College Introduces Seely-Berkey House

The Georgian Revival style house on E. Michigan Ave, formerly Albion Heritage Bed and Breakfast, is now owned by Albion College and will soon be used as a gathering place. 

When the house entered the market, an anonymous donor purchased and donated it to the college. The goal of this was to create a place for faculty and staff to socialize and or host events for alumni, students and community members. 

Named after former Albion professors Dave Seely and Len Berkey, the new addition to Albion’s campus is called Seely-Berkey House. Both Seely and Berkey passed away in the summer of 2020.

Seely was a professor of physics and was part of the Albion College faculty from 1992 until the fall of 2019. He spent more than ten years as the physics department chair and worked with all of Albion’s major committees, including faculty head of the 2010 accreditation team. 

Berkey, who retired in 2012 after 35 years of teaching, was a professor of sociology and specialized in race and ethnicity. Berkey directed three study-abroad programs and won numerous awards for teaching and mentoring.

“The donor wanted to honor their legacy of collegiality and mentorship by naming this new gathering space for them,” said Dr. Ron Mourad, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs.  

The Seely-Berkey gathering house will be furnished with chairs, couches and will be equipped with a kitchen. Faculty and staff will also be able to make reservations to spend the night in one of the bedrooms. 

“Although only faculty and staff will be able to reserve the house for events, students are welcome as guests. I would also say that furthering faculty and staff efforts to host informal gatherings with students is one of the most exciting possibilities for the space,” said Mourad. 

The college is still in the process of furnishing the house. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the use of the house as an indoor social gathering space. A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for early May, after that the college is expecting to open the house for reservations.