FOUNDATION
EXTRAORDINARY ENERGY AND CHANGE
THIS IS THE THIRD OF FOUR ARTICLES TELLING THE STORY OF THE SCOTCH COLLEGE FOUNDATION . THIS INSTALMENT COVERS THE PERIOD FROM 1997-2009 .
ABOVE : THE RANDALL BUILDING , OPENED IN 2000 . ABOVE RIGHT , TOP : ‘ THE THREE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ’, JULY 1998 – LEFT TO RIGHT : CAMPBELL MCCOMAS (’ 69 ), LEIGH MCGREGOR (’ 55 ) AND PETER CROOK . RIGHT , BOTTOM : PETER CROOK , DR GORDON DONALDSON AM , TOM CROW (’ 49 ) AND LEIGH MCGREGOR (’ 55 )
This decade was a time of extraordinary energy and change for the Foundation . Peter Joyce (’ 56 ) had become the President of the Foundation in 1996 , and in the same year , Margaret Long was appointed as Development Officer to work full time alongside Peter Crook and Leigh McGregor . This was a formidable team in every sense , and in no time at all , serious activity was taking place across the entire Scotch Family .
Under the leadership of Peter Joyce and Peter Crook , the Foundation was to establish itself as the philanthropic support arm of the School , and the vehicle through which people could support Scotch in whatever way they thought fit – through donations to the building fund , by endowment of scholarships and bursaries , and by establishing other specifically-focused endowment funds , including for the arts , and enhancement of staff salaries and library services .
Stage One of the Lithgow Centre had been opened in 1993 , and there was an increasing need for the project to be completed . The Foundation was very active in gaining support for the second stage of construction , and in 1998 the formal opening took place . In addition
to the Library and IT centre , which had been operational for almost five years , the Lithgow Centre now housed a splendid new staff centre . This allowed not only for the individual workspaces for all Senior School staff to be located in one place , but also gave them a modern , light-filled and comfortable staff dining room ; and a staff common room looking over the Main Oval .
The Lithgow Centre also housed a series of meeting rooms to allow far greater academic or pastoral support for students , and both the Vice Principal and Dean of Students had prominently-placed offices on the ground floor . All staff responded enthusiastically to the new Lithgow Centre , and the indoor fountain and surrounding seats ( the gift of the Classes of ’ 95 and ’ 97 ) quickly became a central meeting place for students and staff alike .
While the Lithgow Centre was nearing completion , work started on two other projects . The Boarding Houses up on the Hill were in need of upgrading , and in 1999 the ‘ Link ’ project was completed , offering much more modern facilities for the boarders , and greater ease of access between houses . Meanwhile , the old Longmore Library and Staff Common Room ( completed
66 Great Scot Issue 161 – December 2020