$130M+ Academic & Dining Building Opens At West Chester University

WEST CHESTER, PA —West Chester University on Thursday opened a new Science and Engineering Center and The Commons, a combination dining hall and social activity center.

The project is the largest, most complex building in the state university’s history, according to school officials.

The project is expected to run over the initial $130 million cost estimate.

The 175,000 square-foot building provides a living-learning environment for the next generation of scientists, physicians. nutritionists, & other critical-demand positions are being cultivated, Nancy Gainer, university spokeswoman, said.

West Chester University has 17,000 students and is the largest university within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. The university celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021.

“Above all else, this building centers on what students need to learn to be hands-on and successful in critical-demand fields,” Chris Fiorentino, university president, said after a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday.

Executive Vice President and Provost Laurie Bernotsky said the focus of the new building is to provide collaborative spaces to engage students actively in all aspects of learning.

Among those doing the official ribbon-cutting honors outside of the building’s main lobby doors were Fiorentino; Bernotsky; Marc Duey, managing partner of Duce Management and Matthew Holliday ’09, former founder, president, and CEO of ProMetrics and West Chester University alumni association president.

The Science & Engineering Center

The new three-story facility is home to the university’s growing health science and physics programs, and new biomedical engineering program.

The state-of-the-art facility includes:

• Duey Immersive Learning Center, where high-tech mannequins mimic patients in a simulated hospital setting;
• An advanced Food Sensory Lab, where students are taught how the taste, smell and flavor of food/drink affect people’s food choices;
• Roof-top garden beds, where Nutrition Department students grow vegetables that will be taken to the WCU Resource Pantry and other places within the community;
• A Physics Forum on the third floor, where “Physics Teas” draw physics students and faculty to talk about classes, graduate school, and other topics;
• Classrooms include flat-screen TV monitors and large-area writable wall surfaces to foster student-work groups;

• 16 of the classrooms feature video-web conferencing;
• A “learning stairs” provide a stimulating hang-out space for students and a captivating floor-to-ceiling video wall highlights the university's campus.

The Commons provides a welcoming and stimulating environment for students to gather, eat and work. The 800-seat residential dining facility encompasses more than 16,000 square feet of the building’s second floor.

The building also includes an adjacent 162,000-square-foot parking garage, which includes 462 parking spaces.

Project Benefactors

The three-story facility has been built with the support of two leadership gifts.

• Marc Duey, managing Partner of Duce Management and former founder, president, and CEO of ProMetrics who is also an adjunct professor at the university teaching in the marketing department and the pharmaceutical product development program, and the Duey family, gave $1 million for the project.
• Bernie Carrozza, chairman of he board of directors of non profit, Student Services, Incorporated and a 1966 graduate of the university gave $1 million to the project.
• The West Chester University Alumni Association also contributed $150,000 to the building project.