The New College of Florida Foundation has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation for restoration of the College’s historic Caples waterfront.
The grant will go toward the removal of non-native invasive plants and the reconstruction of kayak racks, a boathouse and other structures. New College and the student government also are contributing funds to the project.
The Caples waterfront is part of the College’s Caples Campus, just south of the Ringling Museum. It is home to the Sainer Pavilion, Caples Fines Arts Complex, the Environmental Studies Program, faculty offices and classrooms, and the New College Waterfront Program, home of the nationally-ranked sailing team and the recreational boating center.
In addition to being a popular location for students, the Caples waterfront has been an important hub for community activities. University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee also uses the boating facilities. And the student-run Sail Future program, which mentors Booker High School students in academics and leadership training, is based at the Caples Waterfront.
“We are thrilled that the Selby Foundation chose to fully fund our proposal to restore the Caples waterfront,” said Shannon Duvall, vice president of advancement and executive director of the New College Foundation.
“This generous grant recognizes not only how important the Caples facilities are to our students but to the Sarasota community as well. This will help us preserve a valuable resource and share it for the betterment of the community.”
The Caples Campus was the estate of Ralph and Ellen Caples, who bequeathed it to New College in 1962. Ralph Caples was a founding father of Sarasota and helped persuade the John and Charles Ringling to make the city the summer home of their circus, the beginning of the region’s Ringling legacy.
William and Marie Selby founded the Selby Foundation in 1955 to foster arts, education, human services, historic and environmental initiatives in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto Counties. It has awarded more than 2,500 gifts in its nearly 60-year history.
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Contact: David Gulliver, News Services Manager, 941-487-4154, [email protected]
New College of Florida is a national leader in the arts and sciences and is the State of Florida’s designated honors college for the liberal arts. Consistently ranked among the top public liberal arts colleges in America by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review, New College attracts highly motivated, academically talented students from 38 states and 20 foreign countries. A higher proportion of New College students receive Fulbright awards than graduates from virtually all other colleges and universities.