The Beard Family Green Roof and
The Anson M. Beard, Jr., Courtyard

When asked about the Mars Center for Science and Technology, Anson M. Beard, Jr., a Wheaton trustee since 1971, doesn’t mince words. “It’s about time,” he says. “You can’t have a first-rate liberal arts institution without a significant commitment to the sciences.”

He has contributed to that commitment and expressed his interest in sustainability and Wheaton’s future by establishing The Beard Family Green Roof and The Anson M. Beard, Jr., Courtyard at the new science center. Green roofs—which are partially or completely covered with vegetation, a growing medium and a waterproof barrier—last longer than conventional roofs. They also reduce energy costs because they provide natural insulation, absorb storm water, and lessen the need for expensive drainage systems. And they are also places of beauty to be enjoyed by people and wildlife. Beard sees the roof as a win-win situation for the college: cutting-edge technology and beauty combined with greater durability and cost savings.

Elected a life trustee in 2008 in recognition of his service and philanthropic commitment to the college, Beard considers his dedication payback to an institution that helped define him. “Wheaton believed in me before I believed in me,” says the Yale alumnus and former managing director of Morgan Stanley. He became involved in the life of the college through his former wife, Jean Jones Beard ’65.

“I’m interested in Wheaton being a top-notch liberal arts college. And we’re doing that. Since coeducation, Wheaton has not only survived but thrived.” Beard is particularly impressed with the number of prestigious awards that Wheaton students have received in the past decade—Fulbrights, Rhodes scholarships, Marshalls and Watsons. “The science center is another major piece to complete the puzzle,” he says.

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The Rick Wallick Teaching Laboratory and The Rick Wallick Student/Faculty Research Laboratory

As a medical doctor, Janet Haas P’06 understands the importance of science education. A physicist trained in physical medicine and the rehabilitation of neurologically impaired patients, she received her medical degree from Drexel University and chose her specialty when her husband, John, suffered an aneurysm during her third year of residency.

“Too often we avoid the sciences in this country,” says Haas, though she is quick to point out that this is not the case with the Wheaton community.

A former trustee and the mother of Peter Haas ’06, she has a vested interest in the future of the college. She sees a strong science program as essential to the Wheaton curriculum, and to that end she has established the Rick Wallick teaching and research labs in the Mars Center for Science and Technology.

Haas named the labs in memory of Rick Wallick, vice president for finance and operations at Wheaton from 1999 until his death last April. Wallick oversaw all facets of the planning and construction of the Mars center, but his untimely death prevented him from seeing the finished building. Haas and Wallick had served together on Wheaton’s finance and facilities committee.

The labs, which will be used for environmental science research and teaching, are a fitting tribute to Wallick, who had a keen interest in the environment and sustainability issues, says Haas. “He cared greatly about students and making it possible for them to learn and grow in so many ways during their time at Wheaton. It was tragic that he died so young, a terrible loss to family, friends and the entire Wheaton community.”

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