Larry and Rita Bonchek believe in community, and they believe in education.

Their recent gift to Franklin & Marshall College will bring the two together in the form of a new common area that will be added to the school's South Benjamin Franklin residence hall on the west side of the campus.

The facility will be renamed Bonchek College House and will be expanded to include a living room, dining room, kitchen and seminar area. The changes are designed to enhance faculty/student interaction.

The project, announced Monday during a ceremony on the lawn of the hall, is expected to cost almost $3 million, most of which will be covered by the gift, and is expected to be completed by this time next year.

"College is probably the last, best hope to enlighten young people, which means the faculty has central importance as teachers and mentors, particularly outside the classroom," said Bonchek, a retired local doctor who founded the cardiothoracic surgery program at Lancaster General Hospital.

Mrs. Bonchek is a retired psychologist.

"The college houses are ideal places for students to engage others … and to see that much of what they may have earlier thought about people's differences is invalid," Bonchek said.

F&M president John Fry saluted the couple as "respected leaders who have given back to the community, and this college in particular, and should be role models for us all."

Fry said the gift will have a lasting impact on students who will benefit from the blending of academic and social lives that the college house system offers.

"Greater interaction between faculty and students no doubt results in a richer educational experience," he said.

Nearly two years ago, F&M established a College House System in its residence halls. Each of the campus' four houses has a faculty don and prefect, and is student-governed. The goal is to improve social and academic opportunities for students.

Fry said the college spent $5 million to refurbish the houses to give them a more hospitable atmosphere and to encourage socialization.

South Ben will be the second house to undergo the addition of a common area. In February, North Ben was renamed Ware College House when its 3,500-square-foot common area was complete.

Fry said the goal is to renovate each house in a similar fashion.

This is not the first time the Boncheks have extended generosity to the college, from which their daughter, Lisa, is a 1991 graduate.

In 2000, the couple established the Bonchek Institute for Reason and Science in a Liberal Democracy. The institute fosters rational thought, critical thinking and an appreciation of science through lectures and programs.

Mrs. Bonchek is cofounder of the college's Tennis ACES program, which teaches tennis and offers tutoring and counseling to area youth.

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com