LEESBURG, FL — Beacon College will continue a wave of campus enhancements thanks to an $189,375 grant from The Edward C. Fogg, III and Lizbeth A. Fogg Charitable Trust that will defray an extreme makeover of the school’s academic nucleus, college officials announced Wednesday.
The grant will help defray an exterior re-facing of the one-block strip of storefronts the college acquired two decades ago to serve as the school’s academic mall. The nearly 12,000-square-foot space houses nearly 90 percent of the college’s classroom and laboratory space and more than half of faculty offices. It also houses the Beacon Library, and vital academic and technology services such as The Robert & Jane Weiner Writing Center and The Math Lab, which support core academics with assistive technology and staff guidance.
Construction plans call for an extreme makeover of the academic mall’s current “storefront” look to an august façade more apropos for the gateway of core academic and instructional support at Beacon College — the first institution of higher education accredited to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students with learning disabilities, ADHD and other learning differences.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act — and in line with Beacon’s distinctive educational mission — the renovation will include the installation of an elevator.
Pending permitting and blueprinting, school officials expect renovations to commence this spring.
The Edward C Fogg III and Lisbeth A. Fogg Charitable Trust in Camilla, Ga. largely gives to causes centered on diseases and conditions, domesticated animals and human services.
“The gift by the Edward C. Fogg, III & Elizabeth A. Fogg Charitable Trust is a meaningful recognition of Beacon’s mission and our importance in the Leesburg community,” said Steve Muller, vice president of institutional development and communications.
Founded in 1989, Beacon College is the first higher education institution accredited to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students with learning disabilities, ADHD and other learning differences. Ranked among the Top 10 Florida colleges or universities in 2016 by Bestcolleges.com, Beacon is nationally recognized as a superior institution for accommodating and preparing students who learn differently to prosper in a global economy.
###