Bush Science Center

The Bush Science Center was built as the result of hard work of President Hugh McKean (’30 ’72H) and trustee Archibald Granville Bush (’65H). This decade saw America turning to an emphasis on sciences in school in an attempt to keep up with the escalating Cold War. Florida was of special importance because of the Kennedy Space Center, and the state wanted to supply as many scientists as it could. At that time, however, Rollins’ science facilities located in Knowles Hall II were gravely out of date. The proposed building was too expensive for the College to gather the sufficient amount of money in a short time. When the federal funds became available a few years later, President McKean again contacted Bush, who gladly committed to the College the 25 percent matching funds required. However, Bush passed away even before the start of construction, but his wife, Edyth Bush, made a donation of $615,000 in honor of her husband while establishing endowed chairs in science and mathematics at the same time. Collectively, Bushes’ strong support made the Archibald Granville Bush Science Center a reality on campus.

Bush Science entrance

Side entrance

With its 91,519 square feet of space, the Bush Science Center is the largest building on campus, followed by the Alfond Sports Center. Constructed in the same Spanish-Mediterranean style that dominates many other buildings on campus, the building features a row of fountains between the two main entrances (one leads to classrooms, the other to the auditorium). The fountains draw on a Roman style with arches filled in, creating a blank arcade behind each of the spouts. The building’s exterior is made of travertine marble from Pietrasanta, Italy, the same stone used in the Colosseum in Rome. Inside, the north hallway and the auditorium lobby were illuminated Tiffany window inserts.

Bush Science auditorium

The building supports the biology, chemistry, mathematic, physics and computer science departments. There are dozens of laboratories, conference rooms, classrooms, and lecture halls. The campus-wide computer center is also located in the basement. However, this building is not just for science students. The Bush Auditorium, which seats 350 people, provides an area where speakers from different academic backgrounds present to the campus community. Among the famous visitors who have spoken at the Bush Auditorium are George McGovern, Gloria Swanson, and Allen Ginsberg. Most of these speeches are free and open to the public - just one of the ways that the Bush Science Center has given back to its community over the years.

Bush interior