Gift Helps Goucher Upgrade Athletics Facilities

TOWSON, Md. — A portion of a $3.7 million gift to Goucher College will be used to install a synthetic turf system at Beldon Field and expand the weight room and cardio-fitness spaces in the Sports & Recreation Center.

In addition to improving the institution's athletic facilities, the gift will also help complete the Athenaeum, the new centerpiece building on campus, and to fund other college priorities, according to President Sanford J. Ungar. To honor the Deckers and their generous bequest, Ungar also revealed today that two facilities on campus will be named for them — the Virginia and Alonzo Decker Jr. Sports and Recreation Center and the Virginia and Alonzo Decker Jr. Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology.

“Virginia and Alonzo Decker were well known on the Goucher campus, and this generous gift will ensure that their names will be remembered here for generations to come,” said Ungar. “The Deckers had great passion and respect for higher education. They knew that a liberal arts education like the one offered at Goucher can change lives.”

The Deckers were longtime supporters of Goucher. Virginia Decker enrolled in continuing-education courses at the college. Alonzo Decker, chief executive officer of The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company, was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Goucher in 1985, and he was honorary chair of Goucher’s Legacy Campaign from 1994 to 1998. He died in 2002, and his wife passed away last April.

The Decker gift comes as Goucher is in the midst of “Transcending Boundaries: The Campaign for Goucher College,” which aims to raise $80 million by 2010.

Upgrading the college’s athletic facilities is one of the priorities of the Goucher capital campaign, and a portion of the Decker gift will be used to install a turf field and to expand the weight room and cardio-fitness spaces. Other athletic initiatives still to be funded include improvements to the equestrian clinic and team pavilion and the installation of permanent seating for the tennis courts.

According to Geoff Miller, director of physical education and athletics at Goucher, the growth in the college’s outdoor programs has placed unprecedented demands on the field spaces available to students, making it necessary to add a turf field.

“The beauty of a turf field is that it gives us the ability to practice and play in any weather,” said Miller. “And because of its size, we can have more than one team practicing on the new turf field at the same time. We can also expand the intramural program, which benefits the entire Goucher community.”

The durability of the new all-weather turf field will reduce the number of practice sessions lost to inclement weather, and it will save money for the college because maintenance costs will be lower and Goucher will no longer need to rent turf-field time at other institutions.

Both soccer teams will continue to play games on Beldon Field. The field hockey team, which currently calls Gopher Stadium its home field, will play most if not all of its intercollegiate contests at Beldon Field once the synthetic turf system is installed, and both lacrosse programs will have the option of moving games to the turf when weather makes the grass field of Gopher Stadium unplayable.

Part of the Decker gift will also be used to enhance the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT), which will be relocated to the new Goucher College Athenaeum, scheduled for completion in fall 2009. The CTLT provides an interactive environment where faculty, students, and staff can explore new technologies.

“The Decker gift helps us move forward in positioning Goucher as a leader among the nation’s liberal arts institutions,” said Ungar. “With the establishment of the Decker Sports and Recreation Center and the Decker Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, the legacy of this extraordinary couple will live on at Goucher.”

A Baltimore native, Alonzo Decker was the son of Black & Decker’s co-founder. He began working at his father’s company at age 14. He eventually received a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and worked his way up in the company, ultimately being named chief executive officer. He married Virginia Gent in 1948, and together the couple became champions of higher education and philanthropy. Virginia Decker was frequently seen walking the Loop Road, along with many other neighbors, on Goucher’s picturesque Towson campus.