ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Students at Augustana College are heading back to class on Monday morning. Before classes begin, however, the college is unveiling its newest academic building.
The $18 million project created a new, 52,000 square foot facility that will house both academic and athletic programs.
The Peter J. Lindberg, M.D. Center for Health and Human Performance, which is on the north side of campus along 7th Street in Rock Island, will be home to the college's swimming and diving and water polo teams. Students majoring in public health or kinesiology will have classes in the building, in the classroom and lab spaces built into the new space.
Those two academic programs have been staples at the college, but now have their own dedicated space on campus.
You can learn more about the Lindberg Center and take a virtual tour of the building here.
The Lindberg Center is a unique combination for the college, which is something college officials say will benefit students even if they are not involved in the academic programs in the new building.
"This building combines those two facets of a student," said college spokesperson Kirby Stockwell. "Students are not just one thing at Augustana. They have balance in so many different areas on campus, and we want to make spaces for them that acknowledges that."
The college will officially open the Lindberg Center at 8 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony before classes begin on Monday. The college will stream that ceremony online, and you can watch it here.
Because of some delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pool inside the Lindberg Center will not be open just yet. College leaders hope to have that project complete by October 1, 2021.