SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College will hold a topping out celebration at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, for the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. The event will mark the laying of the beam at the highest point of construction and acknowledge the work of construction crews for the project, slated to open in the spring of 2017.

Following a 15-minute program, members of the Robins & Morton construction crews, along with Wofford students, faculty and staff, are invited to sign a ceremonial steel beam that has been signed by Jerry Richardson, owner/founder of the Carolina Panthers, a 1959 Wofford College graduate and a member of Wofford’s board of trustees, who provided the funding for the building named for his wife. The beam will be displayed inside the building when it is completed. Mrs. Richardson also has signed the beam.

The 65,000-square-foot Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts will house academic programs in theatre arts, visual arts and art history, plus a 300-seat performance hall, studio space, museum and gallery spaces, classroom and offices.

The center, which will feature a material pallet of masonry, stucco and copper, was designed by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architects in Spartanburg. Large areas of glass will connect the interior to the outdoors, filling art studios with natural light and creating a sense of transparency and openness between spaces and across an outdoor courtyard. The building will be energy efficient and will feature high-performance theatrical lighting, rigging and audiovisual systems. The building will feature two custom-made glass sculptures by internationally renowned artist Dale Chihuly.

It will include a 300-seat performance hall, an art museum for Wofford’s permanent collection; a gallery for student art work; studios for acting, costume design, painting and woodworking; classrooms and faculty offices.