News

Hoerle Hall Nears Completion

This October, Kent will celebrate the dedication of our newest dormitory and academic building, Hoerle Hall.

Facing the Macedonia valley and Mt. Algo and overlooking the club fields, Hoerle Hall is nearing completion this summer as faculty and students prepare to move in.  The building is named for William Ferdinand and Rhona Feneley Hoerle.  The Trustees bestowed this honor on the late parents of current Trustee Bob Hoerle ’52 and his brother, David ’50, with deep gratitude for the leadership and loyalty demonstrated in decades of service to the School.

The building provides additional studios and classroom space, doubling the space for the Art Department. A multi-purpose room adjoins the Art studios and digital imaging spaces at the south end of the lower level. The room will provide multimedia capabilities for lectures, seminars, classes and clubs to gather in an open and flexible space overlooking the club fields.

The dorm was built without increasing the overall school population.  Day students will have their own space in the dorms.

Five faculty families will be able to make their homes in the dorm's spacious faculty apartments as well. They will be moving in during August to prepare for the opening of school.

Hoerle Hall is a state-of-the art facility designed to make effective use of resources following LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) standards.  It includes geothermal heating and cooling systems that science students will be able to study.

Since plans for the building were first announced on the evening of Kent's Centennial Dinner in the Springs Center on October 20, 2006, over 600 donors - Alumni, Parents, Grandparents and Friends of Kent - have made generous donations in cash, pledges and deferred gifts. Many volunteers helped make this possible through a tremendous six-year effort in capital fundraising.

Hoerle Hall will be a wonderful addition to the living and learning environment for the students and faculty.