It’s official. Castleton will look like a brand new campus by fall 2006 with the promise of more improvements for the future.”I think you’re going to get a speeding ticket,” Bob Joy of JMZ Architects and Planners said of the planned growth of the college.

President David Wolk and Joy held a town meeting in Herrick Auditorium on Thursday to discuss the second phase of Castleton’s master plan.

Wolk explained that his original fund-raising goal of $1.65 million has since been doubled through grants and donors. He also mentioned that as a state school, Castleton receives 14.5% of its funding from Vermont, so the school’s improvements will rely heavily on donors.

When students return in the fall, they will see a new Castleton, he said. For starters, Wolk hopes to add air conditioning to all of the academic buildings. Among other improvements, three new residence houses with three SMART classrooms will help bridge the perceived South Street academic barrier. Wolk hopes to have at least one of the halls open by August.

The Black Science Center will house both math and science departments with two separate additions, one facing South Street and the other facing Stafford Academic Center. The additions will include lecture halls and science labs.

Renovations to the Fine Arts Center will begin after commencement thanks to a donation from the Casella family. Wolk said that with new lighting, catwalks, a stage and other improvements, the FAC should be ready to open for convocation in the fall.

Wolk commented that the Campus Center was built in 1975 and has not been touched since. After an addition, the Wellness Center and radio station will move to this space. Also on the move will be the communications department, which will likely relocate to Stafford Academic Center in place of the math department.

“I’m real excited,” Wolk said to the crowd of professors and students. “This is a renaissance for our college and it’s because of you.”

On Monday, April 24 at 12 p.m., Gov. James Douglas and Sen. James Jeffords will join the campus in celebration of the recent $2 million grant from the Department of Energy and improvements to the college. For more information, visit www.castleton.edu for blueprints of the additions and renovations to campus.