Groundbreaking ceremonies for the expansion and renovation of the Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club at the University of California, San Diego, will be held at 3 p.m. Oct. 18 at the north end of the Faculty Club’s construction site. Located at the center of campus, the Faculty Club is a key gathering place for faculty, staff, graduate students and community members. Expansion of the facility will meet the needs of a growing clientele base and help the Faculty Club keep pace with a rapidly-evolving campus and community.

The $5.3 million expansion project involves additions to the main dining room and courtyard areas, construction of a 1,800 square foot multi-purpose conference room and new kitchen facilities. The expansion also includes a private reading room for members, named the Seuss Library in recognition of a $1 million leadership gift from local philanthropist Audrey Geisel.

Speakers at the Faculty Club groundbreaking event will include UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox; Sally Ashburn, president of the Faculty Club board of directors; Audrey Geisel; and Chancellor Emeritus Herbert York. All four will be on hand to turn the symbolic first shovel of dirt, also joined by honored guest, Zelda Goodman; George Karetas, president and CEO of Premier Food Services, Inc.; Tom Mignano, executive director of the Faculty Club; and John Woods, vice chancellor of Resource Management & Planning and interim vice chancellor of External Relations.

Mignano emphasized the importance of maintaining the Faculty Club as a quality dining and conference venue for the university. “Those who utilize the Faculty Club make it the center of the interdisciplinary relations that occur on campus,” said Mignano. “Everyday, faculty, staff, students, administrators and community members come here to collaborate, generating ideas that drive UCSD’s momentum as a leader in higher education and research.”

Construction on the expansion and renovation project has commenced, thanks to over $2.3 million in private support contributed by more than 200 donors. In addition to Audrey Geisel, other generous contributors to the fundraising initiative include Richard and Rita Atkinson, George and Patricia Karetas, Dr. Helen Ranney, Dr. Jeffrey and Carol Chang, Zelda Goodman in memory of Murray Goodman, Maurice and Charmaine Kaplan, Sally Ashburn, Barbara and Paul (in memoriam) Saltman, Jerome and Miriam Katzin, Donald and Darlene Shiley, Andrew and Erna Viterbi, and Herbert and Sybil York.

Private gifts made to the Faculty Club’s expansion and renovation fundraising initiative contribute to the $1 billion goal of The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What’s Next. The remainder of the construction costs will be covered by a combination of Faculty Club and campus funds. It is anticipated that the expansion and renovation will be completed by December 2006.