Founders’ Foyer

A Centerpiece of Dallas College’s Past, Present and Future

The Founders’ Foyer – located in Dallas College’s central administrative headquarters and renovated in 2009 from a historic building on the city’s South Side – merges the district’s illustrious past with its bright future.

Led by past Foundation board member Judy Pesek, nationally recognized architecture firm Gensler designed the foyer, made possible from a gift by founding DCCCD Board Vice Chair Margaret McDermott.

Community arts leader and Dallas College Foundation board member Lynn McBee chaired the foyer renovation committee, which reviewed and selected the design concept by Gensler.

The Founders’ Foyer strives to reflect Mrs. McDermott’s visionary dedication to the highest standards of artistic excellence for Dallas College over the past four decades.

It features a seating area with a flat-screen monitor for visiting guests, as well as a revolving exhibit of artwork by faculty and students.

A permanent blown glass art installation by former student and professional glass artist Rachel Haynes features a breathtakingly fragile flight of brilliant colors on the wall behind the foyer’s reception desk. “I wanted the piece to make people happy in that space,” says Haynes of the commissioned work.

From the restored mosaic tile floor to its soaring ceiling, the Founders’ Foyer recalls a historic past, when trailblazing education and community leaders came together to create a community college system that has educated approximately 2 million students at its seven colleges since 1965.

But with its revolving artwork, the foyer space also speaks of a rich future that is continually a work in progress.