LUTHER COLLEGE
School celebrating its new facilities.
After two years of dust and noise, Luther College celebrated the end of construction and unveiled its new facilities Tuesday, including a new gymnasium.
“It’s a big day for our school, especially our students,” said Bryan Hillis, president of Luther College.
The $17.3-million project involves 4,273 square metres of new and renovated space — of which, 2464 square metres involved new construction.
Besides the gymnasium, the school has a new weight room and locker facilities, classrooms for fine arts and film, a common and a study area. The old gymnasium, which will be used for theatre and music events, received a new stage as part of the renovations.
The project was funded through donations, fundraising and internal funds. As well, the provincial ministry of education contributed an $857,000 grant. Tuesday’s event at Luther was attended by several provincial MLAs as well as Wascana MP Ralph Goodale and University of Regina president Vianne Timmons.
Hillis noted that alumni were important as advisers to help Luther maintain its identity and tradition in light of new changes.
“They were helping us always think about what it is about this college that encapsulates the tradition,” he explained.
For Gavin Semple, Tuesday’s ceremony was a chance to reminisce about life at Luther when he was a student nearly 55 years ago. Semple, along with his son Shaun, president of the Brandt Group of Companies, donated $1.75 million toward the project.
Besides Gavin, other family members attended Luther, including his brother, sister and three grandchildren. The Semple Gymnasium now bears the family name.
Semple, who grew up on a farm north of Regina, attended the school from 1959 to 1963 and lived in a dormitory. It was his first experience living away from home.
“It had quite an impact on me at that time. I learned to enjoy the relationship with all the other dorm students that were here. And, it was my first exposure to people from all around the world because at that time Luther had a fair number of international students as well.”
He said being at Luther was like being part of a family.
“Everybody knows everybody. The teachers know all the students and it was kind of like my second family after I left home. That stays with you for a long time,” he said.
“As you get older, I think you appreciate the impact it may have had a lot more than when I was here or even the years that followed.”
The new gymnasium is significantly different from the one that Semple remembers as a student.
“It’s bigger. It’s brighter. It’s got more bleachers (and) seating capacity. It’ll be fantastic for the LIT (Luther Invitation Tournament) and for all the other events that will happen throughout the year,” he said.