Community Center Opening
On November 16th, 2019 The Community Center opened. The newest building on the Rosemont campus is more than 73,000 square feet in size and extends from the current Cardinal Hall, will provide the campus with informal gathering spaces, and areas for large and formal events.
A generous anonymous donor chose to grant their earned naming rights to President Hirsh, resulting in the Center's designation as the "Sharon Latchaw Hirsh Community Center."
Maria Feeley, Chair of the Rosemont College Board of Trustees, stated, “Our College community needs a space like the very one we are now standing in.”
“It gives me great joy to welcome you all today, and to recognize the importance of this moment in the College’s history. In a few moments, we will officially cut the ribbon and bless the Rosemont College Community Center and dedicate it to the College’s 13th President, Sharon Latchaw Hirsh,” she said at the November 16th Grand Opening and Dedication of the magnificent newest building on campus.
The Community Center, which is more than 73,000 square feet in size and extends from the current Cardinal Hall, will provide the campus with informal gathering spaces, and areas for large and formal events. A generous anonymous donor chose to grant their earned naming rights to President Hirsh, resulting in the Center’s designation as the “Sharon Latchaw Hirsh Community Center.”
The Center will also house all of the offices for Student Life/Residence Life, the College’s bookstore, expanded dining areas, five new smart classrooms, multiple study rooms, a conference room for group meetings, and a brand new fitness center.
The 6,000 square foot Sister Mary George Community Room will be the largest room in the Center. It is named for the late Sister Mary George O’Reilly, SHCJ, through the generosity of many Rosemont alumni who collectively gave more than one million dollars in her honor. The Community Room will be used for College functions. It can also be used as a volleyball court and can be divided into smaller spaces, increasing its flexibility.
Grand Opening Ceelebration in the Commons of the Hirsh Community CenterThis is a project that the College has been anticipating for nearly 20 years! The first mention of the need for a comprehensive Student Center was a part of our Middle States report of 2000. This resulted in our surveying the campus community and in President Ann Amore starting to plan for what would eventually be the Community Center. In 2007, as part of the College's strategic planning process, the College worked with many groups on campus – faculty, staff, and students— along with the architectural firm of Kimmel Bogrette, our Township commissioners, and local legislators to develop the concept of the Community Center. The idea bloomed into a gathering space that could be used by all students, staff, and faculty, as well as members of the local community.
The project was overseen by Dr. Randy Eldridge, Vice President for Finance and Administration.
Kimmel Bogrette Architect + Site was the architect for this building and many of Rosemont’s recent projects. Dale Corporation served as general contractor for the Community Center.
The Sharon Latchaw Hirsh Community Center at Rosemont College
Rosemont thanks the hundreds of donors who made the Community Center a reality. The College especially acknowledges the following:
Rosemont thanks the hundreds of donors who made the Community Center a reality. The College especially acknowledges the following:
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Tom Wolf, Governor, for directing a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program Grant to the College.
- Eustace Wolfington for his gift in memory of his late wife, Marcy Dugan Wolfington ’56, to name the Commons.
- The many alumni and friends who came together to raise $1 million to name the Community Room within the Community Center in honor and memory of Sr. Mary George O’Reilly, SHCJ.
- The alumni, friends, and family of Judith Connelly Delouvier ’70, who together raised funding to name the Ravens’ Nest Café in memory of Jude, whose life was lost in the 1996 crash of a TWA jet off the coast of Long Island.
- Parkhurst Dining, for their donation to name the Dining Hall.
- The Trainor Family, to name the President’s Board Room in memory of Judith Connelly Delouvier ’70
Other donors whose gifts exceeded $100,000 were:
- The Connelly Foundation
- Lee Drinane ’62
- Veronica Ahern ’68
- Marie ’57 and Peter Dooner
- Society of the Holy Child Jesus