Blackwell is to become the official Maugans Alumni Center by spring 2015. It has been a long road to get to the construction stage, but with hard work and persistence, Longwood University is seeing this project through.
This center was cemented by a $2.5 million gift from Frank O. & Katharine Maugans of Buckingham County. Katharine was a school teacher who entered the Navy in 1952, served in the armed forces for 30 years and retired with the rank of captain, according to the 2013 Comprehensive Campaign press release.
The decision to change Blackwell into an Alumni Center was made in July 2012. “We received approval from the Commonwealth and have been working on it since,” said David Pletcher, Longwood University’s director of Capital Design and Construction. “We selected an architect and went through the design and bidding process. Now we’re at the point of awarding a construction contract.” According to Pletcher, Blackwell has been sitting vacant since they moved the dining hall out of it. They have looked at different options, and the alumni center was thought to be best for the university. “The lower level hasn’t been used since the fire in 2001,” said alumna Nancy Shelton, vice-president of Alumni Relations.
“We have been putting information about the alumni center … in our emails and tabloids for a number of years,” said Shelton. “I think the alumni are very pleased that the alumni center is on campus, and older alumni are happy their old dining hall is being used.” The biggest change with the building will be that students, faculty and alumni will be able to fully utilize the building, according to Pletcher. “There will be construction and renovation on all levels except for on the main level mechanical rooms,” said Pletcher. There will also be many changes taking place within Blackwell.
“The Grand Ballroom has an old kitchen in back that will be a new board room,” said Pletcher. “The Mezzanine [2nd floor] space on the south end will be upgraded and the elevator will extend it to the 2nd floor, making the whole side handicap accessible.” “The Blackwell foyer and ballroom will remain the same; for the most part they will just receive small, behind the scene improvements,” said Shelton. “When walking up the south elevation from Madison St., there is now a loading dock and an ugly wall,” Pletcher said. “This [construction process] will create a new entryway with open atriums so you can see the steps going up to the next level, creating a major entryway, making the entrance look so much better.”
The loading dock will be closed off and the French project is making a major pedestrian walkway from Venable St. to the new Student Union.
According to Shelton, there will also be a place on the ground level for office space as well as places to meet and hangout, along with the alumni relations area which will provide a library of Longwood’s history. “One of our goals is to have electronic board displays with information of our past, present and future, along with photos in regards to who is visiting,” said Shelton. This building will be used for small and large meetings, reunions and large events. Decade Alumni reunions will be held in these facilities as well as 50th and 75th year reunions. “Actually, in October we will be doing the decade of the 2000 reunion for our alumni,” said Shelton. “We will also be welcoming affinity groups, where we invite sorority alumni to tour Stubbs with its recent improvements.” Alumni events at Longwood can bring in a huge amount of people. “For the ‘80s and ‘90s decade reunions, we reached about 500 people,” said Shelton. “This is a great addition for the campus. In years to come, having the alumni center diagonally across from the university center will make a very nice tie in,” said Shelton. “The university has gone into many phases to renovate the building and this should be the last phase. I think it is a great opportunity for the university.”
