Maxine Frank Singer Hall
About Maxine Frank Singer Hall
In December 2012, Swarthmore College announced a gift totaling $50 million, the largest gift in its more than 150-year history, from renowned alumnus and philanthropist Eugene Lang '38. This gift, his largest to the College, resulted in new engineering and science facilities and help to extend connections between the College's engineering program and many of the other disciplines that comprise liberal arts education, a critical aspect of the College's strategic plan, adopted in December 2011. The plan provides leadership in the global reinterpretation of the liberal arts as it supports the integration of academic rigor and creativity, intentional community, and engagement in the world.
This new building, Maxine Frank Singer Hall, is named in honor of pioneering molecular biologist Singer '52 H' 78 by the family of Eugene Lang ’38 H’81. Lang believed that engineering, when in conversation with other disciplines, plays a crucial role in the expansion and application of knowledge. He made this gift in part to continue the historic and unique vision that inspired the College's founders to include engineering as part of the curriculum in 1871-72, the College's third academic year. Today, Swarthmore is one of only nine premier liberal arts colleges with a dedicated engineering program.
In addition to providing expanded, modern space for Singer Hall– planned as a model for environmentally intelligent construction practices — supports the campus community by strengthening interdisciplinary connections between academic departments across the curriculum through the addition of flexible classrooms, additional indoor and outdoor common space, and enhanced pedagogical experiences linked to environmental sustainability.
Download the Singer Hall Summary to learn more about the project including a design overview, environmental sustainability, landscape design, construction schedule, and related projects: October 2018 Project Summary [pdf].
