New fountain tops a Liberty University building boom

Pennies already dot the bottom of a newly installed fountain in front of DeMoss Hall at Liberty University.

Inadvertent but appropriate symbolism perhaps, as the $40,000 fountain honors donors who contributed to the $12 million expansion of the Arthur S. DeMoss Learning Center from a one-story building to four in 2000.

The fountain is one of several projects aiming for completion on the fast-growing campus this summer. The list includes DeMoss, which is undergoing a $5 million renovation, as well as dorm renovations, roadwork and construction of a student lounge and bookstore.

The fountain, which is hand-carved from Italian marble, was installed earlier this month and began flowing last week.

“It’s been on the drawing board for quite a while but it always got delayed,” Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Wednesday.

Funds for the fountain were donated by the school’s Board of Regents, he said.

An honorary wall listing the names of more than 5,000 donors soon will be added to the site, said Charles Spence, the school’s director of planning and new construction.

“We’re really proud of it,” he said.

Behind the fountain, the majority of DeMoss Hall’s third floor, which has remained unfinished since it was built, is getting a makeover.

“It’s classified as an expansion of our existing library, which includes labs, quiet study areas, computer terminal access, Wi-Fi points, as well as some areas being constructed for the new School of Engineering,” he said.

Officials aim to finish that project by Aug. 1, in time for the start of the new school year.

Other projects underway include:

- A 20,000-square-foot student lounge in the LaHaye Student Center — complete with couches, televisions and a stage — also is set for an August completion, Falwell said.

“That was a big request of the students,” he said.

Since the school has no coeducational dorms, the lounge will give them another place to socialize, he said.

- A perimeter road to alleviate campus traffic congestion is only a few weeks from completion, Falwell said, as is the paving of a parking lot.

- A few of the college’s older dorms that “needed to be freshened up” are getting upgrades, Falwell said.

“We’ll have more going on in the fall, but we have a big list of things that we’re trying to finish by the fall,” he said.

- Officials are working to complete an 800-seat auditorium and new façade to complete the school’s Elmer Towns Alumni Ministry Training Center.

A couple of other projects also are underway, but will need more time for completion, Falwell said.

This month, crews broke ground on a 20,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble Evangelical Superstore next to the School of Religion. When finished, the store will include a coffee bar, textbooks and materials geared for Liberty students, Falwell said.

Also this summer, he said, officials plan to begin construction on two indoor soccer fields that will be attached to the LaHaye Student Center.