University of Alabama opens state-of-the-art welcome center
The University of Alabama on Friday officially celebrated the opening of the Capstone's new welcome center at the historic Bryce Main building.
UA faculty, students and alumni gathered at the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center to cut the ribbon on the 15,000-square-foot center. The center will include areas for prospective students and their families to gather for campus tours, along with a lounge, theater and UA's admissions offices.
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"This is where students and families who want to know about the University of Alabama, this is where they'll embark to begin to understand the University of Alabama and all that it has to offer them and their families," said UA President Stuart R. Bell, during Friday's ceremony.
The center is named after Cathy Randall and her late husband, Pettus Randall III, who died at the age of 57 from pancreatic cancer. As president and CEO of Randall Publishing for more than a quarter century, Pettus Randall III expanded the business his father began in 1934 as "Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges” into a publishing empire with dozens of magazines, websites and more, emphasizing people and public service.
Cathy Randall shared how excited she was to finally reveal the new facility, which will welcome prospective students for generations to come.
"This welcome center is so state-of-the-art, so exciting, that I can hardly wait to see the faces of the students who are going to come here and get their first glimpse of what a difference can be made in their life by the University of Alabama," she said.
"This facility is going to welcome generations of future students, the best and the brightest," said Cathy Randall, who serves on the campaign cabinet of UA's capital campaign, The Rising Tide. She also served as director of UA's University Honors Program for 25 years — now named for her, as the Catherine J. Randall Research Scholars Program.
The Randall Welcome Center will be connected to the Smith Family Center for the Performing Arts, named for a UA alumni family that recently donated $20 million.
The welcome center and the performing arts center are part of nearly 118,000 square feet of renovation and additions at Bryce Main.
Bryce Main will also house museums dedicated to the history of mental health in Alabama and the architectural evolutions of the Bryce property, as well as faculty and staff offices for UA’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
UA purchased the 168-acre Bryce property in 2010 from the Alabama Department of Mental Health. In 2014, the UA system's board of trustees took its initial formal steps to restore and preserve Bryce Main, which opened in 1861 as Alabama State Hospital for the Insane, later renamed for Dr. Peter Bryce, its innovative first superintendent.
The Randall Welcome Center will showcase the Alabama experience through interactive videos and technology. It also includes the Roll Tide Room, an immersive audio-visual experience. Visitors can learn about campus history and traditions, opportunities and resources and alumni success stories.
The welcome center will serve as a first impression for hundreds of students who may be considering enrolling at UA, said Matt McLendon, associate vice president for enrollment management. UA's current enrollment is just under 40,000 students.
"All of the the prospective students who come here and decide whether or not Alabama is going to be the home for them is going to pass through these doors and we just cant be more thrilled," McLendon said.
"This really cements that first impression and it allows us to get a lot of content about the university out in a very direct and easy to understand way," he said.
Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: New Randall Welcome Center opens at UA's Bryce Main building
