Vassar Quarterly - Fall/Winter 2019 - 69

Vassar Today
Begemann says, "As Vassar alums, we
have long known the value of what the college
has to offer and what we do in the world, but
I think it's time to make that more public.
We might think of the institute as Vassar's
public classroom: a forum for intellectual
engagement through programming that
ranges from established modes of academic
inquiry to pathbreaking collaborations
among Vassar, our region, and the globe."
As plans for the facility get underway,
faculty members are discussing the kinds
of programs and forums that might be held
at the institute. A faculty director will be
appointed to guide such efforts.
One faculty member involved in the
discussions about institute programming
is Mita Choudhury, Professor of History.
"I come to a place like Vassar as a teacher and
a scholar," Choudhury says. "And what the
institute allows me to do is to think about
that scholarly side of myself closer to Vassar
as opposed to going off to do research
someplace or writing a book." The institute's
liberal arts framing is important, she adds,

The idea is to have an inn
where people can rest,
recharge, and rethink; an
institute where they can
collaborate, communicate,
and convene; and a
comfortable living-room-like
lobby in between.
"because it's an open-ended definition that
allows for greater support because it's not
locked into representing a single theme or a
single constituent."
As students are learning more about
the project, they are also recognizing its
value. "They're trying to bring people across
multiple disciplines and time and space to
problem-solve things in the real world," says
Mack Liederman '20, editor-in-chief of the
Miscellany News.
Designing the institute and inn is Frederick Fisher and Partners. The Los Angeles-
based architecture firm has been involved
in projects at Princeton, the University of

Southern California, Caltech, Otis College
of Art and Design, and elsewhere. "Our work
is very contextually dependent. It's not one
style that's imposed on an environment; it
really comes out of a project, and every
project has its own character," says founder
Frederick Fisher. "It's very appropriate for
college campuses, which, like Vassar, have
a long history and many different kinds of
architecture over many different periods."
Academic institutions expect to be around
indefinitely, Fisher says, and "we like that
sense of participating in the long run of
history.
"This is not just putting a new container
for something that already exists," he adds.
"It's literally working with Vassar on
creating a new institution. To me, it doesn't
get any better than that."
Fisher's firm is committed to sustainable
design and building-an ongoing project
of theirs, the Santa Monica City Services
Building in California, is expected to set
Facing page: A view to the restaurant's patio.
Below: Looking toward the inn.

VA S S A R Q U A R T E R LY

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Vassar Quarterly - Fall/Winter 2019

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