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Maharishi School celebrates 25th anniversary of Hopson Hall Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment recently held a grand celebration for the 25th anniversary of the construction of Hopson Hall, the four-story, 66,000-square-foot building that houses the lower school, library, reception hall, and offices. Parents, trustees, students, and administrators spoke about the history of the school and the miraculous effort it took to complete the building on time. By the end of the 1980s Foster Hall, the original school building, became too small to house the rapidly growing student body, and some of the classes were held in other buildings on campus. The idea to construct a new building originated with Jane Hopson, who was director of development at Maharishi School at the time. Ms. Hopson not only raised $3.5 million for the construction of the building, but she was also involved with every element of the project including working with lead architect Henry Clark. “Jane was our original passionate leader to get a community project like this done in an extraordinary way, and it was her passion and vision that carried this all the way through,” said Mayor Ed Malloy. In August 1989 it became clear that the building would not be ready for the beginning of the school year. Hundreds of parents, teachers, community members, MUM staff members, and older students came together in a heroic effort to work around the clock and complete the building. “The construction experience in the last days was like an army had descended,” said MUM President Bevan Morris. “Everywhere you looked people were volunteering.” All that hard work paid off and children were able to occupy the building on school opening day in September. The highlights of the silver jubilee celebration on September 6 included a slideshow of pictures that photographer Jim Davis took during the last weeks of the construction, as well as musical entertainment provided by Paul Fauerso. Throughout its 30-year history, Maharishi School has produced many outstanding achievements, including a 95 percent acceptance rate at accredited universities, 17 National Merit Scholars (twice the national average), 18 state tennis champions, and hundreds of awards in the areas of science, drama, visual arts, and sports. Over 1,000 students have graduated from the upper school. Watch the recording of the 2014 celebration here. More photos of the 1989 inauguration and construction volunteers here. More photos of the 2014 anniversary celebration here. © Copyright 2014 Maharishi University of Management
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