A $14.5 million project to enhance student wellness and academic research was completed with a grand opening and blessing ceremony on August 29, 2014. The doors are now open to the facility that features nearly 52,000 square feet of subdivided indoor space for year-round athletic, intramural, open recreation and fitness activities; an 80-yard indoor field house and a Human Performance Laboratory. In addition to the spacial enhancements, new locker rooms and a healthy refreshment snack bar are quickly helping to establish the Recreation and Wellness Center as a new campus focal point.
The Gannon Recreation and Wellness Center includes a new wrestling room for Gannon's wrestling program. The area measures 145 feet by 42 feet with three new mats lining the room.
Gannon wrestling alumni, friends and student-athletes were on hand Saturday, January 28, 2017 when the University held a Blessing and Dedication for the then newly-constructed wrestling room that was part of the Gannon Recreation and Wellness Center renovations.
An estate gift of $50,000 by Gannon wrestling head coach Don Henry was established to help support an endowed wrestling fund. The gift also named the Don and Diane Henry Wrestling Room in the University's Recreation and Wellness Center.
"I am very proud to have both of our names on the new wrestling training facility," said Henry. "I believe that it will empower more student-athletes to achieve greatness in the classroom, on the mats and in life."
Henry was in his 33rd season at Gannon at the time of the dedication and had lead the wrestling team to some of its best seasons, coaching eight regional champions and qualifying wrestlers for the national championships 42 times at the time. In March of 2014, Henry was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame.
"Gannon Wrestling is a reflection of Diane's and my life together," said Henry. "Great things develop if you put in the work and make the sacrifices necessary to be great. It is true with relationships and building a wrestling program."
The Don and Diane Henry Wrestling Endowment Fund is among the 246 endowed scholarships at Gannon, providing more than $1.3 million in scholarship support annually to 413 deserving students from diverse locations, backgrounds and financial circumstances.
Ninety-eight percent of undergraduate students at Gannon University received financial aid in the 2015-16 academic year. Endowed gifts to Gannon can also help fund faculty professional development, student and faculty research, speaker series, study-abroad programs, mission trips, academic departments, athletics or the library.
Gannon University is a Catholic, diocesan university with campuses in Erie, Pa. and Ruskin, Fla. offering online and traditional associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs to more than 4,000 academically talented and diverse students.
Gannon University is dedicated to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. Inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, the University offers a comprehensive, values-centered learning experience that emphasizes faith, leadership, inclusiveness and social responsibility.
