Page 7 - Menlo Magazine: Summer/Fall 2018

From the
Board of Trustees
Dear Members of the Menlo Community,
Each start of the school year brings fresh beginnings and new possibilities. As has been
the annual practice of the Board, we begin by setting our goals for the year. Working in
concert with the priorities outlined by Menlo’s administration, we use this exercise to
help define our priorities and keep us focused on how we’ll spend our time throughout
the year. As the Chair of Menlo’s trustees, I look forward to this process as it reaffirms for
me what a thoughtful, talented, and dedicated group of volunteers we have serving on the
Board. We’re fortunate at Menlo that we’re able to focus our attention on how to best elevate
our mission and values. Central to that is ensuring that our faculty and administrators have the support and tools needed to create the optimal educational environment and a great experience for our students.
Just a year ago, we opened the new Commons dining hall and renovated student center and library.
As we had hoped, this project helped to bring students and teachers together, further strengthening our
community. The new spaces created a heart to the center of our campus. For the past 25 years, Menlo has envisioned a master campus plan and we’ve nearly accomplished our goals. But we’re not quite finished. The Performing Arts Center (PAC) is the final piece
that completes our central campus. Originally designed more than 10 years ago, the PAC was to be built along with the Creative Arts and Design Center, but the recession in 2007 caused us to put the project on hold. As part of our goals for this year, we hope to return
to the PAC as our next project. We’ve dusted off the old designs and have been working to bring the plans up to date. We’re now turning our efforts to look at a feasibility plan to find out what it would take to get the project started. As this behind-the-scenes work continues, we’ll be sure to update you on our progress.
A fully realized Creative Arts program can transform students into articulate, self- expressive, and confident members of their community. Buildings provide a home to
these ideals. They say to the community at large that the institution gives prominence and importance to the program. The proposed Performing Arts Center will stand as a beacon for fostering creative thought. Visitors and the Menlo community will see that the School is energetically committed to fostering these unique talents.
As the pages in this magazine will attest, our students are having extraordinary experiences in the arts. We’re committed to creating spaces that will continue to allow our students to thrive and places where we will come together as a community.
Rob Chandra Board Chair
“For the past 25 years, Menlo
has envisioned
a master
campus plan
and we’ve nearly accomplished our goals. But we’re not quite finished. The Performing Arts Center is the final piece that completes our central campus.”
MENLO MAGAZINE
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