Leading the Way/Lloyd Sheldon
Lloyd Sheldon ('44), Mesa, Ariz., remembers being a student at Jamestown College when the impressive new Orlady Hall was first built.
"We thought it was quite an addition to the campus at that time," he recalls.
Seventy years later, Sheldon is taking the lead in ensuring Orlady remains just as impressive to future Jamestown College students for generations to come.
He has provided a lead gift toward Jamestown College's project to expand and renovate Orlady Hall, using a combination of a donation and proceeds from charitable gift annuities totaling nearly $1.5 million.
Polly Peterson, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, says this type of giving strategy allows donors to see the fruits of their contributions at Jamestown College.
"When I visited with Lloyd, he said he made the decision to support this project because he wants to be able to see the results of his gift," she says. "Lloyd has been a longtime supporter of Jamestown College, and we are sincerely thankful for his gift to what will become the largest classroom building on our campus."
The $9 million project calls for the addition of a laboratory complex (Phase I) and the renovation of Orlady Hall into classroom and office space (Phase II), plus equipment. The Department of Nursing will join the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics in Orlady. One-third of applicants to Jamestown College express interest in at least one of those academic areas, and one-quarter of Jamestown College graduates receive their degrees in those fields.
Sheldon says the project will enhance an already remarkable Jamestown College campus.
"We thought Orlady was really something back then, but the campus is so beautiful now," he says.
While Sheldon didn't have classes in the Orlady of the 1940s, he spent time in the new Student Union, which was housed in the basement of the building.
"That was something new for everybody," he says. "We didn't have a Student Union before."
"I think it's going to be wonderful for the College and will help to promote all it has to offer in science and math," Sheldon says.
The Original Orlady: Major funding for this building came from the Benjamin Orlady family. Mr. Orlady was a member of the Board of Trustees at the time. The lower level housed the Jimmie Grill and student union until Westminster Hall was built in 1960. In the 1950s, a campus radio station was also located in the lower level. The building continues to house biology, chemistry, and mathematics.
1989 Renovation: The building underwent a $430,000 renovation in the summer of 1989. The renovation included the relocation walls, new plumbing, wiring, heating, air conditioning, lighting, and furnishings, along with new instruments.
