Brock Hall Opens as a New Hub for Student Academic Support and Success

FARMVILLE – Beginning next semester, a Longwood student who needs help organizing a big paper, needs to meet with an academic coach, or needs to add a class will no longer have to visit multiple buildings on opposite ends of campus.

Brock Hall—home of Longwood’s new student success center—officially opened on Friday. The brand new building will be a centralized hub for essential academic support services and an important resource for all current and future Longwood students. It houses the Center for Academic Success, Writing Center, Office of the Registrar, Disability Resources, and First Year Experience and Family Programs, as well as the office of the associate vice president for enrollment management and student success.

“Today marks the realization of our vision to bring together under one roof a collection of services that are designed to support our students’ success,” said Dr. Jennifer Green, associate vice president for enrollment management and student success. “To have one location—right in the center of campus—where our students can come when they aren’t sure where to go to get the support they need is not only exciting but it will be transformative. It will allow our students to continue to achieve success and their academic goals at Longwood.”

The new student success center is named for Joan Perry Brock ‘64 and her late husband, Macon, who have been among Longwood’s most dedicated supporters. Brock attended the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building Friday morning and was joined by her two daughters as well as some of her longtime Longwood friends.

“It’s great to be here to celebrate this new, beautiful building on Brock Commons,” said Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV. “It’s true here at Longwood that the most devoted alumni do the most to transform the university. You can see it in full, utter and complete splendor with what Joan and Macon have done.”

Brock, a community and business leader and acclaimed philanthropist, will deliver Longwood’s graduate commencement address at Friday evening’s ceremony [link: http://www.longwood.edu/news/2018/undergraduate-and-graduate-commencement-addresses/]. In 2016, the Brocks gave the largest gift in the university’s history to endow the Brock Experiences, a series of place-based learning experiences that will transform the lives of Longwood students for generations to come.

Calling the new two-story, 25,000-square-foot student success center the “best-looking building on the campus,” Brock said she was honored and proud of her alma mater for answering the needs of its students.

“I’m so proud of Longwood for making a statement to support its students, in making this fabulous building available to every one of them,” she said. “This building, with all of its facilities for how to approach learning processes from many different ways, is going to be used and appreciated by so many students, helping them to attain their maximum potential.”

Brock Hall, located between Greenwood Library and Lankford Hall, faces the Brock Commons fountain. The Brock Commons pedestrian mall through the center of campus was also made possible by a gift from the Brocks. In the future, the West Redford Gateway, a welcoming entrance to campus from Griffin Boulevard, will further showcase Brock Hall.

“By creating a single destination where students can find academic support, answers and referrals, we are able to better serve our students and ensure they get the vital resources they need to propel them to succeed,” said Susan Hines, the university’s registrar.

“At Longwood, we are dedicated to ensuring student achievement by providing students with helpful resources that encourage them to take charge of their academic experience,” said Rebecca Sturgill, director of the Center for Academic Success. “This building not only creates a better learning environment but also increases the potential for students’ long-term academic success.”

Among the energy-efficient, cost-saving features in Brock Hall is LED lighting that has occupancy sensors. The building is also designed to conserve as much water as possible and is seeking to be certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver.

For an overview of the other projects included in the Campus Master Plan, adopted in 2015, visit: http://placematters.longwood.edu.