Building Momentum for UMW

The UMW Board of Visitors marked the beginning of construction on the Information and Technology Convergence Center at a September groundbreaking. The state-of the-art facility, expected to open in fall 2014, will straddle Campus Walk and connect to the third floor of Simpson Library. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

With two groundbreakings and a rededication ceremony, the agenda for the late September meeting of UMW’s Board of Visitors didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.

Thursday, Sept. 20, marked the official start of construction on the four-story Information and Technology Convergence Center. Newly installed BOV Rector Pamela J. White ’74 said the structure represents UMW’s commitment to giving students the tools they need to build successful careers, remain lifelong learners, and master digital information.

Designed to blend with campus buildings, the nearly 77,000-square-foot center will straddle Campus Walk and connect to the Simpson Library’s third floor. It will include a digital theatre, data center, café, media labs, and flexible gathering spaces. It’s slated to open fall 2014.

On hand again at Friday’s mid-day groundbreaking for the five-story Hyatt Place hotel at Eagle Village, White said the 66,500-square-foot facility, the first to qualify for Virginia Tourism Development financing, would create jobs, serve as a business-meeting and community-events venue, and foster regional partnerships.

“The Foundation’s leadership on this project yields significant benefits for both the University and the greater Fredericksburg community,” White said. With 93 rooms and suites, conference areas, retail space, and an indoor pool and fitness center, the hotel is expected to open next fall.

A rededication ceremony for the renovated Randolph and Mason residence halls took place late Friday afternoon. (See story for details.)

The gathering of the BOV coincided with UMW Family Weekend, designed to give parents a taste of what students experience through sessions on master teachers, clubs, and study abroad opportunities.

Another opening ceremony took place in early September to showcase the Stafford Technology and Research Center at Quantico, for which UMW is a lead educational partner.

University President Richard V. Hurley said the center “will provide the synergy for 21st-century business and academic expansion in the southern I-95 corridor of Northern Virginia.”