Winger Hall Renovation $5 Million
Exposure to the visual and performing arts is a cornerstone of the liberal arts experience, a gateway to living life more fully and richly. Manchester Bold will strengthen that experience with the renovation of Otho Winger Memorial Hall.
Constructed in 1952, the original part of Winger falls short of helping students develop their relationship with the arts and study contemporary topics such as graphic design and music technology. Arts education also dovetails with MU's approach to interdisciplinary learning: marketing majors study graphic design; psychology students learn about art therapy; communication studies majors learn digital photography; and future educators study art to build their classroom toolkit.
Moreover, Manchester's choral and instrumental ensembles help attract academically strong students from a range of majors who enjoy musical performance for its own sake - the accounting major who plays in the Manchester Symphony Orchestra or the chemistry major who sings in A Cappella Choir.
Students who enter Manchester for its music or art opportunities contribute to the cultural and intellectual life of the University and are more likely to persist from the first to second year of college.
Winger renovations will provide virtual-learning classrooms with enhanced listening and viewing capabilities. Inviting, flexibly configured studio and classroom spaces will foster collaboration and creativity.
Many of Manchester's students may never have had private music lessons, visited art museums or attended symphony or theater performances. An updated Winger will encourage students to appreciate art and music for the rest of their lives.