Breaking Ground on the Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz center for health sciences
The rain that had fallen earlier in the day on Friday the 13th of May did not dampen spirits at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Center for Health Sciences, and in fact, it was a blessing—softening the soil for the symbolic turning of the first shovelfuls of sod at the site of the future building. The event saw a full house of attendees (a full tent to be more accurate), which included Helen Breidegam and daughter Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz’s children—Dan ‘14, Katelyn ’16, Matt ‘18, and Tim--as well as representatives from our outstanding building and design team: JG Petrucci, Iron Hill Construction Management, and the architectural design firm Earl Swensson Associates (ESa).
Enthusiasm for the future center was palpable. Ken Rampolla ‘79, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, reminded the audience of Moravian University’s gaping need for a building to house not only our nursing programs but also labs for our burgeoning health sciences disciplines to include informatics, public health, as well as the undergraduate health sciences course of study that precedes our new graduate programs in athletic training, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
Yes, the University is breaking new ground in so many ways, and to echo Rampolla, we are grateful to Helen Breidegam for helping us get off the ground (pun intended) financially as we build a bright future for students interested in pursuing degrees and careers in the health sciences, which are and will continue to be in high demand, as President Grigsby ’90 pointed out.
As for the building itself—named in honor of alumna Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz ’84, who was a member of the board of trustees from 2008 until she died tragically at the age of 52 in June of 2014—it will occupy 56,000 square feet and feature leading-edge technology, enhanced classrooms and research labs, a health informatics computer lab, a virtual cadaver lab, and creative spaces for student and faculty interaction. “ESa delivered beautifully on a state-of-the-art design that looks to the future while preserving the heritage and culture of the historical buildings of Moravian University,” Mark Reed, vice president of finance and administration, remarked. The facility is a fulfillment of a dream said Grigsby.
But the sentiment that perhaps best captured the bright spirit all around on that otherwise dreary day was that of Kerry Cheever, professor and chair of the University’s newly named Helen S. Breidegam School of Nursing, who shared these words of gratitude: “The nursing faculty and staff do not need to see the sun today to let the joy in our hearts shine for all to see.”