And it is our challenge, for it leaves untended the connectedness that nurtures friendships, mentorships, and other relationships in community that provide the balance and sustenance to individual pursuit and what students sometimes report as a demanding and solitary education. Our participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for the last four years indicates that our rigorous academic and experiential education is among the best in the nation. The NSSE also indicates that one aspect of our education, what is termed "Supportive Campus Environment," is in need of attention. Discussions with every population within the College point to the fact that our environment is created both relationally and physically, and that what we need is a place that supports the activities and relationships that sustain and balance rigorous learning and that celebrates the accomplishments and creative expression of our students. That place for us is the Hicks Student Center.

The need for a campus "heart" or "hearth" has been articulated often. Both heart and hearth have to do with what is at the center; heart is at the center of individuals and the matters that concern them, and hearth is at the center of individuals' relationships with each other and what draws them together in shared purpose. Engaged learning - engagement with both subject matter and each other - is effective learning. What is needed in our education is the counterbalancing force, a centripetal force that invites learners and teachers back to the center that energizes their affiliation and engagement. To describe Hicks as the heart and hearth of the campus is to describe a place that functions as the College's family room, a place to relax from our labors, that provides opportunity for hospitality, and that nurtures connection and engagement; the social heart of the College.