ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — During special ceremonies on Friday, March 23, St. Bonaventure University will break ground for its new School of Business and formally name its rare book library. The campus community and the public are welcome to attend.
Groundbreaking for the new business center will be held at 12:30 p.m. March 23 at the building site, south of Friedsam Library, between the Reilly Center and Plassmann Hall. The 26,000-square-foot William E. and Ann L. Swan Business Center will feature a financial services lab with electronic ticker tape, a corporate boardroom, state-of-the-art classrooms, break-out areas, spaces for student collaboration, team building, and faculty research, a dean’s suite, innovative technology uses, and a commitment to sustainability.
Following the groundbreaking, a ceremony to name and bless the rare book library will be held outside Friedsam Memorial Library.
The Board of Trustees, at its September 2011 meeting, voted to name the addition the Holy Name Library for the Franciscan Institute, in recognition of the longstanding support of the Holy Name Province of the scholarship and service of the Franciscan Institute.
The rare book wing of Friedsam Memorial Library opened in 2008. The state-of-the-art facility protects the University’s stunning collection of rare books, described by the National Endowment for the Humanities as “a unique national asset of great value to American humanistic scholarship.” The collection includes treasures gathered over more than a century.
Also on March 23, representatives from the University’s Board of Trustees and Holy Name Province will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to clarify their historic relationship and promote St. Bonaventure’s commitment to providing higher education as a Catholic institution in the Franciscan tradition.
About the University: Inspired for more than 150 years by the Catholic Franciscan values of individual dignity, community inclusiveness, and service, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them.