WCU Finishes Engineering Center In View Of 150th Anniversary

WEST CHESTER, PA — The newest and largest building yet on West Chester University campus is nearly finished. At the threshold of its 150th anniversary year, WCU has hoisted the last steel beam needed to complete the framing of The Sciences & Engineering Center and The Commons. A "topping off" ceremony recognized the event.

Known traditionally as a formal "topping off" ceremony, the longstanding construction custom commemorates the completion of a building's framing phase. Painted "West Chester University gold" and bearing the university's 150th anniversary logo, the beam is the outer-most and highest beam in the northwest corner of the facility.

West Chester University President Christopher M. Fiorentino recently visited the campus construction site to sign the 12-inch-high by 33-foot-long beam, prior to its lift and lofty placement. The building is located across from WCU's Student Recreation Center, at 275 North Campus Drive in West Chester.

The project's lead benefactors joined Fiorentino to mark the historic moment and sign the beam. Founder, President, and CEO of ProMetrics Marc Duey, gifted $1 million on behalf of the Duey family. Bernie Carrozza '66, Chair of the Board for Student Services, Incorporated (SSI) represented SSI's gift of $1 million. and West Chester University Alumni Association (WCUAA) President Bill Scottoline '74, represented WCUAA and its gift of $150,000.

The building's construction is especially timely, as STEM students are needed now more than ever to help advance and heal the world in which we live. "Digital convergence, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering design will make our students engage like never before and open a gateway to integrating across disciplines to present eloquent solutions to the vexing challenges of today, like COVID-19, and of tomorrow," said Marc Duey, of West Chester Biomedical AI, LLC and other health care companies including ProMetrics, Inc.; Atrin Pharmaceuticals; Felicitex Therapeutics, Inc.; and TarMeta Biosciences.

"In a year that has been nothing short of a rollercoaster for our university and our world, today is both a highlight and a triumph," said Fiorentino. "At West Chester University, nothing, not even a pandemic, will ever stand in the way of our mission of advancing student success. The Sciences & Engineering Center and the Commons will be an educational game-changer for students in the sciences, as well as for the entire campus community. Thank you to everyone who played a part in making this dream a reality."

In addition to serving students' academic and co-curricular needs, the building will also include a 450-car parking garage.

Enrolling more than 17,000 students, West Chester University is the largest member of the 14-institution Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, the University is a comprehensive public institution, offering a diverse range of more than 200 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs in more than 50 fields of study.