The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/65892
d irector of physical education, recre- ation, and athletics Dana L. Harmon remembers how things were when VKH ƂUVW DUULYHG DW :3, EDFN LQ Though it had been three decades since the passing of Title IX, the 1972 landmark decision mandating that women's athletic teams receive resources equal to those of men's teams—a ruling WPI had long em- braced—Harmon couldn't help but notice a few pe- culiar features of the old gym. "For starters, there were more urinals in the wom- en's locker room than in the men's," she recalls with D ODXJK Ŕ, KDGQŒW H[SHFWHG WKDW ŕ :KLOH WKH SOXPELQJ VLWXDWLRQ FRXOG EH Ƃ[HG LW couldn't solve a more pressing issue— namely, Alum- ni Gymnasium was nearly a hundred years old, built in a time when the undergraduate population was all male, recreational sports were few, and the student participation rate was nowhere near today's levels. 7RGD\ :3, KDV RYHU FOXE VSRUWV D WKULYLQJ LQWUDPXUDO SURJUDP VWXGHQWV VWXGHQWV DQG over 90 physical education courses each year, in ad- dition to 20 percent of the students involved in 18 varsity sports. Compare that to 1968, when the newly built Harrington Auditorium, together with Alumni *\P EXLOW LQ FRXOG PHHW WKH QHHGV RI MXVW 1,649 male students. With more than 4,000 students enrolled today, it's understandable that demand is outpacing supply. "It's the growth in recreational sports and campus events that has driven this need for additional space," VD\V +DUPRQ Ŕ9DUVLW\ VSRUWV ZLOO VXUHO\ EHQHƂW EXW the new rec center has been designed to meet the QHHGV RI WKH HQWLUH FDPSXV ƂUVW DQG IRUHPRVW ŕ 7KH Center will allow WPI's robotics teams to host major events, and immediately upon opening its doors, it will become the largest meeting space on campus. The $53 million Sports and Recreation Center en- compasses 145,000 square feet, and contains a four- FRXUW J\PQDVLXP D ƂWQHVV FHQWHU D MRJJLQJ WUDFN DQ indoor rowing tank, a 38-meter pool, dance studios, racquetball and squash courts, meeting and confer- HQFH URRPV DQG RIƂFH VSDFH IRU FRDFKHV WUDLQHUV 28 Spring 2012