More Ideas 2

[tboy]

The were definate scematics done of the possible renovation and or complete demolition and new construction on the area that mcd now occupies. i sat down with dennis kanich and saw the plans myself and had lengthy discussion about the whole matter. this took place alittle over a year ago. same arguments about priorities. I think there is a window of opportunity for some things to get done. DFW's 1789 idea is excellent. I am not sure but i think this could be done even without the schools approval as some have suggested possibly through a new outside entity set up for that specific purpose. there needs to be a meeting of the minds and forces in that regard. i do not know to how to do this but somehow there needs to a central clearing house that brings together all of those who have an interest in and actively pursuing an avenue for bringing this about. i am open to suggestion and queries in that regard.

[jerseyhoya34]

tboy said:

The were definate scematics done of the possible renovation and or complete demolition and new construction on the area that mcd now occupies. i sat down with dennis kanich and saw the plans myself and had lengthy discussion about the whole matter. this took place alittle over a year ago. same arguments about priorities. I think there is a window of opportunity for some things to get done. DFW's 1789 idea is excellent. I am not sure but i think this could be done even without the schools approval as some have suggested possibly through a new outside entity set up for that specific purpose. there needs to be a meeting of the minds and forces in that regard. i do not know to how to do this but somehow there needs to a central clearing house that brings together all of those who have an interest in and actively pursuing an avenue for bringing this about. i am open to suggestion and queries in that regard.

I am glad that there has been some behind the scenes lobbying regarding the renovations. Unfortunately, Kanach is no longer a University employee, but I understand that there are others who want to see this thing happen.

The unfortunate part is that there are other powerful constituencies on-campus that have the ear of prominent decision-makers. Faculty members et al. fall into this category of those who generally oppose the immediate renovation of McDonough in favor of other projects, such as the MSB Building and Science Building.

Several members of this board, including YB, Angus, and DownwithRick have looked into the feasibility of this escrow idea, which is to fundraise for McDonough outside of the formal umbrella of the University. As I understand it, there are serious legal issues that stand in the way. Villanova alumni attempted a similar feat and were sued by the NCAA to bring their efforts under the umbrella of the formal Villanova community. Anyway, they may have more info for you if you dropped them a line, but this is what I remember hearing from these guys.

As far as how the University stands, DFW seems to be pretty much on point. From what I have heard, the University won't fundraise and publish the renovation plans until they have received an 8 figure donation, which basically is to say that they want to put a hold on this project for now. If I read the tea leaves correctly, the Athletics Dept. is amenable to fundraising now, but, again, they have received their marching orders from officials at a higher level, who probably are those who need to hear our arguments for fundraising immediately.