Cromwell Hall, the latest addition to Washington College’s academic buildings, will be formally dedicated at a ceremony on September 24. The public is invited to attend this event, which will begin at 10:30 a.m.

Located at 215 Washington Avenue, on the site of the former Kent County Board of Education building, the new academic building is named for Barbara Cromwell ’55 and her late husband George Cromwell ’53, whose steadfast devotion to their alma mater has been expressed through service as well as philanthropy.

The building, which opened for classes in late August, houses the Departments of Anthropology and Environmental Science and Studies, as well as the Barbara and George Cromwell Center for Teaching and Learning, which supports faculty innovations through talks, workshops, and grants. A second building planned for the site will house the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, and the Department of Education. 

EYP Architecture & Engineering, which specializes in sustainable design for corporate, government, and higher education clients around the world, designed both phases of the new complex. When the firm was selected, EYP Project Executive Elissa Kellett described the Washington College project as “especially exciting because of its aggressive sustainability goals within the context of an historic district and an environmentally sensitive area.” Project architects are Suzanne Kelin and Brian Tucker, and project managers are Joshua George and Monica Lerro. 

The building is scheduled to earn LEED Gold certification in “green” design and construction. Sustainable features include geothermal heating, energy-efficient lighting, and a two-thirds reduction in the amount of impermeable, or paved, surfaces now on the site. A system of filtered collection pools will capture rainwater and direct it into the town’s stormwater pipes. 

A former Alumni Council president who helped organize the Annapolis alumni chapter and was the first chair of the George Washington Legacy Society, Barbara Cromwell is an emerita member of the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors (1980-86). In addition to an annual scholarship the Cromwells fund through The Washington Fund, in 2013 they pledged support to the Barbara and George Cromwell Center for Teaching and Learning. Although she has been most obviously active as an alumna, Barbara Cromwell says that her husband George, who died last year the day after his 85th birthday, was always the quiet but staunch supporter behind all of their service to the College.