Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511030036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For years, Hollins College Library cataloguer Lilla Thompson has been haunted by visions of Nov. 4 - the day 10 years ago when she watched an overflowing Carvins Creek soak 50,000 library books.
"The staff stayed in the library and just sort of watched in horror" as the water ruined about 10 percent of the library's collection, Thompson said. "I've had nightmares about floods ever since."
But come Saturday, the flood won't be the only reason Nov. 4 is remembered by Hollins faculty, staff and alumnae.
That's when the school - in a daylong event open to the public - will launch the largest fund drive in its 153-year history.
Hollins has set its sights on bringing in $40.8 million for endowments and capital projects. The rallying point of the campaign is its formerly flood-drenched library.
"The library has probably not ever recovered fully from that tragedy," said Laura Carpenter Bingham, vice president of development. "Students have long felt, for a good 20 years, that the library has been insufficient in terms of resources and study environment."
Plus, "it's bursting at the seams. It's like a pot-bound plant," Director of College Relations Linda Steele said of the library, which uses 98 percent of its shelf capacity.
So Hollins is soliciting support for a new, $9.8 million library to be built in the duPont Chapel parking lot. The new facility will be a "learning center" complete with study carrels with computer hookups, spacious reading rooms, screening rooms and a climate-controlled rare-book room.
The idea for the five-year campaign was born in the late 1980s, when the college attempted to identify its needs for the future. The result was a $68 million wish list.
What was left after a "reality check" was a three-pronged initiative. The goals are $16.8 million for its endowment, $14.8 million for capital projects and $9.1 million for the annual fund.
The endowment money will be divided among need-based financial aid, scholarships, the college's artists and scholars in residence program, and maintenance of the new library and science labs.
In addition to the library, capital projects include $1 million for renovation of the campus student center and money for computer and classroom upgrades.
The annual fund supports college operations.
The fact that the campaign's announcement coincides with the 1985 flood's anniversary is no accident, Bingham said.
The college began its "quiet phase" three years ago. In that time, it's raised $29 million toward its goal, including $5.7 million for the library.
In institutional fund raising, the rule of thumb is to pursue "leadership" or potential big-money gifts first. After reaching the 50 percent mark, the campaign goes public, Bingham said.
But Hollins topped $20 million some six months ago, she said.
"Nov. 4 was the anniversary, and the library was the linchpin of the campaign. So we delayed because of the significance," Bingham said.
Now, the college is taking its pitch around the region. In February, it will start in Roanoke, where the largest number of its alumnae live, and spread to other cities from there.
So far, money has come from a variety of sources, including $4.5 million from individual members of the college's board of trustees. But the largest gift to date, and the largest outright donation in Hollins' history, came from Frank Batten, whose wife, Jane, is a Hollins alumna.
Batten, chairman of Landmark Communications Inc. in Norfolk, donated $2 million to start a Batten Leadership Scholars program. Landmark Communications owns The Roanoke Times.
According to the timetable, the college will raise the remaining $11 million by June 1997, but Bingham said she expects to have exceeded the goal by then.
That's what happened with the last large fund drive, which ended just 10 days before the flood, she said.
"They ended it and celebrated it, then the great flood came," Bingham said.
That drive's goal was to raise $10.5 million for the college's endowment, a new gymnasium and a riding program. They finished the campaign with an extra $2.7 million.
by CNB