Generous Gifts Build the Bernice Blazewicz Pitcairn Learning Commons

by Mark Leggott

The Library has been very fortunate to receive a number of gifts that are helping to build a new facility for students and faculty. The Bernice Blazewicz Pitcairn Learning Commons was officially launched on October 29, 2003 to provide students with new study space, computing resources and media equipment.

The facility consists of three main areas: Bernice's Reading Room, a quiet study area with room for book storage and lots of comfortable seating; John R. Pitcairn Teaching Lab, a fully equipped teaching and open use computing lab; Stimpson Media Gallery, an open area with the latest computers and media equipment.

In addition, wireless networking technology and new laptop computers allows students to access the wealth of digital resources the Library has to offer in the comfort of Bernice';s Reading Room.

While a student at The University of Winnipeg, Bernice Blazewicz Pitcairn was impressed with the generosity of Library staff, who provided her with the help and resources she needed to be a successful student. This experience, combined with a lifelong love of books and working with young people, led to a generous gift in her memory by her husband, John R. Pitcairn. This gift, together with additional gifts from the estates of Robert Stimpson and Anne Calder, have made the Bernice Blazewicz Pitcairn Learning Commons a reality.

The Library has established an endowment to ensure the ongoing development of the facility and related resources. If you would like to contribute to this endowment fund, please contact The University of Winnipeg Foundation at 1.888.829.7053 (toll free) and indicate that you would like your gift to go to the Learning Commons Endowment Fund, or simply indicate your preference on the donor form, downloadable from this site, and return it to the Foundation.



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