Central College will continue a tradition of significant upgrades to campus over the summer after students wrap up finals this week. President Mark Putnam says the last several years have included multiple changes to landmarks on campus such as Douwstra Auditorium, the Kuyper Athletics Complex, and the Maytag Student Center, this year they will focus on another cornerstone of campus–The Peace Mall.

“Peace Mall is essentially 50 years old, and more than that now, so as we think about what it meant to close Peace Street in 1960s, Don Lubbers–who was president those years, we’ve talked often about what it was like to do this work and no one imagined what it would be like to put in a water feature the size of the pond,” he says. “But what that did was create a center for the campus, and that kind of experience for us is a theme we call gathering. It is the place where people cross paths.”

Putnam says work has started on renovations to the area that serves as an entrance to the Chapel and the Geisler Library, with a history walk and amphitheater both being installed, and several phases planned on the key corridor on campus. Hear more about Central College as they wrap up another academic year on today’s Let’s Talk Pella. Commencement is this Saturday at the Kuyper Fieldhouse, with the public advised to use caution when traveling near campus with extra pedestrians and students moving out for the summer.