The SAW set to open Aug. 9

By Cornell Report Staff

The renewed and expanded Richard and Norma Small Athletic and Wellness Center (the SAW) is set to open Aug. 9, offering a new level of support for our student-athletes and a new era of fitness and wellness opportunities for the entire community.

Greater Than athletic campaign logo featuring a greater-than symbol between the 2 wordsForty-one percent of students now compete on Cornell’s 19 NCAA Division III teams (soon to be 20 with the addition of women’s wrestling). The goal is for all students and the entire campus, including faculty and staff, to feel welcome in the facility.

“The ability to better integrate campus wellness and athletics within the renovated space is an essential feature for the new SAW,” says Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Faculty Athletic Representative Kristi Meyer ’01. “We hope all students feel welcome in the space, and we are excited to make this the new central hub for campus wellness.”

Many, many donors have teamed with Cornell to support the $19.5 million project. The most recent six-figure gifts from these generous alumni and friends of the college are:

  • Douglas Swanson ’60 and Suzanne Swanson: $508,000
  • Douglas Smith ’73: $150,000
  • John Turner ’94 and Ann Loewe Turner ’94: $150,000 
  • Andrew Applebee ’71 and Julie Applebee: $100,000 
  • Nels Lindquist ’71 and Cindy Ransom Lindquist ’71: $100,000
  • John Lohnes ’77: $100,000
  • James Swift ’76 and Lori Swift: $100,000
  • Georgia Yanicke ’67: $100,000

New endowed funds

Jane Wylie established a $100,000 Neil and Jane Wylie Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of her husband Neil, who taught psychology at Cornell from 1966 to 1981. Because the Wylies so enjoyed the Cornell experience provided to them and the students of the 1970s, the fund is designed to support similar opportunities for students of today and in the future. Neil died in 2021 (see obit), and through this scholarship fund, Jane intends for his commitment to higher education and Cornell to continue. 

Robert Wilson ’75 and Sara Even Wilson ’76 have pledged $110,000 for a combination of support to the Athletic Facilities Project, the Cornell Fund, and the Paul Even and Bea Even Stuart Endowed Scholarship. That scholarship for first-generation students was established by the Wilsons and Sara’s siblings Susan Even ’74 and her husband Steve Zweig, and Nick Even ’84.