For Release: October 26, 2017
Contact: Marketing and Communications at 406.791.5306
GREAT FALLS, MONTANA – President Tony Aretz announces major campus expansion and renovation plans starting as early as this November. The $25-million investment includes three construction projects: a new University Center, wrestling facility, and updates to the Student Union. These projects are a result of the new partnership between the University of Providence and Providence St. Joseph Health.
The University Center’s groundbreaking is scheduled for April 2018. It is tentatively set to open by fall 2019. The 36,000-sq.ft. building will be two stories with a vast atrium and welcome center. It will become the focal point on campus and have a modern design that ties in with the overall campus architecture.
“Our goal at the University of Providence is to provide our students with a great college experience,” says Aretz. “We saw a need—our students are changing, and as a result their needs are changing. We are meeting those needs in a competitive way by enhancing student experience in learning, leadership development, and student engagement.”
Along with a new classroom, lecture hall, and collaboration rooms, the University Center will also house Argo Central (which includes admissions and a one-stop-shop for student services), administration offices, the Galerie Trinitas, and a multipurpose meeting space that can be used for large banquets or meetings. The classroom, which can be used as a small conference room, will hold up to 30 and the lecture hall, which can be used as a large conference room, will hold up to 75. The multipurpose conference and banquet room will accommodate 350 seated at large round tables and 850 in rows of chairs.
“While providing an effective place for students to learn, we also wanted to open up our doors to the Great Falls community,” says Aretz. “Our new University Center will offer the community a premier business and conference facility. We see this new space as another example of how we are partnering with the city of Great Falls. As our university grows and prospers, it will have a direct impact on the economy of Great Falls.”
In addition to the University Center, a new state-of-the-art wrestling facility is tentatively set to break ground this November. The 8,600-sq.ft. facility will have two mats, men’s and women’s locker rooms, and coaches’ offices. It will be located east of Argo Field and is set to open by spring 2018.
The third project is a renovation of the Student Union in order to further enhance student experience. The remodeled space, set to open in fall 2018, will be a hub for student activities. There will be a coffee bar, new grab-and-go food options, a student worship room, an expansive Career Development Center, as well as multi-functional study spaces.
Click here to see a fly-through of the new University Center.
The University of Providence is a private Catholic university located in Great Falls, Montana. Founded in 1932, the university includes both a School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a School of Health Professions. For more information, go to uprovidence.edu.
