VCU celebrates grand opening of alumni house

By Lissette Linares

RICHMOND, Va. — More than 200 Virginia Commonwealth University alumni and friends will celebrate the grand opening of VCU’s Richard T. Robertson Alumni House at 4 p.m. on May 9. Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., VCU President, and Richard T. Robertson, VCU alumnus and president of Warner Brothers Domestic Television Distribution, will attend. The house is named for Robertson.

Located at 924 W. Franklin St., the new home to the VCU Alumni Association and VCU’s Office of Alumni Activities was built in the late 1800s. The Alumni Association purchased it in 1998 and gave it to VCU. The university began renovations in May of 1999.

Now fully-restored, the building’s interior blends Victorian and English country furniture and accents to create a sense of period and provide a comfortable atmosphere for alumni and others to meet.

"We wanted to create a real sense of history here," said William Iles, director for alumni activities. "The building was an apartment building that housed VCU students for over 60 years before we bought it, so it already has been home to alumni. And we have included art work and other items to truly create a repository of VCU history."

Portraits of VCU building founders don the walls, including a 1932 portrait of Henry Hibbs, founder of the Richmond School of Social Economy, which became VCU in 1968. These, along with other art works, are on loan from the Anderson Gallery and several private owners. Much of the original structure was maintained, with elevators and ramps added for handicap accessibility.

Richmond-based RGA/SSA was the architect and Chatsworth Interiors, owned by VCU alumnus Gary Inman, was the designer on the project.

Many of the building’s rooms are named for donors including: Robertson; David Baldacci; Windsor Foundation; Doris and Carlisle Butler, David S. Norris; Beth and Charles Ayers; Nelco Family Foundation, Richard Nelson; John and Nancy Slaughter; Joan E. Rexinger; Gary and Leslie Inman, Chatsworth Interiors; Marika L. Byrd; Cheryl A. Yancy; Stephanie L. Holt; Susan and Andrew Hulcher; Richard W. Leatherman; Marha Riis Moore; Mark and Natalie Smith; and Jo Lynn and Southall Stone.

Robertson, a 1967 graduate of the School of Mass Communications, was chairman of VCU’s Partners for Progress campaign that raised $167.8 million during a seven-year period. He kicked off the public phase of the campaign by announcing a $1 million gift to the university and made a separate gift naming the Richard T. Robertson Alumni House.