A Centennial Project with Transformational
Significance for Loma Linda University
1905 -- GROWING, INNOVATING, TOUCHING THE WORLD -- 2005
The Centennial Complex, one of our most significant campus projects, embodies three themes developed over our history and evidenced in our institutional planning and strategic directions. These themes are GROWTH, INNOVATION, and GLOBALIZATION.
For many institutions, the first two themes of growth and innovation, are "engines" of progress and serve to help define success. From our beginnings in the early 1900s and throughout our one hundred year commitment to excellence in education and health care, we at Loma Linda have striven to create an institution with the added dimension of worldwide influence. Our vision has always included ideas, concerns, and activities with globe-encircling aspects.
The Centennial Complex enhances this value for our students, faculty, and graduates. Technologically, its reach will be extensive, and it will become a powerful tool to fulfill both the educational and service dimensions of our University.
Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH
LLUAHSC President and LLU Chancellor
It would be interesting to know just what John Burden imagined on that day a century ago as he pondered the purchase of the land upon which Loma Linda University is now built. Because his decision involved substantial personal and financial risk, it is certain that his dreams for the institution located in the beautiful, quiet valley were exciting and vivid. He responded to Spirit-filled leading. He was driven by a dream.
We, too, are driven by a dream for Loma Linda. As 21st century technology merges into the glass and steel superstructure of the Centennial Complex, there are certain to be "oohs and aahs." It will be a remarkable building.
Still, it is our hope that the dream that inspires the most, and that influences decisions of support, is the prospect of preparing graduates of superb character and highly developed professional skills--graduates who will serve with grace and compassion, who will do a superb job of extending health, healing, wholeness, and hope, in all their dimensions, around the word.
We trust that you will be "driven by a dream" for our students, how they learn, and how they will touch the world as you consider your philanthropic support for this important project.
Campaign Volunteers
Steering Committee Co-chairs
 Raye McAnally Lofgren and Carlton Lofgren, DDS |
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Steering Committee Members
Helen Boskind
Andrew Boskind, MD
Geri Gaines
Elvin Gains, MD
Jackie Hamilton
Ted Hamilton, MD
Mary Ann Homer
Ladon Homer, MD
Judy Jacobson
John Jacobson, MD
Linda Mackett
Ted Mackett, MD
Noni Patchett, CPA
Annie Rathbun
Gene Rathbun, DDS
Janet Stoehr
Naor Stoehr, MD
Delmar Tonge, MD
Patti Catalano -- Co-chair
Richard Catalano, MD -- Co-chair
Becky Matiko -- Co-chair
Jim Matiko, MD -- Co-chair
Carol Appleton
Stan Appleton, DDS
Marianne Fitzgerald
Kay Jesse
James Jesse, DDS
Mihee Kwun, MD
Shirley Macaulay
Karen Wat, MD
Virgil Nielsen, MD
In a short time, the area on the north side of the Loma Linda University academic campus will undergo a major transformation. Extensive activities there will create the infrastructure needed to support an important campus addition, the Centennial Complex.
Even if the transformation were merely the replacement of old buildings for new ones, it would be welcome news for both students and faculty struggling with the limitations of facilities that were long ago outgrown and could not accommodate the predicted growth of the University over the next several years.
Steady increases in enrollment indicate that by the year 2010 the University will grow to more than 5,000 students. Growth in facilities, faculty, and other resources will be necessary to accommodate additional students in every one of the University's schools.
In fact, what will be occurring on the north side of the campus has implications that go far beyond bricks and mortar. It is expected that what will happen here will have a profound, transforming effect on how the University's students learn, how its faculty teaches, and how Loma Linda's educational and service missions are fulfilled.
To understand how this is possible, consider the phenomenal technological developments of the past several decades. We have experienced a virtual explosion of technologies that have dramatically changed commerce, entertainment, communications--and education.
Today's students have grown up with the GameBoy, the X-Box, cell phones (one for each member of the family), fast computers connected globally, mega-channel satellite television in the home, and family cars with GPS guidance systems on the dashboards. At one time we were awed to see fuzzy black and white pictures of a news event in another state; now, we expect to see happenings on other continents in real time, in vivid color, and with comprehensive coverage both topically and geographically. If one channel doesn't have the report, others will.
A key element in the Centennial Complex is responding to the way today's students learn. This project will provide learning spaces that take maximum advantage of the technological innovations that shape the way young people now receive and process information. Within this Complex, students will be able to access high quality information via multiple communication pathways (visual, auditory, tactile, and more). Students will gain experience in much the same way that airline and military pilots learn to fly complex, expensive aircraft; that is, repeatedly simulating the experiences that one is likely to encounter outside the classroom environment.
Fulfilling the University's commitment to global mission is another powerful influence guiding the decision to construct this project. Since its inception, service values have infused every one of the University's strategic initiatives. The argument to maintain these values is strong. As a Seventh-day Adventist institution, we believe that the gospel commission "to go into all the world" defines both rationale and program. The healing and teaching ministry of Christ's life on earth is now, and has always been, the model for University actions and decisions.
Until recently, preparing health-care professionals in many parts of the world has almost always involved an individual's physical presence. Modern technologies now allow a "virtual presence" that exponentially expands the possibilities for mission fulfillment.
While we may never wish to abandon the ideal of live, in-person relationships, communication technologies of many kinds can expand the scope of what is globally achievable. And as these technologies become more sophisticated, the potential for broadening the scope and quality of the mission expands, too.
In our centennial year, Loma Linda University enters a new era of growth, innovation, and touching the world!
The significance of this lies not in the addition of a new building. Rather, its significance resides in what the buildings and their unique contents and design will enable the University to do. It lies in how these structures will change the dynamic between teacher and learner, and the relationship between the University and its many publics. These evoke the "new era" designation.
First, some facts about the new Centennial Complex. Students across campus will use this impressive Complex and its technical resources as a teaching and learning hub. Components include a new anatomy facility, two three-story classroom and laboratory towers joined by an atrium, and a new amphitheater center.
Among the building's features are "smart" classrooms of varying sizes and types, laboratories, areas to house technological equipment, and office space for faculty members whose responsibilities relate to the Complex.
A distinguishing feature of the project is that teaching and learning spaces within the building will contain a host of communications technologies that not only draw upon the sophistication of today's information systems, but that are also constructed to accommodate technological changes and upgrades as these systems become more sophisticated and more capable.
Adding the dimension of experience through the technological resources of the Complex will assist students in developing a high level of clinical skills and relational skills that are difficult to achieve in actual patient care situations.
At their fingertips, students and faculty will have the capability for on-campus and world communication via a variety of media (computers, television, audio systems). These will be adaptable for the needs of both lay and professional audiences and designed for establishing communication at many types of remote sites. The ways to which this capability could be employed continue to expand. Among the possibilities are:
The Centennial Complex is designed to facilitate student learning. These are not ordinary classrooms and labs; these "smart" classrooms, labs, small group spaces, and study areas are designed for the future. Students will be connected to the Internet via wireless laptop computers throughout the building. At the teacher's command will be a host of illustrative media displayed on large screens that students will be able to view and even store on their personal computers.
Faculty will also be able to record or broadcast presentations via satellites or the Internet to locations around the globe. These same presentations can be recorded on easily distributed, inexpensive media such as DVD or CD-ROM. In some situations, students and faculty will communicate directly with a remote site to gain a perspective on happenings in a clinic or hospital that may be across the country or on another continent.
An array of laboratories will support a variety of clinical and basic science related curricula central to the needs of students. Here students will use advanced communication equipment to provide swift, easy exchanges with information sources and with other laboratories within the University or worldwide.
Faculty offices will be close by classrooms and labs to enhance interaction between faculty and students.
Anatomy is a core discipline for 90 percent of health professions students. The Anatomy Pavilion in the Centennial Complex will replace the function of the 1936 facility built to accommodate only 100 students. Now more than 1,000 students each year study anatomy for medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, allied health, and more. This new facility will provide the hands-on learning experience they need.
Students will have the opportunity to learn using both embalmed and frozen cadavers in the new laboratories. One hundred work stations will each be able to accommodate three to six students. To supplement what they are learning, students will use computer screens to display high resolution images of anatomical structures, dissection techniques, and graphics to portray the functioning of body organs and systems in life. This anatomy facility will be one of the country's most advanced.
The "nerve center" of the Complex is the educational technology center. Here are the electronics, and the people to control it, to combine computer, audio, video, and robotics technology connecting students and faculty on-campus, regionally, and worldwide. This center provides classrooms with access to illustrative data and graphics, connects classrooms with remote learner sites, and makes possible two-way communication for interactions formerly only possible through in-person contact. Equipment for this center was made possible through a gift made by Tom and Vi Zapara.
As the technology advances, so will the capabilities of the center. It is envisioned that telemedicine consultations, dialogues with students in off-campus locations, provision of continuing medical education coursework worldwide, surgery demonstrations, and a host of other forms of exchange will be possible through the capabilities of this hub.
"Practice makes perfect," it is said. For decades, much of that practice for health professions students took place after they graduated and faced actual patients. In the new Skills and Assessment Center students will be able to learn from their mistakes and to benefit from the counsel and direction of real-time observers--with no risk or compromise to patients.
Students will practice diagnostic and treatment skills in real exam rooms with trained, "standardized" patients. Responses from these patients and qualified observers will provide immediate feedback. Specialized rooms will present students with simulations for life support codes, specialized examinations and procedures, and heart and breath sounds assessment.
Student self-evaluation will be made possible by built-in audio, video, and computer equipment in each room. A student can review an interaction as many times as necessary to identify clinical and relational strengths and weaknesses, and to consider alternative decisions and approaches. Equipment for this center was made possible through a gift made by Tom and Vi Zapara.
Adjacent to the classrooms and laboratories will be two large amphitheaters for regularly scheduled classes, continuing education courses, seminars, and programs. Each amphitheater will be fully equipped with advanced technology for multi-dimensional presentations and will be linked to the Complex's Technology Center. Also incorporated in this area will be lobby and reception areas for easy student access and community events.
The Carrol S. Small amphitheater will accommodate 250 students with conference style seating at tables to hold laptop computers and materials. The Frank and Anne Damazo amphitheater will accommodate 350 with comfortable seating. This will be the largest amphitheater on campus and will make it possible for multiple classes and groups to meet together.
New, wonderfully designed buildings and advanced technologies are important to the growth and development of a university. However, there are more dimensions to our vision for Loma Linda that demand the construction of this project.
Of high importance is the University's commitment to an emphasis on learning in the teaching/learning equation. No one is suggesting any less attention to quality instruction and teaching excellence, but too often the learning aspect of this relationship stands in the shadows. Learning styles, learning skills, the experiential and interactive aspects of learning, and learner participation in "reciprocal learning exchanges" (i.e. becoming contributors/teachers themselves) are emerging as key factors in determining how the educational process should work at Loma Linda and how to construct and operate educational environments. The character and content of the Centennial Complex draw heavily on these concerns and aid us to engage the learner in the educational process.
The new Complex reflects our goal of moving students from merely "knowing the fundamentals" to elevating their skills, values and philosophies so that their discipline is practiced as an "art." This is implicit in the University's commitment to "whole person care." That is, having a high regard for human life, honoring the helping roles entrusted to us by the Creator, and aspiring to greatness both personally and institutionally wherever God's leading finds us in His service.
Service is a historic and central theme of this institution. This project remains loyal to that value. It also enables a strong relationship with learning. In the educational technology area, for example, telemedicine consultations with remote care sites provide a service model. Capabilities within the Complex will provide an abundance of these opportunities and experiences that, given the limitations of present classrooms, cannot now be accomplished.
The distinguishing characteristics of Loma Linda University as a Christ-centered institution continue to be closely held as the institution begins its second century of service. Spiritual growth and development as integral to the curriculum remains the standard and continues to be embraced, appreciated, and strengthened by both faculty and students. This value is incomplete, however, without personal engagement. Much of the practice time of health professionals is spent in dealing with tragedy, sometimes on a very personal level and occasionally on a grand scale--as in the tsunami devastation in southern Asia. Preparing students to support patients and families in times of distress, grief, and loss is receiving special consideration as the project and its component resources are being developed.
Research--adding to the body of knowledge in a discipline--is a defining feature of a university. At Loma Linda, programs of basic science and clinical research are fundamental and are becoming increasingly prominent as the University grows. Training students in research and providing them with the technology to exchange information worldwide via a host of media will be leveraged in the Centennial Complex.
Turning our vision into reality for the Centennial Complex and all that it will mean to students, faculty, alumni, and their patients calls for generous philanthropic support.
With this in mind, alumni from various regions of the country under the leadership of co-chairs, Dr. and Mrs. Carlton Lofgren and Dr. and Mrs. Carleton Wallace, have formed the Campaign Steering Committee to raise the required funds.
Working together, this Centennial Complex will soon become a reality!
For further information, please contact either
Albin Grohar, PhD and Jackie Gilstrap
Office of Philanthropy
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA 92350
Campaign Office: (909) 558-8660 / 558-4513
Fax: (909) 558-0497
Email: agrohar@llu.edu or jgilstrap@llu.edu
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Last Revised: Tue, Apr 22, 2008
