Richard B. Flynn Campus Union
The Richard B. Flynn Campus Union is Springfield College’s student union, dedicated to student activities and services. In 2008, the old Student Union, Woods Hall and the Beveridge Center were demolished to make room for the new Campus Union. Parts of the original walls of the Beveridge Center were maintained and became a part of the new Campus Union. The Groundbreaking Ceremony took place on Friday, June 13, 2008.
The Richard B. Flynn Campus Union opened to the public in January 2010 after 18 months of construction. The Campus Union is named for the 12th president, Dr. Richard B. Flynn, of Springfield College for his leadership in the transformation of Springfield College during his presidency from 1999 to 2013. The dedication and the ribbon cutting ceremonies took place on February 4, 2010. This became the first of many dedications, including, on April 13, 2010, the dedication of the James Naismith statue that sits outside the main entrance of the Campus Union. The statue is a life-sized bronze created by Elden C. Tefft in honor of James Naismith, the creator of basketball at Springfield College. It is one of three sculptures of Naismith that Tefft created; the others were to be located in Almonte, Canada and Lawrence, Kansas. On April 29, 2010, the dedication ceremony for the “Father Leo” meditation room took place. The room was dedicated to Rev. Leo James Hoar for his many years of service to the college. The meditation room is located in the Cleveland E. and Phyllis B. Dodge Room of the Campus Union.
Today, the Campus Union is a 58,500 square foot building that contains student, career, and voluntary programs as well as the International Center and residence life. There is a lounge and activity space, a 6,000 square foot multi-purpose room, the college bookstore, food court, post office, convenience store, sports bistro with large flat screen TV’s, and the spiritual life center with a meditation room.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The collection documents the building and use of the Richard B. Flynn Campus Union Building. The majority of the collection consists of dedication materials from the various ceremonies that were held for the building. This includes a video of the groundbreaking ceremony, materials from the dedication of the building after it had opened in February of 2010, the dedication and unveiling of the James Naismith Statue by Sculptor Elden Tefft that sits in front of the main entrance to the Union, and the dedication of the “Father Leo” Meditation room, named for Rev. Dr. Leo James Hoar. There are also pictures of the interior and exterior of the building taken when the building was opened, a print out of a slide presentation showing the Student Union design drawings and renderings, and finally an architectural rending marked as a “Conceptual Plan” of the proposed Student Union dated September 9, 2004 showing the lower level (architect is not given).
