Henry - A History of Biola University Since 1908

177d Because by 1978 there was a considerable drop in enrollment in the public schools in La Mirada, McNally Junior IIigh School, adjacent to the ,....-,,;.·::.-__.........:,...-r•·· ·------ Biola campus on the south side, was closed by the School District. Fortun- ately, Biola was , able to lease these buildings containing a total of 58,000 square feet. This met Biola's growing need for additional facilities, el- imiriating the necessity for more construction on. the campus, at that time. Eventually, when these buildings are offered for sale through public bidding, Biola hopes to purchase them. This would enlarge the total size of the campus and provide much needed facilities on a permanent basis. Metzger Hall, commonly referred to as the Administration Building,the largest building on the campus, with 55,000 square feet, was erected in 1979. The major donor for this building was Mrs. Adele Metzger for whom it was named. Interestingly, her wealth from which she gave for this building was derived from stock purchased in the IBM Corporation when it was a very small and little-known business. The building consists of two floors above ground level and a large basement originally used for parking space, but now redesigned as the Computer Center of the School, both for student train- ing in Computer Science and for the Business Administration. The two upper stories house the offices of President, Deans, Business Department, Admis- sion Office, Student Service, Student Employment, Alumni, Public Relations, and numerous other administrative agencies of the School . With the Lord's provision for these buildings, Biola has pretty well occupied its "promised land.'' However, there are still small areas on which additional buildings may be erected in the future. With careful planning these areas can still provide sufficient space for additional facilities to acconunodate an increase in enrollment in the. foreseeable future. To appreci- ate this progress, one needs only to reflec~t. on the rented facility above a poo.~ room at Third. and Main Streets in Los Angeles,, where the Biple Insti- tute of Los Angeles began in 1908, and then to behold the beautiful campus

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