Suzzallo, others value tradition

Saturday, October 5, 2002

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

In renovating its treasured Suzzallo Library, the University of Washington renewed important traditions.

With the library reopened after two years, many UW students are taking advantage of their first chance to study and do research there. As a Post-Intelligencer news story showed Tuesday, the students are plain enthusiastic about using a library that has been a central part of campus life since 1927.

The seismic retrofitting at the library should preserve the public's investment in the magnificent collegiate Gothic-style building for years to come. The Legislature authorized the $47 million renovation in 1999 -- probably just in time. Most of the interior seismic work had been completed when the 2001 Nisqually earthquake hit.

The library's renovation is just one sign that higher education is moving forward even as the Seattle region and the state cope with economic trouble. At community, technical and four-year colleges, students have jammed into classes, often to upgrade their job skills.

Just about everywhere, new buildings are also opening or in the works that, like Suzzallo, will create their own traditions. In Lynnwood, for instance, Central Washington University and Edmonds Community College have just opened a building that provides an impressive home for CWU's degree programs there. On Wednesday, Seattle University celebrated the opening of its new Student Center -- the third major building finished in five years, starting with the 1997 completion of the stunning Chapel of St. Ignatius. Seattle Pacific University opened a new residence hall a year ago and is in the middle of constructing a science building.

As the region's higher education institutions of all types work on projects to meet growing demands, Suzzallo offers a dramatic lesson in the value of long-range vision. Its construction, however, led to the firing of UW President Henry Suzzallo by cronies of Gov. Roland Hartley, who was upset about "tax spenders."

Today, the library is regarded as one of the great university buildings in America. There is no guarantee that every investment in higher education will work out. But Suzzallo Library, built in a style that looked backward for inspiration, has proven that looking ahead can build valuable traditions.

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