A Thank You Letter from the Provost – Brad Stewart, December 2018

Hello All,

I want to thank those of you who participated in the Catherine and Isiah Leggett Math and Science Building design charrette process, which began in June. On behalf of my colleagues and our students, I sincerely appreciate the time you spent attending meetings, the questions you raised, and the feedback you provided.

We were gratified by your thoughtful contributions over the past several months that directly informed the building’s design. With your help, our architects were able to analyze, learn from, and respond to more than 500 unique questions and suggestions. As a result, the design options have been refined to a concept that exceeds Dr. Pollard’s design directives—initial commitments from which we started the design charrette process—which were issued on September 29, 2017 following the completion of the Community Conversations. This building design (Concept 2.5), which reflects preferences and feedback offered by community members, neighbors, students, faculty and staff, will now be submitted Montgomery County Planning Board for consideration under the mandatory referral process for public facilities later this year.

All presentations, meeting videos, and lists of comments and questions received along with responses are available for your review online.

Following the Planning Board’s review of the design, we will convene the next phase of design charrette meetings to share project updates with the community and ask for input on the next stage of design. We’ll discuss items such as materials, color, and façade refinements. We will also schedule an opportunity to introduce the construction team to discuss its role and your feedback on construction related issues, such as noise, work hours, and cleanliness. You may continue to submit comments online or by emailing community@montgomerycollege.edu.

I look forward to our continued work together to balance the needs of our neighbors, students, and fiscal prudence. Please continue to help us, as Dr. Pollard said in her September 2017 letter, to get this important project right. Again, we thank you for your participation, engagement, and support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brad. J. Stewart
Vice President and Provost of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College