Couple champions accessibility in the SAW
When the Richard and Norma Small Athletic and Wellness Center—the SAW—opened last week, Andrew Buchmeyer ’86 and Gretchen Liebenow Buchmeyer ’88 were cheering from the sidelines about how accessible the facility will be to the Cornell College campus and community.
The Houston, Texas, couple gave $150,000 to the Athletic and Wellness Facilities Project, part of the Greater > Than Campaign.
“Making it accessible to the whole community is really important to us,” said Gretchen. “Having not been a college athlete I could see it being intimidating with the athletes there. They’ve designed it in a way to be open and safe and inclusive. I have a form of muscular dystrophy and discovered what it feels like not to be safe in a space. I happened to see someone in a wheelchair in the SAW design renderings and asked what they were doing to address accessibility, and they did a lot.”
This Cornell couple met and fell in love on campus and were married in the college’s iconic King Chapel. They are longtime donors, having supported the Thomas Commons renovations, the Cornell Fellows program, and $10,000 Color It Purple challenge matches for several years.
“From year one after graduating I started giving, and we just kept at it. As we got our raises we kept making increases as we could,” Andrew said. “I spent a lot of time down in the Field House with football and it made sense to jump in on this one. This is a campaign that’s meaningful to us.”
Cornell Construction Projects Manager Scott Ladwig met with the Buchmeyers as the building was being planned.
“The building is fully ADA compliant, and we took further steps to incorporate transitional spaces for people with impaired vision, added some double (low and high) railings, expanded doorways, and added railings on sloped areas,” Ladwig said. “It doesn’t matter what your capabilities are, we want you to be able to get around the building with ease.”
Cornell College President Jonathan Brand also spoke with the couple about the project, which incorporates a spacious new wellness and fitness center and supports the college’s Well-being Network.
“Andrew and Gretchen wholeheartedly embraced our emphasis on wellness in this project and decided to help make it a reality,” said Cornell President Jonathan Brand. “We appreciate their enthusiasm for Cornell and the years of thoughtful support they have provided.”
Andrew majored in computer science and mathematics, while Gretchen graduated with a degree in politics and economics and business. After a few years of working in Des Moines, they left their jobs to become full-time students and earned their M.B.A.s from the University of Iowa. Gretchen then began her career in human resources with Shell, taking them to Houston, Washington State, London, Canada, New Orleans, and the Netherlands. Their two young adult children were born in Houston, where the couple resides today. Andrew worked in IT and business consulting and later stayed home with the children. Gretchen retired from Shell in 2021 as a vice president. Both are now involved in their “next chapter,” including volunteering in various causes.
By supporting this project, Gretchen said, not only are they helping provide for the mental, physical, and emotional well being of the Cornell community—they are helping make Cornell viable and attainable for future students.
“Both of our parents helped support our education, but without scholarships, Andrew and I couldn’t have attended Cornell. We benefited from scholarships, and that meant alumni were donating and giving to us. So we gave what we could afford when we could afford it,” she said. “Ultimately, we are continuing to give students the choice of small liberal arts education.”
Andrew agreed and added a caveat for other potential donors.
“You can be part of what Cornell is, not just what it was,” he said.
