VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

View the Monroe Park Campus Addition Opening media kit

Phase I of the largest construction project in Virginia Commonwealth University's history reached a milestone today when students attended classes for the first time in a 240,000 square-foot complex that houses Snead Hall, VCU's new School of Business, and East Hall, the second building for VCU's School of Engineering.

Also opening on the new campus is the VCU Brandcenter, VCU's top-ranked graduate program in advertising, now located in the newly renovated historic Central Belting Building. Additionally, the new 689-space Jefferson Street parking deck will serve the new campus and provide direct access onto the westbound Downtown Expressway.

The new Monroe Park Campus Addition is on an 11-acre tract adjacent to VCU's Monroe Park Campus, east of Belvidere between Main and Canal streets.

"This is the new VCU, with world class facilities that compete with any in the country," said VCU President Eugene P. Trani. "The new campus is transformational for the Schools of Business and Engineering, for students, faculty and staff and their self-perception. It is also transformational for Richmond and the community in terms of their view of the good that VCU is doing."

The new campus is the result of a public-private partnership that allowed the project to be undertaken quickly – four years from idea to opening. Nearly half the $157 million Phase I construction cost, $70.2 million, was funded through private donations. Other funding sources include the state, which contributed $15.3 million for the construction of the School of Business building, which was recently named Snead Hall, and $71.5 million from the university and income generated from parking, student housing and food services.

"This new campus would not have been possible without the vision and generosity of people like Bill and Alice Goodwin and Steve and Kathy Markel, and their leadership and support of the School of Engineering and School of Business foundations," Trani said. "We also thank state lawmakers, former and current governors, and the many private donors -- friends and alumni of VCU -- who made it possible to complete this project quickly and with quality."

Getting Down to Business

The four-story Snead and East Halls are joined and share some social and academic space. The idea to collocate business and engineering came from local business leaders who believed that students from the two disciplines should be connected in studies as they are in the workplace. The new complex will enable the schools of business and engineering to increase enrollment by 2,000 students over the next few years.

"Having our students working in teams from the business, engineering and arts schools gives them a much broader experience and one which is going to make them much more valuable to any employers," said Michael Sesnowitz, dean of the VCU School of Business.

Snead Hall, the new home to the School of Business, is a 125,000 square-foot contemporary facility that along with traditional classrooms and faculty offices includes a fully functioning capital markets and trading room, collaborative learning rooms, central atrium with a student commons and café, career services center, center for corporate education, auditorium, tiered case study classrooms and team-building breakout rooms.

In November, the VCU Board of Visitors approved naming the new School of Business building in honor of Thomas G. Snead, Jr. and Vickie M. Snead, 1976 graduates of the VCU School of Business and long-time supporters of VCU.

"As proud alumni of the VCU School of Business, we know the teaching, learning and creativity that happen in this building will have a significant impact on our students and we are excited for their future," said Tom Snead.

Expanding the School of Engineering

East Hall, the 115,000 square-foot expansion of the School of Engineering features additional laboratory and research space, classrooms and faculty offices. One of the more programmatically exciting additions to the campus is the creation of the da Vinci Center for Innovation in Product Design and Development, where engineering, business and arts students will work entrepreneurially on product development projects for major corporations and government organizations.

Four collaborative projects are scheduled for the spring semester, ranging from packaging technology for overseas markets where food often goes bad during extended transport to affordable medical equipment in third-world countries.

"With the Schools of Business and Arts we have created a design studio that is going to enable us to give our students the kind of direct experience with real life problems solved in an interdisciplinary way, and that is the heart of the da Vinci concept," said Russell Jamison, dean of the VCU School of Engineering. "The future of engineering at VCU is going to be its union with business and arts for undergraduate education."

New Name, New Home for Advertising Program

The new home for the VCU Brandcenter, formerly known as the Adcenter, is the renovated historic Central Belting Building.

"We owe a great deal to Ken and Diane Wright whose generosity made it possible for the University to acquire this beautiful old building," Trani said.

The 27,000 square-foot building was designed by the internationally renowned architect Clive Wilkinson and is not a typical academic facility. The Brandcenter combines the historic building with a modern addition that reflects the creative nature of the top-ranked graduate program.

"To ensure that our core competency always will be creativity and collaboration, our students must be in a progressive environment," said Rick Boyko, VCU Brandcenter director. "We're proud that our new home is just that – an environment that looks and feels different and makes our students feel creative."

The new Jefferson Street parking deck also opened today, which will serve the new campus with 689 spaces. Located across the street from the Snead and East Halls complex, the deck conveniently allows direct access on the westbound Downtown Expressway.

Still to come

The final building in Phase I, a 408-bed residential college, is under construction and is scheduled to open in August 2008 for the fall semester. The housing component includes apartment style, two-bedroom and four-bedroom units for students, and two, two-bedroom faculty apartments. The ground floor of the building provides commercial space that will house a Chili's restaurant, Starbucks coffee store and a convenience market.

Construction is not yet scheduled for Phase II of the Monroe Park Campus Addition, which will include a second residential college and an executive conference center.

VCU enrolls 32,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Enrollments for the School of Business are 3,700; School of Engineering, 1,432 and Brandcenter, 180.