Meyer Memorial Trust to support bicentennial project

The Meyer Memorial Trust has awarded Lewis & Clark College a leadership gift of $1 million to support a two-building project to commemorate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which will take place from 2003 to 2006.

The grant will help fund the renovation and expansion of the College’s historic Albany Quadrangle and the construction of John R. Howard Hall. The College will use parts of both buildings for educational programs to study the impact of the expedition on the nation.

“I am grateful to the Meyer Memorial Trust for its generous support of this project,” said Michael Mooney, president of Lewis & Clark College. He noted that the College will play a distinctive role in the national celebration by focusing on the intellectual context and meaning of the expedition and on its influence on the formation of the American mind.

The College’s exceptional resources include the finest and most complete collection known to exist of printed materials related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, including a one-of-a-kind, word-for-word handwritten copy of the original journals.

Albany Quadrangle will become a multipurpose building with seminar rooms and a great hall for exhibitions, conferences and lectures. It will also include a café and offices for the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. When bicentennial activities conclude, Albany Hall will house academic administrative offices. When built, the four-story Howard Hall will include offices and classrooms for the social sciences. Thomas Hacker & Associates Architects is designing the buildings. Walker Macy is the landscape architect, and Hoffman Construction of Oregon is the general contractor.

In addition to the grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust, the College has already received $2 million in private donations and $1.7 million in federal funds for the $26-million Bicentennial Project.