William Jewell College Sorority Complex & Greek Common

Celebrating the groundbreaking for the new Sorority Complex and Greek Common are (top photo, from left) Sorority presidents Melissa Kabrick, Quincy Cotton, President David Sallee, Dana Harrelson, Maggie Rader

Alumni, friends, students, faculty and staff gathered on the windswept site of the new William Jewell College Sorority Complex and Greek Common May 2 to observe the official groundbreaking for the new residential complex.

“For five years we have been dreaming, hoping and planning for what a new Sorority Complex and Greek Common could mean for the William Jewell College community,” said President David Sallee. “Today, those dreams move one step closer to reality.”

William Jewell is in the process of fulfilling the terms of a $1 million challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation. “Fulfilling the Mabee challenge will allow us to provide a dynamic living and learning experience and have our students in the new complex by the fall of 2009,” said Dr. Chad Jolly, vice president for institutional advancement at William Jewell.

Sorority Complex Steering Committee members Hazel Michajliczenko, Betty Shouse, President David Sallee, Melanie Cline, Pam Kirkland

The $14 million complex will include four sorority houses with suite-style rooms and private bathrooms. The design features a fitness center, private study rooms, modern laundry facilities and lounges. A Greek Common building accommodating up to 250 people will join the four houses and serve as a focal point for Greek life on the campus.

Trustees Dianne Shumaker, Hazel Michajliczenko, President David Sallee, Ed Place, Jim Pierce, Robert Kirkland and Joy Steincross

The new Sorority Complex will be built on the site of the former Regent’s Quad apartments just northwest of the Mabee Center for Physical Education. Regent’s Quad took the brunt of the tornado that struck the campus in May of 2003. The complex was too heavily damaged to be repaired and was razed.

“Our trustees, alumni, students and friends have demonstrated a deep commitment to providing a vibrant living and learning community for future generations of women at the college,” Jolly said.

Represented at the groundbreaking were members of the sorority community at William Jewell, trustees, members of the Sorority Complex Steering Committee and representatives of the architectural and construction firms for the project.