Declaring victory in the most ambitious athletics capital initiative in its 167-year history, Central College has completed fundraising for the $18 million Forever Dutch® initiative. With the announcement, approval was received to proceed with the third phase of the renovation and expansion of P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. Vice President for Advancement Sunny Gonzales Eighmy, Class of 1999, said 2,712 Central alumni and friends provided support for the project, the most donors ever for a college project.
“We are so grateful to all the alumni and friends of the college who have given thoughtfully and generously to help us finish this project for our students and coaches,” Eighmy said. “Time and time again, members of the Central family have demonstrated their unyielding support. We send our deepest thanks for their confidence in Central and belief in our mission. Through their generosity, we are able to optimize the Central student-athlete experience now and well into the future.”
The major Forever Dutch initiative construction started with a $12 million building expansion in 2017. The second $3 million phase for the lower level, which includes a new women’s varsity locker room and a transformed athletic training room, was recently completed. The college quickly transitioned to the third phase, providing a $3 million renovation for the building’s upper level featuring team meeting space, a new welcome center, recruitment space, offices and an updated visitor’s locker room, along with a Ron Schipper Fitness Center upgrade. Most of that work should be completed by April 2021.
“There’s tremendous excitement about this project with our student-athletes and coaches,” says Eric Van Kley, Central’s athletics director. “These facilities really make a statement about how committed the Central family is to investing in our students and in the future of this place. These are challenging times but we’ve not lost sight of providing for student needs that lie beyond the horizon.”
In 2016, the descendants of Pella Corporation founder P.H. “Pete” Kuyper and their family foundations teamed for a $4.2 million lead gift for the complex that bears the family’s name, among the largest gifts in Central’s history. The driving force behind the family gift was Kuyper’s daughter, M. Joan Farver, a former Pella Corporation chair and longtime Central trustee. Farver died in February 2017 at age 97. The new building entrance atrium was named in her honor.