The campus community of Immaculata University gathered Thursday afternoon to dedicate and bless the new IHM Student Center.

Julia Coppa, a senior from Birdsboro and the president of Immaculata’s Student Government Association, supplied the welcome and introduction while Marilyn Benvenuto, a senior from Reading, sang the alma mater.

Father Kevin McCabe, the university’s chaplain, blessed the new Student Center after remarks by university president Barbara Lettiere and Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, general superior of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“When we broke ground last spring, I was excited to begin building our newest addition to campus,” said Lettiere. “This new facility will provide our deserving students a place to be together and to enjoy each other’s company. We are very grateful to the IHM Congregation for their encouragement and support. The new Student Center is a tribute to their almost 100 years of service and dedication to Immaculata. Many of our alumni contributed to the funding for this building. It has been a long time coming, but it was certainly worth the wait!”

Designed by nationally renowned architectural firm Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, the three-story, 11,000-square-foot building provides students a modern hub for relaxation, recreation, and socialization. The 20-foot-high lounge area features a dramatic floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace housed within a postmodern, soft-industrial motif.

Amenities include a fully equipped fitness center overlooking the fireplace and lounge, featuring 34 exercise stations that utilize modern fitness equipment enhanced by personal technology options. A game room offers two gaming stations, a 16-foot shuffleboard, ping-pong table, and pool table.

Students will have the opportunity to host movie nights, theatrical performances, and other activities in a multi-purpose room that is equipped with new generation technology. For dining options, students can choose from prepared meals provided by the university’s dining partner, Parkhurst; a snack bar featuring an open grill; and a self-service counter for beverages and milkshakes.

As part of an energy conservation focus, the building employs hydraulic elevators, a highly efficient heat pump system, LED lighting, and occupancy sensors.

“This IHM Student Center has the hallmark of community written all over it,” said Sister Mary Ellen. “It has been designed specifically to foster the growth of community. It is in community where we discover the capacity, our own capacity, for goodness, and where we equally discover and appreciate one another’s capacity for goodness.”

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