Impact Beloit will enhance the college’s existing community-based learning and career-readiness programs and also provide resources to the greater Beloit community.
Beloit College’s $10 million renovation of the Col. Robert Morse Library will include Impact Beloit, with community programs beginning in Spring 2023.
Students and Rock County residents will benefit from programming as early as January.
More than 120 campus and community members had their first peek at Impact Beloit’s design and programming plans at September informational meetings. The project has garnered overall positive feedback so far, said Tim Leslie’89, Beloit’s executive-in-residence and former Amazon leader heading up Impact Beloit.
Students attending the meetings were excited about the proposed credentialing and certification programs prepared by Google and taught by leading industry experts.
Community members were intrigued by the notion of expanding the Duffy Community Partnerships, and the fellowship program proposal.
Beloit College students intern, work and consult for businesses, government, non-profits, and other institutions in Beloit and across the U.S.
“The goal is to develop the next generation of leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, and activists through community-based learning that both develops students’ career-readiness and contributes to the well-being of our local communities, especially the City of Beloit,” Leslie said.
Beloit College President Scott Bierman said the college stands out among its peers for its personalized, student-centric educational approach that encourages students to learn through experiences and reflection.
“Tying those experiences to career readiness allows us to remain relevant to students and the workplace,” Bierman said. “Career Channels was an important first step in this direction; Impact Beloit takes this to the next level.”
Impact Beloit will enhance the college’s existing programs that prepare students for life after Beloit: Career Channels, the Center for Entrepreneurship (CELEB), Career Works, Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL), and Student Excellence & Leadership (SEL).
The initiative will also create new career-readiness programming and serve as a key access point, making it easy for students to discover all of the college’s community-based learning and career-readiness capabilities.
Impact Beloit, Bierman said, could drive higher enrollment by linking the college’s experiential learning and career-readiness capabilities.
“With one brand, one program, we can focus our efforts on marketing Impact Beloit as a collection of offerings that fulfill a common promise: to launch our students into successful lives and careers,” Bierman said.
Morse Library renovations will include spaces for the campus community and the Beloit area community. Janesville-based Angus-Young & Associates is overseeing the renovation and historic landmark regulations compliance.
Interior plans include user-friendly spaces for learning, studying, designing, and other projects.
The exterior design features an inviting new entrance, parking lot, and landscape that will be inviting to the campus and greater Beloit community.
“We are committed to empowering students through stronger community-based learning opportunities,” Leslie said. “An equally strong goal is to help Beloit area community organizations do what they do better through Impact Beloit programming.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers visited Beloit College in February to award a $9 million Neighborhood Investment Fund grant for the project, citing the college’s “long history of educating citizens of the world.” The college is contributing an additional $1 million to the project.
October 14, 2022
