Harcum College officials celebrated the opening of a new center for students studying in the art and design fields on Thursday, Sept.12. President Jon Jay DeTemple joined with donors and administrators to cut the ribbon on the Art & Design Center, now an efficient and well equipped on-campus space serving the creative majors. 

The Art & Design Center reuses space formerly occupied by a childcare center, creating classrooms, a lab, a hub, and a resource room serving the Fashion Programs including Fashion Design and Merchandising, Interior Design, and Graphic Design majors. 

DeTemple served as host for the event, commenting that the creative nature of the majors inspired the transformation of the space. He also acknowledged all those involved in its planning and construction, including Harcum employee Jim Miller, Architect and Designer, whose vision for the space got the project off the ground.  

“You came through!” DeTemple said, thanking the roughly 100 guests, trustees, alumni, and Harcum community members in attendance for supporting the project. From the podium, he acknowledged Vice President of Institutional Advancement Brooke Walker for her team’s work securing the necessary funding and planning the festive ribbon cutting. “People really stepped forward,” he stated. 

He specifically acknowledged several major gifts to the project and the importance of philanthropic support to the center’s completion, including the late Louise Strauss, former Trustee and single largest Donor in Harcum College history; David Jacobson, Chair of the Board of Trustees; Dr. Janet Schwengber, a former Administrator whose donation honored her partner Maureen Kennedy, a beloved faculty member who taught Fashion Design; and Trustee J. Michael McNamara and his wife Constance. 

The 7,000 square-foot learning space located in the West Wing of Pennswood Hall will reincorporate the creative majors onto the Montgomery Avenue location historically known as The Harcum Mile, specifically Pennswood Hall. This reintegration will offer more visibility for and access to campus to showcase student work throughout the year as well as offer more interaction and involvement from other departments and majors.  

Following the ribbon cutting, guests toured the center, already filled with students in the midst of an Interior Design class and fashion students meeting with their production class professor in a collaborative work room. Program directors Amy Pendola Cotto, Fashion Programs; Jennifer Jarden, Interior Design; and Ed Zawora, Graphic Design.  

The facility opened to students at the beginning of the 2024 fall semester in August. 

Learn more at Harcum College. Harcum College provides its students with an opportunity for outstanding academic, career, and life preparation. Harcum’s emphasis on its core values of excellence, civility, empowerment, integrity, service, and respect for diversity assures that every member of our community is valued, supported, included, and equal.