 2017.
The new residence hall will be the first student housing built on Wofford’s campus since 2011.
“The ‘For Wofford’ campaign has a goal of raising $300 million by October 2022, providing essential support for a strategic vision that promises to make Wofford more relevant and important to the world than ever before, while remaining true to the values that always have shaped the college and those of us who call it home,” Samhat says.
The college already has raised $262 million toward the overall campaign goal. Among the campaign’s notable accomplishments are the new Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium and more than $32 million for endowed scholarships.