SGA co-presidents and main auction organizers Christine Baer and Carissa Harnish say they didn’t know what to expect before the auction started. “When the first big item, a ceramic bowl by Jerry Lapp, went for $325, we were amazed,” says Harnish.

Baer adds that local auctioneers John and Jack Bowman, who donated their time, “really knew how to keep the crowd engaged and laughing.”

“I was very pleased with the kind of response and donations we got from students, the science department, alumni, parents, faculty and staff,” says , executive director of development. “The auction crowd wasn’t huge, but those who came were prepared to spend money.”

The infamous shotglass (originally purchased as a “rosebud vase” for a donor appreciation banquet) brought $300. Howard Zehr‘s recent book, “,” went for $300. A star guide from M.T. Brackbill’s 1930s astronomy classes sold for $600. A large chest of drawers (possibly from the Ad Building) went for $750, and Esther Augsberger’s sculpture, “Robe of God,” sold for $3200.

Students also bought bricks from previous buildings on campus, plants from the greenhouse and discarded glassware from science labs. Food tables of chili, cornbread and baked goods added $700 to the total.

“It inspires everyone when students engage in a project like this with their own creativity, commitment, and passion for a good cause,” says Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement.

A matching grant magnified the auction’s yield; for every $2 raised, an additional $1 was added by the Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan Foundation, bringing the total to more than $21,000. Further donations made to the SGA campaign using this secure online form will be matched as well.

“When we started planning for this campaign last semester, we drew inspiration from the famous Library drive of 1969, when students lead the campus community to raise more than $100,000 [in 1969 dollars] in four days,” says Baer. “We heard so many library drive stories from alumni and community folks as they dropped off donated items for the auction. That made it come alive for us.”

The co-presidents admit their fundraising goals for the auction event were considerably more modest, between $5,000 and $10,000.

One lesson Harnish and Baer want to pass to future student leaders: “With all the institutional support here, from development to physical plant to faculty and staff, it is completely possible for students to organize successful fundraising campaigns for things they care about.”

Young alum , who as a and major spent many hours in Suter Science Center, agrees. “I thought the auction was fantastic: the type of event we should try to do every year, frankly. Not only did we raise money for a good cause, connections were made between students and alumni, and that’s what it’s all about.”

The auction, which begins at 1 p.m. on Thomas Plaza in front of the Campus Center, has been organized “in the spirit of the 1969 student library drive,” when the entire campus community, galvanized by student enthusiasm, . By doing so, they protected a major construction grant for the , still in use today, and won glowing national headlines ($111,000 in 1969 would be worth well over $700,000 today).

Equipment from the Science Center, including eight microscopes (both full-size and miniature; most in their original wooden cases), will headline the auction, led by local auctioneer John Bowman.

One unique item will entitle the new owner to tell a funny story: Years ago, the planners of a donor appreciation dinner purchased what they assumed were “rosebud glasses” to garnish each table, emblazed with the blue seal of Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary. As it turned out, they had actually bought shot glasses.

Other items up for auction from the science center include ten of the greenhouse’s best plants, assorted science glassware (perfect for flower vases), two Margaret Gehman paintings, a hand thrown ceramic bowl by Jerry Lapp, an Esther Augsburger statue entiteld Robe of God and an astronomy course packet, including star charts, from the M.T. Brackbill era.

“It’s been great having the support of the development office, Science Center faculty and staff,” said SGA co-president Christine Baer, one of the auction’s organizers.

Organizers hope drive becomes template for future

Co-president Carissa Harnish said planners have been inspired by the 1969 campus-wide library fund drive since last fall.

“Organizing this drive has been a learning process,” Harnish said. “We’ve never done an auction on this scale before. Hopefully, this can be a template for student campaigns of the future.”

Also to be auctioned are donated items, including two nights’ lodging at a “tranquility guest suite” east of Harrisonburg and a copy of professor ’s recent book, Pickups, a Love Story. A “marketplace” of other items, including baked goods, will be for sale as well.

A matching grant will magnify the SGA’s fundraising efforts. For every $2 raised, an additional $1 will be added by the Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan Foundation. A personalized letter has been sent to parents and families of students, announcing the student-initiated campaign and the matching grant.

“We’re delighted that SGA has taken the lead in mobilizing student support for the Suter Science Campaign,” says , vice president for advancement. “Students have expressed keen interest in this campaign since its inception, and it’s great that the student government leaders have stepped up to engage the larger student body in the effort.”

Fundraising efforts focus on west wing of science center

The has reached and exceeded its initial $7 million goal to modernize the laboratory section of the building, built in the late 1960s.

Bringing the west wing into the 21st century is the focus of current fundraising efforts. This involves demolishing and replacing S-104 (known as the “head room” for its array of antlered trophies) and upgrading ancient HVAC systems.

“During our student years, this is our home,” says Baer. “When we learned from development that we could designate how the funds are used, that really injected additional energy into the campaign.”

Replacing all the chairs in the large auditorium S-106 with more comfortable seating is one idea, albeit an ambitious one. Other possibilities have been discussed, including an outdoor amphitheater classroom, equipment purchase or front entrance landscaping.

As part of this discussion, “the students are interested in how buildings change the campus,” Harnish says. “We’re here for a few short years. It’s good to know that people are thinking and planning for the future.”

In the ramp-up for the auction weekend, SGA launched several student awareness events. Before the latest Hunger Games movie screened in S-106 in early March, students were treated to a “fun science” culinary experiment – ice cream made using liquid nitrogen instead of ice.

Updates on the student science center campaign can be found on its , as well as a link to a secure online form for making a financial gift to the student campaign. For more information on remote bidding on the day of the auction, call Phil Helmuth, executive director of development, at 540-746-2068.

If it rains, the auction will move inside to the upper level of University Commons.