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Ground Broken for New STEM Center Andrew Mann Ravi Vasan
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apping years of anticipation and discussion, Head of School Lee Hark presided over groundbreaking ceremonies for a new campus STEM + Innovation Center on Feb. 1 on the site of the former Agnich Science Building. The ceremonies marked the launch of Greenhill’s Growing Stronger Together campaign, which Hark has described as “the most ambitious in the school’s history.” The campaign has already raised $44 million of a targeted $71 million aimed at enhancing school infrastructure as well as academic and athletic programs. In his remarks before a gathering of school administrators, board members, faculty, donors and other guests, Hark shared plans for the STEM + Innovation Center as well as an indoor athletic practice facility, locker rooms and a new High Performance Center. The science, technology, engineering and math facility is scheduled to be complete in time for fall 2023 classes. “A year and a half from today, we will look at this moment we spent together and remember its importance and its contribution to an even brighter future for our school,” Hark said in his remarks. “We are here to celebrate the launch of the Growing Stronger Together campaign, which will transform our campus with three major initiatives: of course, the STEM + Innovation Center, expanded and enhanced athletic facilities, and endowment funding to support the operation of these new spaces.” The lead project donors recognized at the ceremony were Dr. Ralph de la Torre and E. Pierce Marshall Jr. ’86. De la Torre is chairman and chief executive officer of Steward Health Care, a community-based care network based in Massachusetts. His twin boys, Sebastian and Gabriel, are seventh-graders at Greenhill.
Marshall is the president and chief executive officer of Elevage Capital Management, an investment management company based in Dallas. Marshall and his daughter, Megan Marshall ’16, are both Greenhill alumni. In his comments at the ceremony, de la Torre said that after moving to Dallas he was impressed with the achievements and message of Greenhill as a school. He said he is working to make Greenhill the best that it can be with projects like the new Innovation Center. “It is going to revolutionize Greenhill,” de la Torre said of the Growing Stronger Together campaign. “Between the STEM + Innovation Center, the endowment growth and the new athletic facilities, I think this is going to be the best campus in all of the Dallas area.” The new building will be named the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center, after de la Torre’s mother, Rosa Olimpia Valdes, who escaped Fidel Castro’s 1959 communist revolution in Cuba to start a new life in America. The main commons area of the new facility will bear the Marshall family name, which also adorns the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center. The STEM Center project will be led by Daniel Lee of the Pennsylvania-based architectural firm of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. “The existing buildings that you guys have on campus have such a rich history of good design, and we feel compelled and honored to contribute to that,” Lee said. Head of Athletics and Physical Education Jarrett Shine was on hand to unveil his plans for the new state-of-the-art sports facilities. “The facilities that will be constructed will provide a sense of pride for our athletes and offer space for our programs to grow,” Shine said. “The pride an athletic facility creates can have a positive impact on our athletes and the overall performance of a team.”
Beijing Winter Olympics Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the pandemicera’s second Olympic Games on Feb. 4, with athletes Zhao Jiawen and Dinigeer Yilamujiang delivering the final flame. China’s selection of Yilamujiang, a member of the country’s Uyghur Muslim minority, for the opening ceremony was Beijing’s symbolic response to accusations of systematic oppression of the minority group.
Historic Aussie Open Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 men’s player, arrived in Melbourne as the defending champion of the Australian Open, the first of four annual Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Djokovic had a chance to make tennis history by winning his 21st Grand Slam title. Instead, after several days of legal wrangling, Djokovic was deported for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision was made to keep people safe and to maintain the country’s strict COVID-related border restrictions. Due to the immigration rules in Australia, Djokovic can’t reenter for the next three years, but Morrison said he might be allowed to reenter sooner. With Djokovic out of the running, Rafael Nadal won the title, making him the first male to win 21 Grand Slam titles. Before this event, Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer had each won 20 major titles.
Ukraine Faces Invasion Threat Russia has moved more than 100,000 troops to its border with Ukraine in an escalation of tensions over its neighbor’s interest in joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Ukraine was part of the former Soviet Union, and its western tilt over recent years has been condemned by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The tensions have raised concerns of a broader conflict involving the United States and NATO. At a U.N. Security Council meeting on Jan. 31, Russia accused the U.S. of inciting panic. President Biden has continued to advocate a diplomatic solution, but he has repeatedly declared that he would defend Ukraine if Russia were to invade. Along with numerous U.S. senators, Biden has threatened severe economic sanctions against Russia if it continues to apply military pressure on Ukraine.
Islamic State Leader Dies The leader of the Islamic State group killed himself and members of his family by detonating a bomb during a Feb. 3 raid on his Syrian hideout by U.S. special operations forces, President Biden announced. Over the past few weeks, Syria and Iraq have experienced a series of terrorist attacks conducted by the resurgent Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The biggest attack, on Jan. 20, targeted a Syrian prison that held over 3000 ISIS militants and 700 children. The operation consisted of two car bombs detonated outside the prison. Many detainees were freed during the attack, but over 500 people died. With U.S. airstrikes and ground support, U.S.backed Kurdish-led forces managed to regain control of the prison after five days of fighting. However, this attack, along with the numerous raids and bombings throughout Syria and Iraq lead many to worry that the terrorist organization is regaining power and control. Photos by Ravi Vasan
A HISTORIC DAY: The groundbreaking for the long-awaited Valdes STEM + Innovation Center occurred on Feb.1. In addition to classrooms, the center will provide laboratories, engineering workspaces and a coffeeshop.