Boston University’s Dahod Family Alumni Center, formerly known as the BU Castle, celebrated its reopening during Alumni Weekend after a 15-month-long renovation.
The historic building at 225 Bay State Road, now featuring a faculty dining room and a renovated pub, was on display this past weekend as alumni gathered on campus.
Associate Vice President for Operations Walt Meissner said some major renovations include cleaning the building’s front façade, replacing the roof and gutters, extending Fuller’s BU Pub and installing an enlarged commercial kitchen, and improving and reshaping office and conference areas from the first to third floors.
New heating and ventilation systems were installed as well, Meissner said. The alumni center is also now Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible, due to a cut-through to the Alan and Sherry Leventhal Center, the admissions building next door.
Originally built for Boston businessman William Lindsey in 1915, the alumni center is a Tudor-revival mansion, according to the BU Events and Conferences website.
Although the project was ultimately ready for its scheduled grand opening during Alumni Weekend, Meissner said, renovations ran a little behind schedule.
“We wanted to … have a dry run for a couple [of] weeks before Alumni Weekend,” Meissner said. “But … that didn’t work out quite the way we wanted it to because we got behind on a few unforeseen circumstances in the building early on in the project in the structure, down in the basement and the renovation of the kitchen. And there were some other minor delays that caused this to be a couple of weeks late.”
The alumni center hosted various events over the weekend, including reunions in Fuller’s BU Pub Friday, a taste-testing session, “Tastes of BU,” Saturday and a brunch with live jazz music Sunday, according to the 2018 Alumni Weekend website.
Nearly 1,000 alumni registered for alumni center events during Alumni Weekend, Steve Hall, vice president for alumni relations, wrote in an email.
“Alumni, some of whom had not been on campus in years, were thrilled!” Hall wrote, “… It is very meaningful to them that the University has recognized the importance of alumni with this physical presence on campus.”
As the 2018 Alumni Weekend came to a close, Hall wrote that in the future, he hopes to see the alumni center serving various roles in the community.
“… We hope it becomes the “portal” through which alumni who have not been engaged will re-enter their relationship with BU,” Hall wrote, “It’s a place for them to meet other alumni, faculty or students; to attend events; or to just drop by and find out how to get involved.”
As a “home” for BU alumni, Hall wrote that the alumni center will be “a visual statement to students that they are only beginning a lifelong relationship with BU.”
“We hope they’ll drop by Fuller’s BU Pub for dinner or a beer before attending a hockey game or a performance at the Booth Theatre,” Hall wrote. “We hope they’ll meet a faculty member or a client for lunch in the new faculty dining room on the first floor.”
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said Fuller’s BU Pub in the alumni center has long been a “welcoming” meeting place for faculty and staff members, as well as students.
“The pub has a long history, and it’s something sort of an unsung venue on campus for students who are 21,” Riley said, “and of course, that’s probably a good portion of our seniors.”
The alumni center is one of many projects implemented to improve the campus during BU President Robert Brown’s tenure, Riley said.
“It is the latest wonderful project that the University has undertaken under President Brown’s leadership that has continued to contribute to the transformation and improvement of the facilities around campus,” Riley said.
Not only is the area attracting alumni, Riley said, but the children of those alumni going to the admissions center next door.
“[Alumni are] able to remember whether they enjoyed any events there, or went to the pub, [as they are] going to take an admissions tour with a daughter or son who might be a prospective student,” Riley said. “We’ve seen a lot of offspring of a lot of alumni apply and continue that legacy. It’s terrific.”
This is a wonderful addition to the Boston University campus. The presence of an official Alumni Center adds history and meaning for graduates to the long list of missions BU has.