PROVIDENCE – Brown University’s historic Wilson Hall will be renovated into a state-of-the-art, handicapped-accessible facility for teaching and learning with new classrooms and social spaces, thanks to a $24 million gift from the Richard A. and Susan P. Friedman Family Foundation.
The university, in a Tuesday news release, said the project will transform Wilson Hall, which was built in 1891 and is one of the most heavily used undergraduate academic buildings on campus.
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Once the project is completed, it will be renamed Friedman Hall in honor of the gift from the foundation. Construction will begin in June, and it is expected to be completed for the start of the fall 2018 semester.
The project will preserve the building’s historic exterior, but renovate the interior, creating a new three-floor design and 20,000 square feet of usable space.
There will be seven new classrooms and new technology, as well as a common area for student activity and two entryways creating new access to the College Green and Simmons Quadrangle.
“This generous gift from the Friedman family will transform a venerable building into a modern, accessible teaching and learning space that will serve Brown undergraduates for generations to come,” Brown President Christina H. Paxson said in a statement.
Richard A. Friedman, a 1979 undergraduate alumnus who serves as a fellow on the Corporation of Brown University, noted the role Wilson Hall plays in the life of undergraduates.
“With the medical school’s impact, new graduate programs and growth into the Jewelry District, Brown has seen incredible expansion in both its academic programs and in the footprint of its campus,” Friedman said in prepared remarks. “Yet the university’s strategic focus has stayed true to what is the core of Brown’s distinctiveness – the undergraduate experience. Re-imagining this centrally located, in-demand academic building will enhance undergraduate education even further.”
Wilson Hall was created with the help of an 1887 bequest from local benefactor George Francis Wilson. The renovated building will feature a plaque celebrating Wilson and sharing details on the building’s history.
Anmahian Winton Architects, whose principal architect, Nick Winton, is a Brown alumnus, is designing the renovations.
Brown said in a news release that the gift from the Friedman Family Foundation adds to a long history of service to the university by the family. In addition to Richard Friedman, Susan Pilch Friedman earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown in 1977, and the couple’s daughter, Jacqueline Friedman Brogadir, is a Class of 2008 alumna.
In 2005, the Friedman family provided funds to develop a 24-hour study center spanning the lower three floors of the Sciences Library at Brown.
“With the Friedman Study Center, our goal was to create a 24-hour space on campus for undergraduates,” Susan Friedman said. “Our involvement with Brown has become a tremendous priority.”
The Friedmans’ latest $24 million gift also will support the establishment of an endowed fund that will be used for the maintenance of the building.
At the same time the building is renamed, Friedman Auditorium in the Metcalf Research Building will be renamed the Susan Pilch Friedman and Todd David Pilch Auditorium.
The renaming honors Todd Pilch, Susan Friedman’s brother, a Class of 1983 Brown alumnus and an anesthesiologist who lost his life at age 37 in an accident.
