Endowed with a $17 million gift from Arthur (COL ’54) and Nancy Calcagnini, Georgetown will complete construction on a new retreat center in Bluemont, Va., by 2011, according to a university press release.
The Calcagnini Contemplative Center will rest on a 55-acre plot of land located 75 minutes away from the Hilltop in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Consisting of a Catholic chapel, community and dining halls and 28 cabins for up to 78 students, the center will house students of all faiths for various religious retreats, including ESCAPE.
“I can’t think of a more important investment than to provide young people with the opportunity for quiet introspection and a chance to ask questions of themselves,” Calcagnini said in the press release. “This center will provide the potential to enrich every student for a lifetime. It is an important part of achieving the Jesuit philosophy of educating the whole person.”
The project was originally slated to be finished in 2008, but permit delays prevented its completion. ESCAPE, a retreat for freshmen and transfer students, has been housed at Shepherd’s Springs Outdoor Ministry Center in Sharpsburg, Md., for nearly 11 years. The ESCAPE program was previously endowed by the Calcagninis with a $1.5 million gift.
“Arthur and Nancy epitomize the core Catholic and Jesuit values at the heart of this university,” University President John J. DeGioia said in the press release. “Over the years the Calcagninis have endowed funds for the Catholic, Jewish and Muslim chaplaincies on campus as well as student scholarships, Medical Center research and other projects. Their gift to establish a contemplative center will animate the lives and deepen the faiths of generations of students to come.”
Calcagnini, a member of the university’s board of directors and the retired chair and CEO of Lombard and Co., and his wife, previously the managing director of Credit Suisse First Boston, feel strongly about the importance of reflection and the Catholic and Jesuit influence at Georgetown.
“Arthur’s commitment is personal as well as financial. Every year for the past 20 years, he has participated in at least one ESCAPE weekend and has given the alumni talk to the students. His vision is key to making this project a reality,” Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, said in the press release.
