Skip to main content

Spring Arbor University Dedicates Faith Small Fitness Center

Dedication of the new Faith Small fitness center

Spring Arbor University has completed a nearly $1 million renovation for a state-of-the-art 6,330-square-foot fitness center located in the McDonald Athletic Center. The space will be unveiled at a reception on Nov. 5, 2019 from 6-10 p.m. before it officially opens the following day.

The new fitness center serves as the primary spot for all SAU students, faculty and staff to exercise. The space features brand new free weights, exercise equipment and machines, display monitors and an area for yoga, aerobics and a dance studio. It also provides a location for SAU’s Physical Therapy Clinic and will house classes in a Health, Human Performance, and Recreation (HHPR) lab for students.

A primary driving factor in creating the new fitness center was meeting the needs of SAU students, who surveyed in 2018 that the previous fitness room did not have enough availability of machines and space. The new space adds 1,400 square feet of workout space and will be accessible to all students. SAU student-athletes and athletic teams will also have exclusive access to the original fitness center where full-team and individual workouts will take place.

“We couldn’t be more excited for what the fitness center adds to our campus,” says Corey Ross, Vice President for Student Development and Success. “Leading edge equipment in a large, attractive space will support goals and inspire healthy habits to cultivate students’ minds, bodies and souls for a lifetime of loving and serving others.”

In dedication to the late Faith Small, it will be named the “Faith Small Fitness Center.” Small devotedly served on the SAU Board of Trustees from 1984 up until she passed away at 94 on June 26, 2016. She also played a significant role in SAU’s athletics for many years.

“We are deeply appreciative for Faith’s generous and heartfelt service to Spring Arbor University. The quiet way she provided counsel and the manner and way in which she really listened to others were trademarks of Faith’s,” says SAU President Brent Ellis. “Her generosity, in many shapes and forms, to the university and the Jackson community allowed them to move forward in profound ways.”

This renovation was made possible by the generosity of the Faith F. Small Foundation and Charlie and Beth (McDonald HS ’61, JC ’63, ’65) Kuntzleman.

Preview the Faith Small Fitness Center