ChatGrand Opening: A Day to Remember
March 16, 2016March 15 was a day to remember. Hundreds of friends, alumni, faculty, staff and students celebrated the grand opening of the new Cabell Library. See photos on Flickr. Secretary of Education Anne Holton and VCU President Michael Rao were among those who gave remarks.
Media coverage about the building included a review by STYLE Weekly's esteemed architecture critic Edwin Slipek who described the new Cabell Library as an "instant landmark." See a round-up of news coverage.
The 31st Brown-Lyons Lecture, with a SRO crowd in the new Lecture Hall, was the day's capstone. It was a bittersweet event, as this year was the final lecture expected to be delivered by Jack Spiro, D.H.L., Ed.D, who has planned this lecture for 31 years and delivered the past 17 of them. Spiro is retiring from his long-term role as the Harry Lyons Distinguished Chair in Judaic Culture. Video will be posted soon.
The Art Task Force installed the first of many exhibits to come. Visitors now find art on every floor. See a few snapshots on our Flickr set.
Students are loving the new building and everything that has come with it! Gatecounts are breaking records. Traffic is up 15 percent, and often 13,000 people visit the building each day.
VCU Libraries has now raised more than $312,000 for the New Building Fund and is working to meet the $1 million challenge grant goal by June 30, 2107.