(Posted October 9, 2006)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Thomas R. Kepple, president of Juniata College, will dedicate two student residence lodges as part of the college\'s Raystown Field Station complex at Raystown Lake in a ceremony at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21 in front of the field station\'s main classroom and multipurpose building, Shuster Hall. \"Our two student lodges, named in honor of a nationally known business pioneer, and one of Juniata\'s alumni, represent a grand experiment in learning that the general public and our students have come to expect from Juniata,\" Kepple says. \"These lodges will give Juniata the opportunity to create an educational experience unlike any in the nation. Our students can study for an entire semester in a huge classroom unlimited by four walls. They can walk out of their room and into a class on mapping, environmental history or group communication, all in a vast natural habitat.\" The college is dedicating two student residence lodges. Davis Lodge is named in honor of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, a granting foundation that gave Juniata $200,000 to construct the lodge. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, based in Jacksonville, Fla., were organized in 1952 and founded by the late Arthur Vining Davis, former president and chairman of the board of the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa). Davis died in 1962. Robison Lodge is named in honor of the late Clinton Robison, a 1975 Juniata graduate. Robison retired in 2000 as a telecommunications engineer from Norfolk Southern Corp., but worked most of his career at Conrail. The Richard King Mellon Foundation donated $300,000 to build the second residential lodge and accompanying infrastructure. The lodges are set along the circling driveway to the left of the main multipurpose building, Shuster Hall. Each lodge houses eight students, although one of the finished structures features a small apartment for a resident director. Each lodge uses the same rough-hewn cypress siding as Shuster Hall. The lower floor features two double rooms, as well as a main common living area and a small dining area. The upstairs has a kitchenette, a bathroom, a separate shower (to prevent bathroom/shower traffic tie-ups), a double room and two single rooms. Each lodge will feature a deck facing the lake. The dedication will open with remarks from David Andrews, chair of Juniata\'s board of trustees. Juniata President Thomas R. Kepple will start the dedication ceremony and then ask representatives from Juniata\'s faculty, student body and from principal donors to \"accept\" the building for the college. The faculty representative will be Dennis Johnson, associate professor and chair of environmental science. The student representative will be Maggie Morgan, a senior from Everett, Pa. studying environmental science. Morgan also is one of the students living in the residence lodges. Finally, a representative from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations or the Richard King Mellon Foundation will accept the building for the donors.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.