UMass Boston Prepares to Open Campus Center

Visit the new Campus Center Web site today: www.umb.edu/campuscenter

By Anne-Marie Kent

Where once there was just a parking lot on the UMass Boston campus now stands an impressive, 330,000-square-foot campus center, a building of high atriums, bright views, and attractive meeting spaces. It is a building designed to provide students with improved services, the spaces they need, and the facilities they deserve--and soon it will be fully operational.

"This is a wonderful time in our campus's history," says Chancellor Jo Ann Gora. "We are so excited about the services the Campus Center will offer our students to realize a fuller educational experience at the university."

"We've received the occupancy permit and expect to be moving departments into the building and launching services in time for opening events beginning March 31," said Anne Devaney, Campus Center director. She added that while not all departments and services may be moved in by then, there will be a week of grand opening events March 31 through April 3, including bands, an auction, electric bull riding, sumo wrestling, and even a chance to throw a pie at a cut-out of Vice Chancellor Keith Motley. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for April 2, and planning is under way for an opening gala fundraiser later that month, which will raise money for student scholarships.

Once all the offices are moved in, students will find services that include financial aid, admissions, registrar, bursar, student employment, the bookstore, career services, a food court with offerings of sushi, roll-ups, and Cappuccinos, a game room, ATMs, the student life offices, as well as the offices of the vice chancellors for student affairs and enrollment management. "This building has spaces where people can get together, hang out, study, explore, eat, talk, and meet with staff," said Stephan Chait, associate vice chancellor for administration and finance in charge of the project.

"The building is large, but it is extremely elegant," added Chait. "There are finishes that give a real quality to the architectural spaces." Finishes include carpeting in certain areas, terrazzo flooring on two floors, as well as wall finishes of marble, plaster, and wood.

In addition to its unusual materials, the building will be the only one on campus with its own management team. In addition to overseeing operations, Devaney will coordinate a unique building governance system. The Campus Center Advisory Board, made up of a majority of students and representatives from campus departments, will review policies, set priorities, and make recommendations, she said. The Campus Center Occupancy Council will be made up of representatives of organizations whose offices or services are in the building. Operating somewhat like a tenants' association, the council will address a range of issues about standards for use and occupancy of the building, said Devaney.

The first new building on campus since 1982, it will provide a dramatic gateway to the campus. Designed by Boston architects Kallmann, McKinnell and Wood and constructed by Suffolk Construction, the building offers a welcome contrast to the red brick and cinder-block construction found in other campus buildings. In the new building, floors are carpeted in muted shades of sage and tan and walls are light, with many windows to let in light and expose views of the cityscape and ocean.

Image: Chancellor Jo Ann Gora (center) smiles with students from the University Honors Program in the Campus Center, the soon-to-be-realized site for comprehensive student services. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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