Society: U of M Alumni Center

There’s a new building on the campus of the University of Miami, and it’s a beauty. The Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center is a living tribute to the generosity of the many loyal alumni and other supporters who have helped make the U of M what it is today.   This new structure provides an array of warm and welcoming spaces for working, lounging, reminiscing, and reconnection for the thousands of university alumni who wanted a “home away from home.”

Located at 6200 San Amaro Drive, across from the sports stadium, the building contains ten distinct areas including a cafe, a multi-purpose room, a library, a business center and an executive conference room.

The state-of-the-art facility was officially “baptized” last October and according to the University’s President: Donna E. Shalala, who said “It’s my very favorite place.  I’m overwhelmed by the beauty of the building”.

The goal (of the building) was to build an Alumni Center that evoked feelings of nostalgia, and to project an optimistic and progressive vision of the institution’s future. The 72,000-square-foot, four-story building  is adorned with a grand mural depicting the University’s history and its library will house U of M’s yearbooks dating back to the University’s inception. The Alumni Association was founded in 1930.  Today it has more than 156,000 alumni members living in all 50 states and 148 foreign countries.

The design of the Newman Alumni Center reflects its setting, and incorporates opposing elements that create a comfortable space that is equally moving and powerful: courtyards with pergolas, stone and glass walls, wood beam ceilings and paneling, stone floors and fountains.  The building was designed by the world-renowned architectural team of Michael Dennis and Associates out of Boston, as well as the design team of MGE Architects, led by Rolando Conesa, AIA principal with the firm.

Category: SOCIETY