Carrier Library: The heart of campus beats stronger than ever
[IN PHOTO] Dukes, colleagues and donors gather to celebrate the grand reopening and the people who brought it to life
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SUMMARY: Donors join more than 450 Dukes, colleagues and friends to celebrate the reimagined library and get a firsthand look at the impact of their generosity. Their presence was living proof of Carrier’s enduring place at the heart of JMU. Spanning nearly 200,000 square feet, the reimagined library combines updated technology and new and redesigned spaces for learning, research and collaboration.
After three years of anticipation, the doors to Carrier Library opened wide again on September 10. More than 450 donors, students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members joined President James Schmidt and Dean Bethany Nowviskie to celebrate its return. Among them were donors whose generosity helped bring the transformed library to life. For many, the grand reopening offered a first opportunity to walk through the spaces their philanthropy made possible and see their names become part of a building generations of Dukes will use.
Gathered at Centennial Fountain Plaza before the library’s historic McCormick entrance, guests encountered the familiar bluestone outside and a transformed Carrier within, while a new modern Jones Wing expands the library by more than 56,000 square feet. The new spaces support how students and scholars learn, discover, collaborate and create today.
Dean of Libraries Dr. Bethany Nowviskie thanked the many partners who sustained the project through three years of construction and change.
“Mom and I often traveled to Harrisonburg. She had quite an affinity for the valley and was so proud of the fact that her college had evolved into such a vibrant and illustrious institution,” Ferrill said. “I feel very fortunate to have been involved with this project.” Pictured bottom right: Dr. Nicholas Langridge ('00, '07M, '14Ph.D), Vice President of Philanthropy and Engagement, and Joan Facetime with her mother's sorority sister and former faculty member Dr. Dorothy Rowe during the library festivities.
“He loved the idea of a library that helps students and faculty imagine, create and invent the future,” Hayes-Jones said. When Stan saw the plans for the renovation and expansion, “he loved what it represented — a place where people come together to learn, collaborate and solve problems.”
“Stan would have been deeply proud to see this today,” she said. “I know he would be thrilled to see students filling these spaces and imagining the future, and I can't wait to see what discoveries are made within these walls.”
“Carrier Library has always been one of those spaces that feels larger than the building itself,” President Jim said. “People have come here to study, discover new ideas, build friendships and, in many cases, begin to understand who they are becoming. And what I love most about this project is not that we simply restored a historic building, but we reimagined it for the next generations."
“The value of Carrier Library is not measured by square footage, technology or even architecture,” he said. “Its true value is measured by the lives changed inside these walls. Think of the thousands of students today and in generations forward that will walk through these doors. This place, where curiosity will grow, friendships will form and futures will take shape. That is a remarkable legacy.”
Every donor who helped bring the new Carrier to life had a reason for doing so. For the Thomas family, it was a desire to create spaces that recognize different ways of learning.
Their gifts support the Dylan Thomas Accessible Technology Lab, which can adapt to students’ needs, and the Madison Thomas Anatomy Lab, designed for hands-on learning. “Different people learn differently,” David said. “Having an opportunity to make something available for people who learn that way … helps them.”
The legacy of Carrier Library continues to bring the JMU campus and community together as it did in the past, as it does in the present, and as it will in the future. It has also opened the door to the community at large, serving as the partner of enrichment for generations.
or Rosemary Hayes-Jones, the reopening was an opportunity to realize a vision she shared with her late husband, Stan (’54). Together, they named the library’s modern new Stan and Rosemary Jones Wing, reflecting Stan’s belief in education and in JMU.
