Click to view the Spring 2013 Wyoming Seminary Journal.

Setting the Stage for
Success
Architect's rendering of the new Nesbitt
Memorial Stadium
Work on the new Nesbitt Memorial Stadium began in January, 2013.
John Shafer ’71 has spent much of his life at Nesbitt Memorial
Stadium, first as a student and football team manager and always
as a fan of the teams that competed each year on the field. So
it’s not surprising that he felt a touch of wistful nostalgia as he
watched backhoes and bulldozers pull down the old grandstand
and locker rooms.
“I knew how tired the stadium had become and I really didn’t
expect to have any feelings other than the excitement of looking
forward to something new,” says Shafer, Sem’s vice president of
advancement. “I happened to be driving by as they were knocking
the grandstand down and I had some flashbacks and memories
of things I had seen on these fields. And since my late father and
grandfather walked on those fields as the school physicians for so
many years, there were some memories there as well.”
But it is the anticipation of a new, state-of-the-art Nesbitt Stadium
now being built that balances Shafer’s memories of the past. The
project, which got underway in January, is just one of the three
major changes now taking place at Wyoming Seminary Upper
School.
On the other side of campus, John Vaida, chair of the visual and
performing arts department, studies the plans for the new Allan P.
and Marian Sutherland Kirby Center for Creative Arts that is being
built next to the Buckingham Performing Arts Center (BPAC).
There are times when he feels some déjà vu; when he came to Sem
in 1975 he served as a consultant for the design of the present
BPAC. Now, more than 35 years later, he is deeply involved in the
design of a new, larger and more advanced facility.
“In 1975 there was no real music program here at Sem, but that is
no longer the case,” he says. “Now we have a thriving program and
we are working to create a facility that will not only meet our needs
but enhance every aspect of our creative arts programs here. I am
very excited about the new center, its layout, its size and its design.”
And a third significant project is now complete: the closing of the
campus section of North Sprague Avenue. The closure gives the
campus a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly feel and increases safety
and security. Now two sets of black steel gates, reminiscent of the
school’s historic wrought-iron railings, have been installed and can
be opened on occasion to allow for boarding students to move in
and out of the dorms, and for emergency vehicles to enter should
the need arise.
Thoughtful conversations, significant
action
Shortly after Dr. Kip Nygren took office as president in July 2007,
he established four strategic vision committees to study the school
mission, academic program, athletics program and arts program.
The arts committee and athletic committee reported that in both
areas, the school’s programs had grown significantly in both size
and quality and had outgrown the limited facilities; in fact, the
outmoded stadium and BPAC were limiting the programs and the
school’s ability to attract new talented faculty and coaches.
In response the Trustees developed a prioritized wish list of
projects, with a new arts center and a renovated Nesbitt Stadium
leading the list. To fund these and other vital projects, the Trustees