After receiving two separate contributions of $3.5 and $1.5 million in the past two weeks, the College has raised almost all the funds necessary to complete the Berry Library project.
The Berry planning committee announced in January it needed to raise an additional $10 million for the academic side and $5 million for the library side of the $60 million project.
Since then, the College has received an anonymous contribution of $1 million and a donation of $5 million for the academic side of the building, leaving $4 million dollars that still must be raised.
Associate Director of Development Rita Johnson said College President James Wright helped secure the two most recent donations, which will go toward the library side.
"It's wonderful news that early in Jim Wright's presidency, two of these commitments have come in," Johnson said.
Johnson could not reveal any of the major donors' identities. Two have not agreed to have their names released, and the other will be identified in early November.
In the past two years, the College has also received $1.5 million in small donations that will fund the library side.
Assistant Provost Margaret Dyer-Chamberlain said construction for the academic portion of the building will not begin until 2000, so the College will have time to raise the additional $4 million.
"We want to raise the money soon, but we've got some time," Dyer-Chamberlain said.
The prices of projects often change as construction progresses. The College will check for price changes at several different stages of work, but Dyer-Chamberlain said she does not think the cost will increase substantially.
"We don't see any big, problematic parts of the project that are going to mean a lot of additional cost," she said.
Johnson said the College approached alumni to request contributions for the project, and almost all of the $11.5 million came from former students.
"The alumni were either committed to supporting the library as the heart of the College, or to supporting a priority of this institution," she said.
Workers have been completing site preparation for the Berry Project since construction began in March.
The academic wing of the building will house the history department and additional classrooms in order to alleviate a space crunch on Dartmouth Row. Its five floors may include student study space, a pedestrian arcade, classrooms, offices, a Map Room and a 24-hour cafe.
Fundraising for the two sections of the library are separate ventures. Money from the donation of John Berry '44 will not be used for the academic wing of the library, in accordance with his wishes.
The College will continue to speak with other potential contributors, particularly those who have already begun to consider donating money for the project.
The library portion of the building is scheduled for completion in June, 2000, and the academic side will be finished in December 2001.
Tours of the Berry site, the Rauner Special Collections Library at Webster Hall and Moore Hall, the new psychology building, will be given on October 23 and 30, Dyer-Chamberlain said.
