Campus Life

Joe DeLozier, C’77, P’16, and chair of the Board of Regents, welcomed community members and other guests to the groundbreaking, and encouraged everyone to use and enjoy the new bookstore; after its completion, the space will serve as a bridge between the community and University. The new bookstore will be a two-story building with a large front porch and a prominent entrance on University Avenue.

Frank Gladu, special assistant to the vice-chancellor, remarked that the bookstore will be the first new building in four decades along University Avenue in the Village. Gladu, whose focus is on the development of Sewanee Village, said that the bookstore is the first of five priority projects planned for downtown by 2022—the graduation year for current first-year students. Other projects include a new food market with apartments above it, and a village green for community events and gatherings.

Vice-Chancellor John McCardell noted that the day had been long anticipated. Former members of the Board of Regents, who were back on campus for the weekend and attended the ceremony, would remember that the topic of village development had been on the University’s agenda for quite some time. McCardell thanked members of the Sewanee Business Alliance for sharing in the University’s vision of a thriving business distract.

The bookstore has been designed to serve both the University and the local community, with a gathering place on the first level for book signings and other special events. In addition to a book inventory similar to that offered in the previous location on campus, the upper level will provide a generous amount of space for clothing, supplies, and other merchandise. Adjacent parking will be provided.

Following McCardell’s remarks, he, Gladu, DeLozier, Russell Green (bookstore manager), Sarah Boykin (campus planning director), and Mary Margaret Murdock (C'19, student trustee) used golden shovels to ceremonially break ground for the new bookstore.